The Shafferland Shuffle

Very slowly, we are starting to find our footing in our routine again, and this week brought a bigger taste of that!

* Last Sunday morning, it snowed again here in Indiana. I am beyond thinking it's cute anymore, but I will say it was the perfect snow. Pretty and snow-globey coming down from the sky, and it didn't stick to roads or sidewalks. Win-win! Ryan and I went to lunch with our pastor and his wife, where we talked all things ministry and ate chicken tortilla soup, because it was that kind of day. And then I rehearsed some of my retreat talks with Ryan so he could know how the power points are supposed to go.

* Monday I spent some extra time in Bible study, and I already told you about the verses from James that were so meaningful to me. I got new oils in the mail, which made me so happy, and then that evening, Ryan and I played divide and conquer. I had a women's ministry meeting at church, and he went to the cabin to see the family. We both got home crazy late and stayed up exactly long enough to have one cup of coffee. Then zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

* Tuesday morning I wrote notes to all of the ladies registered for the retreat this weekend, and it was quite a pile when I got done! I met Ryan's step-mom for coffee that afternoon, and since Ryan had a long day, I decided to surprise him with a Grasshopper latte at work. He loved it! We hosted small group that night, and it was a very worship-filled evening. (And Braeya worked the crowd the entire time and then fell into a socialite slumber after everyone left.)

* My mom stopped by on Wednesday to drop off a gift from their church. So thoughtful! They gave us a beautiful little lantern and bird figurine! This was my only day to be home the entire day, so I took advantage of equal work and rest times. I was trying so hard to stay germ-free ahead of my speaking weekend. Ryan and I planned to go to DQ for the first-day-of-spring-free-ice-cream, but he was so exhausted after his work day that we stayed home and ate ice cream from our freezer. And then we had a whole night at home alone together, which we both needed.

* Thursday morning was the closing brunch for the Bible study I was part of this year...except I missed most of this entire semester because of Nita's illness and death. My group was kind enough to reach out and ask me to still come to the closing session, so I did, and it was a good boost for my soul. I spend the afternoon packing all the things I needed for my retreat this weekend. This picture is just the work related stuff. Not clothes and such. I don't travel light. :) And Ryan's sister had a Pampered Chef party that night, and guys were welcome too! We went and had fun, and clearly Ryan is confused about how you use the tools. :)

* Friday morning, we left for the retreat where I've been speaking this weekend. We had a coffee date together, enjoyed looking at the lake, and got all set up to share with an incredible group of ladies! It wasn't really warm, but it sure was sunny and pretty, and the lake was all blue and lovely. Did my heart a world of good.

* Yesterday we awakened to a beautiful lake sunrise, and the whole day did NOT disappoint from there. The sessions with the ladies seemed to go well (I hope so, anyway!) and we had great opportunities to hear from them what God was doing in their hearts. And during the free time in the afternoon, we had our first official walk of 2019, in the sunshine, by the lake! YAY! We even got to watch the sun set over the lake. So, so thankful!!