Tina The Storyteller

I'm thankful for safe travels! I'm thankful that even though my little girl is kind of sick right now, I have access to health care and medicine. I'm thankful for my husband who takes time off from work to hang out with me and my family. I'm thankful for a loving God who speaks to me and waits patiently for me to understand. What are you thankful for?

I don't eat a lot of yogurt. In fact, I eat it even less now that have cut out sugar as a food source. But I am tempted by a few that are on the market. And they aren't Greek. My long time favorite is Brown Cow cream on top . I fell in love with it when we lived in Austin and have found it at Busch's a time or two. There is just something wonderful about a food that is so luxurious that the cream rises to the top! Raspberry, apricot-mango, coffee and chocolate are just some of their tasty flavors. Just make sure if you get some that you stir it up first, unless you want to indulge in great spoonfuls of cream! And a new favorite we've found is Noosa . It's called Australian. You can call it what ever you want, it's tasty! It's so creamy and the fruit is identifiable. Meaning there are big chunks of them! My favorite is probably the strawberry rhubarb. OmNomNom! I just saw that they have a new passion fruit flavor. Can't wait to try that. The best part abo...

This past Sunday as we were studying The Story at church, the idea that was prominent in the lesson is "When God's big thing becomes little and our little thing becomes big." One of the questions that I posed was "What is God's big thing in your life?" As people were sharing I had an image come to mind for my own big thing. The image was one of an armory, my role within that was to help suit people up and to make sure that they had the right weapons to fight the battle that's going on all around us. I was reminded of a time in which I let my little thing become the big thing within that call on my life. When we first started ministry, I wasn't in the regular practice of reading the Bible everyday and spending time hanging out with God to know what I should be doing with my day, even though I was spending a lot of time with the Bible and other Christians during that time. I was teaching a great deal of Bible studies and going to a few as well,...

It's been a long week. Just last Thursday I was celebrating my 37th birthday and then today I'm lounging on the couch with my sweet little girl while we read stories and watch My Little Pony episodes on Netflix. Today I'm thankful for my husband, who is just plain awesome. I'm thankful for my daughter, who is growing up and becoming quite the young lady. I'm thankful for thrift stores, were I can go and get new clothes and then give them the old ones (not all in the same visit). Keeps my house a little less cluttered and my wallet a little more full. I'm thankful for bible study. I've had lots of really good ones lately. What are you thankful for?

Last summer, I got some new sock yarn and a big ol' book of sock patterns, toe-up sock patterns to be exact. They were all so pretty. I immediately finished the socks I was making and cast on two new socks. I was going to town, happy as could be, my socks were just zooming along and both were in the same place so I knew that when I got one done, the other would be done, too. Well, then I hit the heal. And let me tell you, I thought that traditional socks heals were difficult, this stuff brought me to a stand still. Here they are, my little work in progress Aren't they pretty. I love the little v's on them. But here's the problem, you're looking at about two weeks worth of work and they have been sitting in the bag ever since! I tried to google for help, I read the directions over and over again, searched for information, etc etc. But they just sat there, going no where. So today, I decided to do this... That's right, I frogged both of my...

For the most part, I'm all about finding the best drum beat for yourself and walking to it, but one thing that I've found is that if you do that and you happen to lose the beat, it can be tough to get back at it. I mean seriously, if everyone else around you is following the same beat and you fall out, it's pretty easy to just jump right back into it. But if you're the only one that has that tune, then it can be tough. And it can be an even bigger challenge if your desire is to change it all up again. That's me, that last statement. I'm the one that's in the midst of changing up the beat. I've got two competing things that are going on. One is wanting to finish removing some excess in my home and the other is dealing with the desire to always be present for those that want me. I think I'm doing pretty good on the excess. I've been following along with a whole house purge on Facebook that has been going pretty well, but it also means that I'...

It's Thursday again! And today is my mom's birthday. I am exceptionally thankful for that woman! I'm thankful for my dear sweet daughter, who when looking for dresses for me, was actually looking for dresses for her and was able to find one. She's a real sweetheart. I'm thankful for my husband who does such a great job of listening to me, when I get the chance to talk to him. He's so supportive and gives good advice. I'm thankful for my two silly cats that are getting along pretty well, considering they just met a few months ago. I'm thankful for friends. I've been blessed with really good and loyal friends during this season in my life. What about you? What are you thankful for?

When I was a little girl, I would spend part of my summer camping on Edisto Island, so I was simultaneously excited and dreading this book. You have to understand, Edisto is a very special place. There is a feeling that happens when you arrive on the island and a certain mood that permeates all that goes on there. So I was excited by the possibility of being able to go visit from my living room and dreading the potential of someone writing a book set in Edisto without capturing what makes it so special.  After devouring this book, I'm pleased to say that Beth Webb Hart did a great job of capturing Edisto in a book. Then there is the story of Julia and her family. Julia has basically run away from her broken family and made a new life for herself in New York. But when her step mother asks her to take care of three step sisters while she's recovering from surgery, Julia agrees. While caring for the children, she meets up with one of her childhood friends and a romance devel...