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...
One Question Changes Everything
What does God want me to know or learn through this situation? When Carole, a godly woman in our life group, shared how she often asks herself this question, it was obvious why wisdom follows her wherever she goes. This one question befriended her through the untimely death of her husband a few years ago and a host of everyday situations since. It’s a simple but profound question...
When Friends Meet on a Mountain
Blessings, indeed. This weekend, I joined a couple friends in the mountains of NC for our annual writing getaway. We stay in the same cabin each year so when we all arrive, it feels like home in a very real sense. Real because our friendships plunge far below the surface of plots and proposals. On Friday nights, we have our “round table discussion” in the cozy den while gas logs...
Poetic Pause: An Autumn Prayer
Autumn Prayer In autumn may I pray, Lord.Awaited till the leaves are fallen and may myhumble mother tongue be filled within me. In autumnmay I love, Lord.May I choose the only one.To grow the most delightful fruitsmay I plant this time of richness. In autumnmay I be alone, Lord.May my soul, through the roaring seaand the valley of lilies, be reached atop a bough like a crow. (May...
Soulful Snippets
“Walk with Me in the freedom of forgiveness. The path we follow together is sometimes steep and slippery. If you carry a burden of guilt on your back, you are more likely to stumble and fall. At your request, I will remove the heavy load from you and bury it at the foot of the cross. When I unburden you, you are undeniably free! Stand up straight and tall in My Presence, so that no one...
Poetic Pause: September Midnight
September Midnight by Sara Teasdale Lyric night of the lingering Indian Summer,Shadowy fields that are scentless but full of singing,Never a bird, but the passionless chant of insects, Ceaseless, insistent. The grasshopper’s horn, and far-off, high in the maples,The wheel of a locust leisurely grinding the silenceUnder a moon waning and worn,...
Let’s Discuss the “B” Word
Self-disciplining, though rarely fun, is always beneficial. I have more than one area in my life in need of a clean sweep and a fresh start, but today I’m focusing on money. It’s all God’s. He simply allows us to steward it. Budgeting has never been my, shall we say, forte, but it is an integral part in managing God’s money well (at least for us), so with my part...