We Interrupt These Health Reports for Some Fun News

Yesterday I said I wanted to blog about something OTHER than doctor appointments, and I will! I promise! But since I asked you to pray for Ryan's gallbladder ultrasound yesterday, I wanted to let you know that it showed absolutely NO stones. Not even a tiny one hiding in a corner. That's good news (because who really wants gallstones?) and bad news (because we STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG)!

The ultrasound tech also said he had an extremely nice liver. Well, thank you for that. We do work hard on our livers around here.

Soooooooooooooooo the next step is another test on Monday to see if maybe the gallbladder itself is just on strike. It will be a long test and has the potential to kick him back into some pretty high-level pain, so if you'd like to pray with us that day, we'd be grateful.

Yes, it's true we've done way more medical stuff this week than, well, probably the rest of our lives combined, but we do have actual fun stuff happening on the side! And since every Friday needs a good dose of celebration, I thought maybe we could do just that today!

For several months now, I've had "create a website" on my to-do list. I was in a bit of a conundrum, because I love this blog. I have been here for ten years, I've met all of you (okay, some of you), I've established a routine, and I didn't want to interrupt that. But I'd come to the place where I needed a landing page to offer to people who asked questions about my writing and speaking. If possible, I really didn't want to mix the living room feel of this blog with the office feel of a more professional website.

Oh. And did I mention I'm 100000000% technologically challenged? Yeah. There's that little detail.

That's why the "create a website" line stayed on my to-do list for so many months. It absolutely terrified me. I didn't know where to start, what to do, how to make it look like something better than a first grader's attempt. (Truth? A first grader could have done a better job than I felt capable of doing.)

So I researched. I watched YouTube videos. I took pages of handwritten notes. I pep-talked myself. And last November, Ryan and I took a deep breath and purchased a domain name. A few days later, I took an even bigger breath, poured an extra big cup of coffee, and sat down to build a website.

Eight hours later, I'm pretty sure thousands of new hairs had sprouted pure white roots, no amount of coffee in the world could calm my soul, and my lovely ministry website had a huge header that said CALL ME, MAYBE?

Um. Not exactly the message I was trying to convey.

I tried to find customer service through the program I was using. And all the help in my world could be mine for 30 bucks a month. No. Just no.

I Googled. I messaged friends who seemed much smarter than I. I even broke down and emailed the IT guy where I used to work. No one knew. No one had a clue how to remove CALL ME, MAYBE? from the top of my pretty site.

Right about then, I emailed some friends who serve as my prayer partners and asked for their prayers as I sought to find answers for this whole website debacle. Almost immediately, one reached back and said she knew a thing or two about websites. Would I like some help?

OH YES, PLEASE!!!

That's why, a couple of weeks ago, I packed up my car and drove a couple of hours to her house to become a student for the day. She's an amazing teacher (for real! It's her degree!) and between a handful of Christmas cookies and a few cups of coffee, she showed me, step by step, how to set up my site in a completely different program. One made for normal, semi-not-computer-smart human beings like this girl.

She sent me home with a renewed sense of confidence in this possibility, in myself, and in my abilities. And I was determined to sit right back down to finish it.

But then, you know: kidney stones, ulcers, and gallbladders. (OH MY!)

My "right back down" came yesterday, and my dear friends? I finished polishing the site!

I. Am. So. Excited!!!!!

So today I'd like to share it with you. Again, it won't change anything about life here in Shafferland. This page will look the same as it always does, I'll still be here to tell stories recap doctor visits every day, and we'll keep chatting back and forth in the comments like we have been!

But this new site will be something I can share with those who might need a speaker for their event or more information about my books. (And if you know anyone in that boat, please feel ever so free to pass along the info!)

I'm so grateful for Julie's help with the site, and I am beyond pleased with how it looks. (It's even better than a first grade job, I think!)

And so I present to you: my new website.

Hope you like it! :)