Valentine's Day Banquet

This week brought another first to Shafferland...our first speaking event of 2020!

Several weeks ago, my friend Sandee told me her church was planning a Valentine's Day banquet for their people, and she wanted to know if Ryan and I would come to share a short talk with them. Well, of course! Anytime we get to speak together, we jump at the chance! 

The theme for the evening was "God's Sweethearts," and it wasn't just a couples-oriented evening. We set out to talk about showing God's love to those around us! 

The day of the banquet, we got a little dose of Indiana winter smack in the middle of the afternoon. It started with huge snowflakes that fell all snow-globey for a while and then the snow gave way to rain. Lots and lots of rain. I checked to make sure we were still on for the evening, and Sandee assured me we were. The caterers had already made the food, so everyone would just drive carefully and the banquet would go forward as scheduled! 

I was so glad to have a chauffeur! (Did I mention the church was out in the country? Back roads for the win!)

Normally I try to get a picture of the church sign whenever I speak somewhere, but it was just so gross outside when we arrived that I skipped photography attempts and went straight to the front door.

The committee in charge of the evening had worked hard to make the room absolutely beautiful! White tablecloths, candles, chocolates scattered around...beautiful!

Ryan and I got this selfie together, and it ended up being the only picture we have of ourselves for the whole evening! (I asked Sandee to take pictures for us while we spoke, and she said she would, but she got so engrossed in what we were saying that she completely forgot! I guess that's good, right?)

Dinner was so good! We were given a choice between ribs and lasagna. Ryan chose ribs, and I chose lasagna. We couldn't even eat half of what we were given, but that made for a great lunch the next day!

(The cheesecake in the earlier picture was magnificent, too!)

It was so much fun to see everyone engaged in conversation and enjoying themselves throughout dinner! We've spoken at other events at this church, so we know a handful of the people and it was just a joy to see them having a great time.

Before we spoke, a local singer shared some music, and even though I knew exactly ONE song that he sang, I thoroughly enjoyed him! He did a lot of oldies and had a great voice. 

And then we spoke! It wasn't a long talk, but we had great feedback on it, and we so appreciated Ryan's voice holding out long enough for him to talk. (That cold he promised to get rid of in one solid day last Monday is still here.)

It was a great night - and a safe drive home! Thanks, Sandee, for inviting us to be part of your event!