The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday, after church, Ryan and I finished putting together our gazebo {which we have named our pirogi...so get used to seeing it as such on here} - and then we enjoyed a nap in the hammock, dinner at the patio table, and coffee and dessert by sunset! And a lovely, low-key walk just to enjoy the absolutely fabulous day!!

* Monday evening I tried another new recipe from the Dashing Dish website. {This is actually fairly common in my life lately.} This one was a pizza chicken salad, and both Ryan and I really liked it. Know what else we liked? Eating dinner out in our new pirogi. I think that might become the norm every decent weather day. We stayed home the rest of the evening and worked on many chores around the house. Even though it was work, I loved being HOME!

* Tuesday looked a lot like our Monday, and the predicted storms never materialized, so after dinner, we went on a walk and I saw this gorgeous sky:

The cross cloud reminded me of God's presence...which was such a comfort in a week of stretching and growing in my soul. So thankful for these touches!!

* Wednesday I got a fun new thing...a new bag for my camera! The camera Ryan gave me for my birthday is a wee bit bigger than my old one, so my existing camera bag is too small. And I wanted something I could "grow" into if I buy more lenses and such. One of the girls I work with had this bag that she wasn't using, so she sold it to me, and I think it's so cute!! :) And in the world of relationships over possessions...Ryan and I were invited to dinner at our neighbors' house! I've never gone to a neighbor's house for dinner in my adult life, so it was a fun treat!

 

* Thursday night I did my last cooking in our kitchen before we started the great kitchen overhaul of 2013. More to come on that. :) And while I was busy saying goodbye to domestication for a while, Ryan was busy sawing a couch in half. Yeah you read that right. He was clearing out a rental apartment and it was either risk breaking windows or saw the thing in half.

 

* Friday night, Ryan and did date night...hauling cars! One of our friends needed his car transported to a shop, so we loaded it onto a trailer and drove around the countryside, delivering it to the shop! It really was a fun night - and we even got home at 1:30 in the morning - just like we were teenagers!. And best of all - got to try out a new salad at the Chick-Fil-A. It was full of a combination of things I swore I'd never like together...but I did.

 

* And yesterday began the great kitchen reno of 2013. We have some plans for the ole butler's kitchen...and I can't wait to tell you all about it. But let me show you the former carpet we uncovered while moving kitchen cabinets. It doesn't...quite suit my tastes, but when I posted this picture on Facebook, it got quite a few comments of "oooh I love that!" I need to be quirkier.

 

The Saturday Six

One.

Monday is Memorial Day, and I've spent this week not knowing if Ryan will have the day off work. Since it seems wrong to go without any sort of plan for a something-different-celebration on a holiday, I found an idea for a cute little picnic that could easily be accomplished at home in our backyard if need be:

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The sparklers are my favorite. We'll see how it turns out when the day arrives!

Two.

Ryan and I are getting ready to do some work on our kitchen...which includes a paint job. It's one of the few rooms I've not painted since living in the house, and I've been so torn about what color to use! I want it to be different...because I hate putting all the work into a paint job only for it to look the same as it did before. I want it to be cozy, yet light, because it's a small room. I wanted to use a tan color because it felt like it would go best with what we have...but then I saw this color that Kelly Stamps used in her bedroom...and I think something along this line might be the winner!

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{The one on the right is the one I'm loving...}

Three.

I have issues with silence. Can't handle it. Can't sleep without a fan...in fact, can't even sit in the living room without SOME noise: TV, heater, air conditioner...something. And even though I work in a radio station, where we have people and noise all day - it's just not enough. And Lynne likes working in a quiet room and I can't have that. ENTER...the solution of Coffitivity. Have you heard of it? It's a website that streams a coffee-shop sound. Love it. I can put my headphones on, feel like I'm in a coffee shop, and Lynne is happy in the quietness of her desk!

 

Four.

 

I went to Mom and Dad's church on Mother's Day, and they handed out the cutest gift to all the ladies there that day. I loved the creativity and the practicality of the gift. It was a dish cloth and dish towel, along with the following little note:

 

 

Five.

 

While no one {including me} wishes ill health on anyone, THIS is the kind of love I want fifty years from now. The kind I want to give and receive. Three minutes...and yes it reduced me to tears.

 

Six.

My good friend, Brent Vernon, has a LOT of talent. He can sing...he's funny...he's a ventriloquist...and now he's also the author and illustrator of a series of children's books called the Audrey Amaka books. They have great messages and the illustrations are so well done. {I'm an overgrown kid; I love 'em.} He's working on a campaign to get the books into some major Christian book markets, and made this video which I think is a great introduction to him, the books, and his mission and passion for teaching kids some great lessons. So I thought I'd share it with you!

New Names

I grew up as a Rebekah in a Rebecca world. I spent the first twenty years of my life saying things like "My name is Rebekah. That's R-e-b-e-k-a-h. No...k-a-h. One b....then a k-a-h. Yeah it's from the Bible."

Not until college did I meet other Rebekahs...and now I honestly know of more who spell it the same way I do than those who spell it the traditional way.

Along the way, I got lazy with that first syllable and just became a Bekah...a decision cemented when I hired in at WBCL and chose to be known as Bekah on the air. It flowed better, I thought...and it felt like a fresh beginning after eleven years of insisting that students and parents call me Rebekah.

Being Rebekah also held with it a host of memories, both good and bad, but there were many things about that half of my life that cried out in need of redemption. A new start.

One of the greatest blessings of getting married was the opportunity to take Ryan's last name. Well, the process of taking his last name wasn't a blessing. That was an opportunity to test my Christian spirit to its core. But I loved the chance for a fresh start - to be a Shaffer. To know that when people think of me - that's the name they think of, and they associate me with the man God sent to be my redemption.

I was born into this world as Rebekah Freelan - and I'm proud of that heritage. But even as I stare at that name on this screen, it represents to me all those years of searching...and wondering...and becoming. And one day, God sent redemption and with it, a new name. I now stare at the name Bekah Shaffer. She's a new creation...a product of His redemption.

That's why, when I got this birthday present this week, I nearly cried. {Actually I did cry when it settled in over me.}

My new initials. RJS. A testimony of who I was, who I am, and who God has for me to be.

And do you see the words around it?

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

My desire - wrapped up in a Godly man and a new name.

Praying

This week on the morning show, we spent a couple of days talking about the recent tornadoes in Oklahoma and all the devastation they left behind. The images on TV took me back to the days of the Greensburg tornado, when my sister and her family lost their home and town. I remembered the sick feeling that rose in my stomach with every photo of the remains of their home. The helpless feeling of being so far away and unable to reach out every day to hug and help.

So I thought I'd share with you some ideas of how to pray...based on blog posts I wrote back in 2007. You might not know anyone directly affected by the storms, but I guarantee you anyone who did experience loss that day would appreciate your prayers anyway.

* Pray for protection from further weather devastation. I remember in the early days after the tornado, there were threats of more storms, rain, and possibly even more tornadoes...and that brought a double-edged sword to those who lost homes. More storms meant they couldn't get back to their properties to search for items to save...and anything still out there in the wreckage could get ruined before they got to it. And on an emotional level, it was scary to think about living through round two when round one was so fresh.

* Pray for physical and emotional strength. Through phone calls and emails in the days after the tornado, I could tell when shock began to wear off and reality arrived. It was an adjustment for them to realize "work" no longer meant chasing kids down the hallway of a school or preparing a sermon for Sunday or studying for a test...but rather covering the same ground they covered yesterday, hoping to find something new. It's exhausting emotionally to sort through the wreckage that used to be an ordered life...and it's exhausting physically to pick through debris and carry your possessions to a new place.

* Pray for health. One thing that surprised me after the tornado...sunburns. Think about it though...it makes sense. They no longer had a roof of any kind - even a porch roof - to duck out of the sun for even a minute, and all the trees had been stripped down to trunks and larger branches. No leaves. No place to take shade unless a vehicle happened to be nearby. My niece got a nasty sunburn just trying to help clean the yard. And you know how a sunburn can wipe you out physically when it hurts so bad. Imagine that while trying to recover from a tornado...

* Pray for wisdom. Everyone is trying to simultaneously work through what just happened while making decisions for a future. Decisions about where to live...what to drive...what to wear...what's a necessity and what's a frivolity...and those sorts of big choices are scary and confusing when you're making them one at a time. Making them all at once is huge.

* Pray for extended family.  It was hard for all of us to not be there. I think at some point, everyone in our family made the trip out to help, but we could only be gone for a short period of time. It was hard to read and hear the stories from hundreds of miles away and feel so helpless. Families hurt too - and they need prayers as much as those in the throes of the devastation.

* Pray for clarity of mind. Insurance is a wonderful thing...but the process of filing claims can be downright exhausting. Especially when you have to make detailed lists of every single thing you owned...and without it sitting in front of you, you can't quite remember what you had. My sister mentioned once that people who lose things to fire sometimes still have shells of things to look to trigger memories for insurance lists. In a tornado like this one...it's GONE GONE. You have to conjure it up, and that's hard to do.

* Pray for those wearing multiple hats. My brother-in-law is a pastor, and he not only had to work through the decisions for himself and his family, but he had to make decisions for his church. Guide a congregation that had also experienced losses. Guide a church through rebuilding a structure. Pastors hurt too, you know. And doctors. And counselors. And nurses. And...fill in the blank. When entire towns are wiped out, people are expected to still serve in their roles...and they have their own hurts to work through.

I'm sure it's not a complete list...but as you pray in the days to come, perhaps it will help guide you. And speaking of the days to come...don't forget to continue praying even after these people are no longer the center of media coverage. I would venture to say - that's when they will need it most. When weariness sets in.

Worth it Wednesday #6

A couple of weeks ago on Worth it Wednesday, I gave myself an assignment...to work on developing a mission statement and a bio that I could potentially use for speaking engagements. And the second {and perhaps more gulp-inducing} portion of the assignment was to decide how much I might charge to speak.

Baby steps.

I sat down with the intention of writing a mission statement and discovered...I wasn't sure what it would be. Rather than becoming discouraged by my apparent lack of natural mission, I moved on to the bio.

And that's when I decided the bio should come first. You learn a lot about your mission in life when you write your bio.

The bio {for me} is still a work in progress, so I'm not ready to formally publish it yet, but I wanted to share with you some of the things I learned along the way.

* The thing that used to be my greatest hangup is now the opening to my testimony. My life was a total surprise to my parents, but I was completely and divinely purposed by God. I cannot even begin to tell you how much the whole "surprise child" description used to wreck my mind. So many questions. So many tears. So much confusion. And one day, God set me free from those hangups and He began to instill in my heart that being purposed by Him trumps human planning any old day. And the transformation is so great in my heart that what used to define me for evil now defines me for good.

* The answers to the greatest desires of my life have been so intricately intertwined that I couldn't begin to separate them if I tried. When I could only see what was directly in front of me, God was weaving a story, and its details formed some of the greatest highlights of my testimony.

* God has already given me some very distinct areas of passion...and I'm sure He has many other areas He's still developing. {You know...I am still awfully young!} But when I looked at the list of things I've already written about...spoken about...taught about...I'm in awe of what He's laid on my heart. Amazing what you learn about yourself when you write it down!

There was one other little part of the assignment...the photo. Pretty sure if I were putting together a "real" bio kit...I'd have pictures taken. But I found a few from the last year or so that at least capture something that to me...shows a girl who feels worthy. And that's what this assignment is really all about. So I share these with you...from moments when I felt most like a girl completely and divinely purposed by God.

I can tell you with all sincerity that if you'd showed me any of these pictures back when I was in high school...struggling to believe I had worth...I would have cried with relief that I would one day turn out normal. Better than normal.

That I would be a girl who would laugh...genuine laughs...and have love sparkle in her eyes.

That I would have strength and courage and desire. That I would be chosen and loved.

That the stigma of surprise would be pushed away by purpose and I would begin to grasp what was true all along: He called me worthy.

Catching Up...Pirogi Assembly

Ryan and I have this great slab behind our garage...that used to be the foundation for a greenhouse my grandpa had. He loved to grow roses in it, but when he got older and unable to work in the yard like he once had, they tore down the greenhouse and left the slab. It's perfect for a little outdoor living space...except...one side is open to the neighbor's yard.

 

In the last 13 years that I've lived in this house, I've never really used it, because I didn't want the neighbors staring at me, and I didn't want to stare at them. But Ryan and I so love eating outside, so earlier this spring, I suggested we somehow create privacy back there so we could use the slab.

 

We toyed with putting a couple sections of privacy fence along the open side...or just fencing off that whole part of the yard...but then we found the idea of a pergola, and we loved it.

 

Until we saw how much it was going to cost. To buy all the materials...and for Ryan to assemble it...and to make our buy curtains for privacy...was going to be a lot of money.

 

Then one evening, while killing some time at Lowe's, we found a metal frame gazebo that came with mosquito netting and solid curtains to surround the whole thing...and we decided THIS was for us.

 

By the way, when we were in the pergola planning days, Ryan told me one day that he'd been looking at pirogi plans online. I said, "Pirogi? Like the food?" We got a good laugh out of that one and have now renamed all pergolas...pirogis. So when you see that referenced on the ole blog, you'll know what we're talking about.

 

So without further ado....here was our poor little slab...before.

 That's our hammock underneath the tarp. We didn't want it to turn into a bird outhouse. :)

Ryan and our pirogi-in-a-box:

 This weekend, we moved the construction outside...which only took two ladders and two step stools.

 Ryan, bless his heart, took a token photo of my attempt to help. {Ladders and I are not friends.}

 The ladders and Ryan - adding the roof frame.

 I would have passed right out if I'd had to be up this high. He was putting the finial on the top.

 Adding the nets...

 The first phase of the finished product.

We brought our little patio table out there...and put the hammock in...but we have some more dreaming to do with the place. I'd love to get a rug and some more plants - and we MUST have a fan. {We're hot blooded people.}

Works great! We took our nap out there on Sunday, and we ate dinner and had our dessert and coffee out there as well. It's just lovely. LOVELY.

Catching Up...Mother's Day

Yeah, yeah, I'm a week behind. Welcome to my life!! :)

 

So...LAST Sunday was Mother's Day, and I never really let you in on the full scoop!!

 

Now that Ryan and I are married, we had to devise the great choose-the-holidays calendar to make sure we get to spend equal time with both our families on holidays. This year, we decided to spend Easter with his family and Mother's Day with mine - since my birthday celebration coincides with Mother's Day.

 

When Mom found out we were going to hang out with her on Mother's Day, she asked if we'd come to their church and share in their service. And so it was that last Sunday, we donned our coordinating blues/grays/whites and drove to my parents' little country church for Sunday morning service.

 

I shared some devos with the congregation and Ryan sang Find Us Faithful. {I told him it was my mom's favorite song and if he sang it, he'd win major points. As if he needed major points.}

 

Ryan's mom, step-dad and sister visited that day too, so they could hear him sing! So it was just a big family fest!

 

After church, we had picture time with the mamas....here I am with mine {and the flowers/Dayspring vase we gave her for Mother's Day}.

 And Ryan with his mama...and her flowers/Dayspring vase.

 Mothers/sons/daughters/mothers-in-law/sons-in-law/daughters-in-law/you get the idea. :)

 After church, Nita gave me my birthday present...which I loved just a little bit. {A Keurig for my office.}

 After church, we went back to my parents' house for lunch. Mom made pot roast because I love it so...and then she broke out the ice cream cake, which she dubbed the ugliest cake she'd ever seen. {She was not a fan of the varying shades of purple or the skill of the handwriting.} It may have been ugly, but it sure was tasty!!!

 Then she gave me my birthday present!!!

 Okay that really wasn't the present, but I got worried when she said, "Oh let me get your gift" and then handed me that!!

My real gift was tucked inside this card that she didn't sign.

 A Cato gift card!! I burned that bad boy the next day - on the pretty yellow dress I wore on my birthday and a really cute turquoise shirt!

So that was Mother's Day, Shafferland style!! A belated bloggy Happy Mother's Day to my mom and my mother-in-law!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday was a very busy day. Ryan and I went to my parents' church, where he sang a solo and I spoke...and then we headed to my parents' house for a Mother's Day/Bekah's birthday bash. A full day, but a good day!

* Monday I tried wearing my hair curly for the first time...which turned out pretty well. Had the most wonderful evening with Ryan. We went to Cato to shop for my birthday outfit (yes, he went shopping with me - voluntarily) and went for a run....so I can fit into said clothes. LOL!!! Tried a new recipe and made treats for work on my birthday!

* Tuesday was my 35th birthday - and you already saw the recap of that, but I just have to say one more time that it really was a wonderful, love-filled day. My friends, my family, my co-workers, and of course, Ryan, made it a day I won't ever forget. First married birthday = AMAZING!

* Wednesday, I set up my brand new birthday gift from my mother-in-law: a Keurig for my desk at work!! She knows me so well. Bless her. :) And then Ryan and I had a really enjoyable night at home together - cooking, doing laundry, working on projects, and just enjoying time at home.

* Thursday was a busy day at work - including a BLT show in which I felt like my brain was running on a 3 second delay. Always good on live radio. Came home from work, had a great workout, and spent the evening taking it easy. Nothing blog-exciting to report. BUT - I did take this pretty cool picture. Loved the way the sun hit the plant.

 

* Friday evening, Ryan and I were absolutely pooped from long, long weeks, so we had date night at home. We ordered a pizza and watched a hysterical movie to enjoy some good laughs!! After we enjoyed our evening...the power went out! It wasn't storming...we didn't hear any booms or crashes...but the power went out. So we lit a whole bunch of candles and did chores!

 * Yesterday morning, Ryan worked so I hunkered down with my scrapbooking and got caught up, and then last night, we traveled to Indianapolis for game night. We had a great night - and this girl had to step WAY out of her comfort zone to play a game that required some charades. Here's how I look when I'm trying to figure out what to do.

 

The Saturday Six

One.

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This post by KariAnne nearly made me jump for joy. This little house she just purchased is not only too cute, but the post shows the potential she sees in its walls and that just makes me happy. Can't wait to read how she transforms it into...whatever she's transforming it into!!

Two.

Last weekend we went to my friend Rachel's wedding, and this is what we threw at the bride and groom as they left. Forget bubbles and rice and ribbons and sparklers. Rachel is a literary lover and the groom, Jordan, has his pilot's license. So we threw paper airplanes made from the pages of a book. Perfection.

Three.

My best friend gave me this wall art for my birthday. I cried when I opened it because I love the message (written by Holley Gerth). The art itself is by Dee Kasberger at Red Letter Words. I've interviewed both Dee and Holley and LOVE these women and their hearts. To have their combined work in my house - especially this message - as a gift from someone who has walked with me for a long time - is priceless.

Four.

We follow The Honest Toddler on Twitter at work. I'm not a mom, but MAN do I think that's one hilarious Twitter feed. What toddlers must think of adults = pure comedy. Let me give you a sampling of a string of tweets from earlier this week. It started with, "Just tried dark chocolate. Adults, is it safe to say you've forgotten what candy is supposed to taste like?" Then... "Not sure why you'd eat dark chocolate when Kit Kats are available in stores nationwide." Followed by... "You're just trying to impress your friends and look deep." And..."Dark chocolate is good for you. No doubt. You can taste the vitamins." HI-larious. If you're on Twitter, you should follow The Honest Toddler and be prepared to giggle at truth.

Five.

I realize it's ridiculous to love anything associated with laundry this much but I adore my clothes drying rack. We registered for it at Target and didn't get it, so we bought it with a gift card after the reception. We'd planned to get one of the regular, accordion style racks, but I found this one and liked it better because things can lay flat AND hang up on it. Great. When did laundry start to excite me?

Six.



Saw this video on Emily A Clark's blog this week. It's an artist creating a watercolor painting of Emily's house. Being a person who possesses no artistic talent, I found this fascinating. {Three minute, high speed video of the creation of the painting.} Well done, Artist Michelle!