Reflections on March Dreams and Goals

 

            As we wrap up March today, I am grateful for all we were able to accomplish in one little month! I’m also grateful that beyond accomplishments, we were able to get some much-needed rest. Prioritizing work and rest equally has been a game-changer. Let’s continue with that!

            Here are some updates on my goals for this month.

ONE. Finish unpacking. This is done in the spirit in which I wrote it. I don’t know that I said so specifically, but my goal was to unpack the house. We do still have boxes of things to sort through for the garage/storage/upcoming garage sale, but the house itself is unpacked and organized. The last room we finished was our guest room, and we both commented after that was done how much its chaos had affected us – and we didn’t even realize it until it was cleaned up! As the weather gets warmer and we have some free time, we’ll continue organizing the rest. But we are grateful to have the house assembled – even down to most of the art on the wall!

TWO. Figure out new daily rhythms. We made progress here! Having a time change wrapped up in this month did not help any kind of rhythm-setting, but we did make good progress in understanding what our days need to look like. We’ve figured out when we should get up, how long it takes us to drive to various destinations from here, and how our evenings now look. We’ll continue to work this out as we go along through the summer, but It’s been a good transition so far.

THREE. Host our first overnight guests. Done! And you already read about it. But I will say for the purposes of documentation that it was a joy to open up this new space to overnight guests and learn more about how that looks and works here. We loved it. We can’t wait to do more of it!

FOUR. Complete my writing projects. I had a burst of creativity at the start of the month and wrote the project for our church’s Good Friday service. It was meaningful to me to learn as I went, and I hope it’s a good fit for the service! I also finished the other project I was assigned for the month, and I felt it went as well as it could have. It involved grant proposals, and it was so helpful to see what I’d learned in my classes come into play in that adventure.

FIVE. Finish preparing and presenting my retreat material. I found out after the month started that the organizers made a schedule change, and I was only going to speak twice instead of three times. I had to scurry to restructure my talks to include all the information in less time, but I did it! I also put together my power point ahead of schedule. It’s one of my favorite things to do. The week of the retreat, we had to make some last-minute changes that meant Ryan couldn’t go with me, and that was really sad, but the retreat itself went well! I’m trusting God to carry the message forward however He sees fit!

SIX. Fix the roof. As you might remember, though our roof passed inspection when we bought the house, that information turned out to be inaccurate, and we were in need of some major repairs. Estimates took longer than planned, but we found a place we trusted and although they originally said it would be several weeks before they could get to us, they moved us up in line (because of the leak) and the roof is FIXED! Praising the Lord for that swift answer to prayer!

Other items checked off the list:

·        *   I finished reading Devotedly and moved on to another book on my reading challenge list – On Writing by Stephen King. I also read two books for work that were not part of my personal reading plan for the year, but I learned good skills from them! I wrapped up the month by reading Becoming Free Indeed by Jinger Duggar Vuolo, and I’ll be sharing my thoughts on that book soon. (This brings my total books read this year to eight. That might not be much for some of you, but for me in the busyness of life recently, this is huge!)

·        *   I completed a project related to my job that was a lot of fun to put together!

·        *   Ryan and I co-taught our Sunday School class one Sunday. It was fun to fill in and serve together in that way. Haven’t done that for a few years!

·       *    I did some editing on my website – it was long overdue! I also did some personal writing that I really enjoyed.

·      *     I had to find a new person to do my hair, which was so hard. I love, love, love the person I’ve been going to since we moved, but she only works during the daytime, so now that I have standard work hours, I can’t go to her anymore. I was able to find someone taking new clients, and I’ll be seeing her soon. Finding a good hair stylist is always a task! Also a task? This mop I’ll be taking to her for some help! I haven’t had a cut or color since November, so I’m kind of a mess.

·       *    I ordered an Easter dress. We will see if it fits or looks awkward. I tried to leave enough time for getting a different one if needed.

That’s been March in Shafferland. How did your March goals go for you?

Organizing the Calendar

 

            If you’ve been here long, you know I’m a paper planner girl through and through. I love paper planners just like I love paper books. I have (and use) an electronic calendar for work, and I can love that one too, but for our everyday life at home, it’s paper all the way.

            The other day, a friend of mine (and mom of three) asked on Facebook how people organized their family calendars, because she was struggling to find the right method for her own family. I didn’t feel qualified to answer her since I have zero children, but it made me think that perhaps one or two of you could use calendar organizing tips – whether your calendar is paper or electronic.

            I found the planner that works best for me (in this season of life anyway) last summer. It’s called The Prayerful Planner, and I use the undated version, because I started my planner journey in June, and they don’t make a mid-year pre-dated version. I actually just ordered my next planner yesterday, because I need to start filling it in! The beauty of ordering mid-year from this company is getting to order clearance planners before new patterns release. If you’re ordering an undated planner, clearance is life. You can still use the whole thing and pay less for it! WIN!!!

            This planner has a number of features beyond a calendar, and I won’t dive into those today, but they exist! (I can talk about them in a later post if any of you want to hear more.)

            One thing the planner offers that I must have in any planner is a month-at-a-glance page. Here are the things I list on that 2-page spread.

·       *    I write in birthdays and anniversaries in dark green ink at the bottom of the squares. Ideally this helps me not miss any greetings, but it still happens.

·      *     I write in holidays (major ones) in dark blue ink at the bottom of the squares. This helps me know how to plan around those days. (For example, I know not to over-fill Easter weekend, because we’ll have a Good Friday service to attend and I’ll need to spend some time baking for Sunday.)

·       *    I put a little pink heart and the number of our monthiversary on the top of the 2^nd day of each month. I never forget the day, but now that we’re in triple digits, this helps me remember what month we’re celebrating. If you’re not a monthiversary person, you could do something similar to keep track of baby month birthdays or any other such milestone.

·     *      Anything that involves the two of us and regular life gets written in hot pink pen. I go ahead and pre-fill things that happen on the regular, like our commitment to volunteer at church, small group gatherings, Lexi’s grooming and monthly medications, etc. That way I don’t forget the big, regular stuff. I add in other commitments as they pop up: meetings, appointments, dates, etc.

·      *    My speaking engagements are added in light green.

·      *     Ryan’s work-related events are in orange and mine are in purple. I don’t write in every appointment we have on every single day, but if we have something unusual, I put it in our planner.

Using different colors helps me quickly see how busy we both are, or if most things fall only to one of us in any given month. If I start to see too much color (of any kind) spilling over, I know it’s time to pull back on adding in extra things. If the pages seem pretty blank, I know it’s a good time to consider hosting company or going on an out-of-town adventure.

We also have a chalkboard calendar that hangs in our home – in our command center. I found it at a garage sale a couple of years ago, and it serves as our family calendar. I put the schedule basics on it (no birthdays or anything like that) so Ryan can also see what’s coming up. On this calendar, I also write in our trash days, so we don’t forget to put that out for pickup. While he has full access to my planner at any time, he typically doesn’t dig through it, so he really likes having the chalkboard calendar visible and updated for his own information. At the end of every month, I just wipe it off and refill it with the next month’s information.

This method works for our little family. Maybe you need something different if you’re managing more schedules, but this is our organization method. We aren’t perfect and still sometimes overbook or miss something if I fail to get it on the calendar, but for the most part, this keeps us right in line!

Perfectly Imperfect

 

Our little godson had a birthday recently, and his mom texted me on the big day, disappointed in herself that she wasn’t able to have a grand party for him. She’s just about to give birth again, and this has not been an easy pregnancy for her. We had planned to see them this past weekend and celebrate his birthday, but she was in the hospital, so we postponed it until she’s feeling better.

            Though I’m not a mom, I can imagine I would feel really sad if I couldn't give my child the birthday celebration I wanted to give – regardless of the reason. I mean, I remember the year I had to redo my whole plan for Ryan’s birthday, just because of the weather. That was disappointing enough, and he didn’t even mind the change in plans! He still had a fun birthday, and he still felt loved and celebrated. That was what mattered most, and that was what I reminded the birthday boy's mama this week. Her son is still little. All he wants is to have a fun day with some treats. 

            We’ve taught ourselves (or maybe social media has taught us) that everything has to be perfect all the time, and it just doesn’t. Oh, the freedom we could enjoy if we truly embraced that.

            I’ve been working to learn that imperfect is still beautiful. I’ve also been working to remind myself of my sources. WHO said something wasn’t perfect? Does that source even matter?

            When we moved to this home, we were able to bring with us all the curtains we have used in our last two houses. Even though our windows have been different sizes every time, the curtains still work, which I find to be a lovely blessing. There was, however, an extra window in this house, so we got some curtains for it, and they were a little shorter than I wanted. I remember the day we hung them up, and I was disappointed to see how short they hung from the rod above. Unfortunately, in that pattern, the ones we chose were the longest option, and I really, really loved the pattern.

            I ultimately decided to use them even though they were “too short.” Maybe professional decorators would feel a little sick walking in and seeing them in all their highwater glory, but you know what? We love them. I don’t even see the “too short” anymore when I look at the room. They might be imperfect from a designer’s perspective, but we love them. And this is our home. Our space. It matters that it fits us, not a magazine. 

            I've said it here in this space before, but I think we can all use the reminder today. We don’t live in a perfect world. We don’t always respond perfectly when people hurt our feelings. We don’t always have great hair days. The lawn doesn’t always look like a golf course, the car can sometimes use a good wash, cakes can turn out a little lopsided, and we might forget an important date now and then.

            It’s okay.

            It’s okay to be perfectly imperfect.

Unlocking the Inner Artist

 

My friend Amber is an extraordinary artist. She was born with more talent than I’ve ever seen squeezed into one artist, and she has used it well all her life. You’ve seen some of her work on the blog throughout the years. She’s done some pieces for us, and each one is so dear to me. They are not only well done, but they hold the sentimental value of her talent behind them.

            I remember back in elementary school, trying to keep up with her artistic talent. I knew I couldn’t sing or play instruments well. In our school, the only three perceived talents were band, art, and choir. Since I knew I was out on band and choir, I had to make it as an artist. I had to. So I stuck as close to Amber as I could and pretended I was great.

            I was okay.

            I could have been much worse, I suppose. I think back over some of my projects and realize they really weren’t terrible. But when you’re in the company of artists like Amber, mediocre talent looks a little worse than mediocre.

            I finally made peace with the truth that I would never be an Amber-level artist. Instead, I decided to be crazy grateful that I can enjoy her art on the regular!

            But I also learned that art isn’t only found in pottery, painting, and print-making.

            My art takes other forms – like photography and writing. They are different kinds of art, but they can be beautiful in their own way. And my talents are more in line with those genres than anything involving a paintbrush.

            Amber and I have found ways to encourage each other in our respective forms of art. I appreciate the way she has championed my writing, speaking, and photo album creation. And I will always support her in the things she makes!

            I have friends who decorate cookies, which is a beautiful form of art I will never be able to master. (But I can eat the cookies!) I have friends who sing and play beautifully, and I’ll listen any chance I get. I have friends who can build things from nothing, and it fascinates me.

            I’m grateful I unlocked my own, unique inner artist. I don’t have the talents my friends have, but mine still matter. I’m grateful my friends have unlocked their own, unique inner artists, and it’s my joy to champion them.

            We don’t all have to match, but we can all celebrate each other!

Finding Joy in the Journey

 

            This past Saturday, I had the privilege of speaking at a women’s retreat, marking my first speaking engagement of 2023. I’ve shared with this group three times before, and the ladies have come to be friends I care about deeply and enjoy keeping up with throughout the year, through social media and email. It’s been fun to watch them grow and change in their faith and in life, too.

            This year, Ryan wasn’t able to go with me, which made my heart sad. Because we don’t have children, we lost sight of the timing of this retreat in relation to our local spring breaks, and by the time we asked about a spot for Lexi to be boarded for the day, the place was full. The weather forecast wasn’t great either, so we wanted to make sure Ryan could have an eye on the roof, just in case of a leak. So he stayed home, and I went alone. (The ladies missed him so much!)

            This retreat is always held at our beloved Lake Webster, where Ryan’s family has a cottage, so it was a delight to say hello to it for the day. (It was cold and rainy there, but that lake always brings back great memories of pivotal moments with the Lord.

            This year, the theme was “Finding Joy in Your Journey,” and as usual, I learned so much and found deep conviction in the message as I prepared it. The Lord most certainly used this theme to do a work in my own heart, and I prayed hard that the depth of those lessons would translate as I shared the messages.

            I did have a speaker-first this weekend! The sound system in the venue was broken, so I didn’t have a microphone. I had to try to ration my voice but yell as much as possible to be heard in the back.

            I’m grateful for this group and their trust in my ability to prepare sessions for them. I’m grateful for the friendships that have formed and grown over the years I’ve shared. I’m grateful for the lessons God has taught my own heart as I’ve prepared.

        And I'm grateful the worst of the wind held off until I got BACK in the car to come home. This was when I shut the door behind me!

Sunday Sentiments: Just Ask

 

Earlier this week, I shared about the hymn “Go Ask.” Today’s post may have a similar title, but it’s a different topic.

            I’ve been convicted lately about slacking in my prayer life, so I’ve worked to be more purposeful about it throughout the day. My days, since I work remotely, are regularly an ongoing (and sometimes audible) conversation with the Lord. I go about my responsibilities and pray as things come to mind, but I was missing key elements in prayer.

            Confession? Examining the parts of my own heart that are in need of work? Not my favorite. But I still need to spend time there. Praise? I’m really good at thanking God, but pausing for praise that is just focused on Who God is aside from all He does? I’m not always great at that either.

            And praying for people who really get on my nerves? Gulp.

            Thankfully God sends friends who remind me of things I forget/lose sight of/ignore completely.

            I emailed my friend Michele this week and told her a story about a person we’d run into whose behavior was out of line. I was frustrated, and if you knew the whole story, you’d probably agree that the whole thing was uncalled for. Michele didn’t deny that.

            But she did encourage me to pray for him. She said the power of prayer is undeniable and if I would commit to praying for him…who knows? Maybe down the road, we’ll see an entirely different person than the one we encountered this week.

            I think my reaction to that advice was a combination of conviction and ICK!!!!! She’s right. She’s absolutely right. It was okay for me to be annoyed by the situation, but my job now is to take an active role in praying forward. It’s not about praying that he’ll be put in his place for what he did, but praying over his life, even though I have no clue what’s happening in his world.

            Maybe it will change him. Maybe it will change me. Maybe it will change us both.

            But I don’t know unless I…just ask.

Saturday Suggestions

Happy Saturday, my friends! Is it rainy - or maybe even snowy - where you are? If so, I hope you get to enjoy a safe and cozy day at home. And if you need some ideas to pass the time, I'm here to help! 

ONE. 

This has nothing to do with anything in the rest of the world, but it made me laugh so hard, because THIS is a picture of what it’s like to be in the car with Ryan and Bekah. Ryan? This one’s for you. (By the way, I accept this about myself, count it as a strength, and am unlikely to change.)

TWO. 

One of the pitfalls of working from home is the tendency to get quite lazy about appearance. It’s simultaneously a perk of the job, if the day doesn’t contain meetings, but it can be a pitfall. I’m working to learn a bit more about simple makeup techniques so I can look my best with minimal effort and supplies. Eyebrows are a whole topic, but I found this video a few days ago that I thought gave good advice without relying on laborious solutions. Maybe someday I’ll do an eyebrows post. I’m not an expert, but it could be fun to talk about. Meanwhile, learn from someone who knows; watch the video!

THREE. 

Yesterday I talked about shredding junk mail that had identifying information on it, which reminded me I should tell you about these nifty little things. My sister gifted us these when we lived in Kokomo, and they are still going strong, so they seem to have a great life! I think she’d seen them on TV, and when she gave them to us, we’d never heard of them. They’re little stamp rollers that you run over your address so you can toss envelopes. This is great if you don’t have a shredder or whatever you need to project won’t go through a shredder (like a bubble mailer or cardboard box.) We have used these ALL THE TIME since she gave them to us, and they’ve been a game changer. (For reference, we have two and they’re both still full of ink!)

FOUR. 

I also told you this week about the doggy diaper bag I made using a backpack I no longer needed for its original purpose. What we have works great, and we already owned it so that was a bonus. But if you have or are getting a dog and you don’t have a random bag ready to assume the purpose, here is an idea for an actual dog bag. It comes with some of the supplies for holding food/water/poop bags, and that is a bonus!

FIVE. 

When my sister was here earlier this week, she was excited to find I had our electric blanket out and ready for her. Nita gave me that blanket not long after Ryan and I were married – back when we lived in Marion and our house wasn’t the warmest in the world in the cold of winter. It was such a thoughtful and practical gift, and I loved it! I still use it, but all of our houses since have been much warmer, so I don’t get as cold as I used to! But I have learned that having an electric blanket in my throw blanket stash is one of the best hospitality moves ever. When we hosted small group every other week, I always had someone who was cold-blooded and wanted that blanket. When we worked at WillowBridge, one of our coworkers was always cold and when we had staff meetings in our apartment, she went straight for the blanket every time. When we have other guests over, I bring it out as an option if we’re going to watch a movie, and it almost always finds a friend. So even if you aren’t cold-blooded, this is a great way to show love to your freezing friends!

SIX.

I’ve already been trying to figure out my outdoor plant game for this house. We have the most adorable built-in planter box on the north side of the house, so I did some hunting for ideas of plants that would work well in that spot. I found this article and am so excited to see how it looks when it all fills out throughout the summer. I’m also trying to figure out where to put our other planters and what to put inside. The outside of the house is cute as it is, but it’s all very bare right now. I’m envisioning how it will come to life when our porch furniture is out and plants are blooming!

Celebrating a Lighter Load: The Pursuit of Decluttering

 

Back in January, I shared some decluttering ideas inspired by this list. Apparently, in the move of February, I failed to return to that list, but here we are in March, and I am desperate for spring to show up to STAY. If committing to spring cleaning will lure it here, I’ll commit!

            So as we head into a weekend, I thought I’d throw out some more decluttering ideas. If you  have some time, maybe you can make things a little less chaotic around your home or in your life.

1.   Cords/chargers that don’t work or you aren’t sure what they fit. Anyone else have a technology graveyard in their home? We actually eliminated this from our house a few years ago when I found a travel charger bag online and gave it to Ryan for some occasion. (Birthday? Christmas? Easter? I don’t remember.) It’s true that we really do have a bag for everything. This bag was a game-changer for us. I am pretty sure this is the link to the bag I purchased. If it wasn’t this one, it was very similar. There are compartments and holders inside, and you can organize all your device chargers and even add external portable chargers for when you aren’t near a plug. If you need something, you know just where to find it, and if you are getting ready to travel, you can throw this bag in your luggage and know you’ll have all the chargers you need while you’re on your trip! But even if you don’t make a bag for it, it’s always a good idea to throw out chargers and cords that don’t work or don’t fit!

2.   Supplies for hobbies you no longer do. Some of you who have read here for many years remember that shortly after college, I was a consultant for a rubber stamp company and had a huge collection of stamps. I used them in card making and scrapbooking. After my breakup in 2010, I didn’t have the stamina for hobbies. I barely had the stamina for life. And then I started commuting and working in radio, and free time in general was a thing of the past. Eventually, after Ryan and I got married, I determined this hobby was a has-been for me. It served me well for the years I did it, and I would not change a thing about it. But when I realized I wasn’t going back to it, I sold all my supplies to crafters who loved new-to-them treasures. If you have half-used hobby supplies, maybe spring is a good time to let them go to a new home!

3.   Manuals for items you no longer own. Ryan and I keep all our appliance (etc.) manuals in a tub, which I’m sure shocks you to your very core, and periodically we pilfer through to toss anything we don’t have anymore. If we sell something, we include the manual, but if something breaks or dies and we have to throw it away, we don’t usually think to purge the manual, too. It’s good to make sure everything you have matches everything you have!

4.   Mail purge! Junk mail, catalogs, coupons…they pile up. This is one area where we always resolve to do well and then usually fail. We have a mail basket, and we say we won’t put anything in it unless it matters, but the day always comes when we check the mail in a hurry and throw everything in the basket, and so the pile begins again. Go through and toss (being careful to shred anything with identifying information on it) anything that you don’t need or that is outdated. Maybe you’ll find a gift card or another fun treasure hiding in all the BLAH.

5.   Any winter wear you don’t wear. Bring spring!! If you have coats/hats/gloves/scarves/boots/winter clothing that didn’t get worn this past year – or that doesn’t fit anymore – now’s the time to let it go. It may be past the prime for this window, but it IS possible that if you have something you need to replace, like a winter coat, you might find something on a great clearance right now.

Happy spring cleaning!

Doggy Diaper Bag

 

A couple of years ago, I shared a post about our mobile medicine bag, and I heard from some of you that you really liked the idea and were going to make one of your own! We still use ours all the time, and it has been a wonderful way for us to corral our little stash over over-the-counter meds and have them ready to go on the road with us at a moment’s notice.

            Earlier this week, I rifled through our doggy diaper bag and that reminded me I haven’t told you about that idea!

            Back when I worked at WBCL, one of my coworkers told me she was selling a backpack she had used as a diaper bag for her little girl. The layout of the bag ended up not being exactly what she needed, but the bag was almost brand new, so she planned to sell it. She told me about it because the bag was designed to serve multiple purposes including hauling cameras. She knew I loved my cameras, so she thought it might be helpful for me.

            I purchased it from her and for several years, it served as my main camera bag. It held cameras, lenses, batteries, all of it. But after Nita died, I inherited her beautiful camera bag and didn’t need the backpack anymore. I was just about to put it in a garage sale when we brought Lexi home.

            That’s when I decided to turn it into a doggy diaper bag to hold all her earthly possessions.

            Lest you think I’m “that” dog mom, allow me to clarify the purpose of the bag. We do not carry this bag with us every time we leave the house for a walk. We have a tiny cross-body bag that holds poop bags, treats, and has some extra room for keys/phone/etc.

            But the doggy diaper bag has been a great way for us to keep anything that belongs to Lexi corralled in one spot. If we need something, we know exactly where to find it, and if we’re going somewhere for the day, that bag holds all we need. All we have to add is fresh food and treats!

Inside you’ll find:

·         Extra rolls of poop bags

·         All her bandanas

·         Medicine dropper

·         Extra collar

·         Extra leash

·         Her life jacket

·         Collapsible water bowl/food dish

·         Divided cup to hold water/food

·         Grooming supplies

The bag hangs in a closet, so we know exactly where to find it, and whenever we need something that belongs to her, we know it’s inside that bag. If we head out on a trip, it makes packing for her so much faster.

I’ve learned that having bags like this to contain a specific type of belongings really works well for ease of storage and packing. I will probably make a few more bags as I go along and find common items that fit neatly into such a bag. But if you have a dog, maybe this can help you keep track of all the supplies!

Celebrating Hospitality

 

Last weekend, we had the chance to welcome our first overnight guests here in the lake house. The day of their visit marked one month since our moving day, and we were so glad our weather this past Saturday was not the weather of our moving day. We woke up to snow! (That had not been in any forecast, so our part of the state was full of many surprised people!)

            Ryan and I had a goal of getting the house unpacked and assembled before entertaining our first guests, and for the most part, we did it. We have some random wall art that hasn’t found a permanent home yet, and we have much to sort through in the garage, but all the regular, everyday items have found a place to live, and the place feels like home.

            Our guests were my sister and brother-in-law. They did a quick trip to Indiana to see family and then hurried back home to their own responsibilities. We haven’t seen them since last August, so it was fun to get to see them in person!

            Lexi shared her room, which meant she had a slumber party in the living room while they were here. (If you’ve seen the Andy Griffith episode where Opie talks about getting to sleep on the ironing board between two chairs so a guest can have his bed, you’ll understand what we meant when we told Lexi she was going to have “Adventure sleeping.” And no, she did not sleep on an ironing board. I don’t even own an ironing board.)

            We loved welcoming Lori and Jeff into our home and showing them in person all the things they’ve seen in pictures and on Marco Polo for the last several months. It was fun to see them put the pieces together in their minds as they walked around and looked over the views.

            For dinner that night, Ryan grilled, and we sat around the table for what felt like hours, eating and telling all kinds of stories. Multiple times during that meal, my heart smiled with the joy of experiencing fellowship in our home. It’s never mattered which home we’ve lived in. Fellowship in the walls has always been a highlight. To experience it here for the first time was a blessing beyond words.

            After dinner, we moved to the living room. We turned up the fireplace, passed around the throw blankets, and settled in to talk some more and watch the end of a movie on TV.

            The next morning, we were able to take them to church with us and let them see where we worship. I loved it that they were able to hear our pastor preach and meet some of the friends who have become so dear to us in the last year.

            We came home and had chili together before they had to get on the road to travel back toward home. It was a quick visit, but it was a joy for us. This house is small and cozy – but it holds plenty of space for memory making! We are grateful for the chance to share it.

Hymns: Go Ask

 

            I love all the sermons our pastor preaches, but this past Sunday’s was just extra in all the best ways. He preached about the man who had been born blind, and after Jesus healed him, the teachers of the law wanted to know who had sinned that caused him to be blind in the first place. They kept peppering the poor guy with questions about his healing.

            How did it happen? How? How? HOW?

            The man got fed up with the questions and reminded them that he had already answered all their questions…why did they want him to go over it all again?

            I leaned over to Ryan in church and told him the Gaithers had a great song about this, and I couldn’t wait to play it for him.

            I listened to it so many times throughout the day yesterday and was so glad to be reminded of it on Sunday so I could fill my mind with its words of truth.

            You can listen to it here, but the song begins with these words: Don’t ask me to explain to you how one could start again, or hardened hearts could soften like a child. Don’t ask me how to reason out the mysteries of life or how to face its problems with a smile.”

A bit later, it says Go ask the one whose burned out mind has been restored – I think you’ll find your questions not important as before. Don’t ask me if He’s good or bad, I only know the guilt I had is gone, and I can’t tell you any more.

            The song ends with the part about the blind man: I don’t pretend to be so wise; I only know He touched my eyes and nothing else will ever be the same.

            Oh, how we love answers. Reasons. Explanations. But sometimes those things just don’t exist. And sometimes – especially when it comes to how God works in our lives – the reasons, explanations and answers don’t even matter. It doesn’t matter why or how. It only matters that He did.

            What do we even truly gain by knowing all the details? If you're blind and you can see again, does it matter how God did it? Does it matter why? Or does it simply matter that you can see? 

            Mystery isn’t all bad. What if we were content to just trust that the answers aren’t as important as before? What if we were content to simply know Who He is and what He’s done?

Bekah's Bookshelf: My 2023 Reads So Far

 

            I am excited to report that I have read something from a book every single day in 2023. Some days, I’ve had time to read multiple chapters (and once, even a full book!). Other days, I can only squeeze in a couple of pages, but I’ve still read something every day.

            Since I last shared my reading updates with you, I’ve completed two more books, and I wanted to tell you about them. The first was a pick from my 2023 reading challenge, and it fulfilled the category Famous Author You’ve Avoided. Typically I avoid for reasons significant to me, so this category was a (good) challenge. I remembered I had on my shelf a book one of my former coworkers gifted to me – and the book is by Stephen King.

            So why have I avoided Stephen King? Usually I don’t read secular authors, and I also heavily avoid anything scary – in books and movies – so he has not been at the top, or even bottom, of my list of authors to read. But back in 2005, one of my coworkers gifted me his little book called On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. She wrote inside the cover, “This is a book on writing. It is not supposed to be a scary book. If it is, give it back. Ha!”

            Why have I owned this book for almost twenty years without reading it? I have no idea. But fortunately for me, this decision allowed me to try out some Stephen King in a non-scary way.

            The book is small in size, so even though it’s almost 300 pages long, it’s not a laborious read. And though I’ve never read anything by Stephen King, I can appreciate that he has been successful in his craft, so it did pique my interest to learn more about his writing journey.

            The first portion of the book is just that – his memoir on becoming a writer. He tells how he learned to love writing as a child, the people who championed him, and how he became successful in the publishing industry. Then the book takes on almost a classroom feel as he shares some of the important techniques of writing. (that tiny section was my least favorite part.) The last portion is a mix of more personal stories and good writing advice from someone who is well-respected in the industry. It feels like eavesdropping on a Q&A on writing – and I enjoyed it.

            Since I’m not a fan of his work (or even familiar with most of his titles), this book didn’t hold fan significance for me. I enjoyed reading his journey as a writer. I always find it interesting to hear how people came into writing. And he did have some great advice that was good for me as a writer – in a continuing-education sort of way. If you’re a huge Stephen King fan, I think you would enjoy the book and getting to learn more of the story behind the writer you love. If you’re a writer, you’ll find good advice within the pages.

            I’m glad I read the book, even though I felt a bit disjointed in my lack of connection to him. He’s rougher than I am, and it shows in his writing, but his core advice is solid. And now I can say I’ve read Stephen King!

***

            The next book I can tell you about was not on my 2023 reading challenge list. It was a book I read for work, but it’s worth sharing about here, so I will. It’s called SmartBrevity, and it’s written by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz, who are the co-creators of Axios and Politico. (I had never heard of them or either of the sites they created.)

            I learned about the book in one of the grant proposal training classes I took earlier this year. I can’t remember if it was recommended by the facilitator or a fellow class member, but I made note of it and my boss had a copy sent my way.

            I read Smart Brevity in one day, because even though it’s about 220 pages long, the books are heavy with graphics, pictures, and wide margins, so it’s an enjoyable and easy read. It teaches readers to say more with less. It’s geared for anyone who writes anything at all – social media posts, emails, speeches, web content, books, grant proposals – ANYTHING.

            It contains fascinating statistics about how much people skim or skip on every platform in every single day. What you write doesn’t matter if people are going to skim right over it, so the book teaches you how to be effective in what you say so you hold the attention of your readers.

            I learned so much from this book. Brevity, as this post shows, is not always my gift, and I know this is an area where I have much growing to do. Most grant proposals are heavily limited on words, so I need to learn to be more powerful with fewer words.

            Ironically, the book contained a chunk of bad language. A book on brevity that contains unnecessary words? Ironic. But that aside, the lessons are worth the read. If I taught a writing class, I would put this on the required reading, because it addresses the world in which we live and the truth of our waning attention spans.

            Even if you don’t like reading, I think you can handle this book. It’s easy material to ingest and the message matters.