Welcome
Hi, I’m Robin…
I wish we were sitting in rocking chairs on a cozy front porch getting to know each other with a plate of warm homemade cookies and a glass of sweet iced tea or cup of coffee. Well, sister, let’s just pretend and meet each other in this online community. I can’t wait to meet you, at least virtually!
I’m here to encourage you to take hold of God’s amazing gift of grace and to live loved (as I remind myself as well). Come along on this journey with me as we discover His truth for all seasons of life, the joys and happy times, hurts and struggles, hard and messy times, unsure and shaky times, and fun and special times.
Note: I’m a hugger! So, if we ever meet in person, you’ll find me waiting with a big hug!
A little more about me…
Me: I’m a southern girl raised by a mama who loved Jesus with all of her heart.
Family: I’m blessed to be married to my best friend, aka my own personal MacGyver (he finds ways to fix EVERYTHING). I think I’ll just call him Mac here and you’ll know who I’m talking about! We are empty nesters with our son living close by.
Place I call home: Florida, but my heart is in the mountains of western North Carolina. It’s our Happy Place.
Favorite Pastime: We both get a kick out of going to thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales and antique stores. I’m always on the lookout for old kitchen items, cookie cutters, Christmas ornaments (yes, all year), vintage linens and whatever strikes my fancy. Hubby looks for unique and old tools, electronics and old combination post office box doors. We try to find new thrift and antique stores on vacation as well. You never know what treasures you’ll find at a good price!
Southern sayings: Don’t be surprised if you hear me call you “Honey” or say “Honey, let me tell you” every now and then. My family has said that all of our lives (to girls and guys, doesn’t matter). It’s just part of my vocabulary along with “y’all” of course! I might slip another one or two sayings in there you haven’t heard before!
In my cup: Coffee or iced coffee, but it has to be decaf with flavored creamer in it. If I had regular coffee, even in the morning, I’d have trouble getting to sleep at night.
Favorite food: Down-home country cooking. I’m talking chicken and dumplings, fried chicken, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, collard greens, pinto beans, cornbread, peach cobbler, sweet potato pie, pecan pie and so much more! Are you hungry yet? We have a place we love to eat when traveling to North Carolina. It’s like sitting down to eat at Grandma’s. We’ll leave at 4:00 in the morning so we can make it there at lunch time!
Former clogger: I was on a clogging team many years ago. In fact, I was on a team with Ericka Dunlap, Miss America 2004, when she was about 10 years old. I kept my clogging shoes and could probably still do the Rocky Top routine, although not as fast!
Creative outlet: Baking (especially cookies), sewing, crafts, and did I say thrifting? That’s creative to me!
Listening to: Southern gospel, bluegrass and country music. I especially like it when we can go in person. Nothing like listening to bluegrass gospel, singing along and tapping your foot!
Proudest accomplishment: I was a Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist three times! It was so much fun and exciting. Every time I was in it, the grand prize was one million dollars! Since you can only be in it three times in your life, I’m no longer eligible to compete. Oh well, I just bake for fun now!
Wearing: You’ll find me in shorts and sleeveless tops most of the time because it gets really HOT in the Florida….I mean stifling hot! There’s even been years I’ve worn shorts on Christmas day!
Hello my friend:
A little background: The idea for this online ministry started some years ago when I was writing a food blog (Simply Southern Baking). Initially, my thought was to revamp that site to include more faith posts, but I ultimately decided that I no longer wanted to pursue the food end of that website. I bought this domain and changed my social media handles and starting sharing new posts on Instagram and my personal Facebook page. With family having health issues for several years, it took a while for me to get this website going. The timing just didn’t seem to be right until now. So, here we are, finally!
What you’ll find here: This website is here to encourage you to hold on to God’s amazing grace and to live loved no matter what your circumstances may be. You are loved unconditionally right this minute, exactly right where you are and you are precious in His sight.
I’ll be sharing stories from my own life and from many years of sermon notes. I’m planning to have friends and family contribute to this site with their own truths of God’s grace and faithfulness.
Do one or more of the statements below sound like you now or in the past? Sister, I’ve experienced all of these struggles at one time or another in my life (and a few I still do), but the Lord is always there with me through it all.
- Feel broken, rejected, hurt
- Have to fight faith over fear
- Compare yourself with others even when you know you shouldn’t
- Feel like you don’t measure up or aren’t good enough
- Struggle from depression and/or anxiety
- Weak but striving to be strong
- Not put-together
- Have a messy and stressful life
- Worn out and burned out
Even one of these is enough to throw you off kilter, much less having several. It shows that there’s not a minute of the day where we don’t need Jesus. This site is not only for you but for me as well to remind us all of God’s faithfulness and unending love. We are all in this together and need to build a community to support each other.
God is still writing all of our stories and it’s all in his hands.
My hope and prayer is that you will feel a sense of belonging and encouragement here. And in the midst of it all, I want to bring a little bit of southern sunshine your way. Let’s lean on the Lord together.
Holding on to grace with you,
Hi Robin, I really love your new website ❤️ I sure would love to see you and share stories of our life’s journeys, we both have a lot to share through the years. Sending love and prayers to you always ❤️ Jeri
We sure do have some stories to tell! Would love to have you write a post or two about God’s grace and/or faithfulness in your life. Miss you. ❤️
Love the new site, and can’t wait to see how this ministry will change lives. I’m cheering for you!
Thanks Leslie. I’m so glad we got to meet and get to know each other at She Speaks. Ready for next year. Hope to see your new site soon.