Surprised by Hope, Vivid Hope!

Welcome to Little Dreamer Tent Co.’s very first blog post. My name is Rachel, and this is a story of how Little Dreamer Tent Co. came to life— and also why Refresh and Refresh Girls mean so much to me. My prayer is that this testimony will bless you as much as it did me.

In 2024, I received an unexpected call from my mother-in-law in Florida. She asked if I would be interested in taking over her birthday party tent business. While I hadn’t anticipated her call on that particular morning, I felt a stirring in my spirit. That same evening, I attended the annual Refresh women’s conference, where I had the privilege of leading a table of women for the very first time. Last year marked my fifth year attending this ministry event, and while this is simply one of the countless testimonies I could share, it’s a powerful one— and one that ultimately led me to write this blog post, on my very own business website.

As I reflect back on 2024, I’m not exactly sure what I had anticipated— but in Feb, March and the first part of April, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Lord was calling me to something bigger than myself. I had stepped out of my comfort zone in several ways, and felt ready to take a leap of faith into whatever that “something” was— but due to a couple of unforeseen circumstances, it took a turn, and my eager excitement quickly turned to heartache and grief. On May 31st, we unexpectedly lost my Dad. Losing a parent or loved one is difficult for anyone— and my heart and prayers are most certainly with you if you’re facing this this level of grief (please reach out if you need prayer). My Dad’s passing was on the heels of a relentless two-year battle with stage 4 bladder cancer— and just 3 short months after receiving the news that his scans were completely clear, showing zero signs of cancer. The news that his scans were clear of cancer baffled even the Oncology team, to the point they felt led to admit, with tears in their eyes, they never felt overly confident that this particular treatment would work. This news gave them tremendous hope, not just for my Dad, but other patients as well—which made the loss all the more difficult for everyone, including his Oncology team. Whether they viewed that clear scan as a miracle or medical marvel, we may never know, but it felt clear to me that it was a display of our Fathers unfailing grace in the form of a powerful testimony for all to see— maybe, especially, his doctors.

My Dad didn’t end up passing away from “cancer”, even though that’s what the hospital chose to put on his death certificate. I would imagine this is a level of disappointment one can only grasp when forced to come face to face with it— and it left my mother, sisters, family and I with shattered hearts and a whole lot of questions— but that’s a story for another day.

Rewinding back to the morning of February 9th, there was a lot going on. I was feeling a lot of emotions as my parents drove to UTSW to find out the results of his most recent scan— and in the middle of pleading with God in prayer, I received the call from my Mother-in-law asking if I’d like to take over her Tent business— a decision that would not only require a road trip to Florida to pick them up, but would make me a small business owner. All of this transpired on the exact day that I had been looking forward to for months— Refresh was later that evening as well.

As evening approached, I drove to the Refresh event in Lewisville with a lot on my mind— but as soon as I walked into the venue, I immediately felt an overwhelming sense of peace wash over me. The gorgeously decorated venue was packed with so many beautiful souls, many of which I’ve grown to love. After a few quick hugs, I walked around my table and prayed over each seat by name, and then prepared my heart to welcome the precious women I would be spending the next two days with.

Once everyone had arrived and we spent some time getting to know each other, it was finally time to lean into whatever the Lord had planned for the evening — but I was immediately distracted by something shiny on my thigh. I glanced down to find a fairly large Kendra Scott stud earring sitting right on the top of my leg (so random!). I’d never seen this earing before, so my initial thought was that it must belong to one of the sweet ladies at my table, but no one claimed it. I shared it with a few others before whispering to a dear friend and Refresh leader, Felicia Schmidt, author of the Refresh Girls bible study plan offered on my website— she passed the earing along to the speaker opening the event and she held it up on display for all to see, but nobody came forward to claim it. It still comes up in conversation to this day, and we still have no idea where that earing came from.

After that minor mishap, it was finally time for the first speaker, Taylor Quintini, to kick us off with the very first message of the night. Taylor always brings something so special, so I eagerly leaned in waiting to hear what wisdom she would bring to our hearts— and what happened next stopped me in my tracks. Her entire message was about Missing Earrings and Tents (what? whoa!). She shared a story about a pair of missing diamond earrings that she had received as a gift from her husband— only to later realize she had been wearing them the entire time. I couldn’t get over it— this felt like next level coincidence. I was so distracted by it that my notes consisted of three words— Tents & Missing Earings!

The title of her message was Vivid Hope, and the verse was from Matthew 13:16: “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.”

She so beautifully captured the attention of my heart that evening- which I’ve summarized using her words:

“Vivid Hope requires action. It is not apathetic. We must turn to Jesus in our hopelessness and TRUST that He WILL save us. Our dull hearts can be awakened to a vivid hope IF we turn to Jesus. The action of turning by repenting of sin, complacency, and apathy results in the promise of healing.” ~Taylor Q.

I find it incredibly encouraging that God can literally take the tiniest moment and transform it into a powerful testimony. It’s taken me a year to understand what God was trying to tell me that day— and, as I was writing this post (which was completely unplanned), I went back to see what pieces of that message I may have missed and saw a post from 7/29/24 on instagram: @Refresh_Women

— It was posted a few weeks after my Dad’s service, so I never saw it. It was a quote from Taylor’s message at Refresh:

“It is living a life that does not end in death, but that lives on by bringing the HOPE of Jesus from generation to generation.” ~ Taylor Quintini | Dream Lab ‘24

The scripture shared with it was Romans 15:13: “May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in HOPE.”

I’d been so focused on the tents & earrings, that I never even noticed the title of her message, Vivid Hope— and her timely reminder that we live a life that does not end in death.

And in that moment, it was as if the Lord was giving me a gift, perfectly wrapped up with a beautiful bow on top— My Dad gave me a book for my birthday last April, which was called Surprised by Hope, by N.T. Wright.

On the inside cover he wrote: “Rach, I hope you get as much from reading this book as I did. Happy Birthday. I love you, Dad— “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.” ~1 Corinthians 15:13-14

God works in mysterious ways, but what I’ve come to realize is that when God wants to speak to you, it becomes overwhelmingly obvious, and sometimes he’ll even throw in a little humor— And even through the devastation and grief, I was able to clearly see that He was in fact stirring something inside of my spirit (albeit, not exactly what I thought it would be)— He was holding me close, preparing my heart for something that was going to hurt— with the reassurance of His Love, His presence, His promises, and His “good plans” for my life.

And with that, I was also reminded of the song that I was listening to while in prayer the morning of February 9th: Good Plans - by Red Rock Worship. I’d heard the song so many times before, but for some reason it spoke to me that fateful morning— to the point that I shared it with my sweet friends Kelly & Felicia, and listened to it for the rest of the day, standing on His words and fully believing that we can trust when God says he has Good Plans for us.

Today is January 4th, 2025, and I woke up Surprised by Hope, Vivid Hope.

Thank you Jesus!

Little Dreamer Tent Co.: 2025 Vision

Between the call from my mother-in-law, that prophetic night at Refresh, and the seemingly small gift from my sweet Dad, I feel as if my eyes, ears, and heart have been awakened to all God was preparing me for in 2024. Only He knew what last year would hold for me, and He was orchestrating something so beautiful amidst what I would’ve otherwise perceived as pure pain. Little Dreamer Tent Co. isn’t just a business— it’s an assignment that the Lord, quite literally, placed right in my lap; it’s a reflection of the life God has called me to—a life of creating spaces for connection, joy, and His presence.

"For we know that if the tent, our earthly home, is torn down, we have a building from God—a home not made with human hands, eternal in the heavens." (2 Corinthians 5:1)

The Bible reminds us that we are tent dwellers: and as I was preparing to write that Taylor shared this verse at Refresh last February, it dawned on me that it’s also the same verse that my uncle Tim (my dad’s older brother) shared at his service in June. There truly are no coincidences with God.

Just as the Israelites carried the tabernacle through the wilderness, God now dwells within us through the Holy Spirit. We are His living tabernacles:

“You, sweet daughter, are the hostess of the Most High.” ~Refresh, 2023

A Business Founded on Faith

At Little Dreamer Tent Co., we create spaces for people to gather, celebrate, and dream. Whether it’s a child’s birthday sleepover or a moment of joy with friends, these tents represent more than parties—they represent God’s presence dwelling among us, reminding us of His grace and truth.

You, too, are a hostess of the Most High. Together, let’s create spaces for beauty, connection, and faith.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. Here’s to dreaming big, trusting God, and learning how to steward His presence well in 2025.

With love,
Rachel
Founder, Little Dreamer Tent Co.