The Shafferland Shuffle

What a LOVELY week it has been! Thank you so much, to all of you who sent us well-wishes for our anniversary! It was a beautiful day, and I'm so excited to tell you about all our adventures. Meanwhile...here is a peek at our week!

* Because I had been sick the day after Thanksgiving, I didn't QUITE finish all the decorating of the house by Saturday night. So after church on Sunday, Ryan and I finished up the few decorations that hadn't been assembled. I was SO HAPPY when night came and the house was all twinkly with pretty lights. It was a lovely way to end a weekend/begin a week!

* On Monday, I had to stop by Ryan's work to drop off a wreath his work girls had made at our craft night. {They had left it at our house because it was raining so hard that night.} Until they needed the wreath, I hung it on Brutus, Ryan's rhino coat hook. Hilarious! Speaking of rain, Monday was a dreary, rainy day - perfect for staying inside and working, which is exactly what I did. And that night, I organized all the journals I told you about in the blog post earlier this week, and Ryan wanted a picture of me with all the journals in which I prayed over my someday-husband!

* Tuesday was the premiere of Fixer Upper, so of course I had to show my support with my #shiplap shirt! :) After it was over, I realized I didn't have all 10,000 steps in for the day, so I finished by walking the house, and Braeya did her favorite thing, which is to high-five me as I walk past the chair. It's hysterical. She does this ALL THE TIME when I finish my steps by walking the house. Must have worn her out, though, because she went to rest under the Christmas tree when that was over.

* Wednesday, I had a major Christmas-card-addressing party, which was much fun. Got them all done, and Ryan did my least favorite part which was sealing them all. {HUSBAND AWARD!!!} And even though it was early, we exchanged our anniversary gifts that day. The reasons behind that are much too long for a recap post, but I'll tell you more about it later. So here's Ryan with his anniversary pie, and here I am with my anniversary planter! :)

* Ryan worked all day Thursday, and while he did so, I packed our suitcases and the car so we could leave right away for our anniversary getaway! I can't wait to tell you all about our trip, because we had SO MUCH FUN, but here are a few highlights to get you started. Our destination was French Lick, which is a town about 3 hours south of where we live. Our trip was pretty uneventful...dinner...Starbucks...narrowly missing hitting a deer...and finally getting settled in our hotel room late that evening. {There actually were a handful of funny stories from this day, but I'll save them.}

* Friday was our actual anniversary, and we had such a fun day together. The Lord blessed us with a sunny day {although nowhere near the 82 degrees of our ACTUAL wedding day} and we had such fun touring the fancy hotels in French Lick, walking around town, doing our anniversary photo shoot, watching our wedding video, taking a carriage ride, enjoying food and coffee together, and creating some wonderful memories to last forever! Loved our day!

* Yesterday was THE most wonderful, low-key, restful day. We loved it. Sleeping in, BBQ, walks through Christmas finery, exploring town squares, coffee and checkers, movies, good talks, and just...lovely. {By the way. Bet you can't guess who lost at checkers.}

The Saturday Six

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One of my friends sent me a link to some Fixer Upper articles, and I especially liked this one containing an interview with the wife of one of the couples whose house was featured this season. {They are the family that did NOT choose the house that Joanna ended up buying and making into the B and B.} Some fun behind-the-scenes tidbits to read about!


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Some of you have asked me to let you know when I have a speaking engagement that you could attend. I don't always post about them ahead of time, because many are for a church retreat or banquet and are geared more toward that church specifically rather than being open to the public. But I am part of an event in April that is open to anyone, so I thought I would tell you about it. It's actually not in Indiana, but if you want to take a road trip, here's your opportunity! I'm a breakout session speaker at the Women's Break Away Event hosted by Faith Alliance Church in Chilton, Wisconsin. The event takes place on Saturday, April 9th and features Jennifer Sands as the Keynote Speaker. Jennifer is a 9/11 widow, author, and speaker. {I remember Lynne interviewing her about one of her books when I worked at the station.} It's a one-day event with breakout sessions on a variety of topics, and the best part? It's free! So in case you're looking for a fun girls-day-out and you're near Chilton or want to travel there, I thought I'd let you know I'm part of the day!

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This party. I want to have one. Or ten. Doesn't it look like SO MUCH FUN??????? {Overuse of question marks. Don't care.}

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While packing the other day, I found an old picture of me with my Dad on our trip to Niagara Falls about thirty years ago. I had ALMOST a remake from my trip with Ryan last fall. Too bad I didn't know to ACTUALLY recreate the picture, because you know how I love to do that!!! Anyway, what amazes me the most is the skyline growth behind us!! 

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I grew up in a home that wasn't touched by divorce, and I know that is really unusual in this day. But Ryan's parents are divorced, and this post so accurately describes the family I married into. While I know there was deep pain - and probably always will be, in some ways - surrounding that divorce so long ago, the family I know now is loving and respectful and kind toward each other. I am grateful for extra in-laws and siblings, and for the healing that has taken place.


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I approach Biblical fiction very carefully, because I think that genre walks such a fine line. On one hand {and the biggest hand!}, I think authors have to be very careful about how they present the truth of Scripture within the setting of fiction, and I want to be wary of anyone who may misrepresent the Word of Truth for the sake of story. On the other hand, I think it's easy to forget that the people chronicled in the Bible were real people with real lives and real emotions. Reading Biblical fiction helps me remember I have much in common with the core of who they were.


You might have heard that there's a new movie out called Risen, but you might not know that Angela Hunt wrote the novelization of that movie, also titled Risen. I read it this week and am excited to tell you about it.

Risen tells the story of a Roman Tribune named Clavius, who is assigned by Pilate to keep Jesus' followers from stealing His body after He is buried. Clavius was present at the crucifixion and is intent on working his way up the ranks of the Roman military. When the Body goes missing, Clavius is charged with finding it and presenting it to Pilate before the whole thing creates a fresh uproar among the people.

One thing I really loved about this story was the fresh perspective it brought to me about a section of the Easter account that I never give much thought: the mystery of how Jesus rose from the dead from the perspective of those who were not believers. If you grew up in church, you celebrated Easter, but the reading comes to a close after the empty tomb. That is just the beginning of this story. It opens with the Crucifixion and moves on from there to explore the belief and doubt of followers and skeptics alike. I've never before considered what that might have been like.

I was highly impressed with the detail to Scripture. Yes, Clavius is a fictional character, as is his assistant and Rachel, a young Jewish woman who has captured the heart and affection of Clavius. But if you're familiar with Scripture at all, you'll recognize not only other people throughout the story, but also pieces of the Bible itself, recounted in conversational form. I found nothing that alarmed me as a misrepresentation of Scripture as I read, and that impressed me.

I have not seen the movie, but my sister has, and she said it was quite gory. The blood and gore doesn't come in so much from the Crucifixion, as you might expect, since it is actually a minor scene in this book, but from all the fighting among the Roman soldiers. I actually am not sure I want to see the movie, because I struggle to handle graphic scenes like that, and my sister said there are many; she had to look away often. But in reading the novel, I could capture the truth of the story without being sidelined by the violence. So if you struggle with graphic violence on screen, reading the book might be a far better choice for you.

They market this book and movie as "the story of the Resurrection as you've never seen it before," and that is highly accurate. I think if you read it, you'll have a fresh appreciation for the confusion, doubt, and victory the people living in that day experienced!

* Thanks, Bethany House, for making a book version of the movie available and for sending a copy my way in exchange for an honest review. *

The Saturday Six

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I feel I would be out of line if I did not pause to remind you that Fixer Upper starts NEXT WEEK! {Tuesday, to be exact.} Poor Ryan - he'll be losing the remote for that hour. It's the one show I have to watch live, because I have to chat about it on Facebook with my fellow Fixer Upper junkies. Can't wait to see what they come up with this season. Welcome back, Chip and JoJo!

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Yes, yes!! This!! Putting boundaries on the holidays so you can enjoy them instead of feeling overcome by them. Well said, KariAnne!

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I think this post has some powerful {and necessary} points about focusing on what is holy instead of trying to make everything perfect. It offers all kinds of grace.  

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One thing Ryan and I really appreciate about our church is the music. Our worship pastor, Jordan, is gifted. Not just gifted musically, but gifted in her soul. She's insightful, she works hard, and whenever we are away from our church, we sorely miss the music. I just saw this week that she's released some music of her own! These are songs that she wrote and recorded, and many of the worship team folks from our church are part of this project with her. I'm excited for her that she's had the opportunity to share her talent in this way, so I wanted to share it with YOU! 

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It's been a while since I shared an embarrassing photo of the Bekah of yore. One of my high school friends had a birthday this week and another friend posted this one in honor of that day. I'd never seen this picture before. Can you find me? 

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This week, I took a break from Hallmark Christmas movies {sigh of happiness} to read the fun, feel-good novel Every Girl Gets Confused by Janice Thompson. This book is the second in a series called "Brides of Style" - and even though I had not read the first book in the series, I was able to jump in easily and learn the characters.

While I enjoyed the read, I will begin by saying the book was nothing like what I expected based on back cover synopsis. The back cover focuses on Katie Fisher and her new relationship with pro-basketball star Brady James, and while they are significant characters in the book {the story is actually told in first person by Katie}, the bulk of the love story centers around Katie's 80 year old grandmother, who has found love again, after being a widow for several years. She's not even mentioned on the back cover.

I've actually never read an octogenarian love story before, so I giggled over and over as Queenie {Katie's grandmother} went through the process of finding a dress, having bridal showers, and sharing the details of falling in love with a local minister of a different denomination. It was cute and funny.

Additionally, Katie worked at a bridal shop, so reading about the behind-the-scenes stresses of designers trying to please brides and the in-the-shop stresses of families at odds with each other and bearing strong opinions over dresses and weddings was a fun twist in the story.

Some things, to me, didn't feel entirely natural, but they weren't so over-the-top that I couldn't enjoy the story through them. Sometimes the story line of Queenie and her senior citizen cronies felt a bit too eccentric, but I still found much humor in their eccentricities. Sometimes I wasn't sure I believed that Brady's character was normal for a pro-athlete. Sometimes the push-and-pull issues of one of the main families shopping in the bridal store seemed completely unrealistic. And sometimes I wanted to know more of Katie's emotions, since I saw the story from inside her head. I felt like I got to know what happened around her more than I got to know her, which felt awkward for a first-person narrative.

Despite those things, I enjoyed the story, I appreciated its light-hearted feel, and I thought it was a fun, easy read.

* Thanks, Revell, for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. *

The Saturday Six

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ONE MONTH...actually a little less!!...before we get to see the beginning of the new season of Fixer Upper! It's going to be a great week for the Shaffers. We'll celebrate our third anniversary AND get to see Chip and Jo Jo {on TV} all in the same week. In the meantime...check out this cool post about ways to integrate Joanna's decorating style in your own home.

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I came across this story this week and had to share it because {first} it's a really good story and {secondly}, Jenn is an outstanding and inspiring woman. We were in college at the same time, but I've gotten to know her better through the beauty that is Facebook. She's the kind of person whose posts always make me think, and this article shows why she's used so greatly, and in such a myriad of ways! Proud of her!

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GOOD GRIEF. Yes, I cried over it. And I'm not even a parent!! This one has been circulating Facebook, so maybe you have seen it. If not, watch it.  

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Yes, Ryan, I had a crush on Damon Bailey. Of course I did! I was a teenager in the 90's! If you're not from Indiana {or didn't follow IU Basketball in the early 90's} you might not know who he is, but if you are from around here or you love sports, you've heard his name. It's been 25 years now since he graduated from high school, and this article is a great tribute to his career!

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This week, Natasha did a post about some things she's passionate about, which for her, includes printing pictures, and she mentioned in passing her desire to one day print out her blog in book format. It's not an uncommon thing; I've read about bloggers who printed out their blog each year as a scrapbook of sorts. It's actually a pretty smart thing, if you ask me. If the great wide web crashes, you know, where are your blog posts unless you've printed them out? I did some Pinterest research and found this post by a blogger who had printed hers and shows a bit how the process works. {Also - Blurb is a company I've looked at many times and it does seem they are a good mix of affordable and quality!}
 

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After the last novel I read...the one that took me a hundred pages to really get into...Vendetta by Lisa Harris was a fabulous about-face in reading and enjoyment. This book is the first in a new series called The Nikki Boyd Files, and I confess I'm hooked and ready for book #2.


We love watching TV crime dramas, and if you love those as well, I'm confident you'll love this book. It's like an episode of {insert your favorite crime drama here} written out in a book - and a bonus? It has a faith story laced through it as well.

Nikki Boyd is a former schoolteacher turned special agent on the Tennessee Missing Persons Task Force. The career change came about a decade earlier when her teenage sister went missing...and she's never been found. Nikki's devotion to solving Sarah's case is what drove her to make a career out of hunting missing persons and bringing their abductors to justice. What starts out as an ordinary day off work rock climbing with a friend quickly turns into an urgent search for a teen gone missing during a birthday celebration weekend.

The story is set in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park area near Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and since we just vacationed there this spring, I could so easily envision the places they talked about in the book - but even if you haven't been there, this book will draw you in with the suspense, the relationships, the twists...all of it.

I read this book in one night flat, and honestly, I knew during the first chapter that I would have to finish it yet that night. No sleep for me until it was done. Lisa's story-telling is captivating, and it's no surprise to me to learn she's won awards for her writing. Her characters are relevant and real...struggling through their own personal heartaches while plowing ahead with what life demands. I also appreciated her ability to accomplish all the truth and suspense of a missing person's case, without any bad language, any overly graphic scenes, and without sexual innuendos. Those things that seem to always make their way into TV are missing from the book, and yet the story misses nothing by their absence. It's still rich and full.

I'm excited to see what Nikki takes on next...I'm excited to see book #2 in this series! * Thanks, Revell, for sending a copy my way in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own! *

The Shafferland Shuffle

In case you missed it yesterday...SURPRISE! We went on vacation this past week! In fact, we sneaked out a couple days early at the end of last week, making my picture sharing tricky for last Friday and Saturday! While everything I told you was absolutely true, here are a couple of montages that show a little bit more fully the events of a week ago Friday and Saturday:

* Friday was really filled with an all day road trip that began at 7 a.m. {and the trip to Starbucks you saw} and ended when we arrived at my best friend Lynnette and her husband Mark's house in Virginia Beach, Virginia. {They own the cute dog you saw in last week's Shuffle.} We had THE most perfect day ever for driving. Not one single construction zone. Not one single wreck. Not one single slow down. Nothing. And stunning blue skies, sunshine, and changing leaves made for such a pretty drive. We had a blast in the car, but we were happy to arrive and stretch!

* Saturday, we really did sleep in and eat BBQ and cuddle up to watch TV at night, but there were a few more exciting things throughout the day. We lounged around Mark and Lynnette's house all morning and then we headed TO THE BEACH! Lynnette took us to two different beaches and we had a great time walking through sand, walking down the boardwalk, crashing a wedding, playing with photo props, and so much more. We ended the day eating at a darling little BBQ place and then watching TV.

* Sunday, we went to church with Mark and Lynnette, and then they took us to Colonial Williamsburg. We'd never been before, and again, we had such a pretty day and LOVED being able to run around, having fun, seeing history, and spending great time with my half of our wedding party. {And I won't lie - I kind of wanted to move into some of the houses in Williamsburg! They are adorable! But I would not have wanted to live back in those colonial days!}

* Monday was our last day in Virginia, and Mark and Lynnette took us to the lighthouse at Cape Henry. {Again, in case you have forgotten, I am petrified of heights and enclosed spaces, so climbing lighthouses is a feat for me. But I did it!!} We had another GORGEOUS day - much nicer than was predicted, actually. We had a seafood dinner on the water and ended our day at Mark and Lynnette's favorite coffee shop. A great end to our time in Virginia Beach!

* We left Mark and Lynnette's house early Tuesday morning and drove almost the entire day, headed to our NEXT adventure! The morning's drive was kind of maddening - rush hour and delays and wrong turns and such, but midday, we stopped and visited Furnace Hills coffee roasting company! We'd never seen roasting in action before, and it was exciting! More about this later. We drove all afternoon, up from Virginia, through Maryland, all the way through Pennsylvania, and into New York, and we got a hotel for the night - and it had complimentary coffee and cookies. YUM!!!

* Wednesday, we were THRILLED when the weather report was wrong and our day at Letchworth State Park in New York went splendidly! I can't wait to show you more of the pictures, but we hit a stunning leaf season to drive and hike through this beautiful park that is voted the number one state park in the nation for a very good reason. We spent the entire day in the park, ate dinner before 5:00 {LOL!!!!} and then spent the evening resting our aching feet. Hiking uphill is a change of pace for these flat-land midwesterners!!

* Thursday morning we had our shortest drive of the whole trip: an hour and a half to the great sight of Niagara Falls! It was Ryan's first ever trip to the Falls, and my third. {Second that I remember. I was two months old the first time.} Though the day had been slated for cold and rain, it was warm and sunny and STUNNING. There weren't a ton of people there, so we had plenty of room to move around, take pictures, see beautiful fall leaves, and take our first trek into CANADA! Though our legs almost fell off at the end of the day from all the walking, it was a lovely day in every way.

* Friday morning, we took our time getting ready and packed up, walked back down to the Falls one more time for a goodbye look, and left New York shortly before lunch. The drive home was every bit as annoying as our drive TO vacation had been NOT annoying. We had construction delays, rush hour, and didn't get home until 10 p.m. But we enjoyed our day on the road together and decided it was the best end to our vacation! {Plus I got to stop at Sonic, so I was VERY happy for that!!}  Thankful to be home with our girlie again! 

* And because we hadn't spent enough time in a car, yesterday morning we picked up my parents and drove a couple hours south of home to have lunch with my sister at the Mayberry Cafe in Danville, Indiana. The food was so good, and it was a fun day, even if it was a long drive. And it's never a bad day when you get to watch Andy Griffith the whole time you get to eat lunch!!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Pausing at the start of today's shuffle to wish my Dad a very happy birthday! :)

* Last Sunday was our 3rd engagementversary...and we started the celebration by helping to serve coffee at the little cafe in our church. It was our first time to help with that and we really enjoyed it! That afternoon, we went for a walk in the park and Ryan taught me to play frisbee; I was terrible, but I got better! And we rounded out the day with frappes and coffee, because our addiction holds fast!. :)

* Monday I helped serve a funeral dinner at our church, and while the circumstance prevents me from saying I enjoyed it, I did enjoy being able to help in a time of need. It was such a beautiful day, and I surprised Ryan with a lemon cake when he got home from work, and we enjoyed our dinner out in the pirogi. It's sad, really, how little time we spent out there this summer. :( And Ryan mowed. It had been something like a month since he had to mow. I guess that made up for the start of the summer when he did it about twice a week!

* Tuesday was my big bad dentist day, so I spent the morning distracting myself with writing projects, and then after I survived the filling, I rewarded myself with a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby, where I bought the fancy pants metal monogram for my Pinterest project. Ryan let me take it easy that  night, as I had a decent amount of jaw pain, and he even made popcorn for us while we watched TV - to be chewed on the opposite side of my mouth, of course.

* Wednesday I found a praying mantis on our window! How fun is that! It's the little things that bring a smile. :) I enjoyed my time with Bible study ladies, and am learning so much. It's nice to be a participant! Ryan and I went for our last training run, pre-race, and we both had a good last hurrah.

* I had a special treat on Thursday - my friend Amy came to spend the day with me! She had a day off work and decided to hang out with me! We went to Kokomo and I took her out to lunch, we visited Ryan, we went out for cupcake treats, and she even surprised me with a box of Rise n Rolls! We had a great time! And Ryan's mom came over that night to take our pictures for our Christmas cards. We miss long evenings filled with light! We had to hurry, but we got it done and had fun.

* Friday I hunkered DOWN and did writing projects all day. It's the first time in a long time that I have absolutely exhausted myself from writing. {Yes, it really can happen.} My one break in the day was watching the Little House on the Prairie reunion on TV that I stumbled upon at lunch time. Ohhhhh how I loved that Albert Ingalls. Anyway. After a long day of work, I was so glad that Ryan had plans to bring home ribs for dinner. They are so good. There's a church that makes them for a fundraiser, and he loves them so much, he always gets some!

* Yesterday was RACE DAY!!!! We ran our 5K and I'll give you the full scoop later, but let's just say we had a great race. Ryan KILLED THE THING and I didn't get killed BY the thing, so it was good all the way around. It was fun to be back in our hometown, see friends, and enjoy {yes, I said enjoy!} the run. And a bonus - my mom came to cheer us on! I was glad she came. :)

The Saturday Six

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I promise I do more in life than read up on Chip and Joanna Gaines. {Kind of.} But for you Fixer Upper fans who haven't read this article - check it out! It is a long one, but if you love Chip and JoJo, you won't care because it's exciting stuff! The story behind the story. :)

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Ryan has an item for you on this week's Six, so I'm turning over the keyboard to him for a moment:  Sooooo, Bekah being the humble, non boastful woman that she is, refused to share some GREAT news with all of you.  So I said that I would, because it is something you would love to hear.  A few weeks ago she was named Blogger of the Month for September on The Blog Spot Network for her review on The Dating  Manifesto.  You can read all about it here.  I'm so proud of her! I love the way she is so detailed and honest with her reviews, and really all her writing in general. (I also may be a little biased, just a little.) She has such a way with words and it's great to see her be acknowledged for that.  Good job sweetheart!!  You Rock!!        

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Years ago, when I attended Chapel Pike Wesleyan, I had the privilege of meeting these two people: Wayne and Virginia Wright. While they didn't  really know me, their lives, and even more profoundly, the lives of their children and grandchildren, impacted mine in ways even I might never fully know. Wayne and Virginia died within days of each other quite recently and their son, who is also the IWU President, wrote this article that I wanted to share. Wise words in here.  

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We don't have all these things around here {and it's also nowhere near our birthdays....} but who doesn't love freebies for your birthday?? {Truth? Trying to figure out how to get to ALL the burger places on my birthday. A progressive dinner of sorts.}

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Does anyone else watch America's Got Talent? Have a thought on the Professional Regurgitator? He freaks me out. I cannot even look. Cannot. Ryan, though? Well the photos above tell the story.  

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I feel a bit like I get to brag on a friend today, even though Jenny Simmons has no idea who I am. I met her about three years ago, when she was the featured artist at the WBCL Daddy Daughter Date Night. And in my years at the station {and since!} I have followed her on social media and found her to be this beautiful blend of funny and hauntingly real. The kind of hauntingly that makes me wonder if I have a heart-double out there: living different life details, but dealing with the same stuff.

Several months ago, I followed her online as she went through a KickStarter campaign to raise funds to publish a book. It was one of those moments similar to when you see your elementary school teacher out buying groceries at the store: until that happened, you didn't stop to think that your teacher had a life outside the classroom. Until I saw Jenny's campaign, I hadn't considered she might have passions offstage.

Her campaign went so well, she blew past her goal, AND her book was picked up by Baker publishing, and that's why we're here today. When I saw her book was available to review, I signed up for it and was just past giddy when it arrived in my mailbox. And oh. my. word. This book. This book.

The Road to Becoming is Jenny's memoir, and its details are unique and at times, jaw-dropping. As a member of the Christian band Addison Road, she lived experiences {probably} you and I will never live in real life. And as she recounts the worst year ever, the year the band lost their vehicle, equipment and merchandise three times {once to thieves, once to an accident, and once to a fire} you'll probably join me in hoping you never live it in real life. But although those details are uniquely hers, I continued to believe we are sisters of heart, because I could do nothing but grip the book more tightly and nod like crazy as I read about her hurts, her fears, her hopes, her dreams. Yes. Yes. Yes. Those I understood, because those I've lived.

From meltdowns in the spaghetti aisle {and more importantly, what they represent!}, to hearing the Voice of God, to wandering in the hot, dry wilderness, to waiting for new life to emerge from barrenness, I felt for the first time like someone had walked the same road I had and expressed it even better than I ever could. Jenny gave a voice to my heart from that hard road five years ago.

The road to becoming has different scenery for each of us, but The Road to Becoming is a great guidebook for the journey. Jenny writes in a way that made me laugh and cry, but she left me with hope that my own becoming {though sometimes unbecoming to behold} is a journey with great promise, and she made me eager to keep saying yes, even on the hard days.

Jenny, if we were real life friends like our hearts seem to be life-journey-friends, I would hug you and congratulate you on becoming a magnificent author. Thanks for your story-telling, your wisdom, your insights, and your hope. Thanks for being willing to dare a life beyond the stage. Thank you for writing, and most importantly, thank you for writing this. And thank you, Baker, for sending a copy my way for review. Thank you for seeing worth in Jenny's words and giving them an even bigger platform than KickStarter could have offered.

*Opinions all my own.* 

The Saturday Six

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I confess to you I feel a little like I'm tooting my own horn here, and please know that is NOT my intent. But I've been writing as a guest blogger for my friend Angela's ministry blog called Broken, Beautiful, BOLD - and since she's been kind enough to give me some writing space on her site, I wanted to give her space on mine to tell you to check it out! Here's the link to the set of posts I've written, but while you're over there, check out the posts by other bloggers {great ladies!} and some of the featured ministries!

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I happened upon this article a few days ago, and I think it holds much truth. Even if you've never had a baby {me either!!} I think you can appreciate the lessons this lessons learned in assisting in a childbirth. My favorite lines are the ones at the very end...powerful truths.

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Calling my fellow book nerds! :) I found this post from the Bethany House blog so intriguing! If you've ever wondered about the process of designing and choosing a book cover, this post gives you some insights on how they do it at their publishing house...and they even show you some of the alternate book covers created for this particular book! Fun read.

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Anyone else chomping at the bit for Fixer Upper, Season 3?  

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I bumped into this article and couldn't help but share it with you. I don't know Nathan and Jade personally, but I worked with his parents at IWU, so I know them by association. I think it is so beautiful to read about this project they've started and how people are jumping on board. {If I could sew, I would too but since I can't, I'm jumping on board by spreading the word in case any of you feel led to help! I think it is incredible to restore the dignity of these ladies!}
 
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I just finished reading Judith Miller's new novel, The Potter's Lady, and wanted to wrap up today by telling you about it! Though this was my introduction to her writing, the front of the book tells me she has a couple dozen titles to her credit, so if you read this book and like it, you have plenty more to choose from!

I dove right in without checking to see if this book was part of a series, and if so, what number in the series it might be. It is actually the second book in the "Refined by Love" series, and if her pattern of books holds as was listed in the front of this one, there should be one more coming down the pike eventually to complete this as a trilogy. Having said all that, I did not feel the least bit lost as I read, so she did a good job of helping me meet the characters even though I missed out on the first book in the series.

Set in the early 1870's, this book follows the life of an unconventional Irish household living in West Virginia. Rose McKay has just returned home after graduating from design school, and home, for her, is shared with her older brother, his wife, and their adopted daughter, her younger sisters, who happen to be twins, and also her brother's mother-in-law, who has declared herself an honorary and generous grandmother to Rose and the twins, though they do not hold such a blood relation to her.

 The story centers around the effort of Rose and her brother to resurrect a floundering pottery in West Virginia. They purchase it, thanks to the generous investment of "Grandmother," and work feverishly to make changes that will improve the lives of the pottery employees and their families {who heavily resist change} and hopefully cause the pottery to flourish, not just financially, but in reputation as well. No matter what they do, things seem to go inexplicably wrong,, and they end up focusing their efforts on winning a design contest to save the business.

I admit I was about a third of the way into the book before I got swept up in the story line, but once I fell in, I couldn't put it down. Prior to that, my main frustration with the book was the way Rose's brother, sister-in-law, and "Grandmother" all spoke to her. I found myself offended on behalf of the sweet girl for the way they talked to her. Now knowing I didn't read the first book in the series, I wonder if I might have understood that dynamic better if I knew their background, but I didn't. Perhaps, too, part of the demeanor toward her as a young, single woman was just part of the way life worked in the 1800's...I'm not sure.

That aside, I enjoyed the romance, the mystery, the suspense, and the opportunity to learn about an industry I'd never studied or researched. Other than the slow start and the irritation toward the characters {that dissipated when I got pulled into the story}, I found it to be a charming book with sweet love stories and a good faith-based message woven into it.

* Bethany House sent a copy of The Potter's Lady for me to review, and the thoughts above...all mine! *