Meanderings in New England

October 9, 2026October 9, 2026 RefreshHerLeave a comment

When the Lord led my husband and me to begin D and D Ministries and we began to travel, we knew it would be crucial to:

Take opportunities to rest when we could
Take time to occasionally travel the scenic route
Pour into our own marriage.

So on this last ministry trip that lasted twelve days, we did all of the above. On the day that we traveled to King Arthur Flour Baking Company, we purchased a sandwich, along with a delicious chocolate croissant and tucked it into the cooler. We decided we’d stop along the way and enjoy it for lunch a little later. I prayed that the Lord would lead us to a special spot to do just that. Wow, did He ever guide us!

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Celebrating 18 Years of Blogging: A Reflection of the Journey

August 21, 2026August 20, 2026 RefreshHer12 Comments

On Wednesday of this week, August 19th, I marked my 18th blogging anniversary. Wow. I’ve written 3,533 posts in those 18 years. That’s a lot of words! There have been times in the recent couple of years that I’ve been tempted to throw in the blogging towel, but there are a few things that keep me blogging.

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Celebrations · Marriage

Backyard Anniversary Celebration

June 26, 2026June 22, 2026 RefreshHer2 Comments

Our 45th anniversary was last Saturday. What a blessing to have this milestone to celebrate! We both consider our marriage a true grace gift from the Lord. Oh, how He kept each of us from foolish decisions that obviously would have changed the whole trajectory of our lives! I know that Dale is the one the Lord had for me. He completes me so well, making up for all my weakness, leading me spiritually and also helping to equip me to serve God. I am a blessed woman!

As we considered how we would celebrate, we knew we wanted a date night with just the two of us (which we thoroughly enjoyed on the 21st). I also suggested to my husband that we have a family dinner celebration on our back patio on the day of our anniversary. He was in agreement, so we planned together for a wonderful night.

A young woman in our church is a culinary arts major. Dale asked her to make two charcuterie boards for appetizers. He also had her make a celebration cake!

We had the dinner catered by Olive Garden and they did a fantastic job! Everything was provided for the meal, including serving utensils, tea and even Andes mints!

Their salad and breadsticks
were so good!

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Celebrations · Marriage

Sentimental Anniversary Celebration

June 12, 2026June 11, 2026 RefreshHer2 Comments

With the upcoming of our 45th anniversary on June 20th, we decided that we would try to do something each day of the month of June that would “celebrate us!” Dale’s taking the odd days, and I am taking the even to create a tiny remembrance. These have been very ordinary events, but we’re trying to use our celebrations to reminisce over the early days of our relationship and marriage. It’s been fun – both to create the ideas for each day, and then do them! How about a little peek into a few of our “celebrations” so far?

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Dates · Marriage

Spring Dates

May 1, 2026April 29, 2026 RefreshHerLeave a comment

It’s warming up pretty consistently here in East Tennessee. These are perfect opportunities to have a fun date with your spouse! Need some ideas? Here are a few fun ones to get you started:

Get outside and work in the yard together. Clean up any leaves from fall. Mow the grass, sweep the sidewalks and driveway. See if you could use some new shrubbery. Celebrate the beautiful yard with a Frosted Lemonade at Chick-Fil-A or an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen!
Take a bike ride on one of the local trails.
Go for a breakfast picnic. Be aware of the morning dew and take a towel or blanket to sit on or wipe down the table.
Take a hike on a mountain trail.
Take a drive in the country with the windows down.
Go to Lowe’s or any other paint store and pick out a color for a room in your house or a piece of furniture that needs some refreshing. Do the project together.
Build a fire in the fire pit in the evening.
Play a yard game like croquet, Frisbee, or badminton.
Wash the car together.
Go to the park and fly a kite.
Sit outside and watch the sunset from your porch swing.
Take a walk around the neighborhood hand in hand.
Go to a local drive-in like Sonic and enjoy lunch in the car with the windows down.
Go to yard sales and find items you need to make your porch inviting!
Find a little town you’d like to spend the day investigating and have a whole day away shopping, having coffee, and just walking its streets.

There are some ideas to get you started! What springtime dates have you planned? Remember, most times together won’ just happen! You have to be intentional!

Happy Spring Date night!