Nashville Part II: Becoming Tourists



On Monday, while Carolyn stayed at the conference visiting with sales representatives, Karen, Karla & Krystal toured downtown Nashville. After navigating one way streets to find cheaper parking (always a fun task in cities), the three of us began walking towards Broadway Street. Now, when I say we walked-I mean-we walked everywhere! Karen kept track and we took enough steps in three hours to equal over a mile! It was very hot and muggy in Nashville while we were there-my hands were constantly clammy, I don’t think I could ever get used to that. , Due to the heat, we tried to take breaks in buildings as often as we could. We walked along Broadway Street, looked at souvenir shops and boot shops, walked to the middle of the bridge, and stopped in small stores along the way to the Ryman Auditorium. We definitely got our exercise in-maybe even a little too much! One of the most interesting parts of Broadway Street is as you walk by the restaurants, there is always live music being played in each one! It is interesting to hear bits and pieces of different songs as you walk along the street.




The Ryman Auditorium is chalk full of history-there is no better way to describe it. I am not sure I could even do the history of the Ryman Auditorium justice, but I will try to sum up a little of what we saw and learned. The Ryman Auditorium has a long history of religious meetings, music, conferences, and lectures. Originally the Ryman Auditorium was called the Nashville Tabernacle prior to the name change in 1904. While the Ryman Auditorium has a rich history, it is widely known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. After the Grand Ole Opry left the Ryman, the Ryman Auditorium was left vacant for years before being renovated and restored to its original glory in 1989. Currently the Ryman Auditorium continues to be used for music concerts of all genres on a regular basis!




On Tuesday morning, Karen, Karla & Krystal visited the Belle Meade Plantation. Carolyn visited the plantation on a prior CPE conference. The plantation was a beautiful combination of land and buildings. Although it is in a city, you wouldn’t know it while you are walking around the grounds as they are sheltered from the main road. The guided tour provides a viewing of the house with information about the original owners, the Hardings and their lineage. The fun part is-every boy born or married into the family was called William-so following along proved to be a challenge! But our tour guide kept us on track each time. The Belle Meade Plantation had several profitable industries on sight including a blacksmith shop, dairy, and most famously known for horses. The horses were bred and trained as race horses, and many people from all over the world sent their horses to breed or be trained at Belle Meade’s height. It was a beautiful location to visit and walk around and I would advise visiting the plantation if you are ever in Nashville!




Our final major tourist stop included all four of us at Belmont Mansion. Now for those of you avid fiction readers-if you are familiar with Tamera Alexander-you know that she has written three novels set at Belmont Mansion and three novels set at Belle Meade Plantation. As Carolyn and I have read almost all the books-these have been on our list to visit. (In fact I was incredibly jealous when Carolyn went to Belle Meade before and I couldn’t wait to go). Belmont again was a beautiful building on the outside. Our tour guide took us through the history of the portion of the home we were able to see, which was owned by Nashville’s most prominent woman-Adelicia Acklen. While the tour was very brief, walking around the university grounds was interesting to see what has remained the same (the gazebos are still the originals and the university students still use them to this day!)and what has changed over time.

That concludes the escapades of our trip. It was a whirlwind of a trip, jam-packed with activities. If you want to hear more stories please don’t hesitate to come into the store and ask us or leave a comment below! If you are interested in the places we visited-click on the links throughout the blog. Thanks for sharing in our trip!

BYBTS- Bring Your Bible to School-October 5th!

Hello all! There is an exciting event coming on Thursday called Bring Your Bible to School or as I’ve called it-BYBTS! Spurred by the God’s Not Dead and God’s Not Dead 2 movies in which religion is on attack in schools, Focus on the Family is sponsoring a nation-wide movement to bring bibles to school. And if you enter you can win a trip for FOUR to see NEWSBOYS in concert!


The idea of bibles being kept out of school is very real for me as when I was a high schooler we ran into issues bringing our bibles to school. A small group of us wanted to start a bible study club-we called it BYOB: Bring Your Own Bible. Unfortunately, the school refused to approve the club. While FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) is allowed as it is an after school activity, a bible club during school hours was not. One teacher heard about the issue, and said we could “unofficially” meet in her room. So we started our club and met in secrecy. It felt like we were back in another century meeting in secrecy. In reality, there are many countries where Christianity is still banned and Christians meet in secret and use secret codes to communicate and spread the Gospel.


Our idea to start the bible club came from the fact that several of us students brought our bibles to school to read during the required reading time during study hall. When I first saw a friend with a bible in school, I myself was shocked that it was okay to read a bible during school hours. As I brought my own bible, some students responded as I did, others responded rudely, and yet others did as I did and brought their own to read.

So on Thursday, October 5th-I encourage you to take your bible to school. Even if you aren’t reading your bible during that class-have it setting out on the corner of your desk. It doesn’t matter if you are in elementary school, middle school, high school, or college-bring your bible to class with you and see what kind of conversations or thoughts it may bring about to those around you.Here's a link to some do's and dont's to help you understand the process. For more information check out Bring Your Bible. AND- don’t forget to register to win a trip to a NEWSBOYS Concert!