Happy
135th monthiversary, Ryan! Goodness, I love you so and appreciate all
the sweet little things you’ve done this week to show your love to me! So happy
I get to spend this whole day with you! And while we celebrate the big 1-3-5,
here are some posts for your Saturday!
ONE.
If we’re honest, none of us like a closed door. We want to
be able to see our dreams realized, and when door after door seems to slam in front
of us, it’s so discouraging. This post on that very
topic was powerful for me this week. I attended the Speak Up Conference several
summers ago, when Ryan and I lived in Kokomo, and I still follow them on social
media. They share some great and encouraging things – and this was one of them!
If you’re sad about your own closed doors, what if you started seeing them from
this perspective instead? (And also – it’s okay to be sad about closed doors! I
sure have been on many occasions! And ironically, most of those slammed doors
have had to do with speaking and/or writing! Some even happened at that
conference!)
TWO.
Earlier this week I told you about how much I loved Kendall
Vanderslice’s book By Bread Alone, and I’ve added to my wish list her
first book, called We Will Feast. I think she has another one coming out soon, but for now,
this is her only other book, and I’m looking forward to reading it! BONUS: Speaking
of feasting, I have three other books on my wish list that focus on the feats
of the Bible. This one is a guide to both feasting and fasting, this one is a guide to the feasts in the Christian calendar, and here’s one more for good measure.
THREE.
I am still appreciating the gift of my free day off on
Monday. Truly – a gift! I loved the opportunity to spend time that day doing
things that refreshed my soul and prepared me to have a good week of work at
work! While I realize the absolute rarity it is to be given a day off like I
had, I wonder how many of you are carving out time to refresh in some fashion? Brenda
Jank’s wisdom here
about celebrating empty buckets and full buckets is worth the read. Both
matter! BONUS: Here is another short post from the same site (different author) on the
importance of stillness. I heartily agree!
FOUR.
I shared some of my fun finds from February, and I wondered
if I could add two more to the list! I ended up winning a little competition at
work this week and with my gift card, I purchased a couple of things from my kitchen
wish list! I got these Souper Cubes and am so excited to use them. Have you heard of them? One of
my friends told me about them a couple of years ago. She had a semi-major
surgery and did a bunch of meal prep to carry her through recovery. She made
several batches of soup, portioned them in these cubes, and froze them. Then
she popped the soup blocks out, bagged them individually, and kept them in the
freezer until she needed them for meals. Since soup recipes usually make more
than the two of us can eat before getting tired of the same thing, I thought it
would be a perfect way to preserve the leftovers! And then I got this utensil rest. I’m pretty sure I read about this on a blog somewhere. We
have a traditional ceramic spoon rest on our stove, but when I’m doing a big
cooking or baking project, I always have multiple utensils in use, and I never
have a place to keep the rest in between stirrings. This has a little tray to catch
messes and handle separators to keep multiple utensils from overlapping. I am
excited to use it.
FIVE.
I have several friends right now who are grieving significant
losses. It seems that talking about grief has been a common thread across many
of my friendships – even with friends who don’t know each other. I sat and
listened to one group who pondered how to help a hurting friend in a truly
meaningful way. I got the biggest blessing out of just watching them desire to
be helpful. They put so much thought into learning how to bless a hurting friend
that it turned right around and blessed me. If there’s one thing Ryan and I
learned in grieving Allen and Nita’s deaths, it’s that everyone handles grief
differently, and what supports one person might completely offend another. That
makes it hard on those trying to help, doesn’t it? I hope my heart always sees
that my friends are doing their best and trying to help and that I don’t waste
time being offended if they don’t do it perfectly. But if you also wonder how
to truly help a hurting friend, take a look at this post. It has some great ideas! I would also add to take time to hear
the hurts of those who grieve non-immediate family members, because it’s so
easy for them to get lost in the fringes. And those who have lost pets hurt
deeply too! (We sent a pet sympathy card this week, actually!)
SIX.
Decorating for spring is coming right up here in
Shafferland, and I’ve been scouring Pinterest for ideas to use simple things I already
have. This post has several inspirations in it. I have to wait for Ryan to bring the
Easter/spring tub out. I’m pretty sure I don’t have a lot, but hopefully I can
make something cute from what we do have! BONUS: Here is a beautiful (FREE!) watercolor tulip print you could frame to add to the spring
pretties in your house!
BONUS:
Here are this week’s capsule creations!
Sunday, February 25, 2024:
Tuesday, February 27, 2024:
Wednesday, February 28, 2024:
Thursday, February 29, 2024:
Friday, March 01, 2024:
1 comment:
We were just talking last night about what plants we want on the little porch this summer! I need to start researching!
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