OUR STAY AT THE BEATNIK

As summer 2021 was approaching, my husband and I knew we wanted to plan a short weekend getaway just the two of us. After searching for the familiar Gulf Coast beach trip we always take, a friend told us about a tiny hotel, The Beatnik, located in Ocean Springs, MS.

Neither of us had been to Ocean Springs, and after looking at the photos we were sold and booked our stay for June.

One of our favorite things to do is explore a new city together. We enjoyed every minute of learning all that Ocean Springs and The Beatnik had to offer.

DAY ONE

When we arrived in Ocean Springs, our room wasn’t ready yet, giving us plenty of time to explore before we settled in.

We drove in around lunchtime, so after some shopping at Sugar and Spice, a sweet children’s store, we were ready to eat! We decided on a restaurant called Glory Bound Gyro Co. with a line wrapped around the building–and we knew why after our first bite! It was refreshing and delicious and a great start to our trip!

Our room was ready after lunch, so we headed to settle in at The Beatnik. (Most everything is a short drive away, or is easy to bike/walk to depending on what it is.)

I fell in love with our tiny hotel right away. The Beatnik is a set of four individual, private cabins, each with their own screened-in porch overlooking the shared pool space. Its features were so modern and unique–beautiful high ceilings, plenty of natural light, indoor and outdoor shower, cozy reading nook, stocked coffee bar–it was dreamy and just what we needed!

After unpacking and laying by the pool, we headed to Mosaic for dinner and Quakes for some rainy-day milkshakes.

We were exhausted and spent our first evening resting and watching movies in our cozy little cabin for two.

Highlights:

• Glory Bound Gyro Co. (highly recommend the classic gyro)

• Snapping photos of our precious, tiny hotel

• Yummy Quakes milkshakes

DAY TWO

There is a tiny shop called The Greenhouse on Porter located right behind The Beatnik cabins. It takes 30 seconds to walk there, so we woke up and had to pop by to order some to-go biscuits, which were absolutely delicious. (Bonus: If you love to read, there is a Little Free Library right outside the greenhouse for you to browse through!)

We hopped in the car and drove to Bright-Eyed Brewery for some coffee and waffles. Savory biscuits, sweet waffles, local coffee–the perfect way to start the day.

After a rainstorm the previous night, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and have some pool time. The atmosphere was so perfect for reading and sunbathing, and the pool was the perfect temperature for cannonballs!

After getting ready, we wanted to grab a bite and shop. So, we headed to Eat Drink Love for lunch. It was incredible. I think we could have eaten every meal there if we wanted to. It’s charming and quaint and everything on their menu looked divine!

After our bellies were full, it was time to see all the shops that Ocean Springs had to offer. There are two popular streets for shopping: Government Street and Main Street.

My favorite spots were:

• Tribe (clothing boutique)

• Buff City Soap (handmade soaps, lotions, etc.)

• The Candy Cottage (tiny local candy store)

• French Kiss Pastries (great place to grab a coffee and quick dessert)

• Miner’s Toy Shop (adorable children’s toy store)

We definitely shopped til we dropped and wanted some time to rest before dinner, so we went back to The Beatnik for a much-needed nap.

A restaurant called Rooftop Tacos and Tequila caught our eye earlier in the day, so we knew we wanted to go there for dinner. It had two stories and the second story had a balcony with live music. The queso was absolutely incredible and it was a fun place to eat and people-watch.

For dessert, we grabbed popsicles from Pop Brothers, a cute popsicle cart in the street, and headed back to our tiny hotel for another night of movie watching!

Highlights:

• Our sweet and savory, local breakfast

• Enjoying The Beatnik pool

• Stocking up on soaps, candy and trinkets and the local stores

• Queso at Rooftops

• Lavender Honey popsicle

DAY THREE

I woke up and read Harry Potter on the porch while my husband brought back coffee from District Coffee and biscuits from The Greenhouse on Porter. (The biscuits were so good, I had to have them twice. AND they make new flavors every day.)

Sadly, this was our last day since we were just coming for a short weekend trip. We spent the morning packing up and getting ready. Before we headed out of town, we had heard nothing but good things about the TatoNut Shop–fresh, local donuts. Judging by the line wrapped down the block, we knew they would probably be worth the wait. And, they were.

After hopping back into a few stores, we grabbed lunch at Lil’ Market Bagels before heading out of town. We are big bagel fans.

Highlights:

• Reading on the porch

• Biscuits and coffee

• TatoNut glazed donut and milk

Our biggest realization was that this is probably not the place to come for a white-sand, blue-water beach vacation. We were glad our hotel had a pool because we were able to enjoy the summer weather and cool off in the water without needing to go to the beach.

Having said that, we will definitely return one day! Ocean Springs is a quaint little city with lots to offer, and we absolutely loved our stay at The Beatnik–highly recommend!

NOT ALL BAD NEWS

Difficult seasons and seemingly impossible circumstances have existed since time began. They weren’t ever unique to 2020, and yet last year seemed to pack an unusual punch. 

“2020” became an adjective, used to describe any unfortunate situation or circumstance—large or small.

While the world was falling apart, while it seemed to be bad news after bad news, my world for the most part stayed in tact. 

And, we almost made it unscathed. 

Then came December 27, 2020. 

I will never forget the events that took place the day we found out my little brother Bradley passed away. 

A 19-year-old boy, as handsome as could be. 
My brother. 
Gone. 

He was full of joy and life. He loved dirt bikes and his red sports car. His presence would brighten anyone’s day. He had the greatest laugh and the warmest smile. 

That day, I joined a club I never wanted to be a part of. And, I started a journey of grief that I will be on for the rest of my life in some capacity. 

Really, 2020?

A year of bad news, and now the impossible had happened.

I couldn’t scroll through social media. 
I couldn’t read headlines. 
I couldn’t answer the phone. 

Please, please. No more bad news. I can’t physically take it. 

It’s Not All Bad News

Nearly five months in, I am taking my beginning steps on this grief journey. And, in the middle of the deep sorrow and sadness, I have been reminded of a truth I’ve known all along. 

God gives us Good News. 

This truth has become the answer to all the questions I was asking (and continue to ask). 

We were never promised a perfect life–one without suffering or hardship, without grief or loss. We were never promised a long life–a well-lived 100 years on earth. We were never promised a healthy life–one without injury or illness, without disability or disease. 

When our world is shattered with suffering, we are shocked. Nothing makes sense. Our grip on reality has been shaken. Yet, when we read God’s Word, we are reminded that we live in a fallen world. A world riddled with sin. A world where we should actually expect trials and suffering because of the nature and depravity of man.

“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33b

Jesus tells us that we will have tribulations. 

Tribulation: noun – a cause of great trouble or suffering.

We can all fill in the blanks as to what these have been in our lives. 

But, it’s not all bad news.

God Gives us Good News

He doesn’t leave us there in the hopelessness. He tells us to take heart because he has overcome the world. He already conquered sin and death on the cross by sending His Son Jesus to pay the price for sin that we never could.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

He gave us Himself. That is the Good News. 

He is the Answer to all of our pain, hurts, suffering and sin.

In the midst of the bad…

The unbelievable headlines. 
The unwanted diagnosis. 
The unimaginable hurts.
The unexpected loss. 

…there is a good that outweighs it all. 

It’s life. It’s freedom. It’s hope. It’s Jesus. 

If you have questions about salvation, or what it looks like to trust in Christ. Please leave me a comment or reach out to me via Instagram. I would love to talk with you.

A PAINFUL PRESENCE

By: Haley Stricker

I am grieving some loss in my life right now, and I’m hurting. I’m hurting and it’s okay to hurt. I’m reminded in this hurt that pain has the ability to either connect us or reveal the layers forming between us and others. I’m also reminded why therapy exists, and why the power of therapy is really the power of presence.

On this type of presence, Henry Nouwen says, “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain.”

The ministry of presence is often a silent one. It doesn’t take many words or thoughts or even prayers. It doesn’t ask us to know the answers or cures. It asks of us our attunement, our sense of being with rather than doing or fixing or helping.

He goes on to say,

“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”

When we hurt, we are longing for the type of connection that says, “I see you - I see you and I’m not afraid of your pain. I do not hide from your pain but I willingly enter into it and grieve with you.”

This is honestly excruciating. To enter into another’s pain asks us to tap into our own and accept its place in our story. It asks us to feel with another person when many of us have chosen to numb our own emotions. And this is hard work. But we cannot connect with others if we are unable to connect with ourselves. We tend to find ways to minimize our own discomfort around emotions through offering suggestions and advice.

And this makes sense. Often our own painful experiences left us feeling powerless and having something to offer provides a sense of control. Advice allows us to feel stable in the ambiguity of pain.

But as I sit in my own grief, I’m learning that solutions may help me breathe momentarily - but they do not heal the parts of me that are wounded.

C.S. Lewis once prayed, “I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?”

Healing is not the absence of pain but the presence of God in the pit of pain with us. I say pit because grief often feels like a dark and deep well, and it would take too much energy and effort to climb out of that well. And so healing does not ask me to climb out. I can stay and His presence with me is the healing even in the pain. And as we dare to be present with others in their pain, we are doing the work of embodied healing. But this requires our own work. We cannot be present with others if we are incapable of being present with ourselves. We cannot honor others' sadness if we shame ourselves for being sad. We cannot listen without fixing if we must control out of our anxiety.

I often describe the role of a therapist as that of a container. We hold all of the fears, emotions, doubts, losses, and hurts with our clients - not in an effort to take the pain away but sit in it and say, "You're not alone. Even if just for this hour, I am holding this with you." And there is this brief period when the pain is slightly more tolerable - not because it's gone but because there is someone else holding the weight too.

Ministry of presence is a lot like that. It is not pulling others out of their pit but entering into the pit and sitting there with them. The pit is messy because it takes emotional energy to sit there and it brings up things in us that maybe we have buried. But I think our families, friendships, churches, and communities are aching for more of this type of ministry. Most of us are walking around with deep wounds, and if we're honest what we are really longing for is someone to see us in those hurts and choose to sit in them with us. It's a painful kind of presence, but this is the stuff of true connection. And I think its the stuff of true healing too.