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...
How God Answered My Prayers Through a Man Named Finis
He wasn't where he was supposed to be on the first night of the conference. Someone noticed an older man walking in a room that was off limits until it was officially opened by faculty. A few people rescued him with the same fervor one might have when rescuing sailors at sea. Writer's conferences take sign-ups seriously, after all. *wink* The man shuffled out of the room and stood nearby like...
The Night This Titus 2 Woman Hosted a Tea Party
Remember this eavesdropping story that took place in a North Carolina café? "Our generation needs women like you to pour into us." These words, from the lips of an eighteen-year-old woman, continue to flow through my mind as smoothly as the coffee tasted that morning. Several weeks following my cafe encounter, Brian and I hosted our first small group from our new...
Tiny House Tuesday // Building an Ark
I love the idea of having a house by the lake⏤just not a tiny house. When we chose the place where she'd perch, we took a lot into consideration⏤which direction to face, what views not to block, and how to prevent our galvanized roof from blinding our only neighbor. One thing we did not take into consideration, however, was the direction of the river that flows down the mountain behind us,...
The First Hard Conversation + Autographed Giveaway by Lori Roeleveld
No one goes around looking to strike up a hard conversation. And yet, I'm not sure we can expect to walk fully in light of the gospel without a willingness to do it. Thankfully, people like Lori Roeleveld are able to take not-so-comfortable conversations and break them into hearty, but bite-sized morsels. For almost a decade, I've watched Lori's life beautifully reflect her zeal for God and...
Tiny House Tuesday // A Tale of Two Gothic Windows
At least that's how the story began. Last April, before May floods meandered their way over the Swannanoa banks, we headed to the Antique Tobacco Barn in Asheville NC, in search of a Gothic window. We explored aisles of primitive ladders, glass knobs, and bird egg blue cabinets until we spotted the distinctive curve peeking over nearby antique relics. Or should I say curves? Turns out,...
3 Things to Remember When Opportunity Knocks
I'm not a fan of surprises. I figure life offers up an ample share of them, so to balance things out, I'll take my daily hum in a rhythm of slow and steady. Sometimes, though, surprises make themselves right at home, like the one that showed up at my "doorstep" a few months ago. Opportunity knocked and I opened the door. I can't go into details now, but since that tap on my...
Tiny House Tuesday // Come Sit a Spell
Come sit a spell. It's an invitation to come on over, take a seat, and rest awhile. It's a saying my spinster great-aunts spun while rocking on the front porch that hugged their century-old home. Family, friends, and those strolling on the nearby sidewalk were invited to join them for conversation while they shucked corn and popped peas. That was over forty years ago, but the charm of...
How I Set Up My Prayer Journal for 2019 + A LePen Giveaway
I want to be that woman⏤the one who swirls her colored pencils, creating a design befitting a beautiful prayer journal. But I'm not. Instead, I buy pencils and markers in an array of colors, along with hand-lettering books, to feel like the woman who does such things. Truth is, I buy a fetching three-ring binder from Target, a pack of College-ruled notebook paper, and new for...
Cathy Baker
Join the Creative Pauses Facebook Community
I Recommend Fistbump Media!
