Tea time in Bath! Loved my English tea with an English garden just outside!
all the words
When I write a blog post, I often sit with a cup of tea and ponder what I would say if you sat with me. That's what this space is for. You and me, hands wrapped around warm cups, catching up, sharing thoughts, dreaming, living creatively, and enjoying all the things in real life.
I Got You
She's Got a Story: Courtney - I really want to be someone people know they can count on, and if they need something, I am the person they can call. If I have something I can do for somebody, then I'm all over it. That’s kind of my love language. I think that is why catering works so well for me because I like to cook for people, I like to feed people, I like to do for people, and catering just kinda fulfills that.”
The Prayer Lady
She's Got a Story: Helen - ?Crazy thing: a couple of years ago, the Lord started having me ask people to tell me your name and something I can pray for you for. Everyone at the CVS knows I’m the prayer lady.?
The Little Art Shop That Could
It’s a reminder of the women who have inspired. The women who take their little and stretch it to improve their lives, the lives of their families, and to change their communities. My Kenyan sisters.
Sunflowers & Pom-Poms
She's Got a Story: Julie - Through her business Julie seeks to come alongside women. Helping them to not only identify health and emotional concerns, but also to have accountability and support in their own journeys. Her own wellness journey showed her the power of emotions, the need for toxin-free solutions, and self-care. While she admits self-care does look different for everyone, she points out that women (the superwomen especially) tend to put off caring for themselves.
Frogs with signs & how insecurities lie
Surrounded by a feast inspired by the book that everyone seemed to love. The women’s delighted chatter filled up the room around us, but I didn’t have much to say. My insecurities started to whisper that I had made a mistake.
Maybe the frog was warning me…
The Woman that Shows Up
She’s Got a Story: Lakesha - I want people to be able to come and let loose and dance, have fun, or just be like, look, I’m struggling. And know that they have a safe spot with me and in that circle and that community
Smiles & Soft Seasons
She’s Got a Story: Katie - …she traded in her hard hat and steel-toed boots for baby slings and running shoes as she balances mom life with being the Program Director for Girls on the Run Piedmont.
Hometown Book Dragon
Bookshops & Besties: Hundred Acre Books - What better place to start a series on bookstores than in your hometown bookstore? And who better to take along than a long-time bestie who is not only a bookish friend but a ride-or-die adventure partner? So, for our first installment of Bookshops and Besties, I grabbed my friend Katie, and we popped into Hundred Acre Books on Davis Street in Culpeper.
Living Openly Messy
She’s Got a Story: LeighAnn - There’s something disarming about a woman who just lays it all on the table. Any conversation with LeighAnn feels authentic.
Coming Soon
I love bookstores and any reason to have an adventure, road trip, hangout, or bookish time with my besties. So, I began plotting.
A Main Character Life
She’s Got a Story: Lauren - That girl dreamed of a bigger life, far-off places, and fantasy worlds where everyone was accepted for themselves. Her journey from these childhood dreams to a successful business is a testament to her determination and resilience
When the Landscape Changes
Today I erased a tree. (In a painting) Next week I will move a couple of bushes in the backyard. (In real life). Last night I spent more than an hour culling the accounts I follow on social media. New seasons. New growth. New landscape.
Women of Unrelenting Hope
I’ve looked deep into the eyes of my sisters who live in this place of scarcity and hope. The place where having little means there’s room to see God work. I can hardly make them understand my world of abundance and scarcity of hope. The place where having much chokes out the room to see God work.
Echoes of Me
In Rose and Eudora I heard echoes of Wendy and Esther. The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett reminded me that
Inner Critics & Fans
As I finished the painting I began to ponder what’s in a name…. Not in a Capulet and Montague kinda way, but in the does it matter what I call myself kinda way.
Here’s the thing.
What we call something matters…it shapes our perceptions and our interactions. What we call ourselves matters even more.
The Books that Find Us
Sometimes a book finds its way to you, because you need the words of an Australian woman who understands the movies and stories that molded you (I still can’t watch the swamp scene in Neverending Story), knows the stranglehold trauma can have on the creativity that flows in your veins, and is willing to face her fears to write the words your heart needs to hear.
Yeah, he called me that…
You read that right. In seventh grade I had never kissed a boy, I still wrote sweet little notes with the i’s dotted with hearts, and had New Kids on the Block posters on my bedroom walls. But he called me that and I wore it.
The Passenger’s Seat
It’s hard to get used to the view from the passenger seat of life. To shift from the mom who did the driving, made the decisions, and kept them safe to the mom who offers gentle reminders from the cheap seats and whispers silent prayers as they steer into their futures.
The Word He Said
I tried to play it off. To act as though his words, the word, didn’t affect me…
But it did. The word hung there in the air between us, and I could barely breath.
My hunky hubby came home from work - walked into the garage, kissed me hello, looked straight into my eyes and asked,
Just Follow My Footprints
Sometimes we want flashing red arrows or a clear path of muddy boot prints through our lives…an easy trail with easy answers. And still Jesus beckons, just follow my footprints.