Throwbacks

 

Every now and then, I like to go back to see what I was doing on this very day in years gone by. I haven't done that for a while, and I'm feeling kind of nostalgic today, so I thought I'd look!

On this day in...

2008...I had just come back from a weekend at a writing conference. I remember this conference and the acquisitions editor I met with for a consultation! I remember how excited I was for the possibilities that could be ahead from this meeting. I can tell you from my vantage point of the future that although this editor seemed very interested in me and invited me to send samples her way so we could work together, she ended up never responding to any of the things I sent her way. It was a disappointing turn after such a hopeful moment at the conference. And it wouldn't be the last time that very thing happened to me. I'm grateful that I can still write, even if I may never publish in traditional venues. And I'm still proud of myself for being brave enough to drive to that conference!

2009...On this day I shared about some prayer cards I used to count my laps while running in the gym. Those cards were prayers for my someday marriage, and this was the day I shared the first one. Reading this post as a married woman makes my heart so grateful. The Lord has answered this prayer in affirming and beautiful ways, and I am so grateful I took the time to make this very thing a matter of prayer when I was single. If you're single and praying for marriage, can I encourage you to keep praying hard? Those prayers are not in vain!!!

2010...This was the year I self-published my first book: His Advent: Still His Greatest Gift. Because the book is for the Christmas season, the months of November and December were laden with opportunities to share in book signings, interviews, and more. And this was the day I shared that our pastor had invited me to teach a five week series at our mid-week series, covering the first five chapters of the book. I was so excited about that opportunity and still remember it so fondly! I also smile just thinking about that book as we move toward yet another Christmas season! 

2011...A rare sports related post!! I don't think there's anything earth shattering in this one, but if you've ever wanted to read my thoughts on sports, this is one of the few place you'll have the chance to do that. 

2012...I was excited to see what this date held in 2012, because I knew we were in the throes of wedding planning! This was the post in which I unveiled (ha! see, what I did there?) my new, borrowed, and blue items for our wedding, but I needed something old to add to the list. I had no idea what to pick. If you read the comments, you'll see that my sister said she had a great offering for my something old, but she wanted it to be a surprise. Wanna know what it was? She had my grandma's wedding ring and brought it with her to our ceremony. I wore it on my right pinky finger throughout the day! 

2013...This was a Saturday Six day and reading through this list made me smile so much! I couldn't get the stocking stuffer post to load for me, but maybe you can! I am still a Sandi Patty fan to the end, I still LOVE MudLove products (and just visited one of their stores last week!), I miss Mandy from Biblical Homemaking (she seems to have entirely vanished from the digital world), I still love Between Naps on the Front Porch (though I couldn't get that particular post to load) and KariAnne from Thistlewood Farms! 

2014...This was a Shafferland Shuffle day, and it was so fun to look back over this particular week. I actually remember several of these days quite vividly! I remember that dinner at Subway with my high school friends. I remember Ryan throwing me IN the pile of leaves (gently)! We actually just talked about that this week when we walked past a pile of leaves in town and he said he really wished we could jump in! I remember Marie's sidewalk birthday party, and I remember Marion leaving WBCL. I really loved working with him. He was a fantastic co-worker. And I don't think Ryan and I could ever forget the Feed My Starving Children day - and the earrings I got in trouble for wearing! 

2015...I was about a week behind in reporting some monthiversary happenings in this post. Just 35 months married in this particular post, and I remember this date! I remember taking pictures under that tree (which would not belong to us by that same time next year...because we would be living in Kokomo)! I remember that date to Grains and Grill too. That was a GOOD burger. 

2016...What a fun post! I shared pictures from our annual photo shoot. This reminds me that I should share this year's pictures with you tomorrow! We got them back over the weekend, and I've chosen the ones for our Christmas card, so now I can show you some! Anyway, The 2016 photo shoot was so fun. I was blonde and loving it - and we had such a fun photographer that year! She was a college student at Ball State and did a great job for us. 

2017...Another fun post! I'd gone to a canvas painting class with a friend of mine - to celebrate her birthday. I'd never done a class like that before, and we had a really fabulous time. I still have this painting and put it up every Christmas season!

2018...What a difficult season this was! Ryan's mom had just moved in with us after her brain surgery, and our life was in the beginning stages of a chaos that would last for months. (Mercifully, we didn't know that yet.) But this was a good post for me to re-read, because it reminded me of the importance of being still even when life doesn't allow it. 

2019...Another Saturday Six!! I do still love Streams in the Desert and would still heartily recommend it to anyone for a yearly devotional reading. I still think the Stay Cozy box is a fun gift idea. I'm still a sucker for a composition book planner. The Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt just ended for this fall - but those are always fun to do. I'm still all about a good menu plan, and I'm glad to look back over the Thanksgiving table centerpiece post. Might get some great ideas for the WillowBridge Thanksgiving!

And that brings us to last year...2020! I celebrated my Advent book's 10th birthday on this day last year, and I think that is the perfect way to round out this post. Happy eleventh birthday to that book this year!