Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

We’ve had a big week here in Shafferland, and today we are so excited to be home, knocking out the end of a long list of home projects we hoped to achieve this summer. (I honestly can’t believe how much we’ve knocked out in one month!) So while we’re busy working, you can enjoy some of these little finds from around the web…

I saw this on Instagram and was so happy she made a blog post about it too! Allie surprised her husband with the same kind of car he had when they first got married. He had to sell it when they started having babies, because they needed a minivan to carry the family. She wanted to bless and surprise him with the car he loved, so she made it happen! The pictures are sweet, but be sure to click on the link within her post that takes you to the vlog. I dare you to watch without crying!

I enjoyed looking through the posts of each space in Jenni’s home! I love her color choices and think her home is so bright and cheerful! (BONUS: I told Ryan not long ago that I think the Swedish way of life is lovely. And after seeing this cute little house, I think I found where I’d live if I went there. What a great use of space! What a yard!)

Soft lighting…ambient lighting…I love it. We have lamps and little lights everywhere, inside and out. KariAnne’s post about different kinds of lighting. The spotlight was pretty cool. I haven’t seen that one before! (I mean offstage. LOL.)

Self-doubt and second-guessing have been big themes in my week. It’s been a rough one in that department. Melissa Horvath’s words in this post were a balm to my soul – and convicted me, too!! Maybe I’m not the only one who needs them today?

You might remember that last year I did a very specific year-long capsule wardrobe project. I had the best time doing it and learned so much about how to coordinate outfits and what I enjoy wearing. This year I’ve added in a few more pieces than I had last year, though my actual closet space requires that I continue to keep things small and purposefully curated. But over the last few days I’ve been referring to this post (which was one of the inspiration sites for last year’s project) to give me fresh ideas on pairing outfits. It’s been a good reset for me, so if you need ideas for how to mix and match what you have, scroll through her ideas! (BONUS: Speaking of clothes, I think I might need this sweatshirt for football season.)

This recipe looks so good, and I have LOTS of zucchini right now, so it could work! I’m such a sucker for carrot cake and zucchini bread, but I’ve never considered using them together. (BONUS: Speaking of zucchini, I do like this recipe, with zucchini in eggs. Tastes the same and adds veggies to your plate!

The Night Before School

  

               Last Friday I wrote some thoughts on becoming a student again. Yes, it’s one week later, and I’m writing about school again. I’ll try not to make it a weekly habit.

                It’s just that I’m writing this to you the night before you’re reading it, and by the time you are reading it, the chalkboard picture will be taken, and my orientation classes will be open for me to take.

                When Ryan came home from work last night, he presented me with a gift bag I didn’t even know was hiding in the house.

                “You can’t go back to school without a present,” he said. Indeed, I cannot. I didn’t know it until that very moment, but indeed, I cannot.

                I sat and (with Lexi’s help) pulled out the sweetest card in which Ryan declared his excitement for and confidence in me as I take this step.

                He’d filled the bag with little school snacks, a pretty coffee mug (which shall be my official learning mug) and a measuring cup. (That last one was because he found a really cool one and we needed it to replace a not-so-cool-one we had.)

                The reality of balancing it all hit me yesterday. It might have been because I had a couple of “please help” requests come in this week, and I started teaching a new Bible study, so I am fairly certain that finding a new rhythm that makes time for all of this is going to take a minute.

                But I also realized what an absolute gift it is to have a husband at my side who believes I can do this. He’ll be cheering me on and filling that coffee cup and probably doing way more than his share of the household chores and Lexi entertainment.

                Today officially begins a new chapter. School is here. Learning always has been, but learning for an audience in addition to myself has arrived.

                Thanks in advance, Ryan, for taking this journey with me. And for fixing all my IT obstacles. We both know that will happen.

Baptism Reflections

 

This past Sunday was a ministry first for me. Our church had a baptism service at a pond, and I had the privilege of helping with one of the baptisms.

                I realize the phrase “I had the privilege of…” is often used, and it’s probably lost meaning in the frequency of its use. But for me, it really was a deep privilege to get to stand in the water beside someone making a public declaration of faith. It was a privilege to pray over his life.

                Our church always encourages those attending a baptism to remember their own, and I always do. But this time I remembered it in a new way. I remembered how nervous I felt to walk into that water. I had so many questions. What if I lost my footing? What if I got stuck under the water? What if he dropped me?

                I wished I could get a dress rehearsal so I could enjoy the moment. But there aren’t dress rehearsals for baptisms, and when the moment came, and I made my way into the middle of the water, God allowed me to forget all the things that had consumed my thoughts, and I focused on the joy of my declaration.

                I knew some of our candidates were worried about the same things that had once plagued me. I knew some were worried about fish nibbling at their legs and the muck of sand and rocks under their feet. It made sense to me. I prayed for each of them as they went into the water – that God would grant them the same favor He granted me, and that in the moment, they would be able to be in the moment.

                And so I sat beside the row of them Sunday, praying and cheering them on as they took their respective turns in the water. I walked out with my own nerves raging. What if I lost my footing? What if people are harder to pull up out of the water than I imagined? What if the fish bit me?

                If the fish did any nibbling, I was too caught up in the moment to notice it. What I did notice was the sweetness of God’s presence surrounding the three of us out there in the pond.

                I have no idea how often I’ll be called upon to be part of such a moment, but I am confident that each one will be meaningful. I know this one will hold a special place in my soul forever, because it was the first one.

                May I never lose the wonder of what baptisms represent – or the wonder of standing in witness to these sacred moments.

Girls' Night at the Flower Patch

 

Two summers ago, my friend Abagail was kind enough to drive all the way from Kokomo to go with me to Girls’ Night at the Flower Patch. We had the best time! It didn’t work out for us to go last year, but last night…she made the trip here again, and this time she brought her sister!

                I hadn’t seen Abagail since that evening two years ago, though we talk on Marco Polo multiple times a week. It was so good to see her again. We did this leap-across-the-yard big hug when we first saw each other, and her sister said she wished she had captured it on video.

                Though it rained early in the day, the night was literally the perfect night. A little breeze, some sun, and lots and lots of pretty flowers.

                For the price of our ticket, we received a coupon for a charcuterie box, a giant cookie (we could choose the kind, and I chose iced sugar for mine), an iced coffee, and a flower bouquet of our own picking.

                There were also some vendors there for extra shopping if we wanted to peruse!

                I’ve gone to The Flower Patch several times to make bouquets, and it’s always a lot of fun. I never get the same thing twice, and even though I have no idea what I’m doing and I’m sure my technique is all wrong, I have fun making them!

                Flower arranging? Fun!

                Pretty night out with friends? Fun!

Lessons from Lexi

 

I realized the other day that it’s been just over four years since Ryan and I made the decision to add to our family in the form of a sweet puppy.

                We had talked about getting a dog earlier in our marriage, but during our commuter years, it just wasn’t practical. Then we met sweet Phoebe…remember her? She was our part-time dog, and that was a great setup for us. She would come to stay when her people were gone, and it was fun to have a puppy, even for a little while.

                We lived at WillowBridge when we decided to get a puppy of our own. We wanted the experience of raising a dog from the first days of its sweet little life, and when we found out friends of ours would have puppies, we jumped at the chance.

                We hoped having a dog in WillowBridge would unify our tenants…and though we didn’t end up living there long after Lexi came to be our girl, she did bring a lot of joy to that building while we were there together.

                She’ll turn four in November, and we talk often about how she has changed our life in every way.

                We never knew a dog could have such personality. Her funny faces, her little quirks, her predictable ways…we’re always laughing.

                She has forced us to slow down and savor, which has been a good thing for us. We still haven’t found our “Ryan and Bekah” sitters, which means we have to be careful about being gone. We don’t like to board her unless we absolutely have to. We miss day-long adventures, but we appreciate the push to slow down.

                She loves hard, and we love that. Her hugs are the absolute sweetest.

                She is stubborn beyond belief. I seriously had no idea dogs could be that headstrong. I remind myself often that I prayed over her little personality every single day before she was born, so the stubborn in her is meant to foster growth in me…in us.

                She is the biggest cheerleader for almost every single person in this world. (Except the crew that worked on our house recently. For reasons unknown to us, she didn’t like a couple of them.) When she walks past her favorite friends’ houses around the lake, she jumps and looks for them. She can’t hug our guests fast enough when they walk in.

                She’s food-motivated more than anyone I’ve ever met in my life – including myself! All that stubbornness melts if she sees one shred of cheese or hears the peanut butter jar open. She will sit so fast. I get it, little girl. I get it.

                We are a family. I know that dog-people get that and non-dog people don’t, but the three of us are a real team. We can’t imagine life without her. No one makes us laugh and smile like that sweet little face. We’ve grown and learned so much because of her. I’m so glad we said yes to that adorable little peanut.