Strawberry Shortcake

* Adding this recipe to the Thistlewood Farms Summer Inspiration Recipe Link-Up! *

All that talk earlier this week about my guilty pleasures...and how one of them is strawberry shortcake from Ivanhoes...put me in the mood to EAT some strawberry shortcake!
Seriously. Ivanhoes has the best shortcake on the PLANET. It's amazing in ways I can't describe. And while this isn't Ivanhoes' version...it's much closer than that sponge cake stuff you buy in the stores. In fact, I'm not sure I can ever eat those again.
I got this recipe from my friend Ronda. She called me one night and said she'd made it and I was welcome to come over to sample it if I wanted. I think I waited a respectable 2.5 seconds before showing up at her door. It was HEAVENLY, and I asked her if she shared her recipe. She did, and I've made it several times since.
So after I served Pancakes with the Princess on Sunday, I had leftover strawberries. I knew they'd go bad before I had time to eat them, so I made shortcake!
(Technically this recipe is for Butter Cake...but I prefer to think of it as shortcake.)
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup milk
Heat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 pan or two 9-inch round pans. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy (about five minutes). Mix dry ingredients. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk to butter mixture. Bake a 9x13 for 40-50 minutes and smaller layers at 30-35 minutes.

That was the cake recipe. Of course I added the strawberries because it's strawberry shortcake!
I rarely think ahead enough to soften butter properly, so I cut it into smaller pieces to nuke. Then I dumped in the sugar, vanilla, and egg. (I just made 1/2 of the above recipe.)

This is what it looks like after it's beaten.

I mixed the dry ingredients in another bowl. I have a weird habit of stirring them with the knife I used to level the flour.

I'm an impatient cook, so the whole alternating of milk and dry ingredients annoyed me, but I hear it's important to do it that way, so I tried to be a good little baker girl.

Here's the batter after it's done....

I put mine in an 8x8 inch pan. I'm a rebel...what can I say?
While it baked, I rinsed off the strawberries, cut the tops off, and halved (and in some cases quartered) them.

I put some sugar over them to pull out the juices...and then put that in the refrigerator.

Here's the cake after it baked! Isn't it pretty?

Isn't this amazing?

As close to Ivanhoes as I can get!!!

The New Day Planner

Last week, I got a new day planner. Yes, I still use paper.

Jamie set me all up with a fantastically color coded Outlook calendar at work, and I love the electronic version of a calendar for work. I love the reminders that pop up and the way I can move things around easily in a job that requires a ton of flexibility in the world of calendars.

But in Bekahland - I like paper. And one of my favorite things to do in school supply season is to buy new calendars. I remember last August, when Isaac and I were falling apart, there was something very comforting about gathering up my determination, walking through the store with a shopping cart, and putting a brand new day planner inside. I came home and resolved that though my entire world may be crashing beyond my ability to repair, I would start over - and I would begin with an organized life.

Last week when I walked through the store again, I felt a similar resolve. Finding new routines with my job, especially knowing said routines are likely temporary until I move, has been difficult. So I threw in the cart not only a new planner...but pens and highlighters as well. Time to color code Bekahland.

I find that sharing ideas can spur others on toward good habits (in this case organization), so here's what I did. Take it...leave it...or tweak it for your own use!

A must in day planners (for me) is that there be a monthly calendar (like you see in the picture above) and also a two page spread for each week. I like to be able to see a month at a glance, to see what commitments I have, but on the weekly pages, I like to see those commitments again, alongside my tasks to be accomplished.

So here's how it's working for me this year.

On the monthly calendar pages, work commitments are written in red, personal commitments are written in purple, writing, speaking, and other ministry commitments are written in green, God-time commitments are written in blue, and chores are written in black. (Very few chores show up on the monthly spread - mostly just if I have something important to remember - like an unusual bill coming due or something.)

This way I can see at a glance how my life is balancing out. I'll be able to quickly see if something is non-negotiable (because it's for work and therefore is in red) or if I'm getting too many personal commitments or not enough God commitments - things like that.

I'll use that same color coding for writing events on the weekly spread, but I added the highlighting to those pages. When an appointment is for entertaining people in my home, I'll highlight it in pink. When the event is an appointment I need to attend, like a manicure or a haircut, I'll highlight it in blue. When I'm spending time with friends, I'll highlight it in orange. When something is urgent, regardless of the subject, I'll highlight it in green. And I'm highlighting the names of those having birthdays and anniversaries in yellow.
This way I'll be able to see at a glance the kind of prep work any given week will entail. Like if I see pink -I'll know someone's going to be at my house, so a day or two before that, I'll need to clean it. If I see blue, I'll know I need to account for some travel time that day. If I see a lot of orange, I'll know I'm spending a lot of time with friends...which typically means I'm not taking enough time to care for myself. And when I see yellow, I'll know I need to plan for gifts and cards.

You might be saying "Man that's a lot of work." Right now it probably is. I haven't memorized the system yet. But I think it will help me take stock of my life and figure out what things need more balance!

And besides that - it's just pretty.

Pancakes with the Princess: August

This past Sunday, I had another round of Pancakes with the Princess. If you're new to my blog, Pancakes with the Princess is a new thing I started this year...inspired by my friend Jenna and her husband. He is the pastor of a church, and they have "Pancakes with the Pastor," a time when they invite their congregation over to their house for...as you might have guessed...pancakes!

I'm not a pastor, but Princess was my nickname in college, so I made that slight alteration, and I invite someone over once a month for the festivities. (I missed hosting in July. I tried to invite a family over but our schedules didn't coordinate, and with all the busyness of starting my new job, I just didn't get it done.)

This month I hosted my friends, the Hubbards...party of five. I didn't ask if I could post pictures on the blog, so to be on the safe side, I won't. But I still wanted to tell you about their visit!

Paula is the worship leader at our church, and she has a lot of fun energy. Her husband, Greg, and I went to the same high school. And they have three kids that kept me in stitches on Sunday.

We had Amish breakfast casserole...and pancakes (the regular kind, not the cinnamon swirly kind)...fresh fruit...and orange julius for dessert. The kids were very intrigued by the food prep and informed me early on that they loved pancakes.

Won't lie to you...I'm always nervous to cook for people for the first time, but cooking for kids is an extra nail-biter. They don't have much of a filter, so if they don't like what you made, you're likely to know about it. But these three did not disappoint. One declared she needed a shovel to eat as quickly as she wanted. All three asked for seconds and one asked for thirds. Her parents said no. She tried to barter for dinner leftovers. Must have been a good meal!!

In typical kid fashion, they had a plethora of things to discuss that brought great mortification to their parents. You know...things like poop and pimples and pigs. After turning red several times, their dad said to me, "When you do your scrapbook page of this day, can you say that we were discussing the writings of the Apostle Paul instead of pimples and pigs?" You got it, Greg!

My favorite moment was at the end of the day. I thanked them for coming over, and for this hostess gift they brought me:
Without missing a beat, one of the girls said, "You can thank me by making something for me from that book."

Love. Those. Kids!

Pancakes with the Princess...August Edition = SUCCESS!!!!

30 Days of You and Me: Day Twenty-Four

So here's a fun topic for today's blog post!!

My Guilty Pleasure

I'm sure it won't surprise you to know I have more than one of those!

So here you are...little known/definitely known guilty pleasures of Bekahland:

Beverage: The biggest possible size of caramel frappes from Gaither Family Resources in Alexandria. Hands down the best frappes on earth and it's simply impossible to purchase a small. Probably has four billion calories. I don't even care.

Dessert: Strawberry shortcake from Ivanhoes in Upland. I know most people say they can only eat half of one. But if I skip the meal, I can put away the whole thing. The.whole.thing. Oh man. The warm cake...the cold strawberries...the whipped cream. Could I have one right now, please?

TV Show: After all these years - it's still Grey's Anatomy. Though I sorely miss the original cast - especially poor George - I heart McDreamy!!

Time Waster: I know I shouldn't admit this one out loud, but it's true. The auto-correct website. I laugh until I cry at that thing. And I'm very aware of it now that I have auto-correct on my phone and I've been a funny-mess-up victim myself!

So that's me! What about you? What's your guilty pleasure?

Hypothetically Traveling: Mackinac Island

Back in April, I introduced my first "Hypothetically Traveling" post - sharing my little plans for a long "weekender" with a friend in Chicago. So I thought today I'd share another hypothetical post.

This is a vacation I actually hope to take in the next year or so. My friend Amber, who went with me to Hershey back in May of 2009, said she'd go with me. (If you weren't a reader back in those days, feel free to take the "virtual vacation" to Hershey - it's in the May 2009 archives. Sorry about my hair.)

Anyway. So Amber and I have plans to head north to spend a few days on....Mackinac Island in Michigan.

In true Bekah fashion, I have a list of things I want to do while I'm there...and here they are!

Of course I think one of the most fun things will be just getting there...on the ferry! You know how I love water. Sign me UP!
And as I said in the Chicago post, I also adore the idea of a sunset cruise - so sign me up for one of those, too!

If you're not well-versed on Mackinac...there aren't any cars on the island. Walk it, bike it, or carriage ride it. And I do plan to try all three. Now granted, I haven't ridden a bike since the great fall of (many years ago) that resulted in a broken leg and subsequent pink cast, so this could be VERY entertaining for Amber when I try again. But I still think flitting about the island on a bike sounds like great fun.

And if there's any sort of botanical garden or nature spot around, you know I want to be part of that! I found a couple of butterfly houses online. When Amber and I went to Hershey, the botanical garden had a butterfly house, but it was so blessed cold that day, the butterflies were hiding. And I didn't blame them. So I think it would be fun to try again!

Oh - did I mention the carriage ride? They not only serve as taxis, but you can take tours that way, too. Again - yes please!

And one thing I've never seen in person - a lighthouse. So that is ON the list. I would actually like to see lighthouses all around the country, but this one looks like a good starting point.

A big part of the island is a state park...so I think Amber and I will have a lot of fun seeing those sights and (of course) taking pictures of them. Isn't this magnificent?

I have heard the fudge is famous...so I'd not leave without trying that, but I also want to try out all the other (okay a good number of the other) local places - including this hot dog stand, which fascinates me for reasons I can't quite figure out.

Cute hotel isn't it?? I think it would be a fun place to stay...

...since the Grand isn't in my budget. (But I do want to take a tour of it. AND I want to watch Somewhere in Time before I take the trip. Never seen it...think I'd love it.)

So that's the wish list! Can't wait to make it a reality!

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday morning, I got my first glimpse of the tree damage when daylight arrived. What a mess! I was never so happy to hear the sound of trucks in the alley - IN MY LIFE! The workers were great and had my power restored in about an hour. (And they had a lot of work to do to reconnect that thing, let me tell you.) That afternoon, I met with Marie for Bible study, then I went on a walk with my friend Judy, and then I visited my friend Katy to see her cute new furniture. Is it any wonder I was exhausted by bedtime?

* Monday was a first for me in my new job: a sick day. I went to work, but after only being there an hour, my stomach did not feel good AT ALL. With an hour in between me and the house where I'd want to be if I got sick, I decided to leave work. I think I was just exhausted. A lot has happened in the last couple of months and I've not had time to slow down for it. While I was home, I got to see the beginning of the great tree cleanup. Dad and his friend came over with their chainsaws and got to work!
* Tuesday I had a lot of fun at work doing research. Lynne was on vacation this past week, so I was alone at work to plan a bunch of shows. Some of that planning meant scheduling guests or ordering books, and that's fun too, but some of it meant I actually got to brainstorm...hunt online...you name it. None of this appealed to me in school, but it's a blast now! I've made little folders and cover sheets for them, explaining what she'll find inside. I. AM. SUCH. A. NERD. * Wednesday night I tried a new recipe: pepperoni pizza chili. The house smelled SO GOOD after I made it! I found this recipe online a while back and have been procrastinating making it. I think it's strange that I picked AUGUST to make chili, but the pizza part enticed me.
* Thursday I had some visitors at work...the parents came to see where I live every day! I thought Dad and I should do a "full circle" photo shoot...

Yes, my hair was extraordinarily large that day. I also had my first voice coaching on Thursday. That was interesting! I learned lots of things - including the first time ever in my entire life that I was told to talk FASTER.

* Friday night I had a much-needed hang out night with Faith. We went out to Culver's for dinner and then came back to my house to hang out on the porch and drink coffee while we caught up on the last couple of months. It was a great way to round out the week!


* Saturday morning I had my nails done - they're now a lovely shade of bright RED. :) Then I went to Wal Mart (gasp!) and purchased a brand new day planner...and pens...and highlighters. That's a good little day - fresh start. I love a new day planner. I spent the day at home - a much needed rest and regrouping day, plus I was able to spend some good time in prayer. I have so much going on in my mind right now that I really needed that.


Books I'm Reading: I am keeping up with both my devos: Jesus Calling and Sparkling Gems from the Greek. I FINISHED Jody Hedlund's about-to-be-released second novel, The Doctor's Lady and loved it. I think it was even better than her first book - and I liked that one! So when it releases on September 1 (I think that's the right date) - you should get it and read it. I also FINISHED my Bible study book I've been doing with Marie - Entrusting Your Dreams to God. Now to see if I can apply what I've learned! I also started reading a book Jamie dropped off to me this week: A Woman's Walk in Grace by Catherine Martin. I struggle to understand grace, so I'm hoping to learn much from this one.


Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: There was a day earlier this week when I really felt like Satan was after me, and I was able to recognize it for what it was. I talked to Jamie about it for a while and the next day I prayed Scripture as she suggested and I could tell the Lord put extra protection around me that day.


Update on Last Week's Goals: I took the next steps in the home-buying process. Now I'm just waiting for God to open the doors in His timing. (Gulp.)


Goals for the Coming Week: My heart is very heavy concerning some things that I have absolutely no control over. I need to make it a priority to cut out time in each day...so I can sit and really commune with the Lord and seek His heart.

Tree Blessings

This week's big news at my house has been the slow progression of tree cleanup. (Yes. Sometimes it really is that pathetic.)

In this BIG FAT MESS, I've found some blessings, and I wanted to share them with you today.

First of all - I had free cleanup. My Dad and his friend(s) came over and did all the cleanup work. Dad and Mom heat their house with wood, so even though he really probably shouldn't be doing stuff like this at his age, Dad still goes out all the time and cuts trees for people. He's a pro. And he and his buddies were glad to get in there and play with their chain saws. (That's really what it boils down to - boys and their power tools.)
In addition, I was so thankful that the city was willing to come by and pick up all the mess. They said if a tree company had come in to cut the tree, they wouldn't clean it up, but since it was a civilian job, we could just stack everything up and they'd get it. That saved a lot of trips to Mom and Dad's house with brush-piled trucks.

I never said they were INTELLIGENT about the cleanup process. Yes. He's standing on two separate limbs of the tree testing its strength. I stood by with the ER on speed dial.

He forgot a ladder. So he borrowed my kitchen step stool. I don't make this stuff up, people.

It occurred to me in this process, that while the whole thing is an inconvenience of gargantuan proportion, I'm so thankful the tree fell the way it did. If it had fallen a little more one way - it would have taken out my evergreen trees (which are in a nice even line that I didn't want to start over). If it had fallen another way, it would have taken out part of my house. If it had fallen yet another way, it could have taken out part of another neighbor's house, and I'm pretty sure some older people live there. So while it's a pain that I am dealing with someone else's mess at my "expense" - I'm glad it didn't go any of those other ways.

I'm also glad the boys with power tools didn't kill themselves. This particular shot includes somewhat connected bungee cords. I said I don't make this stuff up.

This is all the damage the fence sustained. Pretty amazing. Dad said what saved it was that the sturdy branches wedged into the ground and kept the weight of the trunk up off the fence.

So in all of this - I am grateful. God took good care of me - and my property!

What is this Airing Porch Craze??

Okay. Help me, people. Somebody has to know the answer to this conundrum.

I've been house hunting for lo these many weeks in preparation for moving to Ft. Wayne. And I've noticed an interesting trend in the older homes I've perused online.

A bunch of the houses have outside doors in upstairs bathrooms that lead to ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE.

Weirdest thing.

One of the houses I actually looked at in person...and I asked the realtor about the mysterious door. She didn't know the reason for it - other than perhaps it was an escape route in case of fire.
I tried googling, asking Jeeves, and every other option - and came up with NOTHING.

Today I looked at a house that had a door out of the bathroom that actually did lead to a little deck, and in the house description, they called it an "airing porch."So I googled "airing porch" and the best I could come up with was that older homes sometimes had airing porches.

Um. Not helpful.

So. Anyone? Anywhere? Why the bathroom doors????

Stormy Nights

I mentioned in the weekly recap that I had a little property damage Friday night. That was the same night the main stage at the Indiana State Fair collapsed just before the Sugarland concert. Clearly my little bit of drama is nothing in comparison to that event and those who lost their lives that night. But this was still a Bekahland mess.

My friends Bill and Kristin had stopped by to see me while they were in Marion that evening. We chatted away for a couple of hours, and the sun shone brightly the entire time. My parents were supposed to arrive about 8:00 to look at my car, which has been making a funny sound. They ran late, and while the three of us waited for them to get there, I got a text from my personal weather service: Phats. He said storms were headed my way.

I shrugged it off. We've had so many storms this year that I've just stopped paying attention. Dangerous.

Mom and Dad finally showed up about 8:40, and literally the moment they drove in the driveway, a wind like I've never seen blew up from absolutely nowhere. Mom looked like she was in a tornado scene in a movie trying to walk up the porch in that wind. I kept telling her to hurry, and I think she was trying but it was just THAT WINDY.

I told her to wave Dad on inside until the storm blew over, but she said he wanted to look at the car right then. (Seriously!!!??!) He needed my keys, so I retrieved them and walked toward the back door to take them outside to him. I stepped down off the back steps and started to walk toward him to hand him the keys when I paused to look over my shoulder at the little mum plants I'd just purchased. I was debating on wether or not to move them aside so they didn't blow away.

That's when I saw it.

The tree in my neighbor's yard was falling right toward me. And when I say tree, I do not mean sapling. I mean a good, mature, 80-100 year old massive maple tree that has scattered its leaves over into my yard more years than I care to count. I saw it falling, then I heard the trunk splitting.

Y'all, I totally screamed like a girl. I dont' recall ever hearing that particular sound emit from my being before. I had no idea where the trunk was, because all I could see were thousands of leaves headed my way. And I was completely frozen - unable to move. Dad reached me right as the tree reached the ground: via my fence AND my power cable.
Sparks flew everwhere, the house (and the rest of my block) went dark, and rain began to pelt us. Mom, Dad, Bill, Kristin and I navigated the house through the help of my flashlight and some overly scented candles that should never be used simultaneously.

You should know that the loss of coffee pots, internet, and air conditioning turn me into a person you'd probably rather not know, so I packed up and headed to Ronda's house. I tried to sleep, but my head was splitting with a headache caused by lack of water, lack of food and I don't know...maybe A TREE IN MY YARD?!?!?!? So at 1:30 in the morning, I sneaked out of her house and came home to the hotness that was Bekahland - and my poor cat, who in the last three weeks, has lost her brother, been stepped on by her mom, and lastly had a tree crash into her yard. It's a wonder she doens't need medication.

I opened the window and tried to sleep the rest of the night. I was awakened about 7 in the moning by the lovely sound of the electric trucks showing up. God bless them.
That was how the tree looked in the daylight. Lovely, isn't it?

The electric company guys dug under the tree to retrieve the line and began to reassemble it.

They even cut off a few more of my tree's branches. I was supremely happy about that. Less to rake, you know.

I had my power back in about an hour, so I got ready and went to church. When I came home, I dug through the rubble IN MY HEELS no less...and surveyed the fence damage. Surprisingly, for having a tree laying on top of it, it survived fairly well. A few split and missing boards, but overall - not bad!

Think I can add this as a selling point to my house?

Comes with a spare tree!!!

Lessons Learned from Marching Band

Nah, I never played in band. I couldn't walk and chew gum, much less play an instrument and walk in a specific formation. To be fair, I couldn't even play an instrument - except the piano, which is a bear to strap on and carry around a football field.

But last week, when I went for my walk/run, I discovered a marching band practicing on the athletic fields. It's not uncommon to find band camps there in the summer. And sometimes...bless their hearts...I think some of them can't walk and chew gum either. Some years I've heard the same...measure...of...music...for...a...solid...hour. Like I said. Bless their hearts.

This year's band was fantastic. I mean fantastic. They had mad skills, and while I wasn't sure whether or not to be saddened that their tunes disrupted my planned prayer time, I was highly impressed by what I heard.

As I walked right by them, I heard their director speaking about something he'd heard that apparently didn't sound right. (Sounded good to me!) I could tell by the reaction of the band members, they were on my side. But the director was just sure something was off.

Then I heard these words, right before he lifted his arms and they went on with the show: Play better.

I giggled inside because I was blown away by their talent, and yet their orders were to play better.

And while my planned prayer time did not happen, God used that moment to whisper this to me. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Play better. You may think you're sailing along pretty fantastically right now...and everyone around you may think the same thing, but you can play better. You can.

I'm not saying I'm doing everything wrong right now. Not at all. But when I'm in a good season of life (like I am right now) I am tempted to coast a bit. Savor it. And while there's nothing wrong with enjoying a blessing, a blessing is no license to stop playing better. I can try harder. I can.

Maybe the prayer time wasn't a bust after all.

Classic Bekah

My life is a never ending source of amusement. Moments that are classic Bekah happen...well...a little too frequently. But they make for great writing material.

So settle in, friends. I have a new one for you.

For the past...um....two months?...I've been intending to paint my front porch. I painted it a tasteful shade of red two summers ago, but two years of people walking on it, and two winters of shoveling made the boards begin to chip. It looked kind of tacky, so I knew it was time to paint it. If I didn't get to it, the realtor might have to address that with me. :)

First it was too rainy...then it was too hot...then I was too busy...so last Friday was the first chance I had to paint. I put on my grubby clothes and headed out front to work. I painted one side first...then the other...and left the center until the end so I could paint my way down onto the sidewalk. Not my first time painting, my friend.

I was working in the middle, so close to being done, when a car drove by very slowly, and a nasty old man (not trying to be mean...just trying to present the mental picture to you) yelled out the open window, "Hey Baby."

Seriously dude? This is your Friday night fun? Disgusting.

I worried he'd drive around the block and "Hey Baby" me again. I remembered the front door was locked, so I scurried around to the back of the house, came through the front, and unlocked the door, so I'd have a way to escape him, should he return. I finished my painting (just as I finished the paint in the can...how convenient!), stood back to survey my work, and said, "Rats. I just painted myself out of the house."

It's true. On my trip through the house to plan my escape route from Mr. Nasty, I had locked the back door behind me.

I so wish I had a video to show you of the next part. I went to the garage, got my mowing tennis shoes, put them on, hopscotched my way through the wet paint (there were a few parts I'd not painted over because they weren't chipped...so I tried to hit them) and smoothly (?) took off my shoes as I entered the house.

And I managed to NOT let Braeya out in the process.

In the end, the porch was painted, Mr. Nasty didn't come back, and I am sure I gave the neighborhood a great laugh with my hopscotch adventures.

Classic Bekah.

SSMT: Verse 16

I think I've said this before when talking about SSMT verses...but I've learned not to stress about it if I don't have a new verse in place until the last minute, because that's usually when God shows up with a new one. And this time was no exception.

I was sitting in church yesterday morning when our worship leader, Paula, talked about this verse:

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands, so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. - Jeremiah 18:4

I posted a few days ago a quote I'd read on Denise Hildreth Jones' website about not allowing Satan to steal more from us than he's already taken.

And as I've tried to make sense of what this means for my own life, I've struggled to understand how God could have a plan B.

That's why the words of this verse were such a balm when I heard them in the service yesterday.

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands...

"Marred" means "destroyed," or "devastated." Yep. I know a thing or two about that! But look at that beautiful follow up phrase - in his hands. Even while my future was being shaped and subsequently devastated, I was never out of His hands. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.

...so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

How thankful am I that He didn't throw that pot away? He started over. Gave it new purpose. Came up with a new plan and let that clay have new life.

And I'm counting on the fact that he's doing that for me too. He's forming my life into another pot. Shaping it in a new way that seems best to Him.

And that makes me both humbled and grateful.

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Sunday morning, Lori and Jeff were still here, so I got up and played hostess, serving pancakes and coffee before church. I really loved that. Don't have overnight guests very often, so being able to serve breakfast was a treat! They left for home after church, so I spent the afternoon immersed in scrapbooking and watching the I Love Lucy marathon on Hallmark. (I really do love Lucy!)

* Monday I got some mail at work:
I love my job. :) Monday evening I had an impromptu dinner date/hang out and talk time with my new friend Jill. She's Olivia's aunt that was also a bridesmaid in the wedding, and we struck up a friendship throughout the course of the wedding fun. I was so excited that she invited me for dinner and wanted to spend a couple hours talking. Great start to the week!

* Tuesday held more work fun! I got to make a recipe for Wednesday's show...check this out!
It's a good day when you get to cook for your job. This recipe, by the way, won $10,000 in a Midwest Living cooking contest, and the winner, Judy Reynolds, lives right here in Indiana! It's a spectacular recipe. You should make it. Multiple times. It's this delightful blend of sweet and salty in every bite. There aren't words. Really.

* Wednesday was a Monday in every way. I overslept, had hair we will not even dignify with a discussion, gouged my leg with the car door, spilled hot coffee on myself, was outsmarted by my computer, messed up the transition from our show to the next show, got caught in the hallway putting an enormous bite of the above treat in my mouth (so ladylike), forgot my lunchbox at work and had to go back for it...and those are just the things I can remember. :) Despite it, I participated in my first show where I engineered AND appeared on the air at the same time and some very kind people said it sounded good. Bless them.

*Thursday night I got to have dinner with Jamie and some of my other new work girls! Jamie is headed to the great state of California, and it was my last chance to see her before she heads west. Five of us converged upon McAllisters, and between conversation and sweet tea (oh mama...the sweet tea!) we had a great night! OH!! And when I came home...guess what was waiting on me? My latest Picaboo album! It's the album from my spring break trip to Florida. I finished it a while ago but just now ordered it.

*Friday afternoon I had my first lesson in recording promos at work. I sat with one of the engineers, and he coached me on what to do with my voice (which was mostly SLOW DOWN) and I recorded a promo! It sounded pretty cool when he put it together with the music and had all the editing finished. (Still weird to hear my own voice.) AND - I was so excited that afternoon when I opened the mail and saw a copy of Jody's new book The Doctor's Lady. It releases September 1 - and I'm so excited to get a sneak peek.
* Saturday morning, I slept in. Until 10:30. I haven't slept in for far too long and it was absolutely HEAVENLY. While I love everything about my new job and lifestyle, the commute and busyness of it all does wear me out, and when I'm not able to rest on the weekends, I feel it! So this was a massive blessing. Then I did a little Bekah-pampering (actually it was just a flat out necessity) and got a haircut and color. My roots were RIDICULOUS and I'd been avoiding haircuts until after Olivia's wedding, so it was a shapeless, thick MESS. But the real news of Saturday was when Bill and Kristin Hand came to visit for a while...and while they were there, the storm that took out the stage at the state fair...took out the tree in the yard next to mine. Right into my yard. Killed my power! (More on this story to come....)

Books I'm Reading: FINISHED Forever in Love with Jesus! The book. Not the act of doing so. :) Read in Jesus Calling and Sparkling Gems from the Greek. And...started Jody Hedlund's soon-to-be-released book The Doctor's Lady. Read the first half of it while I was getting my hair dyed.

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: While I'm trying to make sense of what God is doing in my life, I spent one morning praying for two specific requests people at work had shared with me. And when I got to work...they both received answers that day. Great faith booster.

Update on Last Week's Goals: Reading, scrapping, praying - check! So thankful for those times of rest this week!

Goals for the Coming Week: I need to take some steps regarding the house process...specifically moving toward the purchase of the home I found that I love so much. I can't actually buy it until mine sells, but I feel I need to start moving that way so if the door opens, I'm ready to walk through!

Distracted Driving

Yesterday's Mid-Morning show was called "Distracted Driving." When I talked to the guest the day before the show, I said, "Pretty sure you're going to be preaching right at me." In fact, when Jamie and I were putting together the monthly Mid-Morning newsletter, we needed a picture to accompany the preview for this program, so she took this one of me. :) Okay so I'm not THAT bad of a driver.

Usually.

Nevertheless, my toes were pretty sore by the end of the program...he stepped all over them with his (appropriate and good!) advice. When I went out at lunch to get a salad from McDonald's, I was acutely aware of my driving. Mission accomplished, I suppose!

So...confession time. Here are my bad habits behind the wheel:

* David Phelps and I crank out some SERIOUS duets most of the time. And by that, I mean the volume is c.r.a.n.k.e.d. Bad news - can't hear sirens or horns. But I can hear the daylights out of Nessun Dorma.

* I do tend to drive with my knees. Only when the car is on cruise. And I do use both knees. Just sayin'.

* I do NOT text while driving (and not just because it was declared illegal in our state. I had to stop once I got a smart phone because I couldn't text by feel anymore). I do, however, talk on the phone while driving.

* I do eat and drink (not THAT kind of drinking) while I drive.

* I do NOT put on makeup while driving. (I've seen it done.) I do sometimes apply my lipstick while behind the wheel - but only if I'm at a stoplight. I don't want to draw extra lips on my face.

* I do adjust the GPS and change CDs/radio stations while the car is in motion.

* I have been known to experience mild road annoyance (I like that word so much better than rage. I'm not Cruella Deville) - mostly when being cut off or tailed.

* And to anyone who might have heard the show and wondered if I was the person the trucker saw putting on pantyhose while driving, the answer is UH NO. I don't wear those. Shiver.

* Likewise, I also did not read a book, play on my laptop, or read the newspaper while behind the wheel. I do have my limits.

So. I've spilled my guts. How about you? What is your bad driving habit? Seriously. Tell me so I feel better about mine.

Things I Wish I Would Have Read Earlier!!

Last week I was doing some research online at work. (Doesn't that make me sound like I'm pursuing a PhD or something? HA! I was reading about authors. Now THAT, my friends, is how research at work should be done!)

Anyway. I was reading about Denise Hildreth Jones. She writes fiction. I've never read her books (yet) but I'm familiar with her because she'd been married (at one time) to a singer I liked. As I read down through her website, I came across this answer to an interview question:

In the summer of 07 I walked through the heartbreaking loss of my thirteen year marriage. It was painful in the deepest sense of the word. But I made some decisions in the very beginning of that journey. The first one was, the enemy may have stolen my marriage, but he wouldn’t rob another day from me through anger or bitterness. The other one was I found an amazing counselor who walked the journey out with me so well. When I first went in his office I said, “I want to do whatever I need to to get through this journey well, because I don’t want to be a year down the road still having to heal from bitter and broken places. So, I entered head first into my grief. I didn’t get to “free parking” and take a free ride back to “Go.” I stopped at every place, grieved it, yelled through it, laughed through it and experienced every part of it.

Oh how I wish I would have read those words a year ago.

I didn't lose a thirteen year marriage, but I did lose love and it did sideline me. But the minute I read that paragraph, I said to God in my heart, "That's it. The enemy may have stolen that relationship, but I'm not letting him have another day of hurt in my life. I want to run forward so that a year from now, I'm not still sitting around aching over what I lost."

Thanks, Denise, for powerful words. Thanks for letting God speak through your pain!

If You're Inclined to Pray...

I don't often bring prayer requests to you on my blog. It's not because I don't need prayer. Goodness. I need lots of that. :) I just try not to bombard you with requests. But today I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled blogging to ask for prayer.

As you know, God has orchestrated this job change of mine in unmistakable ways. My faith has grown so much in watching the way He didn't just open doors...but He threw them open so wide they probably broke when they hit the back wall.

Because I saw how He did that...especially in the middle of a job market slump...I know beyond a doubt that it's no problem for Him to sell my house in a housing slump and to find me the perfect home in Fort Wayne. I really do know that, and I'm honestly not worried about it.

The commute is an hour each way and the drive isn't bad. It's a straight shot and so far the weather has been nice and the semis have (mostly) stayed in their own lanes and I haven't had construction delays...so really I can't complain.

But winter's coming, and I'd dearly love to be moved closer to work before that happens. That stretch of interstate is n.a.s.t.y. in the winter and I know it. And as I get more involved in station extracurriculars (working concerts, etc.) it would be so nice to have a short drive home late at night rather than a whole hour.

In addition...last week, I found a home that I love with all my being. It's a perfect Bekah-house and I've expressed to the Lord how much I'd love it if it could be mine.

I can't move, though, until I sell my own home. So far it's only been shown twice, and that's okay. I know it only takes one person to have a buyer. :)

My prayer request to you (if you're so inclined to pray) is that God will bring the right buyer for my house. This house was a blessing to my grandparents when they lived here...it was a blessing to Melissa when she lived here...and it's been a blessing to me these last eleven years. I would love it to be a blessing to someone else too! While I could say to you "just pray that it sells fast" - and I really would love that too! - my deeper hope is that it will be a house of blessing.

And I would really, really, reallyreallyreally love it if the home I found last week could still be on the market when I'm ready to buy. I've driven past it and prayed over it...but I'm also keeping my heart open for another home if that's what God wants instead.

Thanks for praying with me...I think this part of the story is going to be just as exciting as the job part of it, so I can't wait to tell you how He answers!

God is Making All Things New

**NOTE: While I genuinely love all the Mid-Morning shows, I'm really excited about today's. We have a couple of people from an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition family (who also happen to be David Phelps fans!!), plus a recipe contest winner (and I got to make the recipe for the work crew to try in honor of the show today), and a Little House on the Prairie enthusiast on today. I get to join in the show as well, so hop online here to catch it at 10 or to catch it on the archives if you miss it live! **

This past weekend brought another one-year marker from my relationship with Isaac. It was a year ago that I traveled to visit him, and that weekend brought the beginning of the official end of our relationship. It was during that weekend, he told me he couldn't keep pursuing a future with me.

I remember that Sunday morning, watching him drive away to go to church, and then putting on my Easter dress I'd brought to wear to church...and walking in my flip flops to a shelter house nearby, falling flat on my face, and sobbing to the Lord. When he came home, I sat on the couch beside him, and gave to him the blue pottery the Lord had urged me to bring to wash his feet. And then I got in my car and drove away, looking back to see him standing alone, waving. That was the last time I ever saw him.

This past Saturday evening, I was eating dinner with my family, when my phone rang. It was a friend of mine, who managed to squeak out between her tears that her own relationship had just ended. I borrowed my parents' car and sped over to her house to sit with her, hand her tissues, pat her on the back, hug her, and nod. And while we sat there together and I listened to her cry and try to sort through her hurt, I remembered it had been a year.

A year since my own heart broke and I thought I could never breathe again.

While I never would wish that same hurt on her, I was honored she called. I was honored to be able to drop what I was doing and sit with her just as others sat with me.

Sunday morning, in our church service, we sang the song Jesus Saves. I mentioned it on here a few days ago and gave a link to Wes Hampton singing it. As I stood in my pew and sang the words "freedom's calling, chains are falling, hope is dawning bright and true...day is breaking, night is quaking...God is making all things new," I got tears in my eyes. That weekend a year ago, everything felt completely hopeless to me. And yet, in wonderfully mysterious ways, God has called me into freedom, brought the hope of a new dawn, and He's begun to heal my hurting heart.

I wanted to say this today, partly in praise to Him, and partly because maybe your today is like my last year. Maybe you feel like morning will never come. And while I don't know what your circumstances may be, I do know He sees them and wants to love you through them.

And morning will come. He will make all things new.

Final Resting Place

I think I mentioned this in Kaegan's "obituary" post, but I asked Dad to bury him at their house. Since I'm getting ready to move, I didn't want to bury him here and leave him behind. Plus I didn't want some weird neighborhood animal to come around and dig him up.

So...Dad took him home to where I grew up. He asked if I cared where he buried him, and I said no. We had cats all the years I lived at home, and there were a few casualties along the way, so I figured Kaegan would go to the pet cemetery behind the woods.

NOPE! He got a front row spot. Mom and Dad have a flower garden behind the big tree in the back yard, and Dad wanted Kaegan to be buried there. Digging a hole right now is hard work - we haven't had much rain and the ground is very hard. But Dad worked and worked to get a good, safe hole where he wouldn't be bothered.

Then a guy from their church, Gary, made a grave marker for Kaegan. I loved it. Thank you, Gary, for your hard work. (And thank you for the magnet too - I love it!)

When I went to Mom and Dad's Saturday night for dinner with the fam, I asked Dad if I could put the marker on Kaegan's grave.
Sleep well, little boy. I miss you.

Perfect.