Bekah's Bits: About Us

Welcome to the Shaffer corner of the internet!

I'm Bekah. He's Ryan. This is our story.

1. The blog: I began this blog almost twenty years ago now! In 2006, friend of mine set it up for me. (I was much too terrified and lacked all confidence to begin such an adventure on my own.) It began as "Bekah's Bits" - and the URL still reflects that, but after I married Ryan in 2012, this little corner of the internet became more about our story than just my story, so now I call it Shafferland.

2. The people behind the blog: My name is Bekah, and his name is Ryan. We grew up in a little town in the Midwest, where we lived about two miles from each other and went to the same school all the way from kindergarten to senior year. Back then, the pages of the yearbook were about as close as we got. This gem is from 1988 when we both had a lot more hair.

3. The radio days: From the summer of 2011 to the summer of 2015, I worked as the Mid-Morning producer for WBCL Radio in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was my dream job that I never knew I wanted. And although I was hired to work behind a desk, they ended up training me to be part of the on-air team as well. Radio showed me a whole side of myself I didn't even know existed! About two and a half years after Ryan and I married, God led me to leave full-time radio, and though I sorely miss this work, I know God had purposes for pulling me away. I spent five years as a stay-at-home wife and have gone on to work in various forms of ministry since then.

4a. The first book: In the summer of 2010, before Ryan and I were even a couple, and while I walked a dark season of my personal life, I had the privilege of publishing my first book, an Advent devotional called His Advent: Still His Greatest Gift. Though this little book is seasonal in nature, it remains a gift to me each year to hear back from those who make it part of their annual tradition. I'm thankful for how God has used it and continues to use it!

4b. The second book.
I had the joy of seeing my new name on a new cover when Be Still: Learning to Know He is God released in the fall of 2016. The book released at that time in order to be a companion guide for women attending Be Still retreats I conducted, but the book is for anyone, man or woman, and is intended to share the story of how I learned to be still before Him. It's also formatted to be a study or devotional book if readers want to use it that way, but it absolutely can be read straight through as a story. I have been grateful to share it with readers over the last few years!

5. Next books? People sometimes ask me if I'll ever write another book. I have written two more since Be Still, but I haven't published either one. I had also written a handful of books before the first one I published. Whether or not God ever leads me to officially publish more is something only He knows, but I'm still a writer and always will be, even if the books don't become published works.

6. The love story: After all those years of waiting and praying, I got the surprise of my life when Ryan showed up on my front porch in 2012 {in a very Hallmark movie kind of way} and confessed he had feelings for me. He went on to ask me out on a date...and then another...and then another...and so began a beautiful love story. {The posts for the full story can be found here.} I love a good story...which is why I just can't pass up the opportunity to tell you that Ryan actually proposed to me by surprising me on the air on my own show! The whole thing was recorded...you can watch it here.

7. The wedding: .Ryan and I were married two months after we got engaged...in a beautiful sunset ceremony on the beach in Siesta Key, Florida.

8. The fun: We celebrated our eleventh anniversary in December 2023 and have been so grateful for the first eleven "seasons" of Shafferland. {They actually are very much like a sitcom most of the time.} We are diligent about date nights, celebrating our monthiversary every month, going on little trips here and there and even working our way through every county in the state of Indiana! {There are 92. It'll take us a while.} You can read our travel adventures here.

9. The speaking: I enjoy speaking to women's groups, retreats, church services, Bible study groups, podcasts...anywhere God opens the door! I now have a website for that ministry, so you can learn more about my topics and such here - and you can contact me at readingrebekah (at) yahoo (dot) com if you have questions or want to talk more about working together!

10. The years of change: In the summer of 2020, while the world locked down, God changed up everything about our lives! I had been working for a few months as a temporary administrative assistant at our church, and Ryan had been working in healthcare, but we both resigned so we could pursue a dream God planted in our hearts early in our marriage: working together in full-time ministry. We sold our house, moved to a small town in northeast Indiana, and worked with young adults, helping them learn life skills and doing life alongside them. We ended up being at this job for just under two years before the Lord made it clear it was time to move forward into a new season of life. We spent the next year working at nonprofits and trying to figure out what God intended us to do with the next stage of life. Currently Ryan works at a retirement center and I work with a ministry organization.

11. All the contacts:

If you'd like even more Shafferland adventures, you can find us on Instagram and Pinterest. For my writing and speaking ministries, you can find me at my own website. And if you have questions, blog post suggestions, or anything else you'd like to talk about, feel free to email at readingrebekah(at)yahoo(dot)com.