Art by Peggy Wilson
As I type this post we are sitting in a place we have dreamed would happen—one day. For the past couple of months we have been looking for a mountain cabin to purchase to make available for couples and families to rent for vacation. We also wanted it large enough for our family to come when possible, and nice enough for a couple to use for their honeymoon. What we’re most excited about is the possibility for future retreats—marriage, ladies’, mens’, and maybe even writer’s retreats.
Yesterday, we closed on Barefoot Cabin. It was originally named Bearfoot Cabin, but we wanted the name to reflect a part of life on a vineyard. We didn’t name it The Romantic Vineyard simply because we don’t want families to feel it’s too romantic for their children to come and enjoy. And we thought folks would expect there to be a working vineyard on-site. Oh, how I wish it had one, but we DO have one less than a mile away. It’s called Banner Elk Winery, and it’s everything you would expect a small vineyard to be. We’ve driven by it, but have yet to go in and introduce ourselves. We will soon.
We’ve chosen the name “Barefoot Cabin” for a couple of reasons:
- We want our guests to kick off their shoes and make themselves at home from the moment they enter the door.
- We found a piece of art that depicts grape stomping, and we realized what an important aspect this is of making great wine. It all begins with stomping the grapes in order to extract the sweet juice of the vine, and what an excellent metaphor for making a great marriage. God takes two different people and uses life’s challenges to meld them into one flesh—one marriage, that can be poured out as an offering to the Lord. And like grape-stomping, it can be messy at times.
We knew as soon as we saw the painting that this was to be the name!
Our cabin has 5 bedrooms, 3-1/2 baths, two huge porches, a hot tub, pool table, and blackberry vines galore (my childhood favorite)! We will be working between now and the end of June making the place our own, Once we’re finished we’ll share with you pictures and how to go about reserving a getaway, if you would like.
We are reading through The One Year Bible this year for our devotions, and imagine how amazed we were when we read the following verse in today’s reading:
“This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” – Psalm 118:23 ESV
The Romantic Vineyard 
Sounds absolutely “heavenly”… (this side of Heaven, of course!)
Can’t wait to see what you’re going to do to the place, and if God allows… maybe even make a reservation for Tiffani and I!
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Jason,
We’ll be sure to post pics when it’s ready. You and Tiffany would love it!!
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Looking forward to hearing more about this — it’s been years since we vacationed in the mountains! Where is it located?
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Hey Anna,
It’s in Banner Elk, a small town between Sugar and Beech Mountains. The elevation is 4200′ so the summers are perfect and it gets lots of snow in the winter. 🙂
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I love the wine-stomping painting. Debi, if you’re missing any artwork to help make it your own, please let me know if I may be able to help. N. Carolina mountains is one of our favorite places to vacation and it would be fabulous to have a place big enough for our kids and grandkids to join us. Look forward to hearing about the progress of your dream-come-true. Congratulations!
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Rick,
Wow, that’s a great offer on the artwork. Thank you, but we’re not sure yet what we need. It’s definitely big enough for 8 adults and 5 kids, maybe 6. It has one king, three queens and 5 twins. We’ll keep you posted on our progress!
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Sounds lovely! Where is it?
Blessings
-Jen
http://thelilyandthemarrow.wordpress.com/
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Hey Jen,
It’s in Banner Elk, North Carolina.
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Can’t wait to see more pictures! I am glad a life dream has come true for you guys! I love that painting as well!
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Thank you Alyssa. We’ll be sure to post pics when we’re finished redecorating!
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We’re SO, SO happy for you and Tom to realize this dream come true. May God abundantly bless this wonderful haven and make it one where others also enjoy dreams come true — times of closeness in their marriages and their family. Love you both, Steve and Cindy (Marriagemissions.com)
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Thank you, Steve and Cindy! You’re such dear friends!!
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Praise the LORD!! So excited for you!! And hoping to be able to fellowship again, maybe at the cabin this time! Blessings to you both!! Hugs from us!
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Thank you, Annie! That would be wonderful to fellowship together again wherever it would be. Blessings to you and Dion!
Debi
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Ya’ll made my eyes water. So happy for people I don’t even know. Enjoy.
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Thank you, Tonya. Such a sweet comment!
Blessings,
Debi
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How wonderful, probably too far for us to come rent it but what a ministry for you. Congratulations.
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Sharon,
You never know when you might find yourself on the east coast. If you ever do, look us up!
Blessings friend,
Debi
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Sounds absolutely lovely! Hope to be able to rent it someday.
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Lisa,
We’re hoping you’ll be able to too. We’re working hard to make it something special!
Blessings,
Debi
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WoW!! That’s an amazing plan you all envisioned! Excited for you and rejoicing that God worked everything out so it could be a reality! Can’t wait to see the pictures!
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Thank you Heather. Missed seeing you today!
Blessings,
Debi
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Congratulations. One of the lovely things that you could do as a ministry is provide a discount or a free weekend to missionaries on furlow. Often they don’t have the extra cash to “vacation” while they are in the States and some quiet time to renew their marriage could be just what the Great Physician ordered.
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Excellent idea, Helene. We hadn’t thought of that before, but will definitely consider it. We can only imagine the challenges couples face when serving abroad as missionaries.
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Wonderful! So happy this dream is now real and will play a part in your story… We’re excited to see how God will use you two, and this barefoot haven! All glory to Him!
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Lori,
Yes! All glory to HIM! We are marveling every day at what He has/and is doing. We’ve talked about how this is one of those seasons in our marriage that we’ll talk about for the rest of our lives. Only God knows where are this will lead. I’m so excited I could bust!
Give Robert a hug from us!
Debi
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God is good. What great news. I want to come & put my feet up -AND RELAX!!!
Thank God for you and Tom.
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Vanessa,
Thank you for your encouragement! We hope you’ll be able to come at some point. Things are looking good here!!!
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How exciting!! Congratulations on Barefoot cabin. You two deserve it! And what a wonderful reason to desire to purchase such a place.
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Fawn,
It’s been on our hearts to do this for years, but we never dreamed it would actually happen. Thank you for your encouragements!
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Easy not to listen to the people we love and this is a reminder! The word LISTEN and SILENT has the same letters. I always love the statement, “Silence comes before listening. You must be silent before you can truly listen.”
Visiting you from the Happy Wives Club link up.
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Mai,
I love that! I’ve never heard that about Listen and Silent. How cool! So glad you hopped over from HWC. Hope you’ll come back!!
Blessings,
Debi
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Congratulations on your dream come true: Your Barefoot Cabin! Looking forward to see pictures soon! 🙂
Visiting you from the Happy Wives Club link up.
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Thanks, Mai. We’ll be sure to post pictures when it’s ready to be revealed! 🙂 Just pray we have the strength needed to do all the work!
Blessings,
Debi
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