The Saturday Six

*** This week's book review is accompanied by a giveaway, so don't miss that at the end! ***


One.

One of my friends loaned me To Joey, With Love, which is a documentary-style film Rory Feek made about his late wife (Joey). I knew I was going to cry. In fact, I stopped watching it once, but she insisted I finish. And I think I took crying to a whole new level. Like Notebook level crying. It was a well done piece, and for that alone, I say watch it, but take a whole pile of tissues with you. It will wreck you.

Two.

I don't know if you saw it on the blog this past Wednesday, but I started a new Wednesday series called "Walk a Mile in My Shoes Wednesday." My goal is to feature different occupations and life situations that perhaps people don't fully understand if they haven't lived in it. I think we can all benefit from learning what it's like to see life from the perspective of those who work in certain areas every day. I have many ideas of people to talk to, but if you have a unique occupation or you live with/in a certain situation (maybe with a chronic illness or something) that you'd like people to understand more, shoot me an email! I'd love to hear more from you! readingrebekah at yahoo (dot) com!  

Three.

I need to update my white t-shirt in my capsule wardrobe. The one I have now is dear to me because it was one of the first pieces of clothing Ryan ever bought me. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut he bought it in our first year of marriage, and four years of a white shirt = time for an update. I found this article of ways to wear a white t-shirt in fall, and since some of it inspired me, I thought maybe it might inspire you, too! 

Four.

Proud wife moment!! I think you'll recognize the guy in scrubs. And the story is quite inspiring. 

Five.

This made me giggle, giggle, giggle. (And if you're not familiar with The Babylonian Bee site, it's complete satire, so keep that in mind when reading!) 

Six.

Source 

 

This week, I had the chance to read a book that landed on the keeper list for when I need resources to share with hurting hearts. As you may remember, a couple of weeks ago, I shared about my little nephew (Kirk) who was stillborn 29 years ago. I mentioned that back then, people didn't talk about infant loss, and since his death was utterly unexpected, we scrambled to find books or other resources to help us navigate our pain.

There were so few options.

There are more now, but Loved Baby by Sarah Philpott, is the one I read this week and it's the one I'll be recommending and buying to share from now on when I learn of a friend who is walking through the loss of a baby.

I know this journey probably also describes a fair number of you who are reading. My heart breaks for you, whether you have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, ectopic pregnancy, or young baby loss. Death always brings a rather unwelcome range of emotions, but trying to process the loss of such a young life seems to push those ranges to even higher heights and deeper depths. And that's where this book can help you.

Let me tell you about the book. It contains 31 devotions to help you through both the grieving process and the cherishing process. Yes, that's right! No matter how young that little one was when you had to say goodbye, he or she deserves to be cherished as a life that came to be part of your family, even if briefly.

Each devotion covers a different topic, and they include: searching for why this happened, navigating the hurtful (and often thoughtless) words of others, mourning, honoring your due date, handling the emotions that flood in with future pregnancies, and even learning to reconnect emotionally and sexually with your spouse after the loss.

Sarah writes from her own experience, but she also includes snippets of stories, thoughts, and advice from a host of other women who experienced their losses in various stages of pregnancy. The words within each chapter are soaked in compassion, not clinical at all, and are comforting, timely advice for mothers who grieve.

Though I have not experienced a pregnancy loss personally, I've walked with family and friends who have and can attest that the wisdom in this book is solid and needed. I also found much of it helpful for loss in general. I recognized pieces of my own grieving processes from completely different situations! Grief can have different details, but it has a universal core.

This book brings the hope of Heaven to hurting moms, reminding them that their dear, loved baby is cradled in the arms of God even now. And though that would not have been the story line they would have chosen, there is comfort in knowing that God cares for these sweet babies from the moment their souls leave this earth.

Each chapter ends with a nugget of soul work: something to process or an exercise to try as you heal. It also includes a brief prayer related to the topic of that chapter.

I wish this book had been written 29 years earlier, but I am so thankful it has been written now. It's a beautiful little gift book: hardcover with a ribbon bookmark, and would make a thoughtful gift to anyone going through loss.

I actually have an extra copy of this book that I'd love to give away to someone who either needs it for a personal healing journey or who has a friend or family member in the throes of this grief right now. If you'd like to be entered into a drawing to win, just leave a comment that says you're ready to begin the healing journey (or you want to bless someone in your life in her healing journey) and you will be in the drawing! If you comment anonymously, please tell me your name so I can know which anonymous is which!

Normally I only leave these giveaways open for a couple of days, but I'm going to leave this one open for a week. You have until 10 p.m. Eastern on Friday, October 6 to enter, and then I'll announce the winner on next week's Saturday Six! 

(I also have a huge passion for people grieving the loss of a child, so if that's you and you ever need to process out loud, I'm just an email away, and I'm a good listener!)

Thanks to the Blythe Daniel Agency for providing me with a complimentary copy of the book and an extra copy for the giveaway. All opinions are my own!

Things I Learned in September

So...FYI...September is over tomorrow. What? When? How? EEEEK! Since tomorrow is a Saturday Six day, I'm taking advantage of this fine day to tell you all about the fascinating things I learned in the month of September! It's been a fun month, filled with learning, and maybe you'll find out a little something you didn't know, too! (If you learned something fun, do tell. I'll pretend I learned it in October!)

1. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indianapolis is 15 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty. 

I have never seen the Statue of Liberty in person, but in pictures, it looks so much taller! I've seen the Soldiers and Sailors Monument MANY times and have been up in the top of it. While it certainly challenged my fear of heights and claustrophobia, I had no idea it was that close in height to Lady Liberty!

2. Having a dog really is like having a small child.

We ended up having Phoebe one day shy of four weeks (her people were traveling overseas) and I have to say, if you're going to have a dog live with you, Phoebe is the one to have. She's well-behaved, she's fun, and she's a good writer's dog. (She camps out under a desk very well.) But it was definitely interesting to have to revamp our schedule to make accommodations for her, and I noticed myself stopping to put her needs first often. I imagine in some ways, a child is quite different (after all, you can take them to church and the grocery store!) but I do think there are many similarities.

3. Braeya may never recover from a month-long dog-sitting adventure.

Braeya hates dogs. And all animals. And most people. She stayed in our bedroom the entire time Phoebe was at our house. We blocked our bedroom door with an ottoman to try to keep the two of them separate, and for the most part, it worked. But after Phoebe left, Braeya had some serious PPSD and she refused to cross the open threshold. If she did venture forth, it would be to take just a few steps and then she ran right back into the bedroom again.

4. Pepper spray is not pleasant.

I know we all know this, but I got to know it intimately this month. I was visiting with some college students who are studying my Be Still book, and one of them inadvertently triggered her pepper spray. I didn't take a direct hit, but I felt the aftermath, for sure! New goal: never cause someone to intentionally spray me with the stuff. Shiver!

5. I never have to worry about my step count when dog-sitting. 

First day she was gone? Right back to cramming them in. Three cheers for potty walks and all the extra steps they bring!

6. There's a football player named Ha-Ha.

I know, I know. You probably knew that. But I didn't! We were watching a game one Sunday afternoon, and I said to Ryan, "Did he just call that guy Ha-Ha?" He nodded, and I said, "That's his actual NAME? Or is it like a nickname?" We looked it up and apparently his first name is Ha'Sean, but his grandma named him Ha-Ha when he was 3 and it stuck. Who knew?

7. (This is Ryan's.) A coffee carafe is life-changing.

As if we don't have enough coffee pots and gadgets - HA! We borrowed his boss's coffee carafe to have extra coffee for our small group meetings, and now Ryan has one on his Christmas list. He feels it will further revolutionize our coffee-drinking life. I have to say, it's quite convenient to have unlimited hot coffee access at all hours of day and night.(Although we learned firsthand that such a carafe without a level indicator might mean that one day Bekah's cup is only half full when the thing runs out...)

8. Racewalking is an Olympic sport.

Perhaps I should back up and say racewalking is a thing. I was researching (on Pinterest...of course) one night about power walking, because I had heard it can actually burn more calories than running and can also be better for your body. Given my recent knee issues and the fabulous knee genetics I'm prone to, I'm interested in learning about things that will prolong the need for surgery. In the process of learning about power walking (which, by the way, some people actually do for full marathon distances), I learned about racewalking. It's the speed that rests between running and power walking. There's a certain technique to it, and it's actually an Olympic sport. Who. Knew?

 

Things I Just Don't Understand

Well, if we're going to be fair, that list would take up far more space than we have for one blog post, so I'll just hone in on one for today. You're welcome. :)

It's no secret that I'm a bit (ahem) of a Pinterest junkie, and I love exploring all kinds of topics on there. I use it as my own personal search engine.

This week I was doing some research and brainstorming on the topic of freelance work, since to a degree, that is what I do these days. I looked at posts written by people who worked in all sorts of fields, learning how they managed different aspects of running their own businesses out of their homes.

I happened upon one site (and I'll leave all identifying information out of this description, because my intent is not to be ugly toward its author) that utterly baffled me. No, it left baffling far behind. It flabbergasted me.

Here are some general things you should know first:

* She self-employed (obviously...it was freelancing research)
* She seems to be quite financially successful in what she does
* She seems to have a fairly decent following of other entrepreneurs who learn from her
* She has a plethora of innovative and helpful ideas to share
* She seems genuinely interested in helping others be successful too

It all sounds good, right? In many ways, it was. I read several posts and learned some really helpful information.

But here's what I just don't get.

Her site was saturated with foul language. I'm not saying sprinkled with it. I'm saying soaked. All the words. (Yeah, even that one.)

I realize I'm almost through the ripe old age of 39, which probably practically qualifies me for fuddy-duddy status, but that choice just blows my mind. It's her professional work space, and to me, lacing every other sentence with a high-ranking four letter word isn't professional. In fact, in this instance, it was actually distracting. I had trouble sometimes picking out the teaching information because of all the additives.

Obviously this decision isn't causing her to hurt for business. According to what I read, she stays extremely busy and can even afford to be choosy about who she works for. But if I went in search of someone to work for me, I think this issue would be a huge turn-off for me.

Truthfully, it's not even about the fact that I would prefer not to have that language in my everyday conversations, but rather it is a reflection on the level of professionalism. (I do have friends whose conversational language choices don't always match mine, but I have observed them professionally and in those settings they choose other words.)

So that's what I don't get...and I guess I say all of that to say...what about you? If you were looking for a service of some kind, and you looked at someone's business page (whether website, Facebook or other source), would you feel uneasy if you found it saturated with all the words? Would that impact your opinion of the professional quality you would receive?

I'm just curious! It's not the first time I've run into this, although I think this is the most extreme example I've found so far.

Walk a Mile in My Shoes Wednesday: Physical Therapy

Several months ago, I had an idea for a blog series and then I got busy recapping the adventures of our life and never got around to writing the series! I decided there's no time like the present to start, so here we go!

The idea for the series came to me after I had a conversation with a friend of mine who worked in an occupation I really knew nothing about. As she shared stories with me about the happenings of her day, she kept saying things like, "People don't realize that I can't just..." and "I don't think people get that I really need them to...."

It's true! I had no idea about those things until I heard her stories. And I knew so little about her job that I wouldn't have even known where to begin to try to understand the process from her perspective.

But I wanted to understand. I wanted to know what she wished people knew so that her days and work could run more smoothly.

That's how this idea was born in my mind. If we could take a short walk (say...just a mile) in the shoes of someone whose occupation is unfamiliar to us, what would we learn? Who knows!? It might even benefit us someday if we have to be on the receiving end of those services.

This week I'm starting with my favorite worker: my husband!

For those of you who don't know, Ryan is a PTA, which stands for Physical Therapy Assistant. He spends most of his time working outpatient at a rehab hospital. (He does work inpatient too, but that's usually just on weekends.) The majority of the people he sees are older, and many have had joint replacements or strokes, or are just experiencing pain somewhere in their bodies. He works to help them regain mobility. Sometimes he works with people who may not have had a specific "event," but they just need to strengthen limbs that have weakened.

He loves his job, and he's good at it. He has a great personality for it, because he loves people. He socializes with them well while he works, he's compassionate, and yet at the same time, he's good at pushing them beyond what they perceive they're capable of doing.

 (Ryan with his grandpa last year)

I asked Ryan what three things he wished people knew about his job, and he said:

1. If you have a positive outlook, it will assist you in your recovery and help you stay motivated. 

You've seen those signs at the salon that say, "I'm a beautician, not a magician," right? It's kind of the same thing with therapists. When Ryan's patients come to him for therapy, many have a long road ahead of them. He can't wave his therapy wand and magically fix them in a day - or even a week! And as with any long road, the road to physical recovery can become difficult and discouraging. He understands that! But he has learned in his six years as a PTA that two patients can come in with relatively similar issues, but if one has a positive outlook and the other is a pessimist, he'll soon see a difference in their progress.

Of course patients still have to put in the hard work of therapy, but if they can put in the hard work with a good attitude, they'll help themselves and they'll have more fun! (I don't know if it's this way everywhere, but Ryan and his co-workers know how to have fun at work, and their patients comment on that often! They all laugh and tell stories and have a great time together, drawing their patients into that fun throughout the day. Who doesn't love getting to feel better in a fun environment?)

Obviously no one really wants to spend hours in physical therapy. But what a gift it is that people like Ryan are trained in that field and have the skills to help the hurting feel better. So if you have to go to therapy, walk in that door with a positive attitude, and you'll reap the benefits!


2.  A big part of therapy revolves around educating patients and their families.

If you've never been in a physical therapy gym before, you might not know that it's filled with machines similar to a workout gym. But aside from treadmills, bikes, and weight machines, it also has a number of other things, like steps, balls, and cones. The therapists use the equipment to strengthen their patients, and they also work with them manually to stretch them, help increase their range of motion, and improve balance .

That's the kind of stuff you might expect at therapy. But it doesn't stop there. Believe it or not, you can't actually stay in therapy forever, so therapists want to spend as much time as they can educating their patients on the things they need to know to progress and improve after they return home. Therapy is about regaining your independence, and therapists love seeing their patients achieve that. Not for a pat on the back for the great job they did, but for the good of the patients who leave with a better quality of life they came with.

 So if you have to go to therapy, do the physical exercises they ask of you, but take advantage of the time you have to learn from their wisdom. Drink up the knowledge they offer so when your visits to therapy expire, you are equipped to go home and continue getting even stronger on your own. And if you have questions, ask your therapist. They're actually not mind readers (spoiler alert!) so they might not realize it if you don't understand something the first time.


3. PT actually does NOT mean "physical torture." 

 I think some patients might disagree with this after the first couple of visits, but he promises it's true! Physical therapy is hard. If you're there, it's because something isn't working to its full potential, and in order to make progress toward full potential, some pain will have to be endured. But the therapists actually don't skip to work every day, gleefully anticipating physical torture.

We hate pain because, well, it's pain. And while it does have to be respected and tended to, pain can sometimes be a good thing. It can show that the body is working appropriately and as a patient's function improves over time, the pain will actually decrease. When muscles stretch and strengthen, pain begins to decrease.

Ryan says that patients who set their ultimate sights on recovery rather than pain usually do better. (See point number one! Full circle!)

Sometimes Ryan's patients cry, because it really does hurt. Sometimes they pour sweat like they've just done a hard-core workout. Sometimes they get frustrated. He has compassion toward all those reactions. He knows when to take a break, when to encourage, and when to push.

If you have to get therapy, stop focusing on your pain. It's okay to still feel it, but don't make it your focus. It's not physical torture. The therapist isn't your enemy. Focus on your recovery and let your therapist lead you safely toward that ultimate goal!


(On a side note, I am so proud of Ryan and the work he does in therapy. He cares about every single patient he sees. He gets so excited when they do well and accomplish more than they think they could. He treats them like dear friends and cares for them compassionately. I am so thankful he takes his job seriously and is conscientious about seeing success for his patients!)

(Addendum to the side note: Ryan read this already and he wanted to make sure that this wasn't all about him - a hazard of having a writer wife. What? Life isn't all about him? You don't say! He wanted to give full credit to the team of therapists he works with, because they all work together for the good of the patients. I will heartily say amen to that. I really enjoy his co-workers and it's true! They work hard, passionately, and compassionately too. And they are great friends to him, work aside. It's a great family he has, and that's a blessing we don't take for granted.) 


So there you go! If you ever have to get physical therapy, you have now walked a mile in a therapist's shoes, and you're equipped to make the most of your journey!

Linking up with Tamar!

Senior Night!

We have a new round of stories for you today! Hope we can keep you company and make you laugh! (This is always our goal!)

Listen here!

You may or may not remember that a couple of years ago, my friend Kari asked if I could be her personal photographer for her son's senior year events. She wanted to be able to just be a mom at things like senior night for band and at his graduation and open house. Of course, I said yes (and I thought it was a perfectly brilliant idea, actually) and that was how I came to be her "secret photographer" lurking in the corner, trying to get candid photos.

Well, son number two entered his senior year last month, so I've reprised my role as the the Bekahrazzi once again!

Friday night was senior night for fall athletes at their high school, so Ryan and I went. Mind you, when we went to his brother's senior night, we were in about 18 layers that made us look a bit like puffalumps. My fingers went numb, and it was practically dark before the game began!

This year, senior night was about 3 weeks earlier and 50 degrees warmer. Oh. My. Word.

However, when we arrived, we found out they were having a weather delay. Why? Lightning in the area. So we stood in that parking lot for an hour, guzzling water and getting sunburned despite our sunscreen. First time I've ever had that happen for a weather delay!

(That is actually an umbrella in case it rained. He doesn't carry his own flag with him everywhere he goes.)

The support crew, made up of parents, grandparents, a cousin, and a photographer's husband. (And doesn't he look dashing, by the way??)

We finally got to go inside and find our seats on the bleachers! With the husband and with Kari!

 I mean it was a far cry from the last time we did this:

It was a fun evening, though. Snapped lots of pictures of the game (and the senior recognition) and then left at halftime with Kari's permission. They were losing the game and she said she hated for us to say.

And then don't you just  know that they came back to win and I wasn't there to get all the hoopla pictures! WOMP WOMP. Photographer fail. :(

Thanks, Kari, for letting me be part of the night! I'm ready to do senior year all over again! (Not my own, obviously!)

My Impossible Dreams...Aren't

Back when I worked at the station, I learned about a writer named Courtney Walsh. Back then (like that was sooooooooo long ago!!!) she had released some books about scrapbooking your faith, so I think that probably immediately sums up why I wanted to know more about her. Then she released a series of books about a group of friends who scrapbooked in a lovely place called Sweethaven, and again, I felt like we must be kindred spirits.

Courtney blogged fairly regularly then, and often talked about the things happening in her day-to-day life, not just her writing life. One day, she posted this, which included a printable about understanding that your impossible dreams...aren't. I didn't have a color printer then, but I printed it out anyway, stuck it in a spare frame, and put it on my desk right there at the station.

I was a in a precarious position then. I was working my dream job, and dreaming about a different kind of life. Wait. What does that even mean?

I loved my job. It was dreamy in every way, except the way that made me drive hundreds of miles a week and kept me away from my brand new husband. I dreamed about being a homemaker and being able to breathe and having time to read and write.

God graciously allowed that dream to come true, as you know, and when I cleaned out my office at the station, I moved that black-and-white-copy-paper framed photo into my home office. It has a place of honor right there among all the other things that inspire me. It's starting to look a bit wrinkly, but I don't want a fresh copy. I just want my original dream-inspiring print.

My impossible dream of being a stay-at-home wife, writer, and speaker wasn't so impossible after all. God made a way.

I see that little print every time I walk in the office, and in recent days, it's taken on new meaning for me again.

October is the month in which I reflect on the past twelve months (work-wise) and think/dream ahead to the next twelve. And in typical Bekah-fashion, I've been planning for my month of planning. (Yeah, that's a real thing.) Dreams are taking shape, prayers are shaping up behind them, and I am eager to see what God has in store.

I think the whole point of dreams is that they're supposed to feel a little bit impossible.

If you're dreaming some dreams today too, don't give up on them. You just never know what God might have in store! I sure didn't have a clue back when Courtney wrote that post that I would get to realize my secret dream of tending to my home while working from it. And who knows what other dreams God will bring to fruition in the next year...for both of us!

Dream big, my friend!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Happy fall! I know it's not the first day for it, but I failed to give it a proper welcome when it actually arrived, so I'm catching up today! And...a peek at our happenings this week!

* I don't know that I have mentioned this on the blog, but I injured my knee a few weeks ago (pretty sure it was during a workout) and it's been giving me problems off and on ever since. Last Sunday, Ryan taped my knee to see if that would help. That night, our church had a choir concert, and my parents came to hear it. Mom asked if I had a tattoo. LOL!!! Nope! Just tape! (The concert was really wonderful, by the way. Loved it.)

* Monday morning was the day after the coffee debacle I told you about earlier this week. We were trying to get the stain out of the carpet, and Braeya parked herself right behind the fan for hours. And here's Ryan digging in the yard...which led to the nicked cable wire...you remember the stories. This is a day we don't need to rehash again.

* Tuesday evening we had our small group meeting, so I spent the afternoon baking pumpkin bread and arranging the house for company. Braeya came right out and hung out with everyone, which was so weird. She normally carefully avoids all visitors! We also watched the America's Got Talent finale that night, where our favorite act was Darci Lynne and her puppets!

* I was so proud of Ryan on Wednesday (well, every day, but especially that day) because he was featured in a video for his work! It was rehab week, and the hospital recorded videos with several different therapists. He did a GREAT job, but I cracked up at the still shot for the video. Of all the frames...ha! I had to go to the podiatrist that afternoon, which I have decided is another job I could never do. Way too scary for me. And that night we had dinner with Phoebe's people! Look at this pretty shirt they brought back from their travels! I loved it!

* Thursday morning when I took the kiddos to school, there was a portapotty on the roof. Things you don't expect to see! (They're doing some construction there, but still...kinda weird!) I spent the day finishing a writing assignment, which Ryan read for me when he came home that night. And he and Braeya hung out. :)

* Friday night, we went to a football game! One of my friends has a son graduating this year, and it was senior recognition night. Ryan and I went to play photographers! The game started an hour late because of a weather delay: lightning! So we stood in the parking lot and got sunburned while we waited for the all clear! So funny!

* Ryan worked yesterday, and I had the Pheebster for a few hours. And then we had a date night! No themes. Just a date. We went to see a movie, went out for dinner, and ended up with dessert at Cracker Barrel. Believe it or not, this is ONE apple dumpling, divided into two bowls. Not kidding!!

The Saturday Six

One.

Listen here

I know fall just got here, but Christmas is less than 100 days away! (Don't throw things at me!) This week I caught up with Natalie Ard, who created "Star from Afar." It's a fun family tradition you can implement with your kids that allows them to enjoy a treasure hunt each day, but it points them back to the birth of Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas! Natalie was just a delight, and I think you'll enjoy her story and hearing more about Star from Afar!


Two.

I posted about this a while back when I saw a tentative, rumor-ish post, but this looks a little more real AND EXCITING! Any fellow Trading Spaces fans out there excited to see it come back WITH some of its original members? Ahhhhhh....Paige, Laurie and Carter, I'm lookin' at you!

Three.

I know most of you who read here probably also read Kelly Stamps' blog, but if you don't, or if you missed this post, check it out. This was a great reminder for me about giving grace to others especially in a store. (I'm not known for much wiggle room when pushing a cart, sadly.) I appreciate her words, because it's true: we don't know what others might be experiencing that day!

Four.

I always mix and match my planner pages (and I'm going to be creating my 2018 planner in October!!!) so I thought I'd share my latest find with you. A whole beautiful mess of options for a paper planner, right here! 

Five.

Shut the front door. Drop cloth pumpkins? Adorable.

Six.

Source

I'm busting at the seams with pride for the book I get to tell you about today! This book baby officially delivers to the world in one week (October 1), and I'm just going to tell you straight off the top: buy a stack of them, because this book is the gift idea you need.


Prayers for Hope and Healing is my friend Sarah Forgrave's debut book, and I'm crazy proud of her for it. (NOTE: I know, I know. No one ever believes it when a friend brags on a friend. I mean after all, isn't that what friends are required to do? Just keep reading. I think you'll see that I'm truly not just saying that because she's my friend.)

Sarah and I went to college together, but other than seeing each other in passing during our student worker hours, we didn't really get to know each other. Then about a decade ago, our paths crossed at a writing conference down in Indianapolis. Then, because of the blessing of social media, we stayed connected and our friendship has actually grown and developed the most in that time. In fact, it was Sarah who invited me to the speaking/writing conference I attended this summer! We carpooled and roomed together there. (All that was just free information. You're welcome.)

Sarah actually started out as a fiction writer, but the Lord moved her away from fiction, at least for this season, and her debut book is a little gift/devotional/prayer book for those facing health challenges. That's a tall order from a little book, but it delivers! So let me break down that part for you. This book is first of all, beautiful. It's smaller in size, hardback, and has a pretty bookmark ribbon in it. This wins you extra points when giving it for a gift. :) It's a devotional book, because each chapter has a short Scripture passage to open it and then a devotional reading. It's a prayer book, because each chapter ends with a specific prayer (and not a two sentence one) that ties to the chapter's theme.

For reasons I don't know but am grateful for, I'm not currently battling health challenges, but I read this book cover to cover, and I want to tell you what raced through my mind as I read.

I thought of my mom's hip replacement earlier this year. I thought of Ryan's gallbladder surgery in January. I thought of my mother-in-law's ongoing battle with debilitating asthma. I thought of dozens of patients that pass through Ryan's hospital every week, both inpatient and outpatient, who are fighting huge battles to gain mobility and normalcy. (And I thought of a handful of others, but you get the point.)

As I read from the perspective of those people, this book was spot-on. Even though we're roughly the same age, Sarah has faced some pretty big health issues, and so has her sister. From her own journey and walking alongside her sister, Sarah knows the frustration, discouragement, helplessness, hopelessness, and exhaustion that can come from long and short term illnesses. That shines through in her writing. She offers such compassion, sympathy, and hope in her words.

I also know (from the few times my health has caused problems) that you can know all the truths in the world, but to call them to mind proves difficult when you're overwhelmed by illness. Praying sometimes feels impossible. So Sarah's words, especially the prayers, are such a gift to those who might be out of words and in need of someone to stand in the spiritual gap for prayer and encouragement.

The chapters are short, so they aren't cumbersome to get through, and the topics are quite varied. Here is just a short sample of some chapter topics:

When You Feel Self-Conscious
When You Get Bad News
When You're Confused by Medical Jargon
When You're Scared of the Unknown

(There are 44 chapters in all.)

If you are battling a long or short term illness, you need this book. If you know someone in that boat, they need this book. It's a perfectly sized and priced gift. Get a box of them and hang onto them for that moment when you need something in a hurry and don't know what to possibly give that could be helpful.

I'm so proud of Sarah for her work on this book. I'm excited that she's agreed to be a Conversation Cafe guest next month so you can hear her words for yourself. And this book is definitely one to keep and one to give! (Also perfect for church libraries, counselors, pastors, you name it!)

* Sarah provided a copy of the book to me, but all opinions are my own! *

Love in the Little Things

Last Saturday, Ryan had the day off work, and in a rare turn of events, we didn't have a single plan for the whole day. It was so glorious.

Actually, we did have a plan for the day. It was all Ryan's idea, and he was genuinely excited about it.

He wanted to bring me breakfast in bed.

Obviously I didn't argue with him about it. I just turned off my alarm, flopped over, and inhaled deeply whenever I happened to wake up while he was cooking!

He made lazy omelets (all the makings of one with none of the structure), tater tots, and biscuits and gravy. (The B&G was just for him. I can't handle wet bread.) Oh! And coffee, of course.

And so it was that at a very respectable daylight hour, I opened my eyes to this sight:

Sigh of happiness.

I share this with you, because for me it represents far more than the treat of a day when I didn't cook breakfast. It represents feeling loved, seen, and appreciated.

Ryan was really really excited about making breakfast for me. He didn't drag himself out of bed and into the kitchen to make a meal out of guilt. He told me he really appreciated all the meals I make for him (us) and he was really looking forward to taking a turn so I could rest. I know not every guy likes to cook, but Ryan does, so this was fun for him. And it really did make me feel appreciated. He planned the whole meal, shopped for the food, cooked it, served it, and cleaned up the mess.

In every detail, I felt his love and I felt appreciated.

That's where love really lives. It's in the little things. It's the reason we're doing these alphabetical dates all year long. It's not about the dates. It's about the planning and thought that goes into them.

When I was single, I was just certain I would feel most loved in these little moments. Watching TV together, Getting flowers. A sunset walk. And it's been true the last five years. Ryan's good about paying attention to the little stuff, and I do my best to offer the same back to him.

Love hides in the little things, and I never want to lose sight of that truth. I never want to give up on the details.

And Ryan? Thanks for breakfast. It was perfect!

The Date Inspired by the Letter "S"

Thanks for reading along with our crazy adventures yesterday. I am thankful to report that both Tuesday and Wednesday went much better than Monday!

I do need to catch you up on our weekend, though! We had another alphabetically inspired date. This time the letter S themed the evening. (If you're paying very close attention, yes we have skipped the letter R. I have plans that I want to save for closer to our engagementversary, so I skipped it for now.

See what I did there? We skipped ahead to the letter S!

The theme for the night was supper at Sonic and a selfie scavenger hunt. SWEET!

We'll start with the obvious: supper at Sonic. Our new Sonic is one that has indoor dining (most don't) so we ate our dinner in there along with all the employees on break. Ha!

I want to pause to say I got part of the evening's inspiration (via Pinterest) from this blog post. I know nothing about these bloggers, but I enjoyed their selfie scavenger hunt ideas!

We each picked a statement to describe the other, and then we went to the Treasure Mart (a fun place here in Kokomo) to look for letters to spell out our words. The Treasure Mart is a perfect place to find letters. I thought we did pretty well!

My word for Ryan:

Ryan's word for me:

We had so much fun with that!

Also while we were there, we looked for something super crazy to use as a prop in a picture. If you heard this week's blog, you know I "won" that round, although we really weren't keeping score. But seriously! A golf bag PHONE!

I really liked Ryan's find, though! (He had two. I'll show them both. The eagle figurine AND the wooden shoes!

Next up? A trip to Kohl's to pick out outfits for each other to try on. Silly outfits, we said. Of course then my mom worried we would post the photos and one of you would own one of these outfits and we would offend you. So then I started worrying about that too! So allow me to offer the disclaimer that these outfits just aren't representative of our personalities.

I picked Ryan's first, and I was already at at disadvantage. NOTHING could trump the flamingo suit he tried on at Easter.

I actually hunted around the store to see if they still had any left, but I couldn't find any! So I went with the Hawaiian shirt. Ryan's not a Hawaiian shirt kind of guy, so that's why I picked it.

And then he picked mine. In defense of this dress...it was CRAZY comfortable. (It was also too big, so that might have been why. It had pockets, and the material felt like jammies. And three cheers for vertical stripes. Every girl's friend!) Other than that, I just don't think I can pull off this look!

We also did still life portraits with mannequins, but those pictures were a little dumb looking, so I won't post them.

Next up was a challenge for each of us to pick a place in town that had been significant to our relationship. My top pic would have been the jewelry shop where he bought my ring, but alas, it's a vape lounge now. I wasn't sure that really matched our theme for the evening. We learned the town hasn't created too many significant locations for us yet, other than (of course):

 and:

Our last planned stop of the night was the Dollar Tree, where we were supposed to buy each other one surprise with only a dollar to spend.

Happily, both of our finds started with an S!

Shortbread cookies for Ryan...

 A silicone oven mitt for me!

Ryan threw in one fun extra before we went home (since we hadn't gotten dessert at Sonic). A sweet treat at the yogurt shop!

We ended the night with smooching but I don't have a picture!!!

It ended up being even more fun than I imagined...three cheers for a hometown date!

(You can read about all our alphabetical dates so far right here!)