The Saturday Six

One.

Several weeks ago, Lynne and I had the opportunity to preview the new movie "The Song" - which opened in theaters last night. It's a modern-day retelling of the Song of Solomon, and in my opinion, it was a very well-done movie. I loved the music in it almost as much as the movie! If you're thinking about going to check it out, I would say...GO!! And take kleenex!!

Two.

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This blog post is timely for anyone carrying a burden. {Which would be most, if not all of us, right?} Learning to thank God IN the waiting...quite a lesson. And one I do not have mastered, I might add.

Three.

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Though flying is NOT one of my favorite things to do {namely because of the cramped spaces and getting through security}, I think visiting this throwback to flights in days of yore would be SO MUCH FUN. Too bad it isn't closer to me!

Four.

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This story almost UNDID me. Written by a photographer for NILMDTS. Wow.

Five.

I had read a while back that Dayspring was getting ready to unveil a new line of letterpress blocks that would allow you to make your own word and mix and match fonts. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. Well they also have an interface where you can play with the blocks and see what they'd look like before you buy them! I haven't made a purchase {yet} but I've been having a BLAST playing with the blocks. {ahem. overgrown toddler.}

Six.

Well if THIS isn't just the funnest {feel free to use that word} way to end a week!! Came home yesterday to find a package on my porch...from Leslie! What fun surprises she had waiting for me inside! Leslie, THANK YOU!! Ryan was particularly excited about the coffee, because {well, duh, it's COFFEE! But also...} he has actually had it before and loves it! So thank you - and your husband! We will enjoy ALL our treats. And thank you for inspiring me to think about care packages again. They lift the soul!

Mid-Morning With Ryan

I. Loved. Our. Yesterday.

Loved it. Not even sure I can fully tell you what a beautiful treat it was - for both of us.

As you know, every morning, Ryan and I part ways and commute in opposite directions. Except...not yesterday! Yesterday we climbed in the car together and made our pilgrimage to Fort Wayne, because Ryan was part of Mid-Morning with me!

Headed out together!

It was such a delight to be able to talk to him without shouting over speakerphone...and to have a break from driving!!

We stopped on the way to the station to buy donuts for everyone {including ourselves, of course}, so while I did my standard morning routine, I had a handsome donut-eating view!

He was such a hard worker. In the couple hours we had between beginning work and show time, he studied the layout of the show and made notes about things he wanted to say. So proud of him!

I'm on with the morning guys during the 9:00 hour, so Ryan went with me when I went to chat with them, and both of us ended up chatting with them!

Phil and Jim LOVE Ryan, so they were pretty happy to see him and banter with him for the morning.

And then it was show time!! Ryan settled in to his chair for the morning, cool as a cucumber!

Still channeling my inner Lynne Ford:

How about I just stick with being me?

The show kicked off, and I gotta tell you: Ryan was a natural. He was completely himself and so funny. So witty. So quick on his feet, which is pretty impressive! Dana came in and took a few pictures for us. Thanks, Dana!!!

 We listened back to the first part of the show later in the day, and I thought the three of us talked together pretty well!

 MUCH laughter. So much laughter.

 And a chance to talk to a great group of callers - some made us laugh and some made us think. I appreciated all of them!

 One of the fastest, most fun hours I've had in a long time!

Ryan and I got to spend the rest of the day together, which I'll tell you more about next week, but if you didn't get a chance to catch the show, and you want to, here it is!

Thanks, Ryan, for sacrificing a vacation day to attend "Bring Your Husband to Work" day! {ha!!} Thank you for loving what I do and being willing to be part of that world today. You are a treasure, and I love you!

Deja Vu

So it's been almost two years ago since this happened:

Two years since he crawled...yes, crawled...under the windows to hide in the morning guys' office while I yammered on about the merits of National Frappe Day. Two years since the door flew open and he walked in...and I had no idea he was in the building. Two years since he got down on one knee and delivered a spectacularly written {and memorized} proposal. Two years since I said yes.

And today, he's coming back! Today he gets to walk into the studio standing up. Today he gets his own chair and microphone.

Today he gets to be part of BLT with me!

I'm pretty excited about it! In the two years that have passed since the proposal, he's called into the show sometimes to talk with Lynne and me, but he's never been back in person. Until today.

We've decided we'll talk about marriage - not because we consider ourselves experts, but because it will be fun to share some stories and hear what our callers have to say!

And for our friends who aren't married, we want to ask what they're looking forward to most about being married.

As you know, I was 34 when we got married, and there was a big part of me that was worried I had become far too cantankerous and set in my ways in all those years spent alone. I wondered if I would eventually become irritated with having to share my space, my money, the remote. :) I wasn't sure if I was laid back enough to learn a flexible schedule and asking for opinions on decisions I'd always made by myself. I worried the art of being roommates would ruin feelings of love.

And maybe it doesn't always happen so easily for everyone, but I've been pleasantly surprised that for us {and by that I mean for ME}, learning to share life/space/everything came more easily than I thought it might. Pretty sure it just came naturally to Ryan. Grateful for that gift!

So we'll be sharing funny stories {you won't want to miss them} and surprising things we've learned about each other and marriage in the last couple of years.

Radio with Ryan is fun! And not just because I get jewelry. {I asked him what he was going to do to top his last visit!!}

Hope you can hang out with us! 10 a.m.

Praise Party!

NO. We did not sell a house.

{I feel like anytime I have good news, I need to right away tell you if it's not about the house. Hate to get any hopes up! Most of all, my own!}

Yesterday was my first follow-up appointment {with many more to come!} after the Great Dental Event of 2014.

While I certainly don't want this to turn into the blog of that 36 year old who likes to talk about all her ailments {ha!} I do want to update you for two reasons. First, you were such a great support to me IN the event, and therefore I want to let you know what your prayers have done, and secondly, I just want to celebrate the good things with you! So we'll have a praise party! With brownies!

Because everyone should celebrate dental success with sugar, right?

First of all, I initiated the appointment on my own without tears, high blood pressure or even the presence of the "Fear Not" bracelet on my arm. This is light years ahead of where I was in July when I sobbed and panicked my way through the initial phone call to the dentist. I'm so thankful that I've progressed to being able to pick up the phone and call them without a pre-existing pep talk.

And then yesterday, when the appointment rolled around, I calmly {and like a big girl} walked out the front door and drove to the office. No gathering for prayer before it. Just did it. That is HUGE.

And the news I got was wonderful. I met with the dental assistant who first delivered the bad news a few weeks back. She checked my mouth and said she couldn't believe how much improvement she saw...and I haven't even gotten past the four week mark! She said I'm reformed and the healing was so marked. {It is NEVER a bad day to hear that.}

I had one area I was concerned about and {brave, party of one} copped to it immediately. She worked on it for just a couple of minutes and was able to uncover the problem, fix it, and told me I should see visible improvement within a week.

She worked on one of the fillings I had done that was not fitting quite right and got that working better, and then she told me she'd see me in another six or so weeks! She even said she was excitedto see me. I guarantee you no dental official has ever said that before. :)

I feel SO GOOD after that appointment. So glad to know the procedure helped and the follow up treatment is working. And I'm excited to see the improvement that continues to come.

I still have some tenderness and sensitivity that I hope will go away with time, but I am having a PRAISE PARTY over the good news I received and the improvement in my bravery around the whole area.

So that's what we're praising about here in Shafferland. If you've got a praise of your own, I'd love to hear it!! {And if you were here, we'd share a brownie over it!}

Feeling Nostalgic

Our house is being shown today.

No, not the Greentown house. {Still waiting for the paperwork to go through on that. Hoping it takes place before, you know, we qualify for AARP.}

Our house.

We are actually really excited about this news. We've had the home on the market for a few weeks and we're excited for people to come through and see if it might work for them as a place to live in a new season of life.

But at the same time, it's strange to think about packing up all that has been what we've known together in our {granted, short} married life and starting over somewhere else.

Last night we worked together to clean and organize and make sure the house was ready to be seen by people who don't know its story...and that's when it kind of hit me. They won't know its story. It's good, I know, in some ways. These people will walk in the door, and if they decide this is the house for them, they'll come in and bring their portable memories with them, and they'll begin a new story in this house.

And they should.

But as Ryan and I moved through the house, doing our cleaning and organizing, I smiled over all the memories we've made within these walls in the last almost 22 months of marriage.

* The night we dragged ourselves in from our packed car after our honeymoon and collapsed in front of the fireplace to take our "home at last" photo with our chalkboards, looking all bedraggled from a long trip, but excited to BE home...in our home...to start our life.

* The carpet we painstakingly picked out together during the great home reno of 2013...and the hardwood floors underneath that claimed the life of a coffee mug during the short time we lived on hardwoods between the grandma carpet and the Shaffer carpet. We're not quite healed from that loss.

* The day, halfway through December, when we scoured the picked over remains of lopsided Charlie Brown Christmas trees at the tree lot and brought home our first ever {for either of us!} live tree and placed him ceremoniously in the corner, declaring him to be "Chuck." We decorated him with the smattering of ornaments we'd amassed in the short relationship we'd shared, and while it wouldn't win a magazine award, it was our first tree and we loved it.

* The kitchen we ripped apart together, channeling our inner Carl and Ellie {from the movie Up}, and the final look we loved so much. We repainted, redid the floors, redid the counter tops and got a respectable stove that wasn't missing a giant chunk of finish from the day the plate was too hot coming out of the microwave and clattered down with a bang. The kitchen where we've teamed up to make some fabulous meals, for us and for company. The kitchen that has produced thousands of pots of coffee and subsequent meaningful conversations.

* The bathroom we renovated...three times...proving to nearly be my undoing of house messes. But it was also proof that my husband is persistent and creative in making sure the renovation is done correctly, no matter how frustrating it gets. And oh, oh, oh, what an improvement it was.

* And of course, our pirogi {gazebo in your dictionary...pirogi in ours} that has brought us so much joy. So much entertaining has taken place under its canopy, so many naps for two in the giant hammock, so many fires in the pit, s'mores and hot dogs for us on chilly fall nights. Our outdoor living space that we adore.

We love this place. It has been a lovely home for us. And we are praying already for the people who will follow behind us. We pray that each room will hold meaningful memories for them as well. We hope they enjoy the heart and soul we poured into these four walls, and we hope God continues the heritage that began here so many years ago when my grandparents moved in with their own hopes and dreams.

Meanwhile, we look forward to our own new memories in a new place {that we don't even have, but it will come when it's time} that can be fully ours from the start.

Can't wait!

Making Room for Fall

I'm writing this to you on Sunday evening - from the quietness of the stairs where I've hidden while Ryan finishes watching the Seahawks/Broncos game. I don't understand football {as I have told you many times}, so my ignorance over the actual sport forces me to find connections to this fine game in other ways. Namely I get hung up on the stories of the people. And when the people let the ugly get the best of them, I find myself ruffled as though the offenses had taken place against me personally.

And so it is that I cannot bring myself to watch the Seahawks. They are far too aggressive for my scaredy-cat little tastes, and though I have few requests in the world of football, I have requested that they not play in our home. But Ryan's desire to watch the Broncos overrode my desire to NOT have the Seahawks on, so for the first time in our married life, we've retreated to separate rooms. He's soaking up the game and I'm yapping to you!

And we don't like it. So hopefully these two won't play again for a long, long time, and then we don't have to worry about it.

Football is, of course, one of the many signs that fall is here. I do love fall, though I didn't want to see the mums and Halloween garb out until Labor Day was behind me. But now that the time is appropriate, I am embracing fall in all its glory, and this weekend, I made a place for it here in our home.

Christmas is my favorite season for decorations, but fall is a close second. I love dragging the fall tubs out of the attic and digging in to unearth the tiny bales of straw, the Indian corn, the little cornstalk basket I found - at the dollar store, of all places - and the myriad of fake pumpkins that have found their way into my fall collection over the years.

Much like the sights of Christmas are my favorite {the sparkles and lights}...the smells of fall are my favorite. The pumpkin pie spice and the cinnamon and the faint whiff of apples {buried in some sort of crisp, of course} bring me so much happiness. The lingering smoke of a bonfire and the distinct smell of wet raked leaves {so long as I didn't have to rake them, of course}.

Fall is a time for flannel sheets and sweatshirts, for family photo shoots and visits to the pumpkin patch, and I love all those things.

I caught up the pages of our scrapbook earlier...and while doing so, caught the memories of the days we spent at the lake, which seem not mere weeks ago, but months ago. Summer was way too short and way too distant this year. I didn't fully get to embrace it like I'd hoped. So I'm eager to welcome fall. A new season. A new chance to make memories. Ones that smell like cinnamon and apple pie.

Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday was CRAZY BUSY. We had signed up to take breakfast to our Sunday School class, so we stayed up late/got up early making that. It was also our first Sunday to be greeters, which was a lot of fun! Church was PACKED, which meant all the breakfast was eaten by the time we got to class, so we were glad we got to stay for the special lunch they had for volunteers! By the time we got home, we were so tired, we slept {like coma-level sleep} the entire afternoon. It was a gorgeous day, so we went for a walk that evening. So glad it wasn't the week before when Ryan was gone!

* Monday evening, Ryan and I went to the gym, and I did a new workout...which may or may not have nearly killed me, but I felt very good about it! It definitely exhausted me, because when we got home and had dinner, I put on my Colts jersey and hunkered down...and fell asleep...while Ryan and Braeya Jo Jo watched the game. I don't think Ryan has seen me sleep that hard ever - other than after the great dental event of 2014. Turns out the Colts got robbed {or so I hear} and I missed nothing by sleeping.

* Tuesday morning, when I arrived at work, I found a really nice, encouraging note on my desk, along with a box of Wheat Thins and a bag of Snickers. Really appreciated my co-workers being so understanding of my nervousness over hosting this week! That night after work, we went for a run, because the weather was STUNNING, and we have no idea how many more nights like that we'll have before it gets too cold to run outside. And then I came home and became an UTTER nerd: spreading out with my five {yes five} pages of notes for the next day's interview...to practice.

* Wednesday was, as you know, my first big interview! I chatted with Annie Downs about her book Let's All Be Brave - and it went well! I was thankful for the gift of Starbucks {and attached love notes} from Ryan, and for the prayers of many who kept  me calm in the moment. That night, Ryan and I went to church and had the chance to meet some new people. {Actually WE are the new people, but the folks we met were new to us.} And then the AGT finale: SO SO STINKIN' EXCITED that Mat Franco won!

*Thursday began with a haircut - got my bangs back! :) I co-hosted BLT with Jim, and we had a good time on the air, hearing stories of bravery. That night, Ryan worked hard at home, mowing yards at both houses, and working on our dishwasher, which is feeling ill right now. {Love having a handy man in the house!} I fear I wasn't nearly as productive, but does it count that I made no-bakes?

* Friday was the end of a long, long week for me. I'm realizing how much work it is to juggle Lynne's job AND mine! :) I was SO excited to get a text from Ryan in the afternoon, telling me he didn't have to work on Saturday after all. {This NEVER happens to us!!!} We were both exhausted when we got home, so we got Chinese takeout and cuddled up to watch a movie. Good little night.

* We actually got to sleep in on Saturday morning {hallelujah!!!} and enjoyed a breakfast of delicious homemade pumpkin pancakes. They were so good! We launched into hard work at home for the rest of the day. I wanted to get officially decorated for fall, so we went out for mums, and I potted them and decorated the house {inside and out} and Ryan worked on projects UNDER the house {YUCK!!!}. About 5 loads of laundry, a trip to the grocery store and a round of dishes later, we called it a day!

The Saturday Six

One.

A few weeks ago, I told you that I'd started doing the PhedoraFit workouts. I loved them because they were short and easy to do every day. And a month into it, she quit publishing new ones! BOO!!! I was just getting into my groove! So I've decided to try some of Katie Farrell's workouts from the Dashing Dish site. They're nowhere near as short or as easy, but they are GOOD!

Two.

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Natasha has been blogging about the different provinces in Canada, which I've loved reading - because she makes history and geography FUN. :) This week her focus was on Prince Edward Island. I have this one on my list of places to visit someday - hopefully with my friend Julie - because we love Anne of Green Gables!

Three.

As a bit of an...ahem...voracious journal-keeper, I LOVED this. THIS RIGHT HERE is why I've written about far too much of the mundane. And with good reason!

Four.

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I read this article this week - about single people in the church. Even though I'm no longer single, I'm learning that my heart is still SO TENDER toward those who are single. Whether you are single and longing to be married or you're single and perfectly content to remain that way, this is a good read. I'm still chewing on it.

Five.

Speaking of chewing on it...this week in church, we studied the many different ways people study the Bible. The speaker related the differences to animals {early bird, night owl etc.}. I learned that I am both a cow {chewing on the things I study for long periods of time} and a bat {learning by hearing and bouncing ideas off others.} In honor of this, I am now named the "MooBat." Not an attractive combo, by a long shot, but apparently accurate.

Six.


Living Proof Live | Ft. Wayne from LifeWay Women on Vimeo.
Loved this video that came out from last Saturday's Living Proof Life Simulcast with Beth Moore. This is a taste of the day!! 

Buckeye Brownies

Every year on Valentine's Day, I would dream about a sweet someday out there...when I would have a Valentine of my very own. Some years those dreams were kind of bitter and longing...and I'd wear black and eat a Blizzard to make it through. Some years I pushed myself to be a better person and I used the opportunity to love on others. But regardless of my mood that day, I always wondered what that Valentine's Day would feel like.

By the time it rolled around, Ryan and I were already married {for two months!} and we were a few days away from going on our first marriage retreat. We decided we would save our eating-out pennies for the trip {and besides, who wants to deal with the crowds on the day itself, right?} - and for our first Valentine's Day, we would cook for each other and eat at home. Ryan would grill the main course, and I would concoct dessert.

We are, you remember, commuters, so I couldn't do anything too extravagant. Not unless we wanted to eat at midnight. {No thank you.} I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it for our first Valentine's Day.

We may or may not have taken the entire 9x13 with us on the marriage retreat and eaten a significant amount of it whilst in our hotel room.

These are SO GOOD. They are ridiculously easy, as well, but you do need to make sure you have a chunk of time to make them, because each layer needs a little time to cool. Totally worth it, though. It's just layers of happiness in a pan.

Buckeye Brownies

* 1 brownie mix {and whatever the mix calls for to make the brownies}
* 2 cups powdered sugar
* 1/2 cup plus 6 Tablespoons butter, softened
* 1 cup peanut butter
* 6 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Bake and let cool. Mix powdered sugar, 1/2 cup of butter and 1 cup peanut butter and spread over cooled brownies. Refrigerate for an hour. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter and chocolate chips together in sauce pan on the stove {low heat}. Spread on top of peanut butter mixture and let cool until chocolate sets up. Cool and serve.

A Few Tips

* I use the cheapest brownie mix I can find and it works really well. If you wanted to dress this recipe up even more, you could use a fun brownie mix that has chocolate chunks in it, or add nuts or toffee bits or anything else just to step it up a notch.

* I have made this with both creamy and crunchy peanut butter and I prefer the crunchy. I like the little bit of crunch in all the smoothness of the other ingredients. You can choose what you like best!

* I completely melt the butter for the middle layer just to make it easier to mix.

* If you do not remember to cool the brownies before you add the peanut butter layer, you'll have trouble spreading the peanut butter evenly, and brownies will peel up. Not that this has happened to me.

* You could use milk chocolate chips, but MAN this would be a crazy rich recipe if you did.

* I would not recommend refrigerating these overnight once they are made, because if you try to cut the brownies when the top chocolate layer is cold, it will crack. Again. Not that I know this from experience.

* Cut them small. Then you can eat more and not feel as guilty. HA!!!!

A Peek Behind the Scenes

Oh you guys!!!! Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers yesterday! It was my first day to host Mid-Morning - all by myself - for a whole hour. God was so gracious. Is it okay if I give you a peek behind the scenes of the day?

Ryan surprised me by going to Starbucks before work and getting me my favorite nonfat raspberry white chocolate mocha, and then he wrote encouraging messages all over the cup. The one on top made me giggle.

{It's a nod to the esurance commercial where the guy says "hashbrown" instead of "hashtag."}

The coffee was long gone by the time I got to work, but I took it inside with me anyway so I could have it in front of me while I hosted.

Yesterday was a beautifulexample of the times God sends the perfect Scripture verses my way. Between my devotions in the morning and the verses that filled our Twitter feed at the start of the day, I felt fed and filled.

...But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth...For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control...I know Whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me...All that we have accomplished, you have done for us...See, I have told you these things, so that in Me, you may have peace...He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will bring you quietness with His love. He will delight in you with shouts of joy...What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us when we pray?...Trust the Lord and His mighty power...I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you are not consumed...

Isn't that a great love letter from the Lord?

My friend Amy came back and prayed with me before the show, and before I knew it, it was time to set everything up in the studio:

 My guest was Annie Downs - and I was certain I had nothing to fear with her as a guest. I knew enough about her to know she'd be fun and engaging and the hour would probably scurry by before I knew it.

I was nervous about making things sound anywhere near as smooth as Lynne does. {She is really good at her job.} I thought maybe if I wore her glasses...

That was a no. Couldn't see to read. And I had a lot to read. NERD ALERT:

Yes. Those were my notes.

But the thing about live radio is...eventually you can't procrastinate anymore. Eventually the morning show ends and the music runs out and your theme is playing and you have to just turn on the mic and say...

Good morning and welcome to Mid-Morning! I'm Bekah Shaffer.

 
 And then you see pictures and you remember {AGAIN} why you have forbidden yourself to go without bangs.

That NOSE!!! It does not end!!! {And no, I do not have a bald patch. Lighting.} Sent this picture to Ryan and he asked if I was having a heart attack.

Pretty much.

Radio doesn't work without talking with your hands. Apparently, anyway.

My engineer: Jim Barron. He did a great job. So weird to not be in that seat for these shows. But he did so well.

 And he pays attention! Who doesn't love that?

Annie was a DELIGHT. Seriously. A delight. She was funny. Engaging. Challenging. Warm. Inviting. And so calming to this host.

Thank you SO MUCH for praying for and with me. It was a good day. Today I co-host BLT with Jim, and I'm looking forward to it!

But first: the bangs are coming back.