Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

Good morning, friends! Happy last day of May! I am excited for this day and for a new month that I hope to goodness brings some warmth and sunshine! Enjoy this little handful of fun for this last day of the month!

Have I tried any of these homemade ice cream recipes? I have not. But June arrives tomorrow, and I feel like we need to be prepared for summer by having some proper homemade ice cream recipes on hand! Some of these sure look extra yummy – and who can resist a good homemade hard shell recipe to go with it? (BONUS: If ice cream isn’t your thing, but s’mores are your go-to summer treat, check out these alternative ingredient ideas!)

One of the teens in our church told me recently that a teacher in her school said she doesn’t like to read, because when she puts down her phone, she misses it. We’re all a little too addicted to our phones, aren’t we? If you want to pull away from your screen this summer, here are some ideas to try! I don’t know that every single one zings me, but there are some good ideas on here. Worth saving and trying at least some! The list is robust, so you should be able to come up with some viable options from it!

Vermont is a state we haven’t crossed off our travel list yet, and despite the fact that this idea costs more than we like to pay (hello, frugal!), I think it sounds like so much fun. It’s a walking tour, where you start at a B&B and hike your way around to three more B&Bs. They provide dinner, breakfast, and trail snacks – and, of course, lodging – and they transport your luggage from inn to inn while you hike! I think it would be such fun to try.

If you are looking for ways to make June an extra-meaningful month, check out this lovin’-list of ideas. There are some really good ones on here! I got a few ideas from it that I hope to implement in our life, actually!

I love porch inspiration in general, and this post is all about long, narrow porches. That’s exactly what we have, and I found some cute ideas in here. The curtains, swings (we do have a glider), and string lights are my favorite pieces, and they are featured in a number of these examples! (BONUS: Last summer we bought new doormats at Lowe’s, and I still love them. They are blue and say “hello,” and they’re the perfect fit for the lake look. I love the unique fit of a round doormat, so here are a couple of fun ones to inspire you! Watermelon, rainbow, and pretty flowers.)

I enjoy Brooke’s style, though she doesn’t thrift her clothes…and she’s petite, so sometimes what works for her doesn’t work for me. So even though I probably won’t spring for any of the exact pieces she’s modeling, I’m excited about this new color-oriented series she is doing. So far she has a post on blue outfits and green ones – and I’m sure more will follow. I love her inspiration!

Updates on Dreams and Goals from May

This month has felt strange to me – probably because Memorial Day came a whole week before the end of May! It has been a full and busy month for us, and today I want to look back over how my dreams and goals went!

Plant flowers and our garden. Done! Ryan and I spent our May monthiversary going to the greenhouse to purchase the plants, and then the weather prevented me planting them for another week or so. I worried they would fizzle out waiting to get into the ground, but they didn’t! The flowers are filling out in their pots, and I’m starting to see some little signs of life from the plants I put in from seed!

Move into my new office. Done! Oh, how I loved moving into my church office! It really came together so beautifully, and I am excited to have a spot to work in there now. It was fun to get to share it with church friends when they came through for the tour.

Ponder (or more?) my education. I’m SO excited for all that happened in this department this month. I applied and was accepted to a master’s program. I’ll be pursuing a Master of Divinity through Grace Theological Seminary’s Deploy program. It’s daunting and wonderful all at the same time.

Catch up the scrapbooks. This was hard work! April and May were BUSY month with so much happening. We had birthdays and holidays and church moves and house projects and all kinds of things. For a while, I thought I would not catch up, both from the volume of things TO document and the lack of time to do it, but I got nearly there!

Finish well in the things that wrap up this month. I sure did my best! I finished teaching the 7-week Sunday School elective, and I just loved everything about that experience. I finished the semester of GriefShare I’d helped lead, and I finished my spring speaking. I learned a lot about my limitations during this time, and I am grateful for each experience.

Other adventures…

Ryan and I went on some fun little dates…ice cream, thrifting, new-to-us restaurants. I’m glad we were able to make time for us in all the busyness.

We got through Lexi’s mysterious illness that set her back for about a week. It was so strange. We never did fully figure out what happened to her, but we sure are happy to see her back to her old self.

Celebrated Mother’s Day with Mom. She came to our church, and then we took dessert to their apartment that evening to eat with them!

Attended our niece’s baby shower. She will be welcoming her first child next month!

May was a good month. Here’s to a sweet June! 

Favorite Recipes from May

 

It’s the end of the month, which means it’s time to talk recipes. I found some keepers this month…but I also made some modifications. I’ll note the things I did differently, just in case you want to alter them too! 😊

Spinach Feta Frittata – I love making frittatas for breakfast, because they’re so easy to reheat! This one was tasty, but I did make a couple of changes. I guess technically I do have an oven safe skillet, because I have cast iron, but for this, I just skipped sautéing the onions in a pan, mixed everything in a bowl, and put it in a pie plate and baked it for about a half hour. Delicious!

Antipasto Salad – I might have changed this one too much to even call it the same recipe! Instead of roasted red pepper, I used a regular red bell pepper. I skipped the pepperoncini and prosciutto entirely. And instead of making the vinaigrette it suggested, Ryan used a bottled Greek dressing we had in the refrigerator, and I didn’t use dressing. Other than that (ha!) it was the same and we loved it. We really love Greek flavors, so this was good!

Perfect Air Fryer Shrimp – I had never tried shrimp in the air fryer before, and I really liked it! The only change I made to this recipe was using smaller shrimp – simply because that was what I could find in the store when I went shopping. I made sure to shake the basket every few minutes to keep them moving around!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork – This was flavorful and good, but we did add some water (after cooking) because it came out very dry. There isn’t a ton of liquid in this recipe, so I wasn’t surprised that it was dry. I love slow cooker recipes right now because schedules are full, and I can’t always cook right before dinner.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins  - I have been eating these all week for breakfast, and they keep me very full! I don’t have a jumbo muffin pan, so I just used a regular one and count two muffins as one serving.

Green Goddess Cottage Cheese Dip – Mine didn’t turn green, and I think it was because I didn’t have fresh basil. I used dried, so it wasn’t the same on the color effect. But I love the taste, I love the protein in it, and I love the thickness of it. I really don’t love runny veggie dip.

Sheet Pan Hawaiian Chicken Dinner – I love a sheet pan recipe, but Ryan and I were both nervous about this one. We don’t like Hawaiian pizza, so would we like this? Turns out…we do! I used drained canned pineapple, and I used white onion instead of red. I also chose to mix up all the sauce and marinate the veggies and chicken together with it overnight before baking it on the sheet. Because the chicken was in small pieces, this cooked quickly, and that was helpful, because we were hungry!

Turkey Taco Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing – There are two separate recipes there, and I like them both! I did use beef instead of turkey on the taco salad, because this is what we had in the freezer. I made my own fajita seasoning for the meat. The ranch dressing was so good…though I confess I forgot to buy cilantro, so it didn’t make it into the recipe.

                Hope you find something new to try!

Fun Finds from May

 

I found a handful of winners this month that felt like life winners. I’ll share them with you today and maybe you’ll enjoy them sometime too!

                Strawberry Planter: My parents had a huge garden when I was growing up, and part of the hugeness was a huge strawberry patch. I really love strawberries, and have wanted to try growing them here, but I’ve heard they tend to take over a garden once they start. Given that my garden is small and real estate is precious, I didn’t want to risk losing the whole thing to strawberries. I’ve long been fascinated by these towering planters, so I decided to get one. This year, as a starter, I put established plants in the top and purchased roots for the bottom parts. I don’t think the roots did anything – or at least I haven’t seen evidence of anything yet. The top part took off! I’ll have to keep tweaking this, but I do love the concept.

Porch Rug: You might remember that a few weeks ago, I purchased a porch rug from Walmart – to use in our dining room! I’d read on a blog that outdoor rugs are perfect for dining rooms, because they’re created to withstand spills. That day, when I chose the rug, I tried to pick between the twenty and forty dollar versions. For the dining room, I went with the $40 version, because it looked nicer. It was definitely the right choice for that room. But this month I went back and sprang for the $20 version for our front porch. The porch is very, very brown, and I thought a little color might help it. I love how it turned out!

                Hasfit Workouts: Ryan and I have tried several free, at-home workout channels over the last few years. We really liked Caroline Girvan, but her videos are close to an hour long, and almost all of those hours are filled with versions of squats and lunges. We also tried Nourish Move Love, and while we really enjoy those, Ryan doesn’t always love the catch-phrases the instructor uses quite often. (It’s not what she says. It’s the frequency with which she says it.) I found, on Instagram, a recommendation for Hasfit workouts, and we’ve been using them this month. We enjoy the variety, the non-annoying commentary, and the length!

Sarah Frazer Bible Reading Plan: This spring, I taught a Bible study elective at church, and one of the things we talked about doing was a read-through-the-Bible plan. I’ve done them before, a couple of ways, but I found this plan that takes longer than a year to read. (AKA you don’t rush through it.) I’ve started it, and I love the perspective. I have been reading an Old Testament chapter, a New Testament chapter, and a Psalm, and it amazes me how they seem to dovetail, even though they have nothing to do with each other. Only God’s Word, right?

Little House 50 for 50 Podcast: My friend Pat told me about this podcast, which I like because it’s on YouTube, and I can watch it rather than just listening. It was recorded around a year ago, when the cast was preparing for the 50^th anniversary of the show. There are 60+ episodes, and they feature actors and others associated with the TV show. There is occasional language, FYI, but there is also so much behind the scenes info that is really fun to hear. Now, if hearing these stories ruins the TV magic for you, you might not want to watch, but if not, it’s really interesting to hear how the different characters were cast, what they loved and didn’t love about their character and episodes, and more!

Car Chargers: Ryan and I regularly charge our phones while we are in the car, and our cords are forever getting twisted up in each other. Ryan found these retractable charging cords and got them for us. They definitely make the vehicle tidier, and we don’t have to dig cords out from under bags every time!

Memorial Day Weekend

 

This weekend was so good for my soul. When we worked at WillowBridge, one of the biggest lessons we both learned was how much we needed regular cycles of rest – true, deep, soul rest, and I knew a few weeks ago that both of us were reaching a point where we needed to take a break before actually breaking. I didn’t have vacation days for the first 90 days of my job, and once I received them, we were hurtling toward Holy Week, which was followed by spring speaking, and this was the first time I had a chance to truly take a day since starting in this role.

                I’m excited that I feel recharged after this beautiful Memorial Day weekend, and I’ll give you a peek into what made it sweet.

                Ryan actually took last Friday off work so he could be at the house for some HVAC work we had done. He and Lexi had a grand time, full of visiting garage sales, fixing something at Mom and Dad’s apartment, and overseeing the HVAC work. I think a day with her dad was something she needed!

                Meanwhile, I took part of Friday and drove my parents to a funeral back in Marion. We had a beautiful day to drive, and I was thankful for the flexibility to be able to take them.

                Saturday was a sweet day for us. You may or may not remember that back on my birthday, I had an extra full day (week!) of work, so we weren’t able to go out to celebrate. Ryan wanted to take me thrifting, so that’s what we did this past Saturday! We looked up some thrift stores and went shopping. (Found some great deals while we were out!)

                We had been given a gift card to Texas Roadhouse, so we enjoyed a super early dinner and had a special jamocha shake dessert.

                (We did our grocery shopping while we were out, too!) Made it home in time for sunset and resting. We declared we had no idea how much we needed that time out until we had it.

                We went to church on Sunday, where we set up the new-to-me lamp I found whilst out thrifting. Isn’t it so Narnia??

                We took a proper Sabbath for the rest of Sunday. We napped so hard, we took a walk, I scrapbooked, Ryan watched the Pacer game…it was great.

                OH! And check out our pretty flowers!

                That evening I did some meal prep, enjoyed a stunning sunset, and took a trip down memory lane from a girls trip I took twenty years ago.

                All I wanted out of Monday was a jammie day, and I got it. I did some scrapbooking and reading, Ryan grilled chicken for our lunch, and I baked some asparagus a couple of friends gifted us. (We even ate outside for the first time. We were bundled up in sweatshirts and blankets, but we were outside!)

                We enjoyed an afternoon on the patio, I watched some podcast episodes, did some laundry, and worked on vacation planning, while Ryan made pretzels from a fundraiser kit we bought!

                After dinner, we went for a walk, watered the flowers and garden, and enjoyed the patio again for sunset.

                It felt nearly perfect, and we are grateful for the way the calm of home filled our souls so we can get back to work today!

New Adventures

 

Good morning, friends! My goodness, this weekend is exactly what my heart, soul, and body needed. The rest has been a gift beyond description. Both of us needed it far more than we realized, and it has been life-giving.

                I’ll tell you more about our weekend tomorrow, but today I want to tell you about a new adventure coming my way this year.

                When I graduated from Indiana Wesleyan twenty-five years ago this spring (WHAT?!) I had zero desire to continue formal education. Some of my friends went straight on to graduate school, but I was schooled out. I’d been in class since I was five, and by that time I was twenty-one and ready for a break. I wanted to experience life without homework. I wanted to see if it was as grand as I dreamed.

                It was.

                Bills aside, I thoroughly enjoyed adulthood. I enjoyed going to work, coming home, and having an entire evening that was all mine, to do with as I pleased.

                Several years later, four of my coworkers pursued master’s degrees simultaneously. They were miserable. I’ve never seen a group more stressed and frustrated in my life, and I declared on the spot, I would never go back to school. I did not want a life that was THAT stressed.

                Never say never.

                Within the last five years, God has been softening my heart toward school. It started when I took some online Bible classes for fun – back when we lived in Kokomo. It wasn’t a degree program, but I learned so much and loved doing it. After that, I realized if I could pursue a degree that meant something to my heart, I’d be willing to do it. I didn’t want to spend the time or the money if it didn’t matter, but if it did, I was willing.

                When I applied for my job at the church, I knew I’d have to do some form of additional education to accomplish the necessary licensing. I had options, ranging from certificate programs to degrees, and I have been researching, wrestling, and praying over this since last December.

                Ryan has been a gem, praying alongside me, encouraging me, and promising to support me in whatever route I chose as the best one.

                When I met with the credentialing committee back in April, they strongly encouraged me to pursue a Master of Divinity degree, and I strongly balked at the idea. The idea of trying to learn Greek and Hebrew completely terrified me, and I was far more content to entertain the idea of a general ministry degree, even if at a Masters level.

                Nevertheless, I kept researching programs, and one day, through a fluke, I happened upon a program created for people already serving in ministry. It’s designed to provide the degree in a way that allows for work and family life. That caught my attention, because I am adamant about being able to do my job well and staying present for my biggest loves and cheerleaders – Ryan and Lexi.

                I could do a Master in Ministry OR Divinity, and I still balked at the Divinity degree because of the language study. I met with the Admissions Counselor, and he encouraged me to consider it. I knew Jonathan wanted me to go for it. And as I prayed through this decision, Jonathan preached a sermon about the men on the Road to Emmaus. In Luke 24, the men say (after Jesus left them), “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scripture?” (v. 32). And as I read those words on the page, I knew what I needed to do. I knew I needed to let my heart burn within me – with the desire to learn, and that I needed to trust that God would open my eyes to Scripture, even through the daunting original languages.

                I applied for school – for a Master of Divinity – and waited to see if I would be accepted.

                I was so surprised to find the acceptance letter while at the planning day for our staff last Thursday. It took everything in me not to stand up and do a happy dance right then and there. I took a little screen shot and sent it to Ryan immediately – the best that I could do while in a meeting. I eventually printed it out and had Ryan take a proper picture of the moment.

                Despite all my years of declarations against going back to school, I am actually really excited about this. I am looking forward to learning new things, and I’m looking forward to the ways God opens my eyes to the Scriptures.

Sunday Snapshots: Memorable Moments from the Week

 

Remember last week when I said that every Sunday, we say, “If we can just get through this week…?” I am excited to say that this Sunday, we are just looking forward to the week. And while we look forward to the days to come, you can enjoy some of my favorite memories from the past week!

May I never forget the beauty that was last Sunday’s Dedication Celebration at our church. I’ve always shared with you why it was meaningful to me, but I say again that it was one of the most memorable days.

And after a beautiful day…there was a dentist appointment. I had to have a filling replaced, which went well from a dental standpoint, but it did not go well from a mature-behavior-from-Bekah standpoint. There was shaking and crying and lost mascara. Ahhh, bless. And for most of the day, my face was all funny, my jaw ached, and eating was more effort than it was worth. But I survived!

Lexi got a haircut this week! We were so sad to learn that her groomer switched to a new place (too far away to follow) so I was pretty nervous to see how she’d do with someone new. They said she did great! She came home all pretty with a bandana and everything!

Ryan and I finished the semester of GriefShare we helped lead this spring. It was a sweet final evening with the ladies who spent the semester with us. We are so proud of each of them. They have navigated their losses honestly and courageously, and we are honored to know them and call them friends.

Our staff had a quarterly planning day this week, and we met in a beautiful little shelter. Because summer has not yet come to Indiana, we had a fire in the fireplace while we reflected and planned. It really was lovely, even if the lack of summer weather is a bit maddening.

I took some time off work this week to take my parents to a funeral back in Marion. They did so well, and I was thankful for the flexibility in my own schedule to be able to take that time off to take them. We drove around Marion, looked at where Ryan and I lived (and the aftermath of a fire that recently happened near there), and appreciated the beautiful day to drive!

Yesterday Ryan and I enjoyed a date day, and it was amazing. It wasn’t so much what we did (though it was fun) and more about just getting to be out together for an entire day. We both needed it, and I am quite grateful we had the chance to enjoy it!