Bekah's Bits: Day in the Life: A Sunday in July

This post concludes this year’s “Day in the Life” posts. I’ve now recapped every day of the week over seven months, and even though it’s true that life is always changing and some days look different now from the way they did earlier in the year, it’s been fun to chronicle this season!

A Sunday in July
Partly Cloudy, High of 81
Ryan is 45, Bekah is 46, Braeya is 18, and Lexi is 2

Morning

We oversleep a little bit this morning, so we are thankful we built some margin into our (multiple) alarms. When we realize how late it is, we get up quickly, make the bed, and pour the coffee that brewed on a timer earlier. Braeya has been sleeping with us in bed but when we get up, she heads to her daytime napping spot and curls up.

I’m also thankful I took time yesterday to chop up all the vegetables for our lunch, which I now dump into the slow cooker. It’s a pot roast kind of day!

Ryan gets Lexi up and feeds her breakfast, while I assemble the lunch, and then he heads to the bathroom to get ready while he listens to the church worship set one more time. He’s on worship team this month and has been learning/refreshing on the songs all week long.

With lunch in the slow cooker, I start getting ready for the day, too! Skin care, makeup, and hair!

I notice how pretty it is out on the water this morning and pause to appreciate it before moving on to finish my tasks for the morning. I typically do some Bible study first thing, but since we overslept and have to be at church early, that will need to come later today.

I pack my bag for church with my speaking Binder and Bible, Ryan’s Bible and notebook, and my laptop. Ordinarily I don’t take my laptop to church, but I have some extra responsibilities this month, and I need to make sure I have access to programs to make changes if needed. I load up water bottles and snacks, grab my purse, and put it all in a pile by the door.

Lexi watches from the bed while I put on finishing touches, like jewelry. Ryan preps our travel mugs with coffee to go, and I remember I need to put a banana in the freezer for a smoothie later.

I prepare some yogurt, granola, and berries to take with me, Ryan takes my capsule wardrobe photo, and we are ready to go!

We climb into the car, Ryan prays for me (something he always does when I speak), and we get on the road! Our church is meeting at another location for a while, since our building is under construction, so we drive to the school that is our church for a while. I eat my breakfast on the way!

We arrive at church and are among the first people there. I am so excited to discover the room is much cooler this week. Last week was so hot. My first order of business is to distribute the music binders for the worship team. I set them all up and hang out to talk with our worship leader for a while. He and Ryan are tag-teaming my friend Julie’s job this month. I’m doing the behind-the-scenes part of her job, making worship slides, filling music binders, and working on service plans. Yes, it takes three of us to do her work. 😊

Worship team practice begins, and while they sing and play, I walk the aisles of the makeshift sanctuary, praying over each row. Then I sneak off to the teachers’ lounge to go over my message one more time.

Since it’s still pretty empty in the building, I take a stroll through all of it, stopping to appreciate the classrooms and all the pretty décor the teachers have put up for their students. I find a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit and text it to Ryan as a joke. (I quote the line from Friends where Joey gives Kathy this book and tells her he got it for her because he knows she likes cheese.)

I make it back to the sanctuary as worship team practice is ending, and Ryan does a sound check for his solo. He sounds so good!

Sunday School begins, but Ryan and I stay out in the sanctuary to prepare our hearts and talk together. This day feels a bit like landing a plane without gear, and I don’t think either of us are terribly settled.

We eat some protein balls and drink some water.

The time for church draws closer, so I find my place at the front door with a box of fans and greet people as they enter – and share fans with them. I find a gentleman who is new and needs help finding a place to sit, so as the service begins, I track down the friend he has in the congregation and get them connected.

Ryan helps lead the worship team, and I hang out with the ushers for the first part of the service.

Ryan’s solo comes along, and I stand in the doorway to cheer him on while he sings.

I’m so relieved that the technical pieces of the service go well, and we make it to the message time. Today’s sermon is about being determined. It feels messy in my head, but Ryan says it goes well, and I’m thankful for that.

When the message is over, I go to the door to greet people and collect the fans I passed out earlier, and then I gather up all the music binders to take them back home.

Ryan and I give a ride home to some of our friends’ kiddos, and then we head home too – via the gas station and a coke for Ryan.

Lexi is so excited to see us when we get home! We change our clothes into grubbies immediately (the best part of every Sunday) and I shred the meat for lunch.

Afternoon

We take our lunch outside to eat on the patio table. It’s so pretty out there! Lexi eats her Kong and Ryan and I have our roast beef, veggies, and homemade bread.

After lunch, I come inside to unload/reload the dishwasher, and Ryan goes outside to water the lawn. When we had work done on our water-damage-causing patio last month, the equipment that came in and out damaged our neighbors’ yard. He’s been working hard to grow grass for them, and it’s been pretty dry this week. He rakes up some of the straw that has gotten too thick and starts the sprinklers.

I refill the K-Cups in our little storage bin, make myself a cup of coffee, and head to the couch with Lexi to rest. We start Air Force One, which is actually one of my favorite movies, even though nothing about it would make you think it’s a favorite. Lexi refuses to settle down without Ryan in the house. She is such a creature of habit, and she knows Sunday afternoons are about couches, bully sticks, and naps. I’m so ready to sleep, but until Ryan comes back in, it’s not going to happen.

Ryan finally comes in, Lexi gets her bully stick, and we all get our naps. Praise the Lord for Sunday afternoons. I look forward to them all week long.

I wake up and get some cottage cheese and strawberries for my afternoon snack and decide to refresh my coffee, too. I finally get the chance to open my scrapbooks and do some scrappin’! I catch up Lexi’s book and start working on the next quarter of our year. This makes me so happy.

Evening:

Ryan wakes up, Lexi hangs out with him, and I head upstairs to take pictures of my office for a blog post. It’s almost dinnertime, so I warm up leftover chicken enchilada zucchini boats and we eat in the living room at the sofa table.

After dinner, Ryan goes back out to water the yard again, and I start printing pages for a little project I’m putting together for our pastor. (He’ll be back from his Sabbatical next month, and I’ve been working on a project for him.)

Ryan strolls in and asks if I want to go for a sunset boat ride – yes please! So we pile on the boat and head out. It’s so pretty out, and we have the best time.

When we come home, we’re all ready for a snack. Lexi has her last Kong for the day, I make a chocolate/peanut butter protein shake, and then I hit the couch to journal, do Bible study, read, and work on my day planner. I’m sad we’re almost to the end of our Sunday!

I read the end of chapter 7 in my Jacob study by Darlene Schacht. I’ve been working on it for the past seven weeks and have learned so much. Then I moved on to Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament by Nancy Guthrie. I’m studying the life of David in 1 Chronicles right now, and I’m seeing insights I’ve never seen before. I read a passage from Today in the Word and wrap up studying a section in James about what it means to be a hearer of the Word – and to do what it says.

When done with the study, I spend some time praying over some specific requests, and I work on my Psalm 119 memorization.

I decide to pause and write the blog before I forget to do it. I’m writing a post about how I have re-seen our home office, so I’m excited to share it.

Then I squeeze in my half hour of reading and finish the novel I’ve been reading for a couple of days. It’s called Guilty Confections and was a fun, easy read.

While I work on all these things, Ryan washes the dishes and cleans up the kitchen. He gets the coffee set for morning, fills Lexi’s Kongs, and then it’s time for us to call it a night.