The Saturday Six

One.

Listen here...

This week I had the pleasure of welcoming my real-life friend Sarah Albert on The Conversation Cafe. Sarah is the one that coached me through the 21 Day Fix, and she is also the one who taught the canvas class at my mom's birthday party last summer! She is also an artist and has recently developed a 5 video series on cultivating a more meaningful prayer life. We talked all about prayer and she has great ideas for getting your kids fully involved in prayer time, even from a young age! Take a listen to her thoughts!

Two.

In the podcast, Sarah talks about the prayer beads her family uses to keep their focus on prayer and to help their minds from wandering to other subjects. If you like to craft, you can make one, of course, but if you don't have time or creative talent, Sarah does have those sets of beads for sale! 

Three.

I might be leaving this one here more for myself than for anyone else! {Hey, it's my blog! I can do that!} Found this handy post with a lonnnnnnnnnnnng list of tutorials for using PicMonkey. I use it for all the collages on the Shafferland Shuffle, and for any other photo that I edit beyond cropping. But I am certain there are a million ways to use it beyond what I know, so I'm going to check these out! But for those of you who also use PicMonkey (or who don't, but are about to start!), here you go! In related news, I'm so sad that PicMonkey recently changed a lot of free features to be paid-only features. Some of my favorites are off-limits to me now. Boo.

Four.

You know I love a good home tour!! Know what else I love? Home office tour! Author Deborah Raney shared this post this week that lets you peek into her writing space. And she's a coffee addict like I am! Beautiful little space. I always love seeing what inspires people to do whatever they do - whether it's writing or something else.

Five.

 A thousand times YES to this post by Lisa Bevere! While I continue to declare I AM NOT OLD, I will say I am old enough that I have a definite appreciation now for realizing that seasons that seem like a waste are really just preparation. Sure, I'm still eager to get to "the good stuff" of what I'm hoping to see realized in my life, but the steps that take me from here to there matter so much. I'm living IN the reality of how years that led up to now prepared me for now. Read Lisa's thoughts! Truth!!!!!

Six.

Source

This week, I had the chance to read a book that offered me the unexpected. It was a two-fer. I went in expecting to read a story about the life of an extraordinary young woman, and I did just that. The unexpected bonus was getting to read a gentle but clear challenge to change my perception of just about everyone I encounter. Hadn't expected that part, but my goodness, am I ever grateful!

Let me back up and tell you about the story part. A Different Beautiful is (in part) Courtney Westlake's story of her daughter, Brenna, who was born with a rare skin condition called Harlequin ichthyosis. Though they weren't sure she would survive long after birth, Brenna is now a thriving preschooler with a spunky personality and quite a zest for life. But that life has not been void of challenges.

Brenna's skin requires careful attention to make sure it stays hydrated and free of infection, which means all the things the majority of us take for granted as routine requires much additional work for Courtney and her husband. The laundry, the bathing, the application of particular lotions - even caring for her hair and nails - all of it looks different for them. Since I've never known anyone with this particular condition, reading about it and understanding what their normal looks like was very educational and interesting.

But although she does want to educate people and every writer wants to be interesting, those two goals weren't the end for Courtney. Brenna's birth changed more than Courtney's routine. It changed her perspective. She looks at beauty differently now, and I would dare to say she looks at it the way Jesus does. Before Brenna was born, Courtney dreamed about what moms expecting baby girls do: dressing them up, mani/pedi dates, prom hair, and more. Those things seemed to represent beauty. But now she sees beauty in a whole new way, everywhere she looks, and she aches for others to do the same.

And for this reader: mission accomplished. My mind is spinning with new thoughts that I'd never considered before. Understanding how my reactions affect those in front of me. Understanding how a change within my mind doesn't mean much if it doesn't change my interactions with others. Understanding in new ways the beauty of a soul and relationships and a mind focused outward. Understanding of the importance of treasuring God's gifts to me, even if they don't fit the world's "normal" mold.

I love stories. Courtney probably could have told me Brenna's story in the pages of this book and I would have walked away satisfied with the time I invested in reading it and encouraged others to read it too. But I am thankful she didn't stop with a story. I'm thankful she took time to gently teach through the means of the story. I'm thankful she challenged my thinking in how I view myself and everyone around me.

* The author provided me with a complimentary copy of this book , but all opinions are my own. *

The Saturday Six

One.

If you struggle with the need (not a desire, but a need) to never disappoint anyone, well, you're probably going to disappoint yourself, because that's just pretty much impossible. But I get the whole people-pleaser mentality. Have that bug myself! This post is beautifully worded, offering freedom from an impossible goal!

Two.

Gone on a good virtual home tour lately? I hadn't, so I read this post from Between Naps on the Porch. THREE homes on one property. I love the guest cottage the best.

Three.

Ryan!?!!?!?! This one's for you! Remember when we got our Surrender sign, and you said you wished you knew how wood burning art worked? Found a tutorial! It's not written by the lady who made our sign, but I'm guessing the technique is close enough!{And anyone else intrigued by how wood burning works...check it out!}

Four.

A short, but meaningful read about the importance of making memories with your kids. I have great childhood memories and hope Ryan and I provide good memories for our nieces and nephews!

Five.

Any Aldi shoppers out there? This is a cute way to keep track of your quarter! 

Six.

Source

Last summer, I read Lynette Eason's book Without Warning, which was the second book in a series called Elite Guardians. I'd missed the first book, but easily jumped into book two, and it was a heart-stopper for sure! I read the book in the car as Ryan and I drove home from Kansas from my niece's wedding, and I kept jumping every time he slammed on the brakes!


So when I saw that book three in the series, Moving Target, was releasing this winter, I had to get it. To refresh your memory, these books tell the stories of a group of young women who serve as bodyguards. Each book focuses on a different member of the Elite Guardians, and this time, it was Maddy McKay's turn.

Maddy and the guy she's been dating {he stops just short of willingness to define the relationship further}, Quinn Holcombe, vanish one evening after having dinner together. Their friends discover the news a day later when both of them fail to show up at Quinn's birthday party and they all realize no one has heard from them in a full day.

Though Maddy is a bodyguard and Quinn as a muscle-laden investigator, they've both been abducted by a mysterious {and apparently very strong!} man. They awaken from their drugged stupors and begin a fight to stay alive and figure out who has targeted them, and more importantly, why. They suspect their abduction is related to a string of deaths, and they're determined to not become the next victims, but instead bring justice to those who have already died.

Much like the second book in the series, this one is full of twists, nail-biting moments, surprises, and I would highly recommend not reading it right before you go to bed. {I finally closed it because it was so real, I knew I'd have nightmares if I kept going! But when daylight returned, I cracked it back open and read ferociously until I finished the book!}

Also like the second book, Moving Target had a clear faith base to it, but the storyline wasn't cheesy or watered down. I appreciated the author's ability to weave the two so well. And I learned at the end that the fourth book in the series comes out later this year, so I'm looking forward to that! {One other note: if you've not read the first two books, you won't be confused when you pick this one up. Though I recognized characters from the previous book, the storyline itself stands alone enough that you won't be lost.}

* Revell provided a copy of this book to me at no charge. All opinions are my own. *

The Saturday Six

One.

Today's a big day!!! Happy, happy birthday to my niece, Cassie!!! Hope your day is extra sweet this year as you celebrate with your new husband! Love you!


Two.

Source

Maybe you've heard of this place, but I hadn't until stumbling across it this week through a Facebook post. Have you guys heard of Whittier, Alaska? A town housed almost entirely in one building. Residences, church, police station, store - all of it in one huge former military tower. Fascinating story. 

Three.

Source

I stumbled upon this blog this week, via another blog, and I am going to have to come back and spend some time here, for sure! This blogger lost quite a bit of weight a few years ago and now creates healthy recipes to be able to maintain the weight loss AND enjoy life while she's at it! I love finding sites like this!

Four.

Source

You know I'm a sucker for a good Christmas tour, and this week, the blogger at Between Naps on the Porch had a tour of a room in a MAGNIFICENT home. Bonus: at the bottom of the post are "related links you might enjoy" - including links to other room tours of this same home. I think this homeowner has more decorations in one room than I have in my whole house, but it's an amazing sight to behold. Enjoy!!

Five.

Source

With Christmas being...ahem...tomorrow...there might be just a few of you out there who are flat out tired today. Tired from this year, this month, this week, the shopping trip you just took to the store. Kristen Strong's words are for you. 

Six.

Source

Today I am doing something very out of character for me...and I'm telling you about a book I haven't fully finished reading yet. I'm almost there. It's actually a book Ryan and I have been reading together this Advent season. Speaking of which: you know what's awkward? A girl who wrote and Advent book choosing to read a different Advent book for Christmas. WHAT?!? I love my little Advent devo I wrote, but this year I needed another writer's perspective, so I pulled from the shelves Finding the Messiah by Jane Rubietta.

I first read a book by Jane years ago {Grace Points} and I loved it so much that I bought a dozen copies and gifted it to a bunch of friends. Finding the Messiah was a book I acquired back when I worked at the station, and I just hadn't read it yet. Ryan and I have been working our way through it, but sickness made us lose a few days so we haven't quite finished it yet.

The book is a daily reading for 28 days, and what I love most about it is its unpredictability. That's the hard thing about Advent devos. Everyone has the same material to work with and the books come out sounding remarkably familiar. It's hard to write from a fresh angle on something as frequently written about as Christmas. But Jane has done just that. She spends time focusing on people who often get forgotten entirely or just lightly mentioned: Zechariah the priest, his wife Elizabeth, Simeon, and Anna, for example.

As Ryan and I read together each day, we found ourselves uncovering new ideas we'd not considered before, seeing the familiar from a new perspective, and appreciating her viewpoint on familiar passages.

This book is a good personal reading selection, but it's also a good one for reading together as a couple or family, since each day has a reading, some reflection questions {which make good discussion}, a benediction {poem type reading} and a prayer.

The only complaint I have {which feels odd to even mention, but I will} is that for some reason, this book has been hard for me to read out loud. Some of the sentences seem to flow more easily when read silently, but since we're using this for our devotions as a couple, I read out loud, and sometimes I trip over the words. I think some books are just easier to read aloud than others - or maybe it's just user error on my part. Who knows!? But the message is still very good, even if the sentences don't roll off the tongue.

If you're looking for a new option for Advent for next year, I would recommend this one as a possibility!

Christmas in Shafferland 2016

Know what I wish? I wish we could have you ALL over for a big blog bash this Christmas. Wouldn't that be fun? Sitting around in the living room, watching Hallmark movies {because of course} and drinking coffee {I did make some stellar hot chocolate for you coffee haters} and soaking up all the Christmas decor. It would be such fun.

But since we're spread far and wide across this country {and world}, I'll just invite you to a virtual tour of our Christmas! In full disclosure, the house isn't quite done. The living room tree, which will be our live tree, has yet to be purchased. We'll take care of that in a few days, but meanwhile, I wanted to show you the rest of the house in all its cozy beauty.

I also noted as I decorated that all our decorations fit so perfectly in here. More perfectly than our old house, actually. I've told Ryan more than once that it's so odd to me how two houses that can be so similar in square footage can handle furniture and decorations so differently. Layout matters, I guess!

As I show you the pictures, I'm going to share a few reasons why my decorations are special to me. Our home will never be in a magazine, and I don't have a marked style across the house, but every single thing I put up has a memory attached, and that matters to me.

We'll start with some outside decor. A little tree Lynne gave me for Christmas one year, when I was still working at the station:

 The red lantern is the one we talked about on Spill the Beans last week: the one we got at a discount because it was missing most of its glass!

 Gifts from Ryan's mom. Ryan's step-dad made the little tree. Isn't it so cool?

 The door that used to belong on my grandparents' garage. I painted a chalkboard on it and got my Christmas art inspiration from Pinterest {of course}.

 My old little red wagon. One of the most complimented parts of our landscaping.

And now...inside!

After 16 years of having a galley kitchen, it was so much fun to have a bigger kitchen to decorate this year. And yes, I put a full sized tree in our kitchen. I did that because that window is the only window that looks out over the street, and I wanted passers-by to have a pretty view! I made this my s'more/gingerbread ornament tree. I've been collecting those for years and love how they make a perfect kitchen tree!

I also have these little shelves, which conveniently LOOK like a tree. :)

 Our coffee cup advent countdown is ready to go! Well. Almost. They're actually currently empty. So maybe not so much on the "ready to go." But they will be by December 1!

 Up close. I am so excited to have this little {okay, big} addition this year. This will be something new for us, and I'm just really excited!

Even though the tree is not up, we do have a few things up in the living room to make it festive. Two things here: the "Joy" canvas we painted at my mom's 80th birthday party this summer {love having that memory to get out every time I decorate} and our cards from each year framed. {I actually have this year's card already framed and displayed, but I took it down for the picture so I wouldn't give it away before I mail them out!}

 My friend Amy {from WBCL} gave us a dated Christmas frame as a gift one year, and we loved it so much that we get one every year. Last year we waited too long and almost couldn't find one! EEK! Not making that mistake again. Our 2016 frame is purchased and in hiding behind the 2015 frame. We do a photo together each Christmas day that we put inside these frames. And yes, I am aware that in 30 years, we are going to have a lot of frames in this house!

 Stocking time!!!

Our bedroom has a newly themed tree this year. Last year, right before Christmas, I had the chance to review a set of Adorenaments from Family Life Today. I loved them so much that I bought two more sets {there are a total of five sets available} and I used the three sets I have to decorate our bedroom tree. I love it that this whole tree is focused on Jesus and His names and attributes. This might be my favorite tree this year!

 The whole tree is in metallic tones and I love that, too. And I just love falling asleep to a beautiful tree every night. Christmas is the most lovely season.

In our bedroom, I also have my grandparents' Bible {the one in the photo on the front of my Advent book!} and a little cloche jar filled with figurines my Grandma used to have in her house. I also have a white ceramic nativity scene not pictured here, because Ryan was repairing a broken arm on Baby Jesus when the photo shoot occurred. But the nativity used to belong to my great grandma, and my mom painted it. So it's sort of a whole family history thing going on.

Our bathroom is probably one of the least-decorated rooms. {Things to work on for next year. There is a wooden Christmas tree in there and these little Isabel Bloom figurines I inherited from my former roommate, Angela, right before she died. She knew how much I loved Christmas, and she wanted me to have them. This year {actually two days from now} marks five years since she's gone to Heaven, and I still am so thankful for the impact she had on my life. I'm grateful to have these small reminders of her to display in her honor each year.

Our guest room has some Christmas cheer, and of course I have a million ideas swirling in my head for future years, too

More Isabel Bloom figurines, some vintage ornaments my mom gave me a few years ago, and one of my "joy" decorations. {Since that's my middle name, I like to get decorations that say that.}

 The little box in front came from a centerpiece at my niece's wedding this summer. I love it!

 My favorite little nativity. I found it in a tiny shop out in Greensburg five years ago when I went out there for Thanksgiving. It is just darling and I've never seen another one just like it. I debated on whether or not to buy it, and I'm so glad I did.

 The shelf in the guest room. :)

 This tree has no sentimental value. It's just red and silver to match the room. But it's so cute and cozy.

Our guest bathroom doesn't have a lot of decor {yet}. But I turned it into a Colts themed room!

My office is probably the least decorated room. I have a little ceramic tree in there {one of the great vintage ones that everyone used to have. Mom painted mine!}

Next year I'll put more in there. :)

But I will say that it's a pretty great start to Christmas in Shafferland. Looking forward to getting our live tree and setting it up together. Ryan and I enjoy doing that each year, and when we do, I'll let you see the results! :)

Thanks for touring our little humble home. Hope you enjoyed it!