Posted on Jun 21, 2013

Barefoot Inspiration

In August of 2011 Robert and I had the privilege of meeting a couple who are an inspiration. Debi & Tom Walter are the hearts behind the blog The Romantic Vineyard – where Debi writes about marriage.

Again this spring, while we were in Orlando, we shared a coffee together. They told us about a venture they were exploring. Since the spring, it’s become a reality.

I’ve been reading as Debi writes posts about their inspiration:

THE BAREFOOT CABIN

Inspiration: a product of creative thinking & work; revolutionary ideas.

One of their first inspirations was to change the name of this vacation get-away in the mountains of North Carolina. They changed it from Bearfoot… to Barefoot! (get it?) Because their marriage ministry is titled “The Romantic Vineyard”, this tied into the idea. Grapes on vines, grapes being stomped… barefoot… and then made into wine. Debi shares a beautiful and inspiring piece of artwork on this first post about their inspiration.

Notice the definition of the value Inspiration…

The value of inspiration is more than creative thinking. It’s also about WORK.

Through the next few blog posts about making The Barefoot Cabin their own, Debi shared the work that needed to be done. And then in the last post she detailed how they’ve s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d during their 3-week marathon in Banner Elk:

We’ve had disagreements over how to accomplish the same goal.

We’ve argued about stupid things.

We’ve complained.

We’ve said things to hurt the other.

We’ve apologized.

We’ve forgiven.

We’ve roasted marshmallows.

We’ve welcomed family and friends to see our progress.

We’ve done life together.

We’ve had our regular date night.

We’ve cried and embraced.

We’ve ascended and descended a ladder so many times that our muscles are screaming to stop!

We’ve covered all the hunter green walls.

We’ve taken lots of pictures!

We’ve actually used a pick ax for the first time to plant several plants given to us by friends and family. This is needed because of the thousands of rocks buried under the soil.

Read more from Debi’s post: The other side of trouble.

Working together isn’t always easy – but it’s always worth the effort.

Moving Forward

Now that Debi & Tom have completed their inspired marathon of making The Barefoot Cabin a place for people to kick off their shoes and feel at home, what’s in store?

(Perhaps some marriage mentoring weekends… 🙂 just a little encouragement Debi & Tom!)

I’m sure it’s going to be an inspiration for many more couples as they visit and explore… take a look and be inspired!

(click here for the link to learn more about renting The Barefoot Cabin)