What I learned in June

June has come to an end! It was such a good month; I had a great time, tried new things, uncovered new passions, and yes, even learned a little along the way. So here's at least a sampling of what I learned in June!

1. I am not a fan of cold shoulder shirts.

Source

Allow me to immediately follow this by saying I think they look really cute on people, and who knows!? They might even look really cute on me! But I am not a fan of them because I generally balk at anything that falls too far over the trend line. I like to keep my styles (for the most part) simple so I can't look at pictures in ten years and know exactly what year something was taken by the style of the outfit. It's totally personal preference. But it does make it hard to shop, because it seems almost every shirt I like falls into cold shoulder status. (If you do like them, or just clothes in general, click on the "source" under the picture to go to Simply Bliss Boutique. I love those ladies and their clothing boutique even if I'm not wild about cold shoulders!)

2. Your first rib is up by your collarbone.

Did you know this?? (I seriously learned practically nothing in school, so maybe I really did know it at some point and forgot.) I had stopped by Ryan's work one day and he was rubbing his collarbone and complaining of pain. When he came home for lunch, I asked if he felt better and he said yes. His first rib had popped out and his co-worker popped it back in. I was like really!?!?!? thinking he was picking on me. He said, "No really! Your first rib is up there." Stop it. So he got out his phone and found a graphic that proved it. And here all along I thought ribs were just in your torso. (And on menus.)

3. I am obsessed with the website Teachers Pay Teachers.

Yeah, I know, I'm not a teacher. Not in front of a public school classroom, anyway. But I am a teacher in my own way, and I'm definitely a nerd about supplies and such. So when I happened upon Teachers Pay Teachers (which I'd heard of but never visited) I was hooked. HOOKED! I've already made purchases and have a growing wish list. Sigh.

4. I am capable of curling my own hair.

I grew up in the era of good old-fashioned curling irons and (remember these?) HOT ROLLERS! My hair really doesn't handle either one well, but I wondered if a curling wand would work, so I got one for my birthday! I watched a YouTube tutorial and it was really helpful! I am not a pro at it by any means, but I'm getting better every day!

5. We love jar glasses.

At Bre's wedding, the take-home favor was a mason jar that served as the drinking glass for the evening. They had iced tea and lemonade for the reception, and they had a whole hutch full of these jars (and a straw stuck in each one). We brought home a few of the extra and have stopped drinking out of everything else (except coffee mugs, of course).

6. Speaking of teachers (see point #3), I seem to be morphing into one.

This month I started teaching an online workshop about public speaking, and I have had the best time putting together the lesson plans and videos for that. I also spent a couple of hours working with our niece on some photography basics, and I made a whole notebook/photographer-in-training badge for her to accompany that session. I'm writing some adult Bible study curriculum, and I suddenly have all these ideas for other classes, clubs, and workshops. What has become of me?

7. You can buy pre-made kabobs. (This was Ryan's.)

I knew that, but he didn't. So maybe you don't either, and you need me to tell you! When I planned our date inspired by the letter K and we had kabobs for dinner, I decided to buy pre-made ones at the deli rather than buying all the stuff to make my own. Faster and probably cheaper in the long run!

8. We might really want to live in an RV someday!

After touring an RV dealership and checking out the options, we've decided that if we ever decide to hit the open road, we really think we could live in an RV. That would mean selling our house, of course, so it's not likely to happen anytime soon, but we think it would be fun! 

Linking up with Emily Freeman, who host the "What I Learned" series. 

Letter Gifts

Not too long ago, Ryan and I needed to give a birthday gift to a friend of ours, but she's moving. She's already stressing about how to make everything fit in the truck for her move, and it seemed unkind to add one more thing to the pile, no matter how small it might be. So we went with an Amazon card and told her to pick out something fun for the new house as she settled in.

It was practical, but I admit I felt guilty. Now don't get me wrong: I love a gift card. So many of our date nights come from gift cards and we are grateful for them. But I always feel guilty giving a gift card, because I worry it makes me look like I forgot or didn't care and rustled up something quick and generic in the final hours.

(We've all done that for real, too. Let's not pretend we haven't.)

But a few weeks ago, I found a gift idea I loved, and I wanted to share it with you. (I had to hang onto the idea because it was Lynnette's birthday present and I couldn't post about it until she had it.)

A whole booklet full of blank pages with topic prompts to write letters full of memories, dreams, and stories.

Stories that took me back to when I was ten and met this new friend. Memories of the day I realized she really claimed me as her forever friend.

Words of encouragement about why I love her and how she inspires me.

Revelations of lessons I've learned from her.

Reminiscing about our fun adventures...

...and so much more.

I had a great time writing the letters and according to her texts, she loved reading them! I think this is a great gift, and I was excited to find (after checking out their website) that they have many other versions of these cute letter books.

So if you're looking for a good gift idea for the person who doesn't need more stuff, or the person you just want to bless in a different way, I recommend this idea!

(This isn't one of those "they sent me free stuff so I would review it" posts. This was just a fun find in a store that I wanted to pass along to you!)

Mark Lowry Date!

Lest you think I went on a date with Mark Lowry, the title actually means I went on a date with Ryan to see Mark Lowry in concert. (Although in full disclosure, I will confess that back in the day, I had a crush on Mark Lowry. Yes, he is twenty years older.)

My friend Andy runs a promotion company in Marion and he brought Mark to town. Andy knows I'm a fan, so he told me I had to get tickets. He tells me that for all the artists he brings, but Ryan's not huge into southern gospel, so we don't go very often. But Ryan likes Mark, so he said yes to a date!

This concert was back on our old stomping grounds, on the IWU campus! First time Ryan had ever been inside the Performing Arts Center, where I went to chapel all four years of my college career. The balcony was closed, so I couldn't show him my old seat, right in front of the sound booth.

Shout out to our lady between our heads. Don't know her, but heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Mark was hilarious. Like I said in the podcast yesterday, it doesn't matter how much of his material I can quote verbatim, it's all still so funny. And he can get away with crazy amounts of lines that no one else could get away with.

He told the story of his motorcycle accident. One of my favorite stories. (I still say amb-u-lance like he does in that sketch.)

Stan Whitmire travels with Mark, and I could listen to him play the piano all day. And we did get about a 30 minute concert before the concert. It was lovely!

 (I had my good camera and zoom lens with me, but I felt weird pulling out the Bekahrazzi around all the older people in our section. So we just cell phoned it.)

I didn't know most of the songs Mark sang. Apparently I'm behind on his newest stuff. But I enjoyed them!

 One of my favorite Stan songs, which he played that night!

During halftime, while I was devouring my Kind bar to keep myself from passing out, I had the chance to see my friend Karen and her husband Tom! Unfortunately, I failed to get a photo with them, which is a TOTAL BEKAH FAIL. I feel terrible about it!!

So if you would, imagine a photo of Ryan, Bekah, Tom, and Karen!

Date night success! (Even with a photo fail!)

OH! UPDATE! I forgot this originally! This particular day happened to be Mark's birthday, so he had the audience sing to him while he recorded it. Here it is from his Facebook page:

Two Years

The past week provided a lot of great pick-on-Bekah fodder, so we did just that during this week's Spill the Beans. It's okay to laugh at my expense.

Listen here

In other news, yesterday marked two years since I drove away from WBCL for the last time (as an employee, I mean) and I did a little reflecting on what these two years have meant to us. (I wrote a similar post last year, and you can read it here.)

Ryan gave me this piece of wall art on my last day, and it has been a joy to see what it means for us as each day takes us farther from that pivotal, life-altering moment. 

1. We love the calm.

We talk often about the incredible calm that has settled over Shafferland since I stopped working outside the home. We honestly had no idea what to expect when I left the work force. We were both scared to death we wouldn't be able to make ends meet; I can tell you that. And we aren't rich by a long shot. We can't save nearly as much as we could if I did work full time, but we are able to live comfortably, and the stress of trying to manage a household while two people work a lot of hours every week has evaporated entirely. Ryan told me just recently that he thought he would like having me home, but he had no idea he would deeply love it like he does. It may not be the right choice for everyone, and we understand that. But for us, it has been quite freeing, and we do love the calm.

2.  We love being close.

Something we've been able to enjoy for a full year now is being close to Ryan's work. It is wonderful to have him close enough to visit whenever I want. It's wonderful to have two extra hours with him every day. It's wonderful to sleep in a little bit in the morning, because he doesn't have to leave so early to commute. If I'd stayed at the station, this move we made a little over a year ago never could have happened, and this closeness would be just a dream. 

3. We love new opportunities. 

In the past year, I've had the chance to speak several times in several places. I've made new friendships, I've rekindled old friendships, and Ryan says I've grown as a speaker. I know I wouldn't have been able to invest in as many speaking opportunities if I still worked full time. I have also had the chance to do more writing and even a little teaching, and that's been wonderful, too. Exploring new dreams is such fun, and I try to run toward as many as I can!

4. We love being able to tackle the unexpected together.

Of course neither of us expected Ryan's gallcation that came about earlier this year, but I mentioned multiple times throughout that process how grateful I was to be home with him during his recovery. I was free to rearrange my own work to be there for his surgery, to take care of him and cook for him while he was sick and then recovering, and to be able to go to his doctor appointments with him. I remember how much I missed him when I recovered from mine two years ago, so to be able to have that week together was a huge gift.

5. We love our new friendships.  

Moving has taken a toll on our friendships! By that, I mean in the almost five years we've been married, most of our couple-friends moved away. Not all, but most. And then we moved away. It's hard to find new friends that you genuinely click with, right? And we probably still have many friendships to uncover and enjoy. But this new life has allowed us to make new friendships among Ryan's co-workers that we hadn't been able to properly invest in before. We're grateful!


Life in the second year looked really different from life in the first year, but both were equally grand and rich in their fullness. We know that the year ahead will probably look different still, but we are looking forward to seeing what it brings!

Sure, I still miss my station friends, but I don't miss the frantic pace of commuting and long hours away from home. I love the fruit of this new season, still. Grateful. 

The Date Inspired by the Letter K

We are having such fun with our alphabetical dates. We're almost to the halfway point, and I'm enjoying the thrill of looking for unusual (and affordable) things to do on each one. I keep asking Ryan if he's really having fun with them or if this is just one of those things he endures to keep his quirky wife happy. He assures me he's enjoying them. Whew!

So this past Friday night, we tackled the letter K!

Also, I have forgotten which end of the camera to look at. Eyeroll.

We had plans for the evening but needed to have dinner at home before we went out and about, so our dinner was made up of....kabobs!!

I went to the store to get them that afternoon, and it started POURING as soon as I got there. So I hung out in the parking lot for a while seeing if it would possibly let up.

 But anyway. Got the kabobs and grilled them on our little panini maker. They were done in no time!

I had chicken and he had beef. They were really good. I love the way kabobs are a meal all in one! Veggies and meat: DONE!

After we ate, we headed out to our next adventure: a KIDDO'S birthday party. Our friends that we double date with a lot were celebrating their daughter's second birthday, so we went over to be part of the festivities. It was a unicorn themed party, and since they are fabulous cooks, the food was both cute and delicious.

We had several errands to run that we needed to do that night, since we were busy the rest of the weekend, so while we ran to and fro, we added in some car KARAOKE.

 And of course, no date inspired by the letter K is complete without a little kissing! There is a picture of that, but maybe that's not your favorite thing to look at, so I'll spare you. This time. :)

Fun night! The letter L date is up shortly, and I'm excited for it. I think Ryan will be too. He doesn't know yet what it is! :)

(All the rest are here.)

The Shafferland Shuffle

Heads up! THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF JUNE! What in the world!?!? Not sure how this month flew by at such a high rate of speed, but it did! Enjoy the week! :)

* Last Sunday was Father's Day, and we started the day worshiping with our friends at Hemlock Friends (see how that worked out?) because I shared in their morning worship service. We had a Father's Day celebration with Ryan's family, but my parents come to it, too, so we got to see them as well! A long, but good day.

* I woke up in Monday with all kinds of something hurting in my back. I don't know if I slept wrong or what, but it hurt to breathe. Ryan ended up working on me later in the day. It hurt, but it felt better later. Apparently, though, by evening, Braeya and I were just done.

* Tuesday morning, we had our wellness screenings. I was not allowed to have coffee before I went (no explanation needed), and I was scared to death I wouldn't make weight. But I did! Whew! We were back at the hospital later that day to visit Ryan's mom (and apparently recreating all those photos from February when BOTH our moms were in the hospital), and then WE GOT TO SEE PHOEBE!!!!!!!  (PS: Ryan's mom was released later in the week.)

 * Ryan got to come home from work just a tiny bit early on Wednesday, so we went for  a walk together. It was so nice! We then undid the walk by baking a razzleberry pie. DON'T TELL. Since all our new appliances were officially installed, Ryan spent the evening cleaning up the old ones so we could sell them. (He is quite thorough. I love him!)

 * Thursday was a terribly normal day at home, filled with chores and laundry and all the stuff that makes terrible blog fodder. But we did get to go out for dinner, so the chef got a break! (And now their cups are the colors of our high school.) I got to hang out with the fab five girls while Ryan did some therapy for their mom. The little one is growing up fast!

* Friday was one of those dreary, rainy days that just makes you want to stay home and sleep. I had to record a video, which required me to do my hair, and then I went out in the rain and lamented how it was going to grow and frizz! Ryan and I had our "K" date that night. It was really fun! Tell you more about it next week.

* Ryan worked yesterday morning, so I worked out on our patio. PERFECT weather for being outside! We went to garage sales in the afternoon, and then last night we went to hear Mark Lowry in concert over in Marion. HILARIOUS!!!! Great end to the week!

The Saturday Six

One.

This week, I had the opportunity to talk to Liz Johnson, the author of the Prince Edward Island Dreams series (among other books)! I read the first two books in the series and told you about them after I read them, and the third book, On Love's Gentle Shore is just about to release! (CANNOT WAIT!!!!) Liz is funny, a great storyteller, so down to earth, and she was so much fun to talk to! Take a listen to our conversation here - and then GO READ THE BOOKS!!! :)

Two.

I know some of you are living in a frustrating season where it seems like God keeps telling you no to everything, or maybe it even feels like he's not listening! Jessica wrote a beautiful post on seasons of no. If that's your season right now, find comfort in her words!

Three.

If your kids are bored ALREADY and you aren't sure how to keep them busy, here are 103 ideas to keep them occupied, surely for a moment or two! (Won't lie: wouldn't mind trying a couple of these myself!)

Four.

When Ryan and I went to Kroger this week to grab a couple of things, we saw a whole display of dishes and other kitchen accessories created with a Mason Jar look. (They were ceramic and different colors, but they had that look about them.) I have scoured the internet and sort of found bits and pieces of the line at different stores, but I can't find a website for the company itself. (Mason Craft and More.) Anyone else have better luck? The line is SO CUTE!!! 

Five. 

I stumbled upon this recipe on Carmella Rayone's blog, and it makes me want to try it. Never had nuts in waffles before, but I think it might be delicious. (I can't skip the syrup though.) 

Six.

Source

 

This week I read a brand new book by an author who is new to me, even though this is not her first book. Carey Scott's Uncommon releases July 1, and I took a sneak peek at it this week.

I chose to read this book because the subtitle said it was about "Pursuing a Life of Passion and Purpose," and right now, my life is in that kind of mode. I have so many dreams and I want to pursue them well, with passion and with purpose, and I thought this might be a good starting point.

I found a number of good and helpful reminders inside, underlined a handful of sentences, but overall, the book just didn't grab me the way I thought it might. I want to be quick to say that the author specifically listed a fear (in her role as a speaker) of misguiding people or unintentionally offering bad theology, and I don't want her to think (if she reads this) that I felt misguided or led astray. It wasn't that. My disconnect from the book was more on a personal preference level.

Carey quoted a lot of Scripture throughout the book, and she provided many examples of women in the Bible who lived an uncommon life. Kudos for those choices! I noticed that almost every Scripture quotation, however, came from The Message, The Voice, or another paraphrase, and that just sat a little funny with me. I have several of those Bibles in my office and love looking at them for a different perspective on phrasing, but I try not to rely on them as my main form of study or teaching, since the translation wording isn't (and doesn't claim to be) precise from original languages. Perhaps you love and use them regularly and it wouldn't bother you, but it did leave me a little uneasy.

Secondly, she used quite a bit of slang throughout the book, and while slang words don't offend me (although I do have a zero tolerance policy for swear words in a book), I just find them a bit out of place when writing about the Lord.

The last thing that I just wasn't sure about was when she listed all the Beatitudes from Matthew 5 (from The Message) and replaced the word "blessed" in each one with "uncommon." For my own preferences, it was a little too much altering of Scripture, though I did understand the point she was trying to make.

Overall, I appreciated the reminder to live an uncommon life, but I found myself a little more distracted throughout the book than I hoped to be. I feel really bad that I didn't love it as much as I hoped I would.

** Barbour provided me with a copy of this book at no cost. All opinions are my own. **

In Honor of This Special Day...

I don't want to give away any secret info or anything, but today is a pretty special birthday for my best friend. Lynnette came into my life when I was ten, through the great wisdom of my sister, and she's stayed ever since, supporting me in every single up and down of my life.

We have kind of a funny friendship in that we have never lived in the same town, attended the same school, or gone to the same church. We met because my brother-in-law was the pastor of the church Lynnette attended as a kid, and my sister thought Lynnette and I would make great friends. She invited us both over to play at her house and BOOM. Friendship born.

I know classic childhood photos of the two of us exist, though neither of our moms could be accused of being a Bekahrazzi. Sadly, I was unable to find any of these gems (you're welcome, Lynnette) so I thought I'd celebrate today with some of the more recent year selections.

ENJOY!!!

First, some photos-of-photos.

My senior year of high school (hello, bangs!) and her freshman year of college. We worked hard to make sure our friendship did not die during that big life change!

Her bridal shower. She's radiant. Don't ask about me. Just don't ask about any of it. 

 Her wedding rehearsal. I had such a killer headache, but I was trying to power through!

 Maid of honor and beautiful bride! (I LOVED the dress I wore in her wedding. It had a tiny little train!)

 Frankenmuth trip. I had apparently eaten a number of frankfurters prior to this weekend. (wide-eyed-emoji-here.)

 Besties!

 My 30th birthday party. She drove a long way after a long day to celebrate with me!

And then she moved to Virginia Beach and we didn't get to see each other too often. But by this time, I had my Bekahrazzi on, so there's a lot more proof of our visits!

My first visit to the ocean, on my 32nd birthday!

And then we spent her 35th enjoying a girls weekend at the Biltmore!

Later that year, Ryan and I got engaged, and Lynnette came home for my bridal shower and bachelorette party!

And then...our wedding weekend!  Mark and Lynnette drove to Florida to stand beside me as I married Ryan.

 Beautiful toast!

And then a couple of months later, they came to Indiana for our reception!

A couple of years ago, we drove out to Virginia Beach and spent a few days with Mark and Lynnette. Had a blast!

I love our friendship! I don't always love the miles between us, but I love the history with this girl, her love for the Lord, her husband, her family, and for me.

Happy birthday, Lynnette! Love you!