The Saturday Six

One.

I'm not sure how else to introduce this except to say...um...awkward!!!!

Two.

Here's a quick tutorial for a DIY car freshener that uses a wood ornament and essential oils. Given that Christmas supplies are out at Hobby Lobby (something I'm cheering about but know many people hate) it might be pretty easy to find everything you need! Gift idea!!!! Also: Stress Away is my favorite.

Three.

Such a well-written piece that might hit home for a few of you. If you're one of them...hugs to you!

Four.

A painted book plant stand? I think it's kinda cute. And if you're not into quite this much color, you could always go more neutral. (And don't kill the plant.)

Five.

I confess I'm not into sewing, and in fact, I don't even own a sewing machine anymore, but these little DIY felt coasters are awfully cute. I have a feeling they could be hand sewn without too much trouble. Could be a nice twist on subtle fall décor!

Six.

Source

I told you last week I was reading a book, but I needed to take it slower and fully appreciate it, rather than trying to barrel through at a hundred miles an hour. Well, I finished it this week! It's not a new book, but it's a good one. I found it in the clearance section at Hobby Lobby a while back, and the price was too good to pass up!

Audacious by Beth Moore is not a terribly long book, but it is packed with all kinds of wisdom (as I would fully expect a Beth Moore book to be) and challenge.

I do have to say this: in the very start of the book, she said these words: "I believe that God can use a book to mark a life. It doesn't even have to be a great book. It can just be well-timed." I have to tell you that as an author, those words were good for my soul. The publishing world can be such a hard place for an unestablished author. There are so many requirements, so many hoops, and most people never get the opportunity to truly and freely write for publication. It can make a writer feel like her words aren't good enough when they don't get the big audiences, and it was a beautiful reminder that God can mark lives through His timing alone.

If you've read Beth Moore books before, I do not have to tell you she is unapologetically passionate about the Lord, but this book revealed an even deeper place in her heart. It was especially good for someone like me who has grown up knowing about, loving, and serving the Lord forever, because it ignited a fresh passion. A desire to not just love the Lord, but to love Him audaciously. To find a new level of boldness and desire.

I also appreciated her reminder of God's audacious love for me. She said things like, "He does not dispense grace with an eyedropper. He drenches us with it." I know that, but I tend not to remember it like I should, and her words were timely reminders.

Boldness isn't always my gift. (I'm being generous in saying that. I'm a flat-out chicken.) Beth's book reminded me that God did indeed love me audaciously in sending His Son to die for me, so it's my job to live audaciously for Him. And it can be done. Even for flat-out chickens. After all, she said, "Boldness says that we don't see every little obstacle as some big hindrance. We're not too fragile to adapt and too finicky to accept. Boldness says that each circumstance is up for rent as opportunity."

One thing I always love about a Beth book is that while she's bold to my chicken by nature, she always makes me feel like I have what it takes to be bold too. So for the entire book to be centered AROUND boldness was an extra blessing.

I learned much, underlined about half the book, and know I will be coming back to her words over and over in the days to come. I'm not sure what God is up to in my life/our lives but I do believe this book (which IS a good book) was a timely placement from the Lord in this very moment of my life.

Thanks, Beth, for being an audacious person, and for thinking to write a whole book about it so I could learn more of what it means to live audaciously for God!

Bekah and the Power Washer

Back in my single days, when I owned a home and had no idea how to take care of it, my parents were really good about scheduling "Habitat for Bekah" days. They would block off a Saturday and come over to help with (or just flat out do) something I didn't have the knowledge or tools to do on my own. Last Saturday, Ryan and I scheduled a "Habitat for Parents" day in which we returned that favor! (In full disclosure, I'm not insinuating my parents lack knowledge or tools. We were just the muscle.)

There were a few little things that needed done, but the big project involved power washing. One side of their house and outbuilding had started turning green, and their fence had the same problem. Yes, of course they could wash it all by hand, but why, when there are beautiful inventions like power washers?

Ryan's family owns a power washer, which you may or may not remember from the podcast episode in which we painted our garage. Remember when the paint can slipped out of Ryan's hands and paint went e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. in our garage? Remember the power washer sitting in our garage at that time? The one we had borrowed from his family? The one that got soaked in paint?

It survived us the first time and still works! So we went to borrow it for a day, so we could complete our habitat mission.

Because the other projects really needed Ryan's attention in ways I could not possibly hope to participate, he graciously decided to offer that project to me.

I think for you to fully appreciate what I was getting myself into, you first need to see the loading of the power washer.

Yeah. This is not your mama's power washer.

Ryan gave me a lesson in using it and then set me free to try. The first time, it nearly knocked me straight onto my backside...kind of reminded me of the day I tried my hand at running a fire hose!

But I got the hang of it and got to work!

And once I finished the buildings, I moved on to the fence!

I'm not going to lie: this project was SO MUCH FUN. I loved seeing immediate results and feeling like I actually accomplished something good and helpful! Three cheers for that!

Meanwhile, Ryan was able to install lights, paint, and do all kinds of other things that were totally beyond me.

So now I know I like to power wash, and even thought I was crazy sore the next day, it was a good feeling to accomplish this project!

(I'll keep this on the possibilities list for someday-careers.)

Loving What I Do

A couple of nights ago, I had a quick phone call with a friend of ours from the church we used to attend. She and I are Facebook friends and keep up with the general happenings of each others' lives that way, but we paused to see what we actually, currently going on. As I told her of my work right now...the exact blend of writing and speaking I'm doing in this season...she remarked that it sounded like things were going well. That I found joy in what I'm doing.

YES.

This is definitely a sweet season of that. I love working from home and the chance that gives me to do the work of the home during the day while Ryan is at his own work. I can menu-plan pretty thoroughly, do laundry, cook meals, organize piles, and keep up with our schedule more easily because I have time during the day to do so.

I still have time to write and prepare for speaking events, so that by the time Ryan gets home, we can focus on each other and the things we want to do together. I'm grateful for the opportunity.

And a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to teach my third class at the Marion Public Library. I love this little series of classes they've asked me to teach, and I love the people who have met together to take them.

I have a few pictures to share with you from that day! All three Saturdays have been beautiful drives for me. Nice (hot!) sunny days that have made for easy driving in the weather department. But this last time it seemed all drivers were allergic to basic rules of the road, with the use of turn signals topping the list. I was exhausted by the end of the trip! (My thought captured here. Yes, I'm in park.)

But once I got inside, it was ever so much nicer. This was the workshop in which they were all set free to begin writing in earnest, after a couple of sessions on writing prep.

Throwbacks to the dark hair days!

(Many thanks to my class photographers who are responsible for these photos.)

I am so excited for the fourth class...I think it's going to be the best one yet! And I'm excited to be living in this season, which is so much fun! :)

68 Months and Counting

Now that I've caught you all up entirely on our vacation, I'll resume normal blog posts. :)

Shortly after we got home from our Midwest Meandering, we celebrated 68 months of marriage. (We had lunch at our Sunday School teacher's house on Sunday, and when his wife asked us how long we had been married, I don't think a month tally was what she expected!)

68 months fell on a normal work day, but we still had fun! :)

Ryan surprised me at lunch by bringing me a donut. That man. He makes me swoon. :)

The official 68th month photo:

After he got home from work, he surprised me by suggesting we get some coffee and go for a walk in the park! YAY!!! It was the perfect night for walking in the park, and the mosquitoes of central Illinois haven't migrated this way yet, so we were bite-free the whole time we were there!

The coffee was delicious, but we have noticed the cups are not as full as they used to be. :(

Here's an outtake for you. I don't even know what's happening here. It doesn't look good.

Take two.

Why yes! Yes he is! Thanks for noticing!

(NO! I did not write that. I just found it.)

The park was beautiful for photo opps:

We took our time walking through, sat on a bench for a while, talked to the ducks (mouthy little critters) and emptied our half-full coffee cups.

It really was a beautiful day. Thanks, Ryan, for fun surprises! And for marrying me 68 months ago!

A Little Lake Love

It's podcast Tuesday! A whole passel of stories await you, and pretty much ohhhhhhhh, 100% of them are at my expense. :)

 Listen here...

I bet you never thought it would happen, but it's here! The end of our vacation! We planned the entire timing of our vacation around the weekend Ryan's family would be at the lake cottage, so we could finish off our time away from home with them!

So Friday morning (the second Friday morning of our vacation!) we left Allerton in central Illinois and headed toward the lake in northern Indiana.

We picked a town along the route and stopped for breakfast. It was this little hometown diner, and the serving sizes far surpassed anything we expected. We barely finished half before caving and asking for boxes.

We got stuck in the worst traffic jam of our trip that morning and ended up bailing down the shoulder to an early exit to try to find an alternate route. Then we got caught up in south Chicago traffic...oh it was crazy! Our three hours and some change drive turned into over five hours. We were so glad to see that lake!!

All the rest of Ryan's family had already arrived by the time we did, so they were busy doing their own thing. We went out for a quick boat ride (just the two of us) and it was glorious.

Then it was time for coffee by the lake. Also glorious. Also windy.

We watched the kiddos play...

Had dinner with the fam and played some games...

 (Above: Luke didn't realize I was taking the picture in that moment. He wasn't really sad. And as for Ryan's expression below...not sure if he was losing the game or what!)

We stayed up late and got up early Saturday morning to sneak down by the water to watch the sunrise:

Sneaked a peek at the new baby:

Went for a morning boat ride:

We walked around town for a while, since there was a festival underway. We came back and had lunch with the kids. And then we went back to town to the coffee shop. It exhausted Ryan.

Ryan's sister wanted to team up with us to cook dinner that night, so Ryan and I made a breakfast casserole and our brother-in-law made pancakes. (I was still eating off that pancake from the day before!)

After dinner, we packed up the car and drove home. We were so ready to be back in our own place! It had been a very fun trip, but we craved home.

And ice cream as one last treat:

What a beautiful, beautiful sight!

Thanks for riding along on our vacation with us! :) Hope you had fun!