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...
After You Blow It, Do You Hear the Voice of Conviction or Condemnation? Here Are Five Ways to Tell the Difference
All I wanted to do was study my Bible that morning. I’d eaten breakfast early and washed the dishes before sitting down to have some study time before we headed to church. Brian likes to sleep in whenever possible but on this particular morning, he woke up a little earlier than expected. When I say earlier, what I really mean to say is that he woke up just as I’d started my study....
Tiny House Tuesday // Foundational Truths
As we begin building our tiny house, I’m learning that one of the first things that must be determined is the foundation. There are options, after all. If you want to travel with your tiny house, you’d opt for a trailer. If you want the option to move it at some point in the future, it would most likely be built on blocks or some other propped up way. And if you’re serious...
Why Everybody Needs God in the Dark + Enter to Win a Free Copy
Only a handful of years had passed since my divorce when I studied the book of James. My heart was raw, as were my tears. Wet ink melted onto more than one page in my Bible but one verse stood out: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2, 3 [emphasis mine] ...
The Tiny House Dream is Becoming a Reality!
I’ve loved small spaces for as long as I can remember. The secluded corner in my backyard where wild violets grew, my aunt’s 16′ Bambi Airstream, the treehouse coop by the lake, and the edge of my grandmother’s concrete back steps where I baked magnificent mud pies if I do say so myself. As an adult, I designed tiny spaces in my backyard framing them with picket fences...
When A Puppy Breaks One Heart and Heals Another
It didn’t turn out as expected. Not even close. When Rupert, our twelve-year-old Lhasa Apso, attacked me in 2016 due to neurological issues it was a traumatic time on many levels, so we knew it would be a while before we decided to get another dog. But last November we put a deposit on the first male pick of a Shih Tzu litter two towns over. Like Rupert, Henry the Shih Tzu would...
How Keeping a List of Victories Can Help Gain Freedom Over Fear
The invasion began three decades ago. Everyone else was at work despite the snow-covered roads. I felt pressure to be there so I bundled up my oldest and headed down the road. I drove for miles without any issues until I rounded a shady curve on an exit ramp to I-85. We slid to the side of the road. As I was getting out of my car to meet a gentleman who had stopped to help, a woman driving...