Last year, a tornado – “the” tornado – destroyed Alberta Baptist Church’s building. Open Door Baptist (my church) has been sharing a building with them ever since. While we have not combined our church families, we have been doing more and more together as time has gone on. Our children and youth groups do a lot together. So much that many of them refer to joint activities as “OpenBerta.” I love it!

Last year, because of the tornado, neither church held a women’s event. They were scheduled; however, they had to be cancelled because: a) Alberta no longer had a safe facility, and, b) both churches’ women were too busy serving in various areas throughout Tuscaloosa to play dress-up and eat chicken salad.  In fact, every event in Tuscaloosa was cancelled or postponed for months. So, you can understand why 2012’s spring events are special.

This past Saturday, OpenBerta women enjoyed a ladies’ luncheon together. Some of us put on pretty hats to eat our chicken salad. I have a garden hat. The only problem is that it looks like a garden hat; it is not fit to wear to banquets.

A handful of women decorated and hosted the tables. Each table had a unique theme and dessert. I wish I had taken the time to photo of each one. You can see more tea party photos at Lynn’s blog and Mary Kathryn’s blog.

Debbie Skinner, founder of Wisdom in Watercolor, shared from Psalm 1 about the importance of planting God’s word deep in our minds and hearts so that, when times of suffering and difficulty come along, the Holy Spirit can comfort us.

She painted while she talked.

Upon arriving in T-town, Skinner, a Tuscaloosa native, drove through some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the tornado. She noticed that many home-less lots were dotted with beautifully blooming flower beds. The residents and their homes were gone, but flowers planted years before still bloomed. She reminded us that God’s word will be like those perennial flowers to us. Plant it deep, and the Holy Spirit will bring it up when it’s needed.

It was a nice way to spend a Saturday with my girls.

(I took this picture on a hike through Oak Mountain State Park, May 2011, when the Hollingsworths and Wiggins went camping to take a break from Tuscaloosa.)