Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

                Today we come to the end of the longest short month ever! I am thankful for this month and all we’ve made our way through, but I don’t think I want to live it all over again.

                As we bid farewell to February, here are some adventures for you to explore! Enjoy!

A few weeks ago, we were invited to have dinner at the home of some people from our church. They designed and built their own home and I won’t even lie about drooling allllll the way through it. It was absolutely stunning. One of the things I loved so much was their dining room table, which they built themselves from a live edge slab of wood. It made me want to build a table for our house! I mean…how many people can say they’ve done that? And while this is not a live edge table, it’s a beautiful, storied, weathered table, and I think it would be lovely in our home, too. Hey Ryan! Want to build a table? 😊

I’ve shared Megan’s posts on these roundups many times. Her husband is in the military, so they move often, but she remains my favorite home decorator who does amazing things with rental spaces. She recently shared a final recap of all the projects she did on one of their houses. (They’ve been out of this house for a few years.) Looking back through all the projects in one post and reading her thoughts about what she did made for a fun little stretch of time. I love her style and am in awe of how she can transform a rental!

Remember back when we lived in Marion and we redid our countertops with a paint kit? I’m still so glad we did that project. It was a huge game changer in that space. Well, a few weeks ago, I ran across Julie’s post about a similar product (different brand) that she used in an RV renovation to do a marble look on the countertops. I think it looks so nice. I am making a note to self on this one in case Ryan and I decide we want to do some work on our own kitchen without replacing the counters!

I read Cleere’s words earlier this month, in the thick of my dad’s illness. They were so comforting to me, and I thought maybe one of you might need to hear this too. Praising the Lord for His peace, even when everything feels so, so messy!

Green isn’t my best color. I don’t dislike green…I just don’t look as great in it as I do in other colors. So, of course, St. Patrick’s Day is always a challenge. It’s gotten easier since I’ve grown up (debatable, I know) and those around me are less likely to pinch me. Why do people pinch so hard!?!? Anyway, if you are in need of some green outfit inspiration, check out this post. She has ideas for all shades of green and everything from dressy to casual!

Ryan and I rarely have a full weekend at home to do nothing, but when we do, we savor every bit of it. The whole concept of “doing nothing” is such a tug of war. Some people (like me) crave it. This is when I can recharge my creativity, cozy up the house for everyday living, and truly rest so I can keep going. It’s not lazy. It’s necessary. But others might look at that choice and call it lazy…which leave me feeling incredibly guilty for choosing rest. So I appreciated Heidi’s ideas and permission, if you will, to stay home and “do nothing.” Maybe you need her words too?

Friday Fun: February Randoms

 

                At the end of 2025, Callie wrote this post as a structured round up to the year. I loved it so much that I earmarked it to revisit at the end of THIS year, but I actually decided to use it as a springboard for a monthly recap. I wrote my first one in January, and here is the one for February!

Best Personal Adventure: I have given this so much thought, and while this month felt void of a proper “best personal adventure,” I have come up with an answer that satisfies me. I made it through the month. I know I haven’t yet told many details of the story of what we are going through with my parents and their health, but February was so hard. So uncertain. So many changes that made it feel like we lived in a pinball machine. But with all the hard, the uncertain, and the changes, I kept going. Sure, I had to take a few personal days, but I showed up for work way more often than not. Sure, I failed as a housekeeper and cook sometimes, but we ate and had clean clothes most of the time. Sure, I might have been a bit of a friend failure, but I did my best. Sure, I might have done the ugly cry a few times, but I also held it together way more than the Bekah-of-yore would have done. And for those reasons, making it through the month counts as my best personal adventure.

Best Adventure Together: The word “best” doesn’t feel appropriate here either, because it sure didn’t feel like the best adventure. But as I said, this month was filled with significant, life-changing health challenges for my parents. Every day (there for a while) brought a new plot twist, and sometimes we had several in a single day. We had to adjust nearly everything about our understanding, expectations, present, and future to tend to them in this very hard season. I cannot imagine walking this road without Ryan by my side. We did it all together, and my heart is thankful for that gift.

Best Milestone: We had a couple of milestones this month. The first, which I wrote about here, was marking our third year of living in our sweet little lake cottage. And a few days later, Ryan celebrated his third year working at Swiss Village. What a gift that has been for us – both in our little family and in my family at large.

Best Faith Grower: I’m on Arabah Joy’s mailing list and she’s been sending out daily devotional readings that are so thought-provoking. I’m particularly enjoying her Lenten series, but even before that started, I frequently made notes in my Bible based on what I read in her daily thoughts. I am so thankful she’s doing this and that I happened to be on the mailing list! (I have unsubscribed from many lists over the past six months because my email box was out of hand, so I’m glad this one made the cut!)

Best Lesson Learned: Everything can change so fast. We went through so many phases of changes with my parents this month, and I was reminded that each moment counts. I took the pictures. I said the words. I did my best to be present as much as possible. I have no idea what the future holds for either of them, but I am reminded it can all change in half a heartbeat!

Best Purchase: My best thrifted purchase was this beautiful wreath for our door! I happened to show up at the store as they were stocking spring pretties, and I snatched it right up! My best new purchase (cashed in some reward money) was this cushion for our wooden glider, which I wrote more about here. This cushion is one continuous piece and has an elastic strap that fits over the chair so it doesn’t slide out of place. It makes the chair SO much more comfortable!

Best Habit Created: On Ash Wednesday, I set out to create some more responsible eating habits. This isn’t so much a Lenten fast as much as it’s a reminder that I want to honor the Lord with my eating habits and choices, and this felt like a good time to begin. I’ve worked especially hard to be more mindful about including more vegetables in my meals and watching my portion sizes.

Best New Recipe: I think my favorite new recipe was this Italian Grinder Salad I made for the Olympic Opening Ceremonies party. It had a lot of flavor and was pretty fast and easy to assemble! (I found this similar, free recipe if you need a different link.)

Best Tradition: We observed a couple of my favorite traditions this month. One was celebrating Valentine’s Day together. We never do the same thing twice, but our tradition is always to do something, and we did that! We also had an at-home date to watch (sleep through, if you’re Ryan) the opening ceremonies for the Olympics! This year we had some fun themed food to go along with our at-home party.

Best Little Luxury: Last month I purchased a bread slicer at the thrift store. Ryan raised an eyebrow, and I wasn’t sure I made the right decision in buying it…but it was only about $3, so I figured if it didn’t work out, I wasn’t out too much money. I am so glad I grabbed it! Can I slice bread on my own? Sure! Is life fancier with a bread slicer? YES! Now my pieces are all the same size, and it goes so much faster with this handy little thing.

Best Date: I loved our Valentine’s Date. It was simple, but it was incredibly meaningful in the middle of all that was happening with my parents. Great conversation, great food, and even a pretty rose gift from the restaurant.

Best Answer to Prayer: Though Dad’s health remains challenging for him, I think the best answer to prayer this month was the gift of having more time with him. I wasn’t sure that would be the case, and I am thankful to get to spend more time with him for however long God grants!

Throwback Thursday: 2013 Memories

               A few weeks ago, I spent some time looking back over the scrapbook of our first six months of marriage, and what a joy it was to relive some of the sweetest memories from those early, early days together.

                This week I tumbled through the second scrapbook – and on the first page, I wrote these words: The second half of the year was even busier than the first. Oh, Bekah. You just wait. Time is about to flee 1000 miles an hour and you won’t even be able to hang on!

                Here are some of my favorite throwbacks from that six-month span:

*Our first movie! Yes, we were married seven months before we ever saw a movie together! We went to the drive-in to see Monsters University. It was the sweetest date. Ryan made a nest in the back of the car – with pillows, blankets, pizza, coke cookies, and popcorn. We had a front row seat, and it was perfect.

*That whole month of July was just crazy. In about three weeks’ time, I went to two baby showers, we had the movie date, visited friends at a campground, went to the fair (twice), marched in a parade, worked a golf scramble, went out to dinner with my college roommate, spent a weekend at the lake with Ryan’s family, and marched in a second parade. I literally had a gallbladder attack in the middle of all the stress and busyness. The events were all fun, but I couldn’t even breathe.

*The fair visit brought about my first gondola/Ferris wheel ride. I had always wanted to go, and Ryan made it happen. (Twice, actually, since the first time, we had to share our little car with some kids.)

*The lake pictures were bittersweet. Seeing Allen and Nita there in the boat, smiling, made me remember how great those early lake weekends were. I’d never been part of a lake family before, and I really loved it.

*One of the parades was in Celina, Ohio. Who could have known that one day, years down the road, Celina would be a regular date night destination for us!?

*The Sunday of our lake weekend was frigid. We were bundled up in coats on the rainy morning, but we went to the beach area in the park to pray and read Scripture together. That was the weekend we felt called to ministry as a couple! I’ve never forgotten that exact spot in the shelter house, bundled up in coats in JULY, realizing God had a specific plan to use us.

*We did multiple house projects in that six-month span and put together a time capsule to hide under the stairs. I am so glad we did that. It was fun! (I wonder if the new owners have found it yet?)

*Part of our house projects included landscaping the front of the house. This is when I learned that when Ryan said, “I’m borrowing a truck from Allen,” he meant a DUMP TRUCK, because I am now part of a family that owns things like dump trucks. I also loved it that my dad showed up (unannounced) to help Ryan work. It was the first time Dad reached out to offer help to Ryan like that, and I’ve never forgotten it. The relationship they have now was forged in moments like that one.

*I can’t forget our first cruise! Lots of firsts for us on this one…first flight together (Ryan slept), first time in the Caribbean (for me), first time on a game show (for Ryan), and first time on a private, deserted beach. I’m still glad we made it back to the boat safely after that one. I read the other day that cruise lines now do not recommend leaving the port area in that location.

*We celebrated a year of engagement with BBQ out for our meal – and Cookie Cottage cookies for dessert. Those were a nod to our wedding day, when we had some to hand out to our friends and family who were part of the party. We didn’t know we would come to purposely celebrate our engagementversary every year after that! (Look at us setting traditions!!)

*We went to visit our friends Frog and Jenna for the weekend – and had no idea that down the road, they would come visit us every single year and we’d start going to a marriage conference with them.

*Nita took our pictures that fall, establishing our annual tradition of Christmas card photo shoots. She took them right on the lawn of their beautiful cabin!

*We hid in a closet during a tornado that ripped through Marion. Hiding in a teeny closet – WITH A CAT – during a storm is an adventure.

*Our first anniversary trip took us to Indianapolis, where we saw Sandi Patty every single day we were there. (We had the same itinerary she did, apparently.)

*I loved this memory that popped up in the scrapbook: “I saw an idea on Pinterest to recreate some of your wedding photos on your first anniversary.” Those very first recreated photos are cute, and I didn’t know then we would keep it going…13 years strong now!

*Some traditions change over time, and I found one of ours that did: Christmas shopping. That year we drove through a treacherous snowstorm (passing many cars in fields) and did our Christmas shopping in person! It feels like many years ago now, that shopping was a day-date in person, but it’s sweet to look back at it.

*This was the year that our Kansas family surprised us by showing up for Christmas. NO ONE knew they were coming and they just rolled in the driveway on Christmas day. That was SUCH FUN. It was the first time they had been home for Christmas in 12 years!

I did get a little tired looking back at it all, but I am profoundly thankful for all the memories we packed into just six months’ time. And I am glad I captured the stories. Reading some of them reminded me of details I’d completely forgotten! 

Wednesday in the Word: Be Still

 

Thank you, friends, for your kind and gentle comments yesterday. If you didn’t get a chance to read about donuts in the closet, I’d love for you to see the story and enjoy the compassion my friends shared!

                Today is Wednesday, so I’m back in Psalm 37, and I confess, I just love the verse for this week: Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

                Be still. There’s a phrase I think I’ve written about before…and yet it’s something I still need to work on in my life.

                Be still. Sitting quietly before the Lord doesn’t always come easily to me. It’s been a theme tugging at my heart over the past month. How can I be still before the Lord when everything in life seems in upheaval? I haven’t been the poster child for it here lately. Probably the majority of the time that I have been still in the past month has come more from exhaustion and willing surrender.

                And yet the admonition remains. It’s simply be still. Not be still unless you think you have a better plan than God has. Gulp.

                It’s Be still and wait patiently for him.

                I read this line about this verse in the Treasury of David commentary and loved it: “God is worth waiting for.” Isn’t that good? He IS worth waiting for and waiting means waiting for HIS timing. Not manipulating my own timing but being still and trusting Him for HIS timing.

                Why is something that is so simple on paper (or screen) so hard in real life?

                And then the verse moves into fret not, which is a phrase we studied a few weeks ago.  You know, in Scripture, repeated words mean something. He didn’t forget that he already said this. He’s saying it again because it’s worth hearing again.

                Fret not. Don’t be angry. Don’t be worked up.

                Be still.

                Wait patiently.

                Fret not.

                Three “little” commands that carry a whole lot of weight. And this is where I will be parking my thoughts over the coming days. I’m really thankful for this reminder today. Waiting for His timing has brought these words to me at just the right time!       

Tuesday Tales: Donuts in the Closet

 

A week ago, I gave the message at our church, and I shared this story that I’m not sure I’ve ever told (fully) on the blog before.

                Back in late 2018, Ryan’s mom moved in with us for a couple of weeks. She’d been released from the hospital following surgery to remove a brain tumor, and her husband was gone several hours in a row each day for work. She moved into our guest room, and we were happy to be able to tend to her in those important first post-surgery days.

                Unfortunately, we learned pretty quickly that I’m not a great nurse. My heart was in it, but I lacked skills. Everything went well when Ryan was home in the evenings and on the weekends, but during the days, when she and I were on our own, I didn’t do a very good job. And you know what made it worse? Nita was a nurse. She was so gracious toward me, but I’m sure she shook her head often.

                One day something happened, and short of looking it up in my journal, I don’t know what it was, but I crumbled entirely. I went into our bedroom, hid in our walk-in closet, and called Ryan, sobbing. I told him I was not cut out to be a nurse, and I didn’t know what to do. He tried to console me, but after we hung up, I resumed crying in the closet.

                A few minutes later, I heard a soft knock on the door. I pulled the door open just a crack and saw Ryan, holding a box of donuts. I let him into the closet, and he sat on the floor with me, holding me while I cried. Then he broke out the donut box, and we ate donuts together on the closet floor.

                In my message last week, I talked about the differences between artificial and authentic love, and I said that artificial love only shows up when it’s convenient, but authentic love will take time off work, show up at your house, sit on the floor of the closet with you, holding you while you cry, and eating donuts with you. (I said other things too, most of which were hopefully of a more spiritual nature, but this was one story I told.)

                A couple of days later, my dear friend Julie knocked on my office door. She sat down in my chair and said that the young ladies in the Bible study I used to help lead had been talking about that story I told. They knew I was walking a present-day hard road of my own with my parents’ health, and they wanted to “sit on the closet floor with me and eat some donuts”. Would I have some time to meet with them and let them just show some love?

                That in and of itself was nearly enough to make me cry. I love and miss these girls so much! An invitation to join them and share life for an evening? Yes, please!

                And so last night, after dinner, I made my way down some icy country roads to hang out with these dear friends for a couple of hours. They brought snacks, and we sat around telling stories until it was way later than I realized. It was so good to hear what’s happening in their lives and laugh until we cried.

                It’s not always been the easiest thing for me to find friend groups, so this group is extra special to me. Just sitting there last night, I had fresh gratitude that they have included me and reached out to show love during this part of my story.  I appreciate their kindness to me and their hospitality of “donuts in the closet.”

Menu Monday: Nourishing Body and Soul

                 Good morning friends, and happy Monday! If you’re feeling hungry…I’m sorry for what you’re about to read. This week was full of some tried-and-true recipes and some new ones! We had some hits and misses, but I’ll let you peek at what we ate.

Monday: Hot Chicken Salad + Fresh Bread

What I Loved: I always love this recipe! I’m experimenting with partial-fat yogurt rather than fat-free, and I felt like it made this creamier. Want to hear a funny almost-fail? I was distracted while making it and completely forgot to add the water chestnuts. The chicken salad was already in the oven when I pulled it back out to top it with sliced water chestnuts. They kind of looked like very bland pepperoni, but the taste was not compromised at all.

Tuesday: Leftover Hot Chicken Salad + Steamed Broccoli + No Bake Cookies

What I Loved: I haven’t made no bakes for a while! Ryan needed to take a dessert to GriefShare, so I made a pan of these. Normally I made them as drop cookies, but this time I put them in a pan for easy transport.

Wednesday: Blueberry Oatmeal + Fuji Apple Salad

What I Loved About the Oatmeal: I baked this on Tuesday night and was able to eat it for breakfast the rest of the week. This saved me a LOT of time. It was tasty, but…

What I Didn’t Love: It didn’t have enough protein for a ton of staying power. It would have worked better as a snack, I think.

What I Loved About the Salad: I did not use the dressing portion of the recipe, but I loved the rest of it. This is one of those kinds of salads that takes a lot of time to chew, so you get full while you eat it!

What I Didn’t Love: LOTS of prep. It took me a while to chop all the veggies, shred the cheese, air-fry the chicken and then assemble it when the time came. If you need something fast, this isn’t it.

Thursday: Chicken Veggie Soup + Mini PB Cups

What I Loved About the Soup: I was so busy the day I made it, so it was handy to throw in the slow cooker.

What I didn’t Love: It reminded me of vegetable soup, which I absolutely don’t love. Also, the chopping prep took forever. I chopped all the veggies the night before and put them in a big baggie and then threw them in the next day.

Friday: Leftover Chicken Veggie Soup + Mini PB Cups

What I Loved about the PB Cups: I am a huge peanut butter cup fan, but I know they are TERRIBLE for me. These were super easy to put together.

What I Didn’t Love: The maple syrup seemed to separate after they were assembled, regardless of whether I stored them in the fridge or the freezer, so they were very messy to eat.

Saturday: Taco Zucchini Skillet

What I Loved: Lots of flavor and veggies in a single skillet meal. I am always a fan of single pan meals.

What I Didn’t Love: We used a very, very lean ground turkey, and it was hard to cook because it kept sticking to the pan. I also think the super lean turkey doesn’t have as much flavor.

Sunday: Leftover Pork Loin and Steamed Green Beans

What I Loved: I had mine on a thin sandwich bun with a little sliced provolone, and Ryan ate his plain. I had steamed green beans and Ryan had air fried tater tots! A tasty end-of-week meal.