The Saturday Six.

One.

Source

I read on Facebook last week that my 3rd grade teacher's mom went skydiving. At age 96. For real. She was the oldest person to skydive at Skydive Indianapolis. They posted the picture above on their Twitter Feed.  She may have to be my hero.

Two.

My new phone cover. I am kind of crazy about it. :) It's the little things, right?

Three.

I'm kind obsessed with the show Undercover Boss. And by that, I mean I cry over every single episode. Usually it's just a random tear. Last week it was full on sobs. I. Am. Such. A. Sap.

Four.

Source

I'm somewhat in love with this mirror that the BRILLIANT KariAnne made. I tell you. She never ceases to inspire me in home décor. You've got to read the post to see how much she saved from the "real" price.

Five.

I'm not a mom, but this video reminds me of the underlying truth that we are WAY harder on ourselves in nearly every facet of our lives than those around us are. If you find yourself staring at your shortcomings, watch this and whether it's your marriage, your job, your friendships...whatever...remember that this same exercise probably holds true for you in those places too. Oh. And you might cry.

Six.

Ever heard of cinda b? I hadn't until I started working at the station. They're based in Fort Wayne and make all sorts of bags. They have an annual Factory Outlet Sale that is open to the public where they sell factory seconds and retired patterns. Lynne and I went to it a couple of years ago and had a great time SHOPPING!!! This year it's November 14-16, so if you're in need of a shopping trip...check it out!! 

To the Writers Who Shaped Me...

Last week on the Saturday Six, I mentioned this post by Annie Downs, who encouraged people to think about the authors whose words shaped them...and then thank them.

And it made me think about these people I've never met...people who labored over legal pads, typewriters and computers to sketch out scenes and make characters seem so real that I wanted to friend them in real life. People who fostered my love of words and my deep desire to share them with others in the same way I'd received them through the books.

So today I wanted to say thanks...even though some of them have passed away and others don't have Twitter or Facebook for me to thank.

Janette Oke...I could write a whole post about her! She was a pioneer - maybe even the pioneer of Christian Fiction, and I could not wait to buy every single book the moment it came out. From Janette I learned great vocabulary words that showed up on all kinds of tests at school - and I knew the answers from devouring the books. Her Love Comes Softly books were my favorite, and while I love the movies, I'm a purist for the books. {Side note: I wanted to marry Clare Davis.} I wrote Janette a letter in high school and she wrote me back. I still treasure that letter. Janette, thanks for filling my teens and twenties with pages of adventure. And thanks for pioneering an industry.

Lori Wick...My dad bought me my first Lori Wick books during a family vacation one year and I'd read all of them by the time we got home. Though she hasn't released a book in a long time, her books made me want to pursue writing. And I adored the names of her characters. She named one of her heroes Bracken - and that one was my favorite. Thanks, Lori, for writing so quickly. I was ready for the next book about one day after finishing the last one!

Anne Graham Lotz...Her book Just Give Me Jesus forever changed the way I studied Scripture. We read it in our Sunday School class, and if you were to read through my Bible study journals, you'd see a marked difference in the way I studied....right when I read that book. I love her honesty, her vulnerability, her heart for the Lord, and her deep passion for His Word. Thanks, Anne, for teaching me a new way to study.

Elizabeth George...I couldn't read enough of her books when I was in college and in my twenties. I loved the way she took passages...like Proverbs 31...and made them seem attainable. The woman I am today and the wife I am today are largely because of her influence through her Bible studies and books. Elizabeth, thank you for being my mentor in a book. From five fat files to the value of a ruby, your words have stuck with me and I use them.

Madeleine L'Engle...I took a nonfiction class in college, not because I was the least bit interested in it, but because it was required for my degree. In my mind, nonfiction was made up of boring biographies and history books. I had to read a book and write a report over it by the end of the semester. Become an expertin the book, my professor said. I confessed, somewhat red-faced, that I had only ever read fiction and didn't know what to do with the idea of a nonfiction book. That's when she handed me Madeleine's book Walking on Water. I fell so in love with it...I never wrote fiction again. Madeleine, thank you for opening my eyes to a world I never knew existed.

Shauna Niequist...I just found this gem...and yes, I know I'm behind. But her book Bread and Wine gave me permission to combine the love of words with the love of food and realize just how many memories are made when the two meet. Her book was captivating in every way. I even started my own Shafferland scrapbook of favorite food memories because of what I learned about life and God and relationships and love in this book. Shauna, thanks for showing me a whole new way to capture writing and memories and make sense of life.

Bruce Marchiano...I can't close the list without thanking the man who forever changed the way I view Jesus. Bruce portrayed Jesus in the film The Gospel of Matthew, and he wrote about his utter life change as a result of that role. Bruce learned that Jesus was saturated with grace, love, and laughter - and his writing showed me that for the first time. I've written Bruce to thank him - and I even had the privilege of interviewing him on the air last year. But I still say thank you, Bruce, for showing me aspects of Jesus I'd never realized before. Always grateful.

There are many more. People who took time to write and through their words I was challenged, changed, entertained, pushed to deep thought - and much more. I am shaped by their words and I am thankful.

A Day of Nonsense with the Shaffers

Man, after yesterday's post, I feel like I have nothing profound left in my brain. Thank you for your kind words; I have a near panic attack every time I put my naked heart on the blog. Thanks for your grace. :)

So today, I thought I'd go to the complete OPPOSITE end of the spectrum. I like to think of this as completely useless information that will only benefit you if you are on some truly weird game show with a Shafferland category.

And because y'all like to get your Ryan fix whenever you can, we'll do this post together. A little Shafferness.

Here are the questions of the day:

1. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
2. Do you take the shampoo and conditioner bottles from the hotel?
3. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or untucked?
4. Have you ever stolen a street sign?
5. Do you like to use Post-It Notes?

And here are our answers:




Okay so now it's your turn. We told your our quirks - now we want to know yours!! What are your answers?

I Still Believe

I told you yesterday that I went to the Jeremy Camp concert this past weekend. And while the length of that post might leave you amazed that I have more to say...I have more to say.

If you don't know Jeremy's story - his first wife died of cancer just a few months after they were married. He has since married again and has three children, but he still tells about the pain he went through, losing his young wife so soon after marrying her.

And out of that pain was born this song:



He sang this song Saturday night, and as I leaned against the wall, listening, I really focused on the words:

I still believe in Your faithfulness...I still believe in Your truth...I still believe in Your Holy Word. Even when I don't see, I still believe.

I closed my eyes and could see...words from my journal from the desert days:

Why are you asking this of him? Of me? What have we done that warrants this? It feels like punishment. I know, I know. The Lord disciplines those He loves. But oh, Jesus. This is the worst pain I've ever felt. 

To write my heart's thoughts right now, Lord, even to You...is gut-wrenching. The ache and misery I feel even committing these words to paper is more than I feel I can take. One month ago, he told me he loved me. And today, silence. Oh Jesus. Precious Jesus. Hold me now. Meet me in this pit of anguish. 

Fill me, Jesus. I cling to You now. I miss my Isaac terribly. Long to talk with him. Long to be comforted. My heart is overwhelmed by a combination of grief and hope. Restore life where Satan has destroyed it. Give me joy and peace. I believe. Help Thou my unbelief. Help me to have childlike faith. How do I do this? How do I live with such an ache? How do I move past the hurt and into life again? How, my Jesus?

Help me to be faithful. Help me to hang in here with You. Learn YOUR lessons. YOUR love. God, my heart breaks. Why doesn't my love want me? Why does he push me away? Why doesn't he come to claim me? Help me. I call this to mind and therefore I have hope. Oh Jesus. Be big.

I opened my Bible to Isaiah 35: "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy...strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with weak hearts: 'Be strong and do not fear. Your God will come. He will come with a vengeance; with divine retribution, He will come to save you...' Oh, Jesus, do it!!!

I have dozens of pages from my journal from those desert months - when love left me - that read just like the ones above. Days when I couldn't breathe because I hurt so deeply. When it seemed life would never be okay again.

Days when my faith seemed to drown in doubts, but each time I rose to the surface, I said to my Jesus, I choose You!

I still believe.

Even when I don't see. I still believe. 

And so it was, that night at the concert, with Jeremy singing that song from the very depths of his soul on the stage, I leaned back, tears falling from my eyes, and found myself caught up in Ryan's strong arms.

The love God sent to redeem me was there. Right there behind me with strong arms and a soft kiss against my cheek.

God had indeed come with a vengeance and with divine retribution to save me. Not in the way I prayed He would.

In a way far greater than I could ask or imagine.

Jeremy Camp Concert

This past Saturday night, Ryan and I ventured to Fort Wayne to work the Jeremy Camp concert. I'd seen Jeremy in concert before - at the E-Women conference. But this was my first time to see him in concert by himself.

Gorgeous day for a drive...

Prior to the show, we went to the Meet and Greet with Jeremy and his band. Y'all, I have to tell you - there are some artists who come in and deliver a great show, but they are kind of guarded when you talk to them. Jeremy is not one of those. Probably one of my favorite Meet and Greets ever. Really sweet spirit and willingness to engage in conversation...and share with the people.  And not just Jeremy...the whole band was that way.

After the Meet and Greet, we actually got to have our picture taken with him - and I got a high five from him for carrying the station banner into the hallway. {This concludes the embarrassing fan report.}

Lynne and I worked this concert together...first one we've worked together in just about 2 years!

And of course, I had the most handsome date in the whole building!!

{I adore it that he's willing to put on his station shirt and jump right in to work with the rest of us. Husband of the year award!}


Lynne and I went on stage with Ron before the concert. This is how we amuse ourselves while we wait our turn:

Then we were good and professional:

Threw some frisbees. {badly.}

Then it was time for the concert to get underway! The opening group was Jasper Stone - a praise team from Plymouth Wesleyan Church in Plymouth, Indiana. They were powerhouses!!

And then Adam Cappa played a few songs. We'd seen him at the Mercy Me concert a few months ago - really down-to-earth and personable guy. Good to hear him again!

And then Jeremy Camp took the stage! Here are some of the pictures I took throughout the evening:

 {Hey lookie here! Caught a pic of the face of the guy on the right! They told us in the Meet and Greet that his hair would always be over his face while he was playing, and they were right! Except right here.}

 Reckless: Amazing song.

 Does he have a gym on his bus? Impressive that he can work out so much while traveling so much!

 Gotta tell you - this man's heart for the Lord is contagious.

 He shared his testimony. Talk about redemption. God has worked in huge ways.

 Even though it was a performance, it was so much more. It was worship.

 And he can SING. Just as good in person as he is on the radio. That's a gift.

 This sweet lady was in the back row and she was having some CHURCH back there. I loved seeing her hand raised the whole time.

 He had the crowd on its feet!

 Just so happened that Jeremy's drummer had a birthday the day of the concert. So we had a brief break for a birthday party. They brought him a cake and a sash....

 And a bit of a silly string shower.

 And the silly string shower turned into a bit of a competition!

 Busted!!

 Jeremy's from Lafayette, Indiana, so a bunch of his family members came to the concert. {His little nephew crawled up on the stage and asked for cake. PRECIOUS!!!} And then Jeremy did a song together with his dad, who TORE IT UP on the harmonica.

Jeremy Camp, you are a class act and an amazing witness. Thanks for a great night of worship!

Words

My mind has been absolutely consumed by this the last few days, so I guess that means it's time to write about it.

I mentioned in the Saturday Six that I'd watched the video clip of Martha Stewart's comments toward bloggers - comments that garnered quite a wave of, well, hateful comments from the blogging community.

I spent a couple of hours one evening just hopping from blog to blog where women vented in open letters to Martha and then dozens of readers chimed in the comment section with vehement approval - of how they'd never support her products again.

I read through the "about me" section for every blogger and most didn't make a profession of faith. I'm not making a judgment call on their faith...simply saying they left no comment about it. But for those who do publicly proclaim they follow the Lord, the tone of the displeasure hurt my heart.

Did they have the right to be ruffled by her comments? Absolutely! Did they have the right to air their disappointment in her apparent position? Of course! It was just in the delivery. Where they could have chosen to speak out of disappointment, they chose instead to speak out of anger.

For those of you who have a blog...or a Facebook account...or a Twitter feed...or any other kind of platform that allows you to speak your mind in such a way that people can hear...do you realize what a privilege that is? Do you realize that even 10-15 years ago, the average person didn't have a way to connect {for free, anyway} with anyone outside the immediate circle of family and friends? Do you realize, when you put words online, that out there somewhere, someone you don't even know...is reading and absorbing?

Do you realize that some of those people don't know the Lord and if you spend any time at all talking about your journey with Him, they're going to sit up and take notice, and every word you say is not only your word, but it's HIS word to them too? That you're representing Him with every keystroke?

I don't write this pretending that I've never messed it up. I know I have. And I'm grateful for the times God rescued me from myself and led me to delete a ranting post before it went live. I'm also grateful for His forgiveness in the moments I did NOT exercise restraint and said hurtful things.

Oh that we would use our filters...read and reread our words to make sure they are soaked in grace.


Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world. - 1 Peter 2:12

I know that verse talks about unbelievers, but what if we lived just as honorably among our fellow believers?

Praying for God to keep my own words and this little blog a place that honors Him at all times.

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday, we were able to attend church with our friends, Frog and Jenna, before we came home. They lead a congregation of really sweet people who made us feel very much at home during our visit! After lunch, we headed home and spent the rest of the day driving and enjoying hours of talking and dreaming together!

* Monday, we had the day off and we enjoyed THE most beautiful day of rest. I don't know that we've ever had a day off work where we relaxed so much! {We did go to the gym for the first of our structured workourts.} We slept in, caught up on DVR'd shows, I scrapbooked, Ryan watched football, and I read this entire book in one sitting.

* Tuesday, I returned to work and spent most of the day moving back into my office. It felt so good to be back home, even though it's still not home yet. I still have more work to get everything all organized. This was the first order of business in making it home:

* Wednesday night, Ryan told me he was going to "do some work on the bathroom." {You know. The one we just redid?} The tub had a leak in it - so when I came home...well...you could sort of see through the wall. He is nothing if not thorough. As you might imagine - this led to an extensive date to Lowe's.

* Thursday night I survived more working out at the gym...and then we came home for a delicious dinner of two Dashing Dish recipes. Enchiladas and a cookie!! :) Ryan got to play with his saw for a while - still working on the bathroom. And Braeya decided to use the corner of our new bathtub surround as a teething ring. You can imagine our amusement.

 * Friday evening, we went on a surprise impromptu date! We had dinner at home, but decided to use one of our gift cards to go out for dessert. So...we headed over to the Cracker Barrel and ordered coffee and apple dumplings. Ummmm someone should have mentioned HOW HUGE those dumplings are! We could have shared!! No worries though - apple dumplings for the weekend = goodness!

* Last night, Ryan and I worked the Jeremy Camp concert in Fort Wayne. I don't remember the last time I enjoyed a night of worship so much at a concert. We got to be in there for most of his part, and it was wonderful! We really appreciated his genuine spirit. SWEET artist.

The Saturday Six.

One.

You might remember the fan debacle from the cruise...and would you BELIEVE IT...after all we went through to take that fan on the cruise, we forgot our fan when we went to Frog and Jenna's. Good gravy. So Ryan downloaded the fan app we learned about AFTER the cruise. Works. Like. A. Charm. {It's called Sleep Fan if you need one. I prefer for it to run at the freight train roar level.}

Two.

On our way home, I looked up ways to preserve pumpkins, since, you know, we carved them while we were gone. I think this may be the most thorough study on pumpkin preservatives out there. So, you know, if you're about to carve....

Three.

I don't think I've read fiction since Jody Hedlund's second book. It's not that I don't like fiction. It's just that I don't have a lot of time to read and if I do have time to read - it's usually something nonfiction. But through a crazy turn of events, I ended up with a copy of Amie Johnson's novel The Valley Without Her. Amie and I were students at IWU at the same time, but I didn't know her very well back then. Anyway. I read the whole book in one fell swoop. LOVED IT. Looking for some good fiction? Check it out. 

Four.

Source

You know I'm a huge fan of Katie Farrell over at the Dashing Dish. Her recipes are SO GOOD. She also shared this post this week...she and her husband built a house! I adore looking at houses, so if you love that too, check out the beauty of her new home!

Five.

I watched this interview clip of Martha Stewart speaking about social media and specifically about bloggers. She said bloggers aren't experts...and they don't have trained editors like a magazine or test their recipes in test kitchens. And boy did she tick off the blogging community! I haven't ever blogged about any of her products or received anything in exchange for a review, but I do have this to say about the hubbub: Martha described me perfectly. I'm not an expert. I'm just a Bekah who writes a blog. I don't have a professional editor. I just have a husband who pre-reads everything and points me toward missing words and things that might need reworded to sound better. And I don't test my recipes other than to whip up a batch for dinner. I just share things I think you might like to try too. So she didn't offend me. She was dead on about who I am as a blogger. What offended me was some of the backlash from people who on any other day, blog about their relationship with the Lord. It was such a disappointing witness to me.

Six.

Source

And speaking of words...I adored this post by Annie Downs about speaking love into the lives of the authors who molded your life. I might have to write more about this next week. For now - just read and ponder.

Bekah Does the Bench Press

Oh yes. You read it right.

If you were listening to BLT yesterday, I apologize. This will be a rerun. But it's too good a story to not share it.

So you remember how we've been going to the gym, right?

Well, Monday evening, we did a core workout. I didn't even know I had a core. Now I not only know I have one...but I also know it's not speaking to me.

So Tuesday evening, we went into the big boy weight room to work on our arms. And that included...the bench press.

Do I look like a girl who has ever used one of those before? Yeah. I didn't think so.

Ryan told me to lay down on the bench to begin my exercise. Problem. The bench was not as wide as my backside. And due to the core workout the day before, I was unable to just lay down. I needed to sort of ease back on my side and then roll to my back. But since it was a bench and not a bed, I couldn't do that.

I went back as far as I could and then just dropped like a potato onto the bench - carefully avoiding the bar above my head. No time for a concussion.

Then Ryan told me to lift the bar.

Just the bar. There was no actual weight on it yet. I lifted. Or at least I tried. Did you know those bars weigh FORTY FIVE POUNDS???? That is just 30 kinds of ridiculous!! So there I was, balancing on this teeny bench, trying to lift this stupid non-weight-bearing 45 pound bar. Ryan had to do most of the lifting.

He told me to push up on the bar. I did, simultaneously craning my neck to check the hallway for college students who might be watching. He told me not to worry about it. Seriously? If I walked through the hallway and saw me, I'd have started tweeting about the crazy girl in the weight room. I just wanted to know how many of those onlookers I had!

Finally, with assistance, I did my reps, and then I began to get up.

Couldn't do that either.

Ryan had to come pull me off that bench. Something tells me I am not the poster child for the workout program.

Once I was back up on my feet, I made my way to the other side to watch Ryan bench press his warmup 225 pounds.

It's gonna be a long haul, y'all. How long do you think it will be before all my muscles like me again??

And the end of the Road Trip

Here's a wrap-up of our weekend away to visit our friends!

Ryan really wanted to go eat at Giordano's pizza, which they have up in the Chicago area...have you ever heard of it? It is like the pizza of all pizzas. Check this out! This is what it must mean to see a real pizza pie:

 To get a pizza like this means you have to wait about a half hour, so while we waited, we entertained ourselves with photos:

And the fun didn't stop there! After we ate, Adelaide asked if she could see what was in my purse. Among the things in my purse: a tripod. {Don't give me that look. That is not weird!!!}

She wanted to take pictures using said tripod, so she and Ryan got to work on that.

On our way home from dinner, they took us past a house where the couple built an actual pirate ship in their front yard - for their wedding! It was dark when we went by, so my picture is a bit blurry, but here you go:

We spent the night again Saturday night and went to church with Frog and Jenna on Sunday morning!

Adelaide offered us both books during church. This is what she gave to Ryan:

I told Ryan that he's going to be her Brian. {Brian was the guy I had my first crush on - at age four.}

After church, we went back to Frog and Jenna's for lunch - and a little coloring:

 

And then it was time to head home! We, much like the wise men, went home by a different route. Still took us forever, but at least we didn't spend two hours sitting in one spot!

Sorry my head is so big. I was covering the sun. Now THAT is a big head. When it covers the sun.

Thank you, Indiana for repairing your broken "welcome to Indiana" sign.

Oh wait. I remember. You didn't fix it.


We didn't get home until about 10:00 at night - but it was a FANTASTIC weekend!!!