Sunday Sentiments

As I write this to you the night before you'll read it, we're told we could have our first big snowstorm of the year. No flakes have floated down outside our windows just yet, but it could be that we'll wake up to the kind of snow that keeps us inside for a snowy Sabbath. 

We had a hint of snow earlier this week and it was grand, clinging to bare branches just loosely enough that I could see the delicate detail of each flake. Beneath the snow was the tiniest layer of ice, which felt treacherous beneath my feat but dazzled from the branches. It was just light enough to be beautiful without bringing the branches into a bow low to the earth. 

I'd watched earlier in the day as those same flakes drifted down, and I tried to capture it on camera, but nothing compared to watching them float before me. 

The glory of God indeed. In the snow, the ice, the rays of sunshine, the soft sunrises and brilliant sunsets. In all of them, the glory of God.

The color.

The detail.

The warmth.

The cold. 

The design.

The depth. 

The glory of God. 

Whether or not we wake up to snow, I'm captured by the declaration of glory today. I'm putting my focus there. In all the messy uncertainty around us, God has not stopped declaring His glory or showing the work of His hands.

All we have to do is look up. 

The Saturday Six

 

One.

I've talked to some of you in private messages lately and know you are struggling with discouragement about many things. These things are huge and real and loom without end. My heart aches for you and though our details may be different, I do understand the huge, real, looming discouragement that just hovers. If that's you today, here are some words of understanding and encouragement that might bring some hope to your hearts. They did to mine!

Two.

I can't vouch for any of these recipes from experience, but I appreciate the idea of some new recipes for healthy snacks! A few of these are making me drool significantly!! (Hello, flourless coconut almond bars and no bake fudge oatmeal bars, just to name a couple...)

Three.

I saw this one on another blog and thought I would share it with you, because if you like the idea of a capsule wardrobe but aren't sure how to start, this is a place that offers custom guides for people. I read a blog review from someone who did it and loved it. It looked intriguing to me! (The mixing and matching is always the part I feel like I fall short on...like I don't see all the possibilities.) 

Four.

I loved the winter decor in this entryway. (I also realized last night that I never put winter-ish flowers in my vase on our "porch." That poor little vase is just sitting there all empty. Whoopsie! Guess I still have some winterizing to do! 

Five.

When I was growing up, I wore barrettes ALL THE TIME. I quit wearing them after college when I went through my super short hair phase...and then they sort of disappeared from the style radar, so I never came back to them. I've seen them on more people lately and though I initially decided I wouldn't return to them, I've started to become intrigued. This one, in particular, looks simple enough to draw me back in. Any of you back in barrettes these days? 

Six.

My friend Leslie shared about this one this week and I have to share forward. It's been almost a year since Leslie and her husband said a heartbreaking goodbye to their tiny twin boys. Bridget's Cradles had made a donation to the hospital where Leslie delivered, so they were able to hold their tiny boys in one of these cradles. I love it that she shared, because I'd never heard about these before. Because of our own family's experience with loss, this is something dear to my heart, so I wanted to share! 

Three Words

We all held our breath, I think, as 2020 slid into 2021 almost a month ago now. We wanted to be hopeful. We wanted to grab hold of a thread that would swing us into some freshness and newness. We craved leaving behind the uncertainty and fear that dominated so many corners of the year before.

We wanted to, but most of us were also afraid. After all, we know there's nothing magical about the midnight stroke. Life isn't a Cinderella script. 

So we reached forward hesitantly, wanting to believe the best of a new year, while simultaneously throwing a backward glance, aware of what we'd just lived for so may months.

This weekend we cross off the first month of 2021, and a question I saw this week really struck me: what three words would you use to describe your January?

I had to ponder that one. Just three words?? You know I'm not known for brevity, right? But I welcomed the challenge and came up with these three words for my January:

1. Pause. 

Though the month has been busy, I have carved out time to pause this month. I've paused to read. I've paused to dig deeply into the Bible. I've paused to walk and pray. I've paused to think deeply about hard questions. I've paused to ponder what God wants from me in this moment and in the moments to come. 

Pausing, at least for me, has been a challenge. It's forced me to consider difficult changes. It's opened my eyes to subjects that may not be easy or pleasant. But it's been good for me. I've come to welcome the pause, even when I know it may bring discomfort. 

2. Courage.

My job is growing me. When Ryan and I sat in our interview last summer, Rob asked some tough questions about areas where we might need to grow as people. They weren't questions meant to keep us from being hired, but rather questions that challenged us to recognize that we are never done growing or learning. Courage in the face of conflict is a difficult area for me, and I shared candidly about that in our interview. I'm usually the peacemaker in a room, and conflict isn't my favorite thing.

But this month found me exhibiting some boldness and courage in ways I've never done before. I will probably always lean toward being the peacemaker and calming presence, but it's exciting to me to learn a courage lives in my heart that I didn't even know I had until now. God promised me He would equip me for this job - not ahead of time, but just in time. I've seen that in new ways this month and I'm grateful. 

3. Faith.

Like I said, God doesn't equip me ahead of time, but He does give me what I need just in time for the moments I need them. As life twists and changes - almost daily - I find myself gripping tighter to my faith in God. 

Faith for the right words in the right moments. Faith to believe He has answers to the questions that run deep. Faith that God will care for situations that seem silly to me even when I pray about them. Faith that He has a plan, even when I don't see what it could possibly be. Faith that even the things that didn't turn out the way I'd hoped aren't lost causes.

Yes. Pause, courage, and faith. Those are words that describe my January. (I started to say they described our January, but I didn't figure I should commit Ryan to all three of my words. He might have his own!)  What would you say described yours?

City Snow and Country Snow...

A few days ago, we reminisced about last Valentine's Day, when Ryan surprised me with an overnight getaway in Indianapolis. He'd found the tiniest little Airbnb apartment on the top floor of an apartment building, with a gorgeous view of the city skyline. 

The air was frigid, but the sunset was so brilliant, and I kept asking Ryan for one more minute before we left for dinner so I could watch the hues in the sky change a little bit more before it all slid into darkness. And as they did, I thought how lovely it would be to sit in that very perch every single night and watch the shades shift.

Staying in the city meant the restaurant was actually in the very same building as our apartment. One quick jaunt through the parking garage landed us inside the front door of our dinner destination. And on our way back through to the elevator, we stopped at the full-service coffee shop conveniently located to the side of the apartment lobby. No commuting. No warming up the car. No fighting traffic and circling the block for a parking place. It was all right there. 

And when we arrived back in our little home-for-the-night, we discovered the breathtaking night display of city lights. 

We sat on our little couch that evening, staring out the window, over the porch that was too cold to sit on, and declared that even though we don't think of ourselves as city people, there's a certain charm tied to a snowy night in the city. We loved our top-floor perch and our view of the lights and the canal. We  even loved getting up early the next morning to watch the sunrise scroll up over the city. Even though the brilliance faded by mid-morning, we still loved walking the sidewalks beside the canal. Runners suited up in extra layers glided around us and headed back to homes like we'd just come from, because this was their everyday. 

Snow and winter in the city had a certain charm to it. There was a joy in the quietness of it all for that night we were there. We were just far enough above the hustle and bustle that it seemed distant. We were just close enough to feel part of it.

But this time of year also always makes me think back to the days when we cared for Ryan's mom in her illness. She loved her log cabin in the woods, and she loved the snowy views it gave her. She was too sick that last winter to take her camera to the porch and grab the best shots, but she spent all the winters before capturing the woods, the birds, the lane, the cabin...in all its beauty. 

Warm winter glows under dark, country skies...

Tire tracks in the snow, coming down the lane...

Ice forming over the creek...

And one of my favorites she took...

There were no attached restaurants or coffee shops out at the cabin. There were no views from high perches. But there was so much beauty and quiet out there in the country. I remember when our nights stretched to midnight and one in the morning, and I'd quietly walk the cabin, waiting for Allen to come home. Ryan would tiptoe in to check on his mom and reposition her when she felt restless. And even in all the long hours, there was still something so beautifully calm about the country night under a blanket of snow. 

There were corners of cozy...

Those nights reminded me of my own childhood in the country, where you could see snow for miles, and everything felt quiet and safe, all tucked in by snow.

It's true: I love them both. I love the beauty of the city winters and the country ones. They both draw me, and I know that sounds strange. Most people are decidedly one or the other. I love a mix of them both. How about you? Which would be your winter pick?

I Remember Snow Days

One of our friends told us yesterday that the school his daughter attends has promised their students true snow days for the first two snow days this year. No virtual learning. Real, old-fashioned snow days with all the hype and fun. He told us he's already promised to take a vacation day on that first one so they can enjoy the winter wonderland festivities together. Sledding and snowmen and snow angels and snowball fights and all the snow things.

Back when I was his daughter's age, all snow days were true snow days, and they were grand.

My parents worked in the school system, so they always got "the call" early (if not the night before). Sometimes I could faintly hear the phone ringing at the other end of the house, and I knew it was the day. Sometimes I slept right through it and awakened to full light streaming in the window, announcing a snow day in progress, and that was just as grand. 

I always got to do special things on snow days. Of course I could suit up and go play in the snow if it wasn't so bitterly cold or windy outside. 

(That's Dad pulling me around the yard on my sled.)

But there were other treats about snow days too. Jammies all day. Puzzles and board games. Hot dog and marshmallow roasts in the fireplace. Hours and hours of reading books and getting lost in the fictional worlds I loved so much. Coloring and playing school - or house. And when I got older, hours on the phone with all my friends, catching up before we got too behind for not seeing one another for an entire day. 

I think I was in upper elementary school when snow days stopped being so grand. We still got them, of course, and they were still beautiful on that day, but they came to mean added days at the end of the year, and I always dreaded those. I savored my summer fun every bit as much as my snow fun and didn't like for it to be delayed. 

Then I got into the grown-up world and learned there aren't snow days - at least most of the time. There was that one day in our second year of marriage when Ryan and I both found ourselves the proud owners of a snow day during a Polar Vortex. 

We suited up and relived our childhood that day, playing outside, eating by the fireplace, and snuggling in under mounds of blankets. It was as charming as I'd remembered, and I thought it was most unfortunate that adults don't get the pleasure of a good, old-fashioned snow day like we used to know.

We are thankful that so far, our winter has been fairly mild and snow has been mostly about pretty and not about treachery. 

I still appreciate those old-fashioned snow days. I hope we're not done with them entirely. I have more snowmen I'd like to make before winter is done. But as I've gotten older, I've grown to love the sheer beauty of winter. (Driving excluded, of course.) I've grown to appreciate trying to find the unique details of the snowflakes if they separate enough to be seen.

I love watching the flakes float down and the fluff build up. 

I have a new appreciation for its blanketing beauty, and today I'm grateful for the samplings we've had this winter. They've been so picturesque!

And for this new generation of little ones who have never known the sheer delight of a proper snow day, I'm so glad some school systems are bringing them back. It's a childhood classic everyone should get to experience - at least in snow-receiving regions! 

Simple Life

It's a recurring theme in my heart: simplicity.

It wasn't always a recurring theme. In fact, it wasn't always even an idea flickering at the edge of my mind. But God has been bringing it back to me time and again lately. Simplicity.

Last night I stood over the laundry basket, which was perched on the end of our bed. Monday is laundry day - always, without fail - so it finds me at some point throughout the day folding shirts and pairing socks at the end of the bed. My mind usually wanders as I transfer clothes from the basket to the closet.

The lantern caught my eye partway through the folding, and my mind wandered back to our wedding day when I carried the lantern across the sands of the Florida beach. 

I never could decide on flowers for our wedding. Though I love them dearly, I'm not well-versed in them. I never know what's in season, outside of roses in the summer. I didn't know any florists in Florida. I didn't want to expand the budget enough to allow for fresh flowers even if I did find a florist. My own flower arranging skills are abysmal at best. I didn't even want to mess with trying a silk arrangement, especially in a season so overwhelmed with busyness and decision-making - a season not known for simplicity. 

That's how I came to carry a lantern, and my bridesmaids did the same. 

They were simple little lanterns, filled with battery-operated candles and adorned on the outside with random sprigs and sprays - and a starfish.

As I paired socks last night, I thought about that beautiful day. The beautifully simple day. I've told dozens of brides that have come behind me how grateful I am the day ended up being so much smaller in hoopla than I ever imagined my wedding day would be. I thought I wanted a huge, elaborate wedding, but I didn't. I just wanted simple. Something I could enjoy without being overrun by nerves and consumed by expectations. I didn't even know that to be true about myself until the day had passed and I realized how deeply and completely I had been able to treasure every second. What a gift God had given me in knowing me better than I knew myself and knowing exactly the kind of wedding I'd adore. 

He gave me a warm day, a stunning sunset, a group of people who sacrificed deeply to attend in person and a host more back home who prayed for us across the miles. He gave me laughter for the moments that didn't turn out perfectly (like when the music equipment failed) and photos that did turn out perfectly for me to treasure all these years later. Above all, he gave me a husband who surprised me with a song, beautifully written vows, and his love that I also continue to treasure all these years later. 

All those gifts - wrapped up in simple. And in the mix, I loved my simple, little lantern that swayed from a shepherd's hook throughout the ceremony. I love it that it still sits on our headboard and reminds me of the joy of that beautifully, perfect, simple day.

I crave that same simplicity now. This world isn't simple, but life can be. God is drawing me toward it more and more, in every facet. The big and the grand doesn't lure me like it did. The small, simple, lantern-lit moments of life beckon instead. 

Simplicity. Smallness. Sacred.

This is what I pray to fill my days with. 

Sitting in Rest

Yesterday was a true day of rest, through and through. 

Our jobs, as you may have guessed from reading here over the last few months, are much more like running a family and much less like running a business. Our tenants call upon us as sons and daughters call upon parents, with questions, needs, and confusions. Though we do our best to place boundaries around our own time, we can't plan when deep needs will arise, and when they do - we want to be there to reassure them. 

This is why we've tried so hard to make sure our weekends (whenever they may fall) have a true day of rest in them. A day with no commitments or errands. Just rest.

And yesterday was just such a day. 

I took not one, but two naps, and before I fell asleep each time, I cuddled deep into the couch and prayed long and hard about the thoughts that swirled through my head. So many things vie for control up there in my mind, and I needed God's guidance and direction.

One of my friends has just gone through a season of deep hurt and in a phone call last week, she told me that this time she decided to sit with her grief rather than busying her way through the pain, as she tends to do when her heart hurts.

Though I didn't wish the pain on her, I did wish her perspective to fall on me. I'm not grieving right now, but I do have thoughts I need to sit with. I do have things I need to take time out to ponder and wrestle with until I come to a full, God-led conclusion. I need to sit in rest.

Yesterday was my day. 

It won't be the last day I'll ever sit in rest, of course, but it was a day.

It was a day to sit with coffee, look at the soft glow of the winter tree, pray, journal, and scrapbook. It was a day to dream of things to come and reminisce over the joy that has already been. It was a day to bring my own questions, needs, and confusions to the Lord, just as our tenants bring theirs to us. It was a day to confess the things I do not know and my desire to learn. It was a day to talk things through with Ryan, and get his perspective, which is always wise and thoughtful. 

If you've not done some version of this, I encourage you to try. Sit in rest. Sit quietly before the Lord and just be. Ask the questions. Pray the prayers. And then just sit in rest and wait. Even if nothing "happens," it's not a failure. 

Let your body, mind, and soul relax. Sit in a continual conversation of prayer. Read the Word. Take walks. Take naps. Let work wait for another time.

Sit in rest. 

The Shafferland Shuffle

 

Mornin' friends! Happy Sunday to you!!  Hope you are having a good start to a new week! We are looking forward to a day of rest today, but here's a look at what we did this week!

* Last Sunday was a work day for us, and though it's typically not a day where we have meetings, we did have a meeting that afternoon. It was a deep, mentally-intensive meeting, and when it was done, we were all pretty tired. The guys sat down to watch football and small naps may have crept in. This was my favorite part. Miss Isla was trying to play with Ryan, and he had no idea! (Lest you think he was sleeping on the job, I'll insert here that we take our "evening" each day whenever we can grab it throughout the day. So a bit of down-time in the afternoon was his evening.) 

* Monday we got to do one of our most favorite things in life: ORGANIZE!!! We spent the entire day working our way through the storage room, going through everything on every shelf, putting it all in order, and cleaning up the mess it had gotten to be. (An influx of donations came in at the end of the year, and we hadn't had time to sort it all yet.) It looked SO BEAUTIFUL by the end of the day and was seriously one of the best days ever. Piano hymns, organization, and quality time with Ryan = the best day. 

* We were back in the storage room much of the day Tuesday, but this time I made labels for all the shelves! This project involved the paper cutter and laminator, so again - SUPER FUN DAY!!!! While I did that, Ryan assembled some coat racks that had been donated for tenant apartments. He loves putting things together and got half of them finished! (One of our tenants also loves working with her hands, so he invited her to put together the one for her apartment, and she was SO EXCITED to do that. He supervised, but she did all the work on that one!)

* We had some snowy, icy weather here on Wednesday, so Ryan was kind enough to do all the driving for transportation runs that day, so I could just be a passenger! Husband of the year! (He even took me to Rise n Roll after the morning run so we could have a donut date! Despite the rough weather start to the day, though, we had an amazing sunset, and I treasured every moment of it. Side note: I must talk about sunsets a lot because one of our tenants said that evening, "I thought of you today because I saw the sunset when I took out the trash at work." 

* We had about six hours of meetings on Thursday, so before they began, I fired up the Keurig to make my sustenance. Something weird happened, and it shut off partway through filling my cup. Ryan didn't realize it had even started, so he restarted it...and that was ONE FULL CUP! At the time I made it, I didn't realize the meetings were going to last that many hours, so I just chalked it up to a literal sweet blessing. 

* Friday evening started our weekend (we had a normal one this time...that never happens!) and we kicked it off with some grocery shopping! I wasn't sure how long it would take us to get through everything, so I suggested we get a rotisserie chicken from Sam's for dinner, and it was so good. I can't even remember the last time we got one of those! So yummy - and so fast!

* Yesterday we traveled back to the cabin to help Ryan's step-dad sort and organize more things. It was a full day of work, but totally worth it to see all the throwback pictures we ran across. (Ryan with hair!!) The cabin looked so pretty and serene. Reminds me of all the days a couple of years ago that this was our regular view:

The Saturday Six

 

One.

I saw this schoolhouse-turned-home on realtor.com when it first came on the market here a few days ago and was SO impressed with the renovation job that had been done on it. (Fun side fact: I think living in an old schoolhouse would be one of the best things ever, but this one is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay outside my budget. Actually, my budget will never allow this dream to come true.) But a few days ago, I saw that the local news did a story on the house, and it was really fun to read more about it than the listing offered. Check it out! 

Two.

Gateway Woods released a new promo video this month, and it features some of the work we're involved with! This video is for LARC, which is the arm of Gateway Woods that WillowBridge falls under. Much of the interview portion (and cooking part, too!) of this was filmed in our apartment, and we got to be part of the day! (Look hard, and you just might see a glimpse of us a couple of times!) I thought it turned out GREAT. I had no part in any of the vision or execution of the plan, but those who did...did great! 

Three.

Just as I don't really follow blogging trend rules, I also don't follow decorating trend rules. I decorate the way I like our home to look, and even though I try not to look like I just crawled out of something from too many decades ago, I don't rush to follow what the influencers say I need to do. Having said that, I did enjoy reading this article about predicted decorating trends for 2021, and it was not the first time I had read that open concept floor plans are taking a dip in popularity. Everything I've read says the pandemic is to blame for that: everyone is home and needs separate space to work. Has that been true for you? 

Four.

Comparison is such a huge monster in our personal worlds. I'm guilty of it just as much as the next person, and I have to remind myself regularly that life is not a competition. I sure needed and appreciated these gentle reminders this week!

Five.

This post may be a couple of years old, but it has a lot of truth in it! As we continue to sort through Ryan's mom's things, we find some of them to be very sentimental. What do you do with those things? Some great advice in here! 

Six.

Can't believe we are to the final week of January! Here are a few more ideas to help you celebrate winter as we end the month!

Monday, January 25: Listen to praise music. Maybe even learn a new song! I've been listening to songs as I walk in the evenings, and it has been so encouraging! 

Tuesday, January 26: Speaking of walking, get moving! Take a brisk walk today. If it's even kind of decent outside, get some fresh air. If it's too yucky where you are, walk inside! 

Wednesday, January 27: Visit a botanical garden or get a new plant. We have a little garden in Fort Wayne that I hope to go see at some point, but we haven't been there just yet. If you don't have a whole garden near you, just bring some spring hope inside by getting a houseplant. (Bonus points for keeping it alive UNTIL spring.)

Thursday, January 28: Spend a half hour before the Lord being quiet or writing prayers. One of my friends sent me a recording of a prayer she had written in poetry form - based on words of Scripture. It was so beautiful and I admired her ability to take all that time be quiet before the Lord. The best words come from quiet moments. 

Friday, January 29: Write a real letter that you put in the mail. Who doesn't love getting real mail that doesn't ask for money?? Make someone's day by writing just such a letter and putting it in the mail!

Saturday, January 30: Make a list of January successes. No time like the present to celebrate what you've done well this month. Let it spur you on to do well next month, too!

Sunday, January 31: Happy hot chocolate day! Celebrate any way you want: go to your favorite cafe for their best version, make your own hot chocolate bar, or just have the old staple of a mix version with whipped cream on top! 

Picture Love

A few months ago I found a couple on Instagram who have an RV very similar to Abby. Theirs is a little newer, but the size and layout is extremely similar. Like us, it's just the two of them traveling, so I started following them to learn from their ideas - and their travels! (Unlike us, they travel full time.)

Yesterday I read one of their posts and it made me so sick for them. They were at a rest stop in California (not in their RV but in their regular vehicle) and in the five minutes it took them to run into the restroom and back out, someone broke the window on their car and stole her camera bag with lenses, memory cards, and her wallet. 

The craziest thing about it all was that it happened in broad daylight with about 50 people standing nearby. (She posted a picture to show how busy the place was.) All of it is heartbreaking, but when I thought about the loss of her memory cards (which can be replaced in hardware but not content), it made me sick for her. She said two of them had not been backed up, so those pictures are gone forever.

Oh. My. Heart.

You all know I'm passionate about my pictures, and I try to be really diligent about backing them up regularly, because you just never know when something is going to happen - like a theft. Or like the time my one sweet friend lost her phone over the side of a cruise ship. I'm still sick for her about that!

A few years ago, I took an online course in photo organizing, and at that time, I hoped to pursue work in that field. (Have I talked about this on here before? I don't remember.) This was back when I didn't work outside the home, except for speaking, and I wanted to incorporate my love for memory-making and story-telling with work I could do from home. I was on track to work with people to organize their photos and put together albums, but then Ryan's mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor and life was put on hold. 

By the time we emerged on the other side of that long journey, I ended up working with ministries at the church and wasn't able to pursue that dream to completion. But I did learn a lot about preserving and organizing photos, and I've tried to implement some of those ideas not only in my own photo habits, but in conversation with others about their habits!

Obviously there's not much you can do about a tragedy like stolen memory cards or a ruined phone, but here are some things I do to try to save (and find!) the pictures I love. 

* Anymore, I take the majority of my pictures on my phone. I do still use my "big camera" as I call it, but I ted to save it for specific outings and adventures. For common, everyday use, the phone is handier and I use that. But regardless of which tool I use, I try to back up those pictures every single night. I try not to let more than two days pass before I back up the pictures, just in case I lose or ruin the phone. 

* Then I regularly back up those photos to alternative sources, so if my laptop dies a tragic, unrecoverable death, I still have them saved in other places. 

* Of course, I scrapbook, so the pictures are backed up in those when I create them, and I also try hard to stay fairly caught up on those. 

But all the backing up in the world doesn't work if you can't FIND a specific picture when you want it. There are many ways to go about organizing and labeling your photos so you can find them easily, and my way is probably fairly simple compared to what others might do. But it works for me, and that's what matters!

* I used to file my photos away according to month and call it a day, but my digital folders started to get pretty messy. Sometimes pictures are on my phone, sometimes on Ryan's, and sometimes on the camera, so the file names were all over the place and it would take me forever to find what I wanted. So this year, I not only separate by month, but also by day within the month. Unless it's a crazy big day (like Christmas), it makes it much more manageable to view the pictures in the folder when I'm ready! It's actually been one of my favorite new things this year. 

You don't have to use the methods I use, but I encourage you to find something that works for you - and do it! I hope you don't lose precious-to-you memories!

OH! And one more hint. Start today and go forward. If you have extra time, go back and catch up old photos, but if you start at the beginning, you may never catch up. So begin in real time and move forward and then play catch up!

Here's to saving the memories! 

Memory Lane

It's a slow news week here in Shafferland, and I have no complaints about that. Slow is good, right? Ryan and I have had a busy week, but it's not been the sort of busy that lends itself to great stories, and that is problematic when you have a blog! :) 

Before I hit today's post officially, I did want to say a giant thank you for all the kind words you left a couple of days ago when I wrote about blogging in general. I even got to hear from a few of you who are new friends for me, and that was fun. I appreciated your kindness, and I forgot ALL my manners in saying thanks yesterday! 

I've done a post like this a handful of times before, and I always find them fun in a nostalgic sort of way, so I'll do it again today. It's like the blogging version of Facebook memories. What was happening on this day in years past? Let's take a look!
 

* I didn't start blogging until the summer of 2006, so there isn't a January 21 post from that year. 

* In 2007, this day fell on a Sunday, and I'd been pushed into a burst of gratitude after watching George O'Malley say goodbye to his father on Grey's Anatomy. I haven't watched Grey's for years, but I was a faithful viewer in the early years, and George was one of my favorites. While reading through the aforementioned gratitude list, I see many staples of my life remain the same, lo these many years later: the same battles and the same joys. And the lessons God was teaching me back then made me smile today when I re-read the list. 

* Didn't write on the 21st back in 2008. I didn't blog every day back then, so I must have taken that day off. You're welcome.

* Didn't write on the 21st in 2009, either. Perhaps this was a day of the year in which I regularly found myself allergic to writing?

* I made up for it in 2010, when I wrote from a deep place in my heart about lessons I was learning. I appreciated being reminded of those today, and I also found it ironic that on that day, I longed for a weather delay at work. Just yesterday, one of our tenants called early in the morning to ask if I thought her work had a delay like the schools. Ahhhh, don't we all wish! I had to break it to her that not only did she not qualify for a delay, but we should probably leave early to allow for extra travel time. 

* It seems that in 2011, this day brought out not a deep Bekah, but a snarky Bekah. I really do try to avoid snark on the blog these days, but I confess if I had to repeat this experience, I would probably feel just about as delighted as I did that day. Waiting in long lines at the store for the win!

* 2012 found me baking on this day, so if you're looking for a rich and gooey recipe today, may I suggest these caramel surprise brownies? My photography was lackluster, but I assure you the recipe is NOT! In fact, I'm feeling a little hungry even now.

* 2013 was my first January as a wife! I was still in the throes of posting about our wedding and honeymoon, and this day provided all the funnies. I posted some of our outtakes and oopsies from our wedding day, and they made me laugh all over again today. Ahhhh, that world peace cry. The best. 

* I guess a year wasn't enough time, because in January of 2014, I was still posting about the wedding. I'd just gotten my dress back from the cleaners, where we'd had it preserved. (For those of you who may be new here...Ryan and I got married on a beach in Florida in December 2012 and then had a reception back at home in March of 2013. So I wore my dress twice. After the second wearing, we eventually took it to be cleaned and preserved.) I'd posted about that on Facebook and people shared their wedding dress horror stories, so I shared them on the blog that day! 

* In 2015, I was back in the kitchen on this day, but this time I made shredded pork loin. It's still one of our favorite recipes, though now that I think about it, we haven't made it for a while! Must remember this for my next menu plan! It's also ridiculously easy, so I highly recommend! 

* In 2016, this day was monumental: my little Bekahmobile hit 200,000 actual miles. Ryan documented it on his commute (I was already a stay-at-home-wife by that time) and we wondered how much longer that little car would serve us. Turns out...not too long! Not because it died or we wrecked it, but because in less than six months, we moved right next door to Ryan's work, didn't need three vehicles anymore, and sold it to one of my former WBCL co-workers. He bought it for his daughter to take to college, and I think eventually his son drove it and then they sold it to someone else. I wonder how many miles it has now?

* This day in 2017 landed on a Saturday, so I did a Saturday Six post, which featured a book I'd loved (still a great read, in my opinion) and some other fun finds. I know you'll have a whole new list in two days, but if you can't wait that long, here's a recycled one for you! 

* So of course it stands to reason that in 2018, this day was a Sunday and I was feeding you the weekly Shafferland Shuffle. I actually remember this week in living color. I had gotten sick with one of my legendary colds and one night, when we were still up at FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING because of my cough, Ryan got online and found me a telemed appointment. Such a newfangled thing back then. Who knew in a couple of years, it would be the norm? That was one nasty cold. I don't miss it. (Side note: it was also fun to read about the old carpooling days! Remember Brother and Sister that I drove to school every morning for a couple of years? They had the best one-liners.)

* In 2019, I also took a trip down memory lane on this day - but a different kind of trip. This was back when Ryan's mom was so sick and we were taking turns spending time out at the cabin to care for her while Allen worked or did chores. During one such shift, I'd stumbled upon a Facebook album full of pictures of things you might remember if you were a kid in the 70s or 80s. Need a laugh or two? Check it out again today! 

* And that brings us to last year! Last year on this day, I wrote about the new pastor that had just come to our church, after we had been without one for 18 months. Everything felt so promising that day, and we had no idea of so many major changes about to come our way. (Pandemic, moving, new jobs, you name it.) So on this day last year, I reflected on a day when my hair was MUCH shorter and my heart had an innocence about it that is gone forever now. We've all been impacted by this in a way that can never take us back to what we were. It's not necessarily a bad thing - or at least it doesn't have to be - but it's still true. What struck me most as I read over this post again was the challenge the pastor issued to us at the end of the service that day and how he asked us to step up to whatever God called us to do. Ryan and I were utterly overwhelmed that day, but we had no idea the emotion that poured over us had nothing to do with that church at all. God had a much bigger picture.

So much happened over the span of the years, didn't it? So much changed, and yet so much stayed the same, really, if you dig down deep. I'm grateful. 

Paring Down

Remember high school graduation? I do. I remember it in all of its poofy-haired, pizza-faced glory.

When I graduated, I was as excited to receive gifts for my someday-house as I was to receive money for college textbooks. 

I still remember the plastic canister set a lady from church gifted me. I tucked them in the cedar chest along with all the hodge-podge gadgets I'd inherited when my mom and aunt cleaned out my grandparents' house. Most of the things that no one else in the family needed for their kitchens (because they already had them) landed in a pile for me to have in a few years when I launched out on my own for real. 

I didn't care how big that pile grew over the course of my college years. In my mind, I could never have enough for that grand day when I had my own home with all my own everything. And indeed, I wanted everything. 

My desire to have all the things didn't feel like greed in my mind. It felt like an accomplishment. To be able to say I had all the things I thought adults were supposed to have to be independent would be a mark of success. I could share them with people who came to my house, because I always dreamed of a house that would be a hub of activity. 

And as I sprinted toward my late twenties, my home was just that. In all my singleness and loneliness, I had friends over all the time, and I wanted to meet every need they had. I wanted a place setting for twelve so I could host the whole women's Bible study for dinner without using paper plates. I wanted all the stamps and ink pads my company sold so I could have scrapbooking parties and let everyone use everything they could ever need. I wanted all the toys for all the ages so all my friends with kids could leave their little ones with me while they went out on dates. 

For a while, I drowned in the schedule and the stuff. 

Then I got married, and we combined households, and suddenly I could pick between fifteen different versions of a 9x13 baking dish. I could choose any one of a number of vacuums. We had more couches than rooms to put them in. 

So. Much. Stuff. 

So. Little. Room. 

Naturally that led me to want a bigger house. A four or five bedroom house, so we could have room for all the things and continue to share them - if ever our schedule calmed to where we could actually do that. As it was, home was more like a storage unit that we visited in the evenings for a quick nap. 

I'm not sure where it began in these years since we were married, but God has shifted my mind into pare-down mode.

We've cleaned out the house multiple times and held big rummage sales. We've moved and scaled back. We've been purposeful in our purchases to make sure the things we bring in are meaningful and have lasting value. We've been mindful of our present season as we go along and tried to keep our possessions in line with the present purpose of our home.

In the work we do, all the sharing and activity take place in the main parts of our building, but our home has become a sanctuary for the two of us. This is the space where we come to get away from the bustle. To reconnect, process, and rest. 

Perhaps that led to my conversation with Ryan a couple of weeks ago (after we worked on sorting through some of his mom's possessions) in which I declared that stuff and space mean less to me now than they ever had. I told him I know we pared down to a smaller living space to come to this apartment, but in truth, I'd be content to live in a smaller space even yet when we buy a house again someday. I'd be willing to let go of even more than what we have now and it would be okay. 

It's not that stuff is bad or wrong. It's not. But it no longer marks accomplishment for me. I think it may be that it marks maintenance, and I'd rather use my time to do something besides clean and maintain. I've seen the value in less-is-more and rest-is-more, especially in the last six months. 

Make no mistake: I love the things God has blessed us with. I love the story they tell, the history they have, and the home they make. But I've learned we don't need a million things within the walls to have a home. 

So now when I browse house listings, instead of my heart beating faster over huge homes with walkout basements, I find myself drawn to anything with only three digits in the square footage. 

For me, for some reason, it truly is about paring down and all the little things.