Love… One Sip At A Time // A Valentine Tea Party
I started hosting tea parties in an older home propped as pretty as you please on the corner of a quiet street. A family of four in a two-bedroom, one-bath home made for a tight fit, and tea parties felt downright snug, but no one would change a thing. Some teas were scripture-based, and others celebrated holidays, but every time, the room filled with the scent of scones, floral tea, and...
Trusting in the Midst of Messy
“Trust Me in the midst of a messy day. Your inner calm—your Peace in my Presence—need not be shaken by what is going on around you. Though you live in this temporal world, your innermost being is rooted and grounded in eternity. When you start to feel stressed, detach yourself from the disturbances around you. Instead of desperately striving to maintain order and control in your little...
Why It Feels Like Christmas at the Baker’s House
Snow wasn’t falling and bells were not ringing, but it sure felt like Christmas at the Baker house last Friday afternoon when a box of the above arrived on our doorstep. I never expected my poetry to be published so you can imagine my delight and depth of gratitude to the One who made it possible. The poem below is not mine, but one that’s also included in Enter the Gateway,...
One of God’s Greatest Gifts: Repentance
Guess it goes without saying that our granddaughter is rarely in the background, and for good reason! On those rare occasions, however, when she realizes we’re not tuned in to her every word it doesn’t take long for her attention-antenna to intercept with two words that snap me back into full attention mode: Meeee-me! Meeee-me! (i.e. Grammy) You would be hard-pressed...
Poetic Pauses: The Garden, Mary Oliver
The Garden The kale’s puckered sleeve, the pepper’s hollow bell, the lacquered onion. Beets, borage, tomatoes. Green beans. I came in and I put everything on the counter: chives, parsley, dill, the squash like a pale moon, peas in their silky shoes, the dazzling rain-drenched corn. -Mary Oliver, “New and Selected Poems” New and Selected Poems is one of my...
When A Pinch Spells Love
Mr. Rice was a close friend of my grandparents and the local elementary school principal way back when. He’d often stop by their home for a quick visit, to the delight of my grandparents. My reaction as a seven year-old, however, was quite different. I’d make a run for the bathroom, lock the door, and sit on the edge of my grandparent’s pink tub until I heard his old pick-up...
Fireflies and Moon Pies: A No-Cook Summer Delight
Who wants to use a stove on these hot August days? (Me either!) Simply stir up some of this goodness, slide them in the fridge, and voila! A yummy breakfast awaits. A summer delight, indeed. Thanks to Monica over at The Yummy Life, I’m sharing a fave recipe – regardless of the season. Overnight, No-Cook Refrigerator Oatmeal Check out the flavors packed in small clear Mason...
Poetic Pauses: Farmer’s Market
I picked up a copy of Working the Dirt at the library and was immediately drawn to this poem by Marcia Camp. After all, summertime and Farmer’s Markets go hand-in-hand, right? Farmer’s Market It isn’t okra cut small and tender the way we know it should be, or tomatoes whose imperfections declare them simon-pure, or peas...
Why I’m Removing the Word Just From My Prayers
Lord, I just pray that… Lord, I pray that You would just… The word just crept into my prayer vocabulary without much notice—but now, when spoken, it becomes as obvious as the three earsplitting screeches heard when the Emergency Broadcast System conducts their weekly test, no doubt during a favorite show. After all, consider the definition: Just: adv [dʒʌst (unstressed)...
Cathy Baker
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