The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday afternoon was our nephew Korbin's 2nd birthday party. They're a farm loving family, so his mom organized a cowboy themed party, and it was so much fun. Chili, cornbread, root beer, cupcakes, and a chance to celebrate Korbin's life! {And apparently toddler parties wear us out, because we came home and slept for two hours after it was over!}

* Monday was the first day of February, so it was OUT with the old and IN with the new here in Shafferland. I spent the better part of the day working on the podcast, actually, but I took enough of a break to take down all the snowman/January decorations and break out the February/Valentine's Day stuff. I even did a Pinterest project to make these heart banners! They're so cute! {God bless Ryan for putting up with the froofiness of February.}

* Tuesday was our 38th monthiversary, and although we spent the entire day apart, Ryan did get home from work just a little bit early, and we enjoyed our dinner together, and I'd even made a little treat for us just for fun! We got to relax together that night, and it was, in a word, lovely.

* Wednesday morning, I met a friend for coffee, and then I ran some errands around town. I was THIRTEENTH in line at the post office, so I was quite grateful I'd eaten a good snack before I came inside. And I did a Bekah-first of going to Lowe's to take pictures of buckets FOR the blog. Hey, when you don't have what you need at home, be resourceful, right? Braeya spent the day napping in a bag she found on the couch.

* Thursday I caught this picture of Braeya - and it made me giggle because it looked like she was praying. {She was really chasing her tail.} I had to go to Kokomo that afternoon to meet Ryan for a viewing at the funeral home, so I made our chicken quesadilla dinner and took it with me so we could have a dinner date in his office before we left. {Yes, that's Brutus back there!!} Unfortunately when I was shredding the chicken, I got the "lock" and "on/off" levers mixed up on the mixer.
MESSY!!

* Ryan had a Super Bowl carry-in at his work on Friday and he sent me a picture of part of the food table. I'll take one of each, please!!! Sadly I was home on the fat chair, not feeling well at all, but a day with coffee and an electric blanket made it all better! I even felt well enough to make a healthy Chinese food dinner that night!

* Yesterday Ryan was gone allllllllllllllllllllll day, so I did our grocery shopping on my own. {That is a very dangerous thing for me to do, as the store generally makes me nuts and he is my sanity!!} But I got in and out without incident and proceeded to enjoy the rest of the day. It was SO pretty out that when he came home, we had to get outside for just a little bit, and then it was time for healthy versions of pizza. Not the same as the real thing, but a good taste of it anyway.

The Saturday Six

One.

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A week or so ago, I wrote a blog post about the importance of remembering the writing I do now has eternal significance, even if I'm not being paid for it. {And the subsequent writer struggle of finding places to be paid for writing.} A few of you fellow writers reached out on that one, so I'm reaching back today with this great article by Susie Larson. I really respect her, not just as a writer, but as a Christian, and I'm reminded through her words of the importance of allowing God to take charge of my career!

Two.

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You know I have a huge tender place in my soul for those who have to say goodbye to their babies. This week marked fifteen years since my friends said goodbye to their baby Carol, and I still can't get past knowing this year she would have learned to drive and wondering what she would have been like as a teenager. This article speaks to the blank places left in in the lives of families who remain without their babies. Well written.

Three.

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Just a little PSA in case you forgot: the Super Bowl is this SUNDAY!!! Regardless of who you're cheering on in the Denverapolis Broncolts game {definitely no bias here, right?} it's important to remember the most IMPORTANT part of the game: the food! I've been mulling over what kinds of snacks to have that are delicious and yet won't make me gain back every pound I've lost. Katie Farrell compiled some of her best game day recipes in a list here, and yes, I'll be making some of them!  

Four.

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I forgot to tell you that when I went back to the dentist a couple of weeks ago, I heard words I'd never heard before: "Keep doing whatever you're doing." WHAT!? No lecture on flossing? No reminder to brush more thoroughly? First time since oral surgery that the parting words have been THAT good! I also realized when I got home that this particular visit marked six months since I'd been using Thieves AromaBright toothpaste from Young Living. {We haven't talked about the oils world in a while, have we?} I actually have been using it and Thieves Dental Floss  and Thieves Fresh Essence Mouthwash. {Although in fairness, I don't use the mouthwash every day.} I like the toothpaste because it is not minty {I HATE MINT} - and it's also not sudsy, which is another thing that annoys me about toothpaste. I like the floss because it doesn't shred {my teeth are SO close together that usually floss just shreds, which is why I hate flossing!} and it doesn't leave any kind of waxy residue in my mouth. The mouthwash is STRONG - I will not lie. That's one reason I don't use it every day. It almost tastes medicinal, but somehow between the three of them, the job got done!
Five.

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What? Two books to talk about today? A rare, but true fact. I decided that this year, instead of buying a new daily devotional book, I would work through books I already owned. And because I am a bit OCD this way, I just started at the beginning of the first shelf and that's how I began with The Faith Dare by Debbie Alsdorf. {It released back in 2010 through Revell.}


I got this book back when I worked at WBCL, and I'd read quickly through it as I prepared to help Lynne interview Debbie about the book. But I wanted to go through it again, at a slower pace, learning and absorbing. The Faith Dare is divided into three sections, with ten days devoted to your relationship with God, ten days to surrendering yourself, and ten days to your relationships with others, for a total of a month's worth of readings. {And that's why I'm reporting the book to you now! I finished reading through it this week!}

Each day's reading includes some stories from Debbie's life, several Scripture passages, some practical "dares" for living out the principles of the day in your life, a place to journal your thoughts, and a prayer.

I came away from a month of studying faith feeling challenged and convicted about areas of my life where my faith lacked. The first two-thirds of the study were particularly challenging to me and made me ask hard questions of myself regarding just how serious I was about living a life of faith. The last third of the study was more focused on relationships with others, and while it was helpful to me in conjunction with what we were studying in our small group, it was a shift away from the state of my faith in God.

Devotional books tend to frustrate me, because I find them fluffy. I appreciated how many Scripture passages Debbie included in each day's reading, because it drove me to study the Word of God and not just the words of an author. But I also appreciated her own insights and stories. I kept my pen handy so I could underline as I went, and she had some good thoughts to preserve, like these:

"Wild faith is surrendered, passionate and courageous. It humbly seeks and fearlessly follows." 

"You cannot spray the Holy Spirit on like perfume in the morning. You must be connected to Jesus to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life."

"If we believed we are complete in Christ, we could stop our search for something more and could begin living life." 

For this study, I didn't focus so much on the daily dares and the journaling section, but I appreciated that she included them, as I think many would find them helpful.


If you're looking to examine your faith, I think this book would be a helpful and practical guide in leading you to think about areas you might not otherwise consider! It was a great study for me in beginning 2016!

Six.

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And now to the hard review. Earlier this year, I asked to review an Amish fiction book. By mistake, I received Jonathan David Golden's book Be You. Do Good. I was told I could read it or pass it on, since it had been sent in error. I decided maybe the mistake wasn't so much of a mistake, and I should read the book.


The subtitle is "Having the guts to pursue what makes you come alive," and since I'm still in my first year of career change and new paths, I thought perhaps this would offer me something really pivotal to help me in my journey.

I was so sad when I finally closed the book, because it wasn't my favorite. I pondered just skipping the review entirely because I didn't want to say something negative, but I decided to go ahead with it, believing that part of being a book reviewer is knowing every book might not zing me and being okay with admitting when one does not.

Jonathan is the founder of a successful business called Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company. {COFFEE!!! I mean how could this go wrong for me??} The book shares many of the stories of his life, but particularly over the last decade as he founded this company and went through seasons of success and failure, personally and professionally.

I did a lot of underlining in the first chapter and felt excited that I would learn so much from this book, but the chapters that followed were predominantly story, with a tag line of application at the end of each one. It seemed the main meat of the book was all in the first chapter. I craved less story and more explanation of how he imagined others could apply what he experienced in their own lives. I think I felt so disconnected from it because I know that my own calling is not to run a multi-million-dollar corporation, nor is it to work across national boundaries, so I wanted to know how to apply the principles in ordinary-world. {I'm not opposed to doing the heavy lifting as a reader and figuring out how to make something fit my own details. In this situation, I just didn't feel like I'd been given enough actual teaching to do so.}

It was much more of a business book than a Christian living book, in my opinion, though it is marketed as Christian living. The copy on the back of the book indicates that anyone looking to make a career out of their life calling can learn from the book, but I did not find it to be a good fit for me.

Make no mistake: his stories are interesting, and there is much to learn about the country of Rwanda and the coffee business through reading the pages, but I just ached for a little bit more guidance and a little bit less story.

If you're a business-minded person and you aspire to head a corporation someday, this actually might be a great book for you. It just wasn't for me, and I was sorry for that.

* I received this book from Baker in exchange for an honest review. *

Broccoli Stuffed Chicken

One of the reasons I chose to do the 21 Day Fix was because it seemed like the kind of plan I could find a way to continue as a lifestyle change. When I've reached a good weight for me, and I move to more of a maintenance phase, I wanted to take what I'd been learning all these many weeks and continue it.

And I love cooking, so I didn't want any plan that kept me out of the kitchen and dependent on pre-packaged meals or shakes. And now that I'm several weeks into this change, I've begun to collect some favorite recipes that I wanted to preserve for our official recipe box! This is the first one I'm sharing with you!

I used to think it would be so much harder to cook for a clean eating diet, so I avoided trying. I will say that at least for me, it's definitely been an adjustment. I had to learn to mentally switch the "staples" of my kitchen, but once I got used to it, cooking this way is just as easy as how I cooked before.

This recipe, which I based off one found here, has found itself featured more than once on our menu plan, so I decided to call it a keeper! I like it because it is extremely flavorful {another myth I once had of clean eating is that it surely must be bland}, it sneaks in some veggies, and it's easy to modify for anyone in your household who might not be eating as strictly as you are!

Broccoli Stuffed Chicken

4 thawed chicken tenders 
Sprinkle of seasoned salt
Sprinkle of onion powder
Sprinkle of garlic powder
Sprinkle of paprika
1 cup frozen broccoli
1/4 cup low fat cheese 

Pound chicken tenders with meat mallet until thin and even. Sprinkle seasoned salt, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika over meat. {Go light on the salt.} Divide the broccoli pieces evenly over the chicken. Top with the cheese evenly divided. Roll up the tenders as much as possible and secure with a toothpick. Place in oven safe baking dish and bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 

A Few Tips:

* The original post called for chicken breasts instead of tenders, but we only buy chicken tenders because I find them easier to work with. So depending on the size of the chicken, you might even be able to eat two of these and count it as one serving!

* Meat mallets are fun for frustrating days. Purposeful venting, right?

* Once I've flattened the chicken, I sprinkle the spices right over the tenders. You won't need much! And if you are a big onion fan, you can skip the onion powder and used finely chop onion or green onion pieces! 

* It's kind of nice to not thaw and cook the broccoli before you add it to the chicken! Saves a step and makes this much faster. Because the pieces are frozen, though, the chicken will be a little harder to roll up. I don't worry about this because for me, taste trumps presentation. :)

* The original post called for cayenne pepper, too, but I'm not a big fan of that, so I left it out. If you like it, add it!

* I used a blended cheese in this one - but whatever one strikes your fancy will be just fine!

* Since Ryan is not following this as hard-core as I am, I added extra cheese to his. It was an easy modification to give him a little bit extra treat!

* I served this with California blend veggies on the side. It would pair up nicely with many things, though!

* This does reheat well, so I make enough for our lunches the next day when I make it.

* This is also easy to multiply if you're feeding a crowd!!

* Don't forget to take the toothpick out before you eat the chicken!

* ALSO!!!!!! If you hate the whole mess of flattening and touching raw meat and messing with the toothpick and such, just throw the chicken tenders in a 9x13 dish {or smaller if you're not doing very many}, sprinkle on the seasonings, spread frozen broccoli over the top, add the cheese, and bake that way. Truth? This is the way I do this now. So. Much. Easier.

My Faith Bucket List

I love the app on Facebook that lets you look back and see what was happening on this day throughout all your Facebook years.

When I glanced at mine yesterday, I saw that six years ago, I was practicing my Colts manicure in honor of the upcoming Super Bowl. {And also that I was no good at lefthanded horseshoe drawing.} The one pictured here was done with my right hand, so it isn't so bad.

Five years ago, I noted that a particular four-legged occupant of this house was in a significant amount of trouble. At that time, there were two such occupants, and I did not note which one it was, but I would bet every dollar I have that it's the one still living here.

And then four years ago yesterday, I shared this quote by the wise and wonderful Susie Larson:

 "May God's dreams for you swallow up your unbelief. May you have faith enough to put out your buckets and prepare for rain."

Four years ago yesterday, I was single with no prospects of love, facing the dreaded holiday of love. I was rapidly losing hope that there would ever be someone for me. And who knows - maybe there were other things factoring in on that particular day, too. I don't remember. {And for the sake of my sanity, I'm not going to work very hard at conjuring it up again.}

I'm a person who really hates embarrassment. I suppose we all do, really. But I get embarrassed pretty easily and I hate the red that crawls up my neck into my face and the hot flash that settles over me. I hate when people stare, know, and worst of all: offer pity. Such things don't bother Ryan nearly as much, and sometimes I envy that trait in him!

But because I hate embarrassment so much, I am not great at putting out the buckets of faith to prepare for rain. I worry that if people see all these buckets sitting out and they know I'm waiting, and then nothing happens...

That borders on embarrassing, doesn't it? And then I have to see their looks and feel their pity, and it's just easier to hide my buckets on the back porch and hope some rain somehow sneaks under the awning.

In 2012, as I posted that quote and went about my day, I had no idea that by the end of that same year, I'd be married. That suddenly a rainstorm would hit and God would bring the man, and we would date and get engaged and get married all right in a row. I'm not even sure I saw the cloud that day, but the rain loomed, and not just a sprinkle: a deluge.

So now it's 2016 and Ryan and I still have things we're praying about and having faith to see. Sometimes that wait is discouraging and we get frustrated that things take so stinkin' long. So when I saw these words again yesterday, I considered them a Divine appointment. My details are different, certainly, than four years ago, but the truth of bold faith remains. 

May God do just what Susie said: swallow up my unbelief and fill those faith-buckets with the outpouring of what He has. And in order for that to happen, may I be bold enough to put the buckets in the front yard, right out there where everyone can see them. May I make a bucket list of my own: one comprised of the things I'm believing in bold bucket-toting faith to receive.

38 Months

Yesterday marked 38 months for Shafferland. I started to say that's also my age, but then I realized it's actually NOT my age until May. I believe arriving at the place where you can know longer keep track of your age probably qualifies you as just old.

But I digress.

As monthiversaries go, I fear our celebration this time may have teetered toward lame. But what did NOT teeter toward lame was the chance to spend time together, and for that, I was grateful.

Ryan had to work, of course, and originally we had planned to be able to see each other for a little bit during the work day, but our plans changed, which was a bit on the sad side. But I was kind of glad to not be out and about because we got a THUNDERSTORM in FEBRUARY!! How crazy is that!?

Normally on a monthiversary, we go out to eat or go get dessert or some froofy coffee drink. But I just started a new round of the Fix yesterday, and I didn't want to completely ruin that out of the gate. So I decided to find a little treat I could make for us here at home, and given that Ryan ate about half the pan at dinner, I'd say it was a success:

We ended up spending the evening together at home, quiet and nothing blog-worthy, but wonderful because we were warm and safe and with each other.

It's been a wonderful 38 months. I noticed even as we recorded our podcast this week that we have reached such a comfortable place. While it's always felt right and safe when we're together, it's a new level of right and safe and us. I'm grateful to have him beside me for the hilarious days and the hard days alike.

Birthday Fun!

You guys...I am not even going to lie. We cracked our own selves up. If you're having a bad day, I believe this might boost your spirits.

Click here to listen.

A year ago, we had one of our worst weekends in the history of Shafferland. Everything that could go wrong did. Ryan was sick, we had to cancel every plan we'd made, and one of those plans was attending our nephew's first birthday party. We sat at home in great sadness and watched all the pictures roll in on Facebook.

This year, we got to attend his party! He's two now, and his little personality is precious. He's pretty quiet {though he has a growl that can really catch you off guard!!} and he's got this little smile that sneaks out now and then and melts you.

He had a cowboy themed party, and I got a few cute pictures I thought you might enjoy!

{Sorry that one is kind of dark, but I loved the rope sign. Impressive!!!!}

This was his little cake - so cute!! {The rest of us had cupcakes, and they were delicious!}

His family just got a new dog, and I think I heard our brother-in-law say he's 3 months old. He's so big! And he LOVES to play. This blur of him was the best I could get!

Korbin was quite deliberate about all his gifts and cards. I was impressed!

{New way to open gifts. Try it sometime!!}

 {The big kid....}

Why play with toys when you can play with STICKERS!!!?!?!?!?!?

And the cake!!! :)

Such a cutie - and it was a fun little cowboy party!! Good way to send off the month of January!

What I Learned in January

Emily Freeman does a series of blog posts about what she has learned each month. I completely forgot to write my post about that last Friday, so even though today actually kicks off a whole new month, I still wanted to share what I learned in January! {Meanwhile, HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!}

1. Winter is so much prettier when you're not a commuter. I think this may actually fall under something I affirmed in my mind this month, rather than something I learned. While we didn't have an overly snowy month, there were so many nights when I slept beautifully because I knew I did not have to drive to Fort Wayne the next morning. I have had such a fondness for this winter, and that is a wondrous thing I've not enjoyed for years. Thank you, Ryan, for making this season possible for me!

2. Working out three times a day = no. During the last week of my second round of the 21 Day Fix, I worked out three times each day. That crossed the line. It was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting and for me, anyway, seemed to yield no impressive additional results. I told Ryan to remind me of that if I ever happened to threaten this sort of behavior again.

3. Shepherding is hard work. Not like actual sheep shepherding. But our sermon series at church this month has been about learning to shepherd those around you. I went into this series with much enthusiasm, and while I am still excited to see what God has for me/us in the realm of shepherding others, I have learned it is not for the faint of heart. I've appreciated our pastor's teaching on this topic {which you can watch here if you want} and feel I've learned so much in just a month.

4. There are women in this world who have to hide during their periods because they have no sanitary supplies. My day observing/documenting/helping with The Dignity Project was so eye opening to the plight of women living in our very modern age who still do not have access to pads or tampons to carry them through their periods. Every month, they have to stay home and hide, because they have no other choice. The day I spent with the women who created reusable pads and pouches for these ladies half a world away was convicting, awe-inspiring, and extremely educational.

5. Webinars are more fun when you choose them yourself. Upon occasion, I had to watch webinars when I worked at IWU and at WBCL. I hated webinar days. I got sleepy just thinking about them. Sitting in a warm conference room and being quiet for an hour or two was just too hard for me. In January alone, I chose to watch three webinars from my own home, and I thoroughly enjoyed each one. I was able to walk around when I wanted, get snacks and drinks, and choose my own topics. Made all the difference, and I'm grateful for the people who made them possible!

6. Styrofoam snowballs look like eggs. On two separate occasions this month, I sent people pictures of my dining room table {photo above is one example} and both times, the recipients asked me why I had eggs in with junk food. The Styrofoam balls that are supposed to look like snowballs, apparently photograph as eggs.

7. I'm kind of a grammar failure. I finished my book manuscript last November, and this month a proofreader edited it for me. She sent it back with a humiliating amount of things marked. She actually told me it was a pretty clean manuscript, which made me wonder exactly what kinds of manuscripts other writers turn in, but it was humbling to see how much I thought I knew, but actually I don't! I told her I write by ear like some musicians play by ear. Except I hope they get more of their notes right than I did!

8. Slow cooker meals are torture when you work from home. The last week of January, I participated in a slow cooker challenge, where I made each day's meal that way. It was amazing to find new recipes I loved, but that whole gratification thing of walking into a delicious smelling house goes much easier when you are not in said house all day long. Smelling the delight while trying to focus on work is, well, hard.

So there's a sampling of what I learned in January. Possibly nothing earth-shattering there, but hopefully something entertaining in some manner!