The Saturday Six

One.

Listen to the podcast here.

So if you hang out on Pinterest much, I'm going to guess you've seen one of the creations from this week's Conversation Cafe guest, Shannon Long. She is a blogger over at Sweet Blessings, but she has created these Scripture writing plans that are all over Pinterest. I've been using them this year (they're just collections of Scripture references for each month, and you look them up and write out the verses) and have been learning much through this practice! I wanted to hear the story behind them, so she was kind enough to join me, tell a bit of her story and how Scripture writing impacted her during a really severe health crisis! We talked for about a half hour - hope you can take a listen and check out her plans!

Two.

 What a beautifully and succinctly written post that addresses the truth that God is using each of us RIGHT NOW. It's not about grand dreams of how He may use us in the future, though certainly He will use us then, too. But now matters just as much! I loved this, Jessica! Thanks for writing it!

Three.

 If you're a book lover, do you love finding out little snippets of the story behind the story? This week I read A.H. Gabhart's newest novel, Murder is No Accident (review below) and I stumbled upon this article that gives a peek into how she chose one of the main settings for the book. It gives no spoilers, I promise, and is fun to read!

Four.

This 3 minute video parody showed up in my Facebook feed this week, and maybe it showed up in yours too. But if not, and if you're a fan of the HGTV show House Hunters, you've got to watch it! 

Five.

So, last weekend (as you saw), Ryan not only surprised me with tickets to see the GVB - with David one last time! - but he also treated me to David's brand new CD, which is a hymns project. I was raised on hymns and certainly went through my rebellious teen phase when I felt they were so not cool and didn't want to listen to them, but apparently I'm old now or something, because I dearly love them again, and this album is SO GOOD. Hymns projects always interest me because it seems there are about a dozen hymns that are must-have-standards, and you're guaranteed to find at least three from that list on any collection. And that's true of this one. He's got How Great Thou Art and Amazing Grace on the list. But he also has several that I've never heard on any hymns project, and that's what I love about this one! Only Trust Him and Until Then and Victory in Jesus, which is Ryan's favorite. (David does a duet with his equally talented daughter on that one!) So of course I have to say if you're looking for some new music, PICK DAVID!!!!

Six.

Source

After a few weeks of reading and reviewing non-fiction  books, I was excited to slip over into the world of fiction this week. Anyone else ever need a virtual vacation to a book world now and then? And Hidden Springs would be just the kind of town I'd love to visit for a low-key vacation, but my goodness. Seems like every time a new book comes out, someone's died in town, so maybe I don't want to visit!

Except I do dearly love this little fictional town and all the people in it. It's the kind of series that makes me giddy to see a new book coming out, because I so want to go back and see everyone again! Murder is No Accident is the third book in A.H. Gabhart's series (Hidden Springs Mysteries) and it was as suspenseful as books one and two! (Follow the links on "one" and "two" to read my thoughts on those books.)

In this third installment of Hidden Springs life, we meet teenager Maggie Greene, a budding writer who finds much joy in tip-toeing into the tower room high above Miss Fonda Elwood's grand old house. Miss Fonda is in a senior living facility now and is not always accused of being lucid, but before her mind slipped entirely, she'd told Maggie she was welcome to go into the house anytime she wanted. Maggie feared the rest of the town (starting with her mother, who was hired to keep the house clean, and ending with law enforcement, who are hired to keep trespassing at bay) won't see the invitation from the dementia-riddled lady quite as openly as she does, hence the tip-toeing.

Sneaking in and out works well until the day she Maggie hears a scuffle on the floor below the tower and emerges to find a body at the bottom of the stairs. She calls 911 to report it, but quickly panics at the idea of explaining how she came upon the body, and flees the scene.

That puts Deputy Michael Keene back on the murder-mystery-solving scene, which he rather hopes will end soon so he can start feeling like life in the little town is uneventful once again. He'd rather reserve the title "eventful" for his love life, but unfortunately that's the part of life that seems to be at a standstill.

As the days go by, Michael becomes increasingly aware that the woman at the bottom of the stairs did not trip on her high heels and fall to an untimely, but natural death. A second body, some threats, and a whole lot of suspicious folk leave him scrambling for answers before things get any worse. And while he wishes the happenings of the town would leave him too busy to think about the lovely Alexandria and her confusing waffling of interest/non-interest in him, she seems to override every thought he has.

The book packs a lot of action into a short amount of time, and it also brings in great faith and life lessons alongside the suspenseful mystery. (Full disclosure. I started this book after lunch one day and promised Ryan I would not stay up late to finish it. And then I couldn't put it down. He laughed when I read the last page before going to bed. I couldn't help it!!! I had to know who did it!!) I hope there is at least one more book to take me back to Hidden Springs! I still have a few questions I'd love to see answered!

* Revell send me a complimentary copy of this book but did not require a review in exchange. All opinions are my own! *
 

The Date Inspired by the Letter G

Yes, we're out of order again. :) And yes, we did TWO of these dates in one weekend! But this was totally worth being out of order.

The whole alphabetical date thing was my idea (okay, really it was Pinterest's idea, but I'm the one who has been doing all the planning), but shortly after we started doing them, Ryan told me he had a date idea up his sleeve. All I knew was it could fit into two or three different letter possibilities, and he would let me know when we needed to do it. I love surprise dates, so I didn't ask any questions or try to figure it out at all.

He said we would need to do it this past Saturday, as part of our St. Joseph County date. He told me the place he was taking me didn't open until 5 in the evening, so I could plan whatever for the day, but he'd need the evening for his surprise. No problem!

On the way up to South Bend, he told me he was a little disappointed because there had been a change in something regarding the date, and while he still thought I'd have a great time, I wouldn't have as great of a time as I would have before the change. I was utterly baffled. Could not figure out what it might be.

So while we were eating our meal at the cafe, he gave me a clue. He said something about someone who had been part of the date event wasn't going to be there, and it immediately clicked for me. I knew this was the "G" date, and I said to him, "Did you get tickets to see the Vocal Band?"

HE DID!!!!

This is the first concert we've been to since I left radio (when I went for free because I was working them), and this is also a HUGE thing because Ryan isn't a diehard Gaither fan. Not that he doesn't like them, but he doesn't get all giddy like I do.

I'd read a couple of weeks ago that David Phelps resigned (again) from the Vocal Band, and that's what Ryan meant about it not being as exciting anymore. He bought the tickets before the resignation news came, and he was sad I wouldn't get to see David, because he knows he's my most favorite! I was sad too, but I didn't care, because HELLO!!!!! GVB tickets!

That officially makes the G date a GIDDY Bekah attending a GAITHER Vocal Band concert!

Of course, after a day of hairnets, rain, winter hats, and running around northern Indiana in the cold, I sure didn't look my best. I was in jeans and walking shoes, with major frizz head, but sometimes you just gotta swallow your pride, you know?

The concert was held at the historic Morris Performing Arts Center, which is almost 100 years old! GORGEOUS old architecture.

I WAS SO EXCITED!!!

Even saw Nikki, a fellow David Phelps fan I first met back when I worked at the station. She told me David WOULD be there that night. WHAT?!?! Say it isn't so!!!

BUT IT WAS! He really was there! I texted my Mom to tell her he was there, and she responded "as is your husband." LOL!!!!! Yes, yes he is! But this was his idea, after all!

We sat about halfway back on the main floor and I was impressed with how well my camera did for pictures. (I did have to dodge a high-haired person a couple of rows up.) I was so glad I'd brought my zoomy zoom lens, even though I didn't know I'd need it!

 Charlotte Ritchie looked stunning in that black dress!

 They opened with Alpha and Omega, and I cried all the way through it. I always do.

YEP! There he is!!!

 This was only the second time I'd seen Todd sing with them. He's really good!

 And funny!

 Adam Crabb - also very good!

 Boom. The note.

 My most favorite band combo in recent years.

 This guy could plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

 Ahhhh, Wes. He took over for David when he left the first time, and I wasn't sure I could handle a replacement, but he's so good. I really like him.

 I figured I should make sure I had a picture of Bill! After all, it is his band. :)

Last song, big notes.

It was a great night, which Ryan made even better by surprising me again with David's new CD.

Thanks, Ryan, for making it such a great date. You rock at alphabetical date planning!! And I feel very, very loved. :)

92 County Tour: St. Joseph

It's podcast Tuesday, and our stories today go along with the blogaroo today and tomorrow. Enjoy stories and pictures at your leisure!

 Listen here!

This past weekend, we knocked another county off our tour list! We headed north, almost to Michigan, to St. Joseph County! This county (apparently just known as St. Joe County by those who live there) is named after the St. Joseph River, which runs through it. That cracked me up when I read it after we came home, because we saw that river multiple times and kept searching on our maps and GPS for its name, but couldn't find it. We even asked Siri! She didn't know either. Fail.

We were (as you can see from the above photo) not blessed with beautiful weather, but we're the Shaffers! We power through!

Here's a recap of our day. It took us about an hour and a half (maybe a little more) to get up there, and the first item on my visit list was the Shiojiri Niwa Garden in Mishawaka. I'd read about what a pretty garden it was, with its design a nod to a Shiojiri City in Japan, which has been a sister city to Mishwaka ever since some elementary school classes from the two cities exchanged letters back in the sixties.

Alas, when we arrived, the gate was closed.

Sooooo....no garden for us.

That was all I'd found to look at in Mishawaka, so we drove about 15 minutes over to South Bend, where we spent the rest of the day.

We started out at the South Bend Chocolate Company, because, well...do I even need to explain?

A locally-owned chocolate factory, this building houses not just the manufacturing of the chocolate, but also the shipping department, a little store, and a chocolate museum! As you can see, we wasted no time making ourselves at home:

They offer tours of the factory, and there are two kinds. For no charge, you can take a 20 minute tour that lets you go through the manufacturing and shipping areas and get a free sample. For $4.00, you can stay on the tour a little longer, try your hand at dipping a spoon, and take a guided tour of the museum. We did the paid version so we could get the full experience. Our guide was not overflowing with enthusiasm, but I don't think she was feeling well, and she really was nice, so we still enjoyed ourselves.

And our hairnets.

I mean, can you even IMAGINE having mixers like these in your home? No? Just me?

We got to see the rooms where they created the cream centers for the chocolates, the dipping lines, the sorting area, and we even got to sample the deliciousness!

The dipping was fun, too!

The museum paid tribute to ALL chocolate companies, not just this one. They have a huge collection of old chocolate boxes and tins, and even a box used by a vendor at a baseball stadium! They also have a map that shows all the chocolate manufacturers in the state of Indiana!

And yes, this would be Ryan next to a solid chocolate Santa.

It was fun to tour the factory and see how they do things, even though my hair began its slow decline after that hairnet adventure.

Next up? A drive through the campus of Notre Dame! Neither of us had ever been there before, and we were looking forward to seeing some of the landmarks the campus is known for.

The good news? The school was on its mid-term break, so campus was virtually empty, making a tour dreamy. The bad news? The gate-keeper told us you're not allowed to drive through the campus. I found this especially amusing since as he delivered that news, a car drove by us, right out of the campus. So yes, you are allowed to drive on campus, but apparently only if you have a permit, and we did not. Soooooooooooo out into the freezing cold rain we went, to explore campus on foot. It. Was. So. Frigid. I was trying to protect my camera from the rain by holding it under my coat. My hair was growing bigger by the minute. Not quite a lovely tour. And we would have loved to see even more of the campus, but it was just way too cold. I couldn't feel my feet by the time we got back to our car.

 My nearly perfect picture of the Main Building of the campus, with its famous golden dome. Had the rental truck not been parked in the doorway delivering something, it would have been perfect! Ha! We were too cold to come back later to see if it was gone. I read that this building was the third to be built on the campus - back in 1879.

 Next to that was the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which is apparently magnificent inside, but we didn't even try to see if it was open, given the aforementioned cold and the need to HURRY!!! Still - a beautiful building on the outside!

 A HUGE statue of Moses. (Apparently he is also known as First Down Moses.)

 The Clarke Memorial Fountain, built to honor the school's fallen war veterans, but often called Stonehenge for obvious reasons.

 The famous football stadium, under construction, and complete with portapotties. :)

This piece is called "Word of Life" and is on the side of the library. You might have heard it called Touchdown Jesus, because its visible from the football stadium and the position of the hands have led it to be known as that. But I read here that it is technically neither a mural nor a mosaic. It is made up of 6700 separate pieces of granite and stands 134 feet high and 68 feet wide.

Our tour of campus came to a cold conclusion here, and we got back in the car in search of some pieces of the stomping grounds from the first years of my parents' marriage. They lived in South Bend, where Mom worked at a restaurant, and Dad taught at Greene Township School. We never found the houses where they lived or the school (I was starting to get hungry and cut our hunt short) but we did find this tiniest of restaurants where Mom worked over 60 years ago. She said it was brand new when she worked there. It's now called The Boss's Place and is still open, but it had closed for the day before we arrived.

Our coffee shop for this county was very unique! I wanted to find something a little different and happened upon this little place called The Chicory Cafe. I chose it because it had a NOLA atmosphere and food, and Ryan loves a nod to New Orleans! He went on a mission trip there before we started dating, and I thought he would really enjoy a reminder of that part of his life.

I didn't get a lot of pictures of the inside because, similar to NOLA, he said, it was kind of chaotic in there. Very busy - even after 2 p.m. - but totally worth the wait for the food! It was our only meal for the day, so we ate well!

A mud turtle latte for me, which was delicious. Fresh brew and beignets for Ryan:

 You can kind of see behind him there the Mardi Gras style decor!

I got a turkey sub, and Ryan got a Po' Boy, and we split the best mac and cheese we've ever had at a restaurant. Truly delicious.

This technically completed our tour, and our final adventure of the day will be chronicled on the blog tomorrow, but I want to at least mention where we went, since it was part of the county and was such a great experience that I'd totally recommend seeing anything here if you can!

We went to a concert at the Morris Performing Arts Center, which is this STUNNING old theater with amazing architectural details! It was built back in 1922 and has quite a history, which you can read about on its site. I'll tell you more about our night there tomorrow! For now - enjoy a few pictures!

 

Not our prettiest weather day, but we had fun anyway!

17 down, 75 to go!