Pie, it's a delicious treat, but for one woman in Texas, it's an opportunity to build a business and an even better way to build God's kingdom.
Tara Royer Steele's parents were entrepreneurs. In the '80s, her father had lost his job and was offered an opportunity to move to a small town of just 77 to run a cafe.
He packed up his family of six and moved to Round Top, Texas, where they opened up Royers Round Top Cafe and Catering.
"It seated just 11 people. Everything was thrown into a deep fryer, so my dad tweaked the menu," Tara explains. "There were two pies on the menu (when we started). It was the pie that kept us going."
"We now have a cafe with 15-20 pies, a pie shop that mails pies all over the U.S. and a large commercial kitchen where we bake all the pies."
Tara recently stepped away to follow God's new direction in life, and now Tara and her husband own and operate Royers Pie Haven, which she considers her ministry.
"Over the last 33 years in Round Top, I have gone through hard tests & when I truly began to know & understand God and his plan, there was a shift in everything," she explains.
One of the biggest lessons that Tara has learned along the way is to treat her business as a relationship business.
"Everyone needs to work in the relationship business," says Tara. "We can hide behind screens and say whatever, but we want to see people's faces when they walk in the door."
"Someone can walk in the door, and you can pretty easily tell if they're having a bad day. I have this opportunity. We never know whose eyes God is watching us through. We need to be ready."
Tara shares her story in her new book, Eat. Pie. Love: 52 Devotions to Satisfy Your Mind, Body, and Soul.
Today on Connections, Tara shares her story of ups and downs, the inspiration behind her book and how she uses pie to help build relationships and further God's kingdom.