The Saturday Six

One.

Let's just start out with the friendly reminder that it's time change weekend - and be all done with that, shall we? Change up those clocks tonight!

Two.

This makes me so sad! I read this week that this year will be the last year for Ever Thine Home to sell the Christmas ornaments with the names of Jesus on them. We have used these for the last seven years, I think (and I have two sets left to buy to complete my collection) and love them. If you've ever thought about getting any of the ornaments, you should do it now, before it's too late. The quality is excellent. These aren't tiny, cheaply made ornaments. They're huge, made from quality material, and share the message of Jesus so clearly! Here's the link to the Christmas store! 

Three.

So my friend Charity has been really sick for about a month and seems to have finally gotten an answer about what was wrong. And it turns out to have involved a medication clash. She wrote the story here on her blog, but I'm sharing it because if any of you would ever happen to have the same sort of medication clash, this might be info you need! 

Four.

Christmas-laden towns and cities = swooville for me! I found this list of the 10 perfect shopping getaways for Christmas, and I think I might have to blog about this one more next week! Have any of you been to any of these for Christmas shopping?

Five.

The outside of this little house may be plain, but that view!!!!

Six.

Some of these aren't really my style, and the last few aren't even viewable anymore, but there are still plenty of options to see: unique phone cases!! You'll have to tell me which ones are your favorite! 

What I Learned in October

First up - a happy birthday today to my sister Julie! Secondly - I know the month really ends tomorrow, but we'll be busy with Saturday Six lists then, so today I will share what I learned and accomplished in October!

1. Mask chains are a thing.

Maybe you've seen these, but I haven't! Tamar posted about them earlier this month: chains to attach to the earpieces of your mask so you won't lose it when you take it off. They're like the glasses chains of yore, but for masks! 

2. There are pizza farms.

If ever I become a farmer, I want to grow pizzas. LOL! Okay so maybe not. But have you heard of pizza farms? I read about them on social media and had to do some digging. Apparently they are largely a Midwestern thing, but some farmers have started making pizzas to serve as a farm-to-table sort of adventure. They use ingredients fresh from the farm and the menus change often, based on what is available. Anybody been to one?

3. There is a photo math app, and if it had existed 25 years ago, my high school GPA would have stood a chance. 

Ryan and I were eating inside a fast food restaurant this month (a rarity) and happened to sit near a table of guys covering quite a variety of topics during their lunch. One of them talked about this photo math app. You can take a picture of a math problem and it will solve it for you. The other guys at the table didn't believe him, so he wrote a math problem on a napkin and sent it through the app right then and there. Fascinating. 

4. I really can do a five day sugar detox. 

Earlier this month I did a 5 day sugar detox challenge, and it jump started our clean eating in a fresh way. I was really nervous going into it - wasn't sure I could actually do it, but I did! It helped that I was allowed to have fruit, which at least gave me a little sweet to take the edge off. ;) I was shocked at how much better I felt at the end of the five days. (People always say stuff like that about changing eating, and I have never found it to be true for myself...until this time. I don't know what was different this time, but it was finally true for me.) I don't know how much - if any - weight I lost but my clothes fit better, my tweaky knee felt better, and I moved around better in general. And it wasn't as depressing as I thought it would be to give up my beloved sugar. 

5. Yellow kiwi exist.

Ryan and I were shopping in Sam's one day and wandered through the produce section - and found yellow kiwi! What in the world? I had no idea there were versions of kiwi!

6. Not all toilets have a soft close lid. 

We had soft close toilet lids in Kokomo, and we have them here at WillowBridge, too. When I spoke at the church last week, I used their restroom and learned (with a bang!) that they do NOT have soft close lids. I pushed it down and it slammed the rest of the way. Whoopsie!! :) 

So that's what I learned in October. Now for how I did on my goals...

1. Finish prepping for a real live speaking engagement!

Done! :) The prepping AND the speaking! I held this event loosely because with the way everything tends to go right now, nothing is certain until it happens. But this one did happen, and I was grateful for it. I needed the words of the message I shared, so I enjoyed learning along with the people who attended! 

2. Fall pictures!

Done! We were able to get a few taken on one of the last warm fall afternoons  - while there was still some color on the trees! We were thankful for one our new friends who took them for us!

3. Check out a corn maze and pumpkin patch.

Done-ish. We did do both, but we did them for work. I was kind of hoping we could go on our own as a date, but the one day we set aside to try was miserably cold and rainy, and it didn't work out so well. But we had a great time at the one we did for work, and I'm happy to count it as a check mark!

4. One more kayak trip.

Done - and survived! It was a windy one that day, so my infantile upper body strength struggled a bit. But the water was beautiful, the fall colors on the trees were beautiful, and we had a great time. I was sad that it got cold so soon here, but it's okay. Fletcher will still be here next year for more adventures!

5. Finish our vacation book.

Done! I finished it AND finished our July/August/September scrapbook, which made me doubly happy. Just a few more things to catch up on and I'll be all ready to put together our anniversary trip book. (Once we take the trip, of course.)

6. Figure out FOR SURE where we want to go for our anniversary.

The answer ended up being an absolute surprise. We did not plan on the destination we picked, but we are really excited about it and can't wait to put together our official plans FOR the trip. (As I mentioned yesterday, I'll have to hold those somewhat loosely as well, because we never know what weather or pandemic restrictions will enforce. 

Dreams and Goals for November 2020

Ack!!! November already?!?!? What in the world!? Time to make some dreams and goals for the month to come. I feel like this is kind of a short list, but we're heading into the holidays, so I should probably not overachieve, right?

1. Make significant headway on painting cabinets in Abby the RV.

We have already started painting the cabinet doors - and when we're done with that project, we'll paint the cabinet frames. Abby has (I think) 24 cabinets, plus a door and 3 drawers that all need primed and painted, so we have a bit of a task ahead of us! Fortunately most of them are also fairly small, so that helps! We don't know what is realistic in terms of a time frame for completing this project, but we hope to make a lot of progress, even if we can't get the cabinet painting finished in November. 

2. Write Christmas letter and design Christmas cards.

We got our annual pictures taken and returned to us, so I am now free to design our card and order it. I always order from Picaboo, but I haven't been able to find a good sale voucher this year, so I'm exploring other company options. And though I've normally completed our accompanying Christmas letter by this time every year, I haven't even started on it this year. So I need to knock out all of that in November. 

3. Plan anniversary getaway.

We did land on a location, and we're excited about it! Now I just need to plan the possible activities for our trip. This year, more than any other, I'll have to hold those plans loosely, because not only will we have to be flexible based on possible weather issues, but we're throwing in a pandemic for good measure, too. We are so looking forward to this trip, though!

4. Decorate for Christmas.

I see that some of my friends have already put up trees, and I'm a little jealous! :) I'm not sure exactly when I'll put ours up, but sometime in November, for sure! I've been trying to figure out which trees to put in which rooms here, and I'm excited to see what it actually looks like when it's all finished!

5. Complete 21 Day Prayer Challenge.

A couple of days ago, I ran across an invitation for a prayer challenge. I did a sugar detox, so why not a prayer challenge, right? I signed up, and the first day was a doozy! I don't mind saying I'm a little terrified about what the rest of the days entail, but I do not want to give up on it. It's probably no small coincidence that I'm also doing the Daily Grace study on the Lord's Prayer right now???

So that's my somewhat small list. Any November goals for any of you? 

The Great Eight

I always get nostalgic at this time of year, thinking back to this brief season of our engagement, which was eight years ago now. I loved being engaged, and even though we elected to have a short engagement, I soaked it up. This week I got out the engagement scrapbook so I could look back over the fun memories we made, and I thought I would pick out eight significant moments from that time to share with you today. (Please note that it is impossible for me to say these are my eight top favorites. It was all my favorite. These are just eight of the moments that feel especially meaningful to me this year.)

1. Wedding Planning Fun!

Ryan proposed to me on a Thursday, and we both already had taken the next day off work to go on an all-day date. Of course I had no idea when I asked for the day off that we would be using that day to plan our wedding, but that's what happened! We drove to Brown County and hiked in the state park. Between the drive (a couple of hours each way) and the hiking time, we had hours to spend planning our wedding! That's when we decided to get married in December and to go to Florida to get married. It was SUCH a fun day - both in the fall scenery of Brown County and in the wedding planning! I hear stories of people whose wedding planning was so stressful because of all the outside opinions crushing in on them, and I'm so grateful ours was just a fun day for the two of us, where we could dream to our hearts' content!

2. Engagement Photos.

By the time we got engaged, I'd looked at a million and three (roughly) engagement sessions of all my married friends, and I so looked forward to being able to be part of such a session! Fun fact: we actually had TWO engagement photo shoots. The first one was in our beloved Matter Park in Marion, and it was a curly hair/casual clothing session. About a week later, we had a few more taken at Ryan's mom and step-dad's cabin, and I wore dressier clothes and had my hair straight for that night. Ryan's mom took all our pictures for us, and she did a great job. The photo above is one of my favorites from both rounds of pictures, and in fact, we have it displayed in our home still to this day. It also features our chalkboards, which we still use in almost every single photo shoot. Though we raced against waning sunlight both times, I had so much fun and love looking at all these photos. 

3. Saying yes to my dress. 

One of the perils of getting married two months after getting engaged (and being oddly proportioned) is trying to find a wedding dress that fits AND can go home with you the same day you find it. I went dress shopping seven weeks before our wedding day, and I'd looked online for a dress I might like. I had fallen in love with one of the dresses but feared it would look terrible on me. (This had always been my experience with Easter dress shopping: anything that I loved online was not flattering on my person.) The night of my dress shopping, I had a smattering of work friends and family with me, and several more from out of state sent in votes via text as the dress modeling went along. The store had the dress I loved in stock and generally in my size, so I was excited! When I put the dress on in the fitting room, I had no idea what it looked like, because there were no mirrors inside the room. When I walked out, I could tell from all the faces that this was it! Sharing that night with so many friends made it extra special. 

4. Building bears with Ryan.

Some of you who have been longtime readers will remember that when we got married, we had an honorary bridesmaid and groomsman in our wedding who were represented by stuffed bears. The bridesmaid bear was in memory of my former roommate, Angela, who died a year and a day before our wedding. She had battled cancer for many months and one of her bucket list items was to be a bridesmaid in my wedding. (I wasn't even dating anyone when she asked me.) I wanted to honor my promise to her, and I wanted to honor my nephew, Kirk, who was stillborn when I was ten. So we made a bear in his memory, too. Ryan and I took a Saturday to drive to Fort Wayne and knock out a bunch of wedding planning and shopping. While in town, we went to Build-a-Bear and made the bears together. I wrote letters to Kirk and Angela and tucked them inside the bears before we stuffed them. It was a sweet memory for me to create the bears and share the day with Ryan. 

5. Working the Mercy Me concert with Ryan.

Because I worked in radio during this season of life, and because Ryan had proposed on the air, having him be part of my work life was really important to me. A couple of weeks after we got engaged, I was scheduled to represent the station at a Mercy Me concert. It was on a Saturday, which meant Ryan could come too, and it was the first time he attended a work event officially as my fiance. Scott Tsuleff and I went on stage to throw fling rings prior to the concert, and Scott introduced me as the newly engaged Bekah Freelan. I LOVED THAT!! People came by the station table to meet Ryan - and from that point forward, I think most of them thought he actually worked there! It was so much fun to share work life with him, and this was the start of it.  

6. Bridal showers everywhere!

I had prepared myself (when I realized how short the engagement would be) to not experience a regular bridal shower. Who had time to plan one? Turns out that three sets of people did, because I was blessed with THREE showers in that short time. (In fact, two of them were on the same day, and the third one was five days later. I wrote thank you notes for a good while!) Ryan's mom and sister planned the first one, and it included friends and family from the area where we lived. A couple of fun facts from this shower include: it was the first time I had met some of Ryan's aunts/cousins/other family members. I needed nametags that day! Also: during the "how well do you know the bride" game, my mom got my birthdate wrong. LOL!! She put down my sister's birthday, which is ten days before mine. Well, ten days and a handful of years. Later that day, my matron of honor threw me a bachelorette party/bridal shower that was SO MUCH FUN! We went out to eat and then out for chocolate and ice cream after. I loved the night and the friends who came to share it. I even got the bride-to-be sash and everything. It was a night I will always treasure. And then a few days later, the girls at WBCL threw a shower at a tea room in Fort Wayne. Lynne Ford prayed a powerful prayer over me and my upcoming marriage with Ryan, and I loved that moment so much! 

7. Creating a wedding together.

I wrote this at the end of our scrapbook: "When we weren't doing all the other fun things in the pages before this  one, we were working hard on the actual wedding plans! Ryan took charge of finding us a wedding coordinator, videographer, photographer, and getting the hotel room and marriage license for us. I worked on all the craft projects...making the boutonnieres for the guys, the lanterns for the girls, and writing the content for our 16 page wedding program. Together we wrote the ceremony and assembled the programs. We did all the list-making and packing to take everything we needed from Indiana to Florida for the wedding, reception, and honeymoon. I did my own pedicure and had my trusted Debbie give me a manicure for the big day. We crafted itineraries for our wedding day for everyone involved. By the day of our departure for Florida, we felt completely prepared and ready to go!" Our wedding really did feel like our wedding because we had put it all together ourselves and loved every moment of doing it! 

8. The road trip to get married.

It was the final piece of our engagement, but what a HUGE memory it was (and still is!) for us. We got married in Florida - and we live in Indiana. It wasn't practical to fly because of all the pieces and parts we had to take with us to make the wedding happen. (My dress, Ryan's wedding attire, the clothes for one of our wedding party couples who DID fly, gifts for our wedding party, our cake and cupcakes for the guest, all the wedding props, and our honeymoon luggage.) So we drove! We left at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon (after I worked that morning) and drove straight through to Florida, stopping briefly at a rest stop in Georgia to take a 3 hour nap. After a legendary 3 hour traffic jam just 10 minutes from our destination, we finally arrived at our resort, 24 hours after we left Indiana. I was so exhausted that I actually felt sick. We unpacked our car, met our family and friends for a "rehearsal" and then Ryan went to stay with his best man while his best man's wife came to stay with me - and when we woke up on Sunday morning, it was our wedding day! That whole whirlwind of a trip was such an adventure, but it was the perfectly imperfect end to our engagement!

The great eight! Ryan, I had the biggest smile on my face as I wrote this post. I loved our engagement, and I love being married to you!  

Speaking of Simeon...

Yesterday I told you about my friend Olivia, who gave my name to the women's ministry at her church and suggested they contact me about speaking at an event they were planning.

That event was scheduled for this past April, and as you might well imagine, it was canceled along with the rest of life this past spring. They rescheduled it for next spring and asked if I could still serve as their speaker, and I'm excited to do so!

Meanwhile, they wanted to have a short, one-evening event for their women this fall; they wanted something to give them a chance to come together in fellowship, even if they sat at a distance from one another within the room.

They brought in a husband and wife duo to lead worship, and they asked me if I would speak from my Advent book - and of course, I was happy to do so. I spoke from the life of Simeon - and oh how I love the lessons I've learned from Simeon! 

But before I even arrived at the church that evening, while I was still hanging out with Olivia in her kitchen, rocking her baby so she could focus on a hundred other tasks at hand, she asked me about my topic for the night. I said, "Oh, you know...the life of Simeon." Only then did it occur to me that the baby I was holding at that very moment...was named Simeon.

Yes! I was holding Simeon, and in a couple of hours, I would be teaching about how Simeon held baby Jesus. 

I love God-details, don't you?

I first shared this talk back in 2015, and I updated it to reflect current stories from our lives. But in the past few weeks as I reviewed the talk in preparation, I hoped I would convey the message well. I hadn't spoken to a group in so long, and I wondered if it would be like riding a bike and come flooding back to me.

Perhaps the ladies would say differently, but Ryan said it came across very well. 

I shared from my heart...and from my book.

And at the end of the night, I stood across the way from the women who stopped by the book table and heard their stories. It was strange not to shake their hands or hug them - which is the typical behavior at a women's event. But it was great to hear their words, even if I couldn't see full faces or get very close. 

I think I needed the Simeon lessons even more than they did. I needed the reminder that God is always at work, even in seasons that seem fruitless. 

It's been a while since I've been able to share a talk based on the book. Because we're coming up on November, with December hot on its heels, I'll link to this first book-baby of mine. If you're looking for an Advent devotional to read this Christmas season, I'd love for you to consider this one! (It turns ten this year!) 

Friendship

 This past weekend, as you might have seen on the Shuffle yesterday, I spoke at a women's event at a church. It was my first time to speak to a group gathered live and in person since before the whole pandemic lifestyle began, and I really loved it. The ladies were careful but still kind in their interactions with each other and me, and I'll tell you more about all that tomorrow.

But the whole reason this church even had my name was because my friend Olivia attends there, and she is a champion of the work I do. (This is the second church she's recommended me to, and I love it that she shares the love!) 

Olivia and I have been friends for many years now - probably coming up on close to twenty, actually. (WHAT?!) We attended the same church and then she asked me to be her mentor, which was a relationship we carried for many years. I was in her wedding and now we're good email and text buddies, and I love it. 

(Here are some peeks at our adventures over the years: the story of our friendship, her bachelorette party, her bridal shower, her wedding rehearsal, my day as a bridesmaid in her wedding, her baby shower, a visit with Olivia and her baby, one of the days she came to hang out with me at our Marion house, and our visit to their town back in 2016.)

Tom and Olivia now have four children, and life is very busy for them. Though they live closer to us now than they did, it's still a bit of a drive, and we haven't seen each other in far too long. 

So we left home a little early for my speaking engagement and made time to go see their home and the two youngest littles we'd never met in person.

You know what I love about them? We can not see them for years and then jump in and talk as though we just saw each other yesterday and are continuing our conversation from there. 

Not all friendships are like that, so I hold extra appreciation for those that are.

They welcomed us into their home, introduced us (reintroduced in some cases) to their children, and let us be part of their afternoon. Ryan sat in the living room with Tom, each of them sharing a little about work, and then the boys woke up from their naps and wanted Tom and Ryan to watch them practice casting their fishing lines, so they headed to the backyard for that. The boys introduced Ryan to all their chickens, too.

Meanwhile, Olivia and I sat in the kitchen, keeping an eye on dinner baking in the oven, and I played with the baby, while their daughter showed me some of the books she so loves to read. In between food, books, and babies, we caught up on life as fast as we could. 

We sat down to homemade pulled pork sundaes, and I wanted to eat a MUCH bigger portion than I actually did, thankyouverymuch. Olivia has always been a wonderful cook, and four kids haven't slowed her down any in cooking time or talent. 

During dinner, the kids told us jokes and asked questions about how long we had known their mom and dad. We talked about some of the very stories in those earlier posts linked above. 

Though I was eager to go speak, I also wished I could have stayed for hours - or days! - to keep talking and sharing stories and memories.

I sure am thankful for Olivia. What a treasure and blessing she has been - and still is - in my life. 

***

And I can't close this blog without talking about another friendship reconnection I enjoyed this week! 

Back in my pre-blogging days, I received a dear friend named Lois, who came to work in Financial Aid right after I was hired. She found herself inheriting a real mess, not just of an office, but in this whippersnapper of an employee, fresh out of college. A few years ago, I wrote about how she coached me through a season of change that threatened to utterly UNDO me.  

Lois moved away from Indiana, but in one of my favorite God-twists, she actually came to our wedding! She happened to be attending a conference in Florida the same weekend we got married, and she asked if she could make the trip over for the wedding! ABSOLUTELY! So she's right behind Ryan in our full-wedding-guest photo!

Lois texted me this week and said she had a question for me - if I had time for a phone call. Why call when you can FaceTime? So I suggested that, and that evening, Ryan and I gathered in at the kitchen table to enjoy an actual face-to-screen-face conversation with Lois! I don't even know how long we talked, but I loved every second of it! 

I love making new friends - and we're certainly in a season of doing a lot of that right now. But even though I love the new, I love the forever friends that hang on and hold their place, years down the road. I love being able to go right ahead without skipping a beat. 

I love God's idea to create friends. They're a blessing! 

The Shafferland Shuffle

 

Well, my friends, the time has come when I must tell you that we have one week left until the time change. At least this is the "good one" coming up, right? The extra sleep kind? But still...it's coming. Until then, though, here is your peek at our adventures from the past week!

* Last Sunday we went to hear the last sermon in a really great series at the church we've gone to quite a bit since we moved. (We had to miss a few Sundays for work things, but we heard most of the sermons!) It was another excellent message! We had a low-key day at WillowBridge and an amped up salad for dinner that night! And how much did I love walking through the apartment that night to find Ryan using the laminator? Laminated anything and everything makes me SO HAPPY!

* Monday was one of those bone-chilling cold fall days, but we left the house to go to trauma training for the afternoon. It really was a great training session; we learned so much! That night we both got in some baby snuggles here in the building! It really is one of the best side-perks of the job! 

* Tuesday morning we both had dentist appointments. And so began a very rough day for me. My visit did not go well (it was a new dentist from the one I've gone to for the last six years) and it made me realize how much I miss my beloved dental assistant! Though the day wasn't really great from there on, we did get our new parking lot signs for the building, AND I won a game of SkipBo that night. I played one of our tenants, and I never win against her. (Maybe she felt sorry for me and let me win?)

* Wednesday morning we had a bunch of meetings here at WillowBridge - which actually lasted through my lunch hour and left me a bit hangry, but amazingly enough, I survived! (ha!) In order to clear our minds and to soak up a mostly WARM fall day, Ryan and I took an afternoon walk. We got the mail and then just walked around town for a while. And when we got back, Ryan resumed his staple-pulling party in Abby the RV. 

* I heard on the radio Thursday morning that the entire STATE of Indiana was under a fog advisory. That is a lot of fog! This is not a small state. We were doing our part with the fog...that's for sure. Ryan took some time that day to winterize Miss Abby before the weather turned truly, truly cold. The day was filled with more meetings, walks, and chores, and that night, Ryan launched into "other duties as assigned" by fixing our tenant's overloaded washer that leaked onto the floor.

* Friday was a weekend day for us, and though we did get a pretty hefty storm that afternoon, the morning was beautiful, so Ryan finished his staple pulling project in Abby! I managed to land a hair appointment (on a cancellation) and FINALLY got a long overdue hair fix. No more white! We went grocery shopping that night, and I tried a new clean eating dessert recipe that was pretty delicious! 

* We rounded out the week yesterday with a rare experience for this year! I spoke at a women's night out at a church! I haven't spoken to an in-person group since Valentine's Day, and it was so nice to see a group gathered (with precautions) together! The church is where my friend Olivia and her family attend, so they invited us to have dinner with them before the event. I haven't seen her in about three years, and it was so good to catch up - even though it was quick - and share a meal with them! (Oh - Ryan was eating a snack when I asked for a parking lot car selfie, so there's that.) 

The Saturday Six

 

One.

I know this post is for kids, but I thought there were some really fun things on this list! Virtual field trips that are all about fall! Time lapse of a pumpkin growing...how to make a corn maze...70 fall waterfalss around the world, and much more! You might just find something interesting in there. :) 

Two.

If you're still adding to your fall decor (on a budget) - check out this DIY fall acorn project, and the best part is you can make them any color you like! Whatever matches your house!

Three.

Here at WillowBridge, we are already planning ahead well into December, because calendars fill up fast around here! I really love this little calendar of kindness to show in December. Most of the items don't cost much - or anything! - and they can make a huge difference in someone's day!

Four.

Our anniversary is coming up in just a few weeks, so of course I am in prep mode! I know some people may not be able to go out/away for an anniversary because of illness or travel restrictions, so if you fall in that camp, but you want to have a special meal, check out the ideas on this post. I'm not sure that any of these fall in a clean eating category, but if you can't find an idea or two in this, then I'm not sure I can help you! (ha!) So many ideas! Even if you're not planning an anniversary, you might just find some new recipes for any given day of the week!

Five.

Doesn't this shirt just look SO COZY?????? I saw it on a blogger's post, and now I can't stop thinking about it. 

Six.

Source

I just finished working my way through another Daily Grace study! This time it was Preaching the Gospel to Yourself. This one intrigued me, because I don't think I've ever thought about the concept before, and I wanted to see what they had to say about it.

The premise behind this study is that although we usually think of the Gospel as something the lost need to hear (and they do!), it's not something believers don't need to hear. In the introduction, the writers say, "We need the gospel for our salvation, but we also need it for every moment that follows." While I suppose I knew that, I don't know that I'd ever paused to actually consider it. 

This four week study consisted of five days of study, followed by a day of reflection over that week. (That's a common layout for a Daily Grace study.) The first week focuses on what the Gospel actually is, why we need it, how it reflects God's glory, how it should drive our goals and decisions, and how it impacts our spiritual health. 

The remainder of the weeks address how the Gospel is woven into every area of life, including...our physical health, marriage and singleness, hospitality, the local church, work, free time, and yes - even social media. (There are other topics covered in the book, too, but those are some of the highlights.)

As with all their studies, this one is heavily saturated with Scripture passages to provide the foundation for the teaching. The book itself is beautiful, with thick pages, easy-to-read font, and amazing full-color pictures. 

I found this study particularly helpful for me in this season of working with our tenants, because it helped me realize how much I need to be mindful of what I'm living in front of them AND purposefully teaching them.

This week, this study is on sale for $10 through The Daily Grace - if you want to check it out for yourself!