The Shafferland Shuffle

Well, here we are at the first Sunday in 2020, and I'm going to guess that some of you are gearing up to return to w-o-r-k for the first time in a couple of weeks. Bless you. You can do it! I'm looking forward to figuring out what a normal work week looks like after starting out in the middle of the holidays and strange schedules. Meanwhile, though, here's a peek at what we did this week:

* Last Sunday morning I had to be at our church early to hand out newsletters for the women's ministry, but then I was scheduled to speak at another church. Ryan and I had just a few minutes in between those two things, so we went to Starbucks for a breakfast date. We had enough stars accumulated that everything was free for both of us! (YAY!) Sunday dates are rare for us, so that was fun, and we had a great time with our friends at Hemlock, where I spoke. They were so very gracious and we enjoyed having lunch with them after church, too!

* When I went to work on Monday, I took my last stocking stuffer gift from Ryan (which showed up after Christmas). It's a little pencil holder that looks like a typewriter. ISN'T IT SO CUTE!?!? I love having it on the desk. It was a long and busy day, so when I came home, I hunkered down on the couch in my comfy and wrote thank you notes for Christmas gifts. I also changed out the pictures in our living room frames. New scenery for a year!

* Tuesday was New Year's Eve, and I had the day off work. I finished up the last bit of the Gospel of John that morning, completing my trek through the Gospels in 2019! Yay! Ryan worked until noon and then we both worked around the house, trying to get things squared away before the new year arrived. I made a dessert, and we headed over to a party with our Sunday School class. We had a great time - but then you've already read about it!

* Wednesday, was New Year's Day, and Ryan and I both had that day off work as well! We enjoyed all our traditions together, including going through our box of memories from 2019 and filling out our new questionnaires to be read next year. We had a beautiful day to usher in the new year, and we didn't waste it! Ran a 5K outside and the whole bit.

* Thursday was our first day back to work, and we were given a beautiful sunrise to enjoy while we headed out! Thursday was also our 85th monthiversary, and we had a relaxing at-home date, complete with an indoor picnic and a game of Dutch Blitz!

* Friday evening, we went to a milestone birthday party for one of the guys in our small group. His wife treated everyone to delicious homemade pizzas, and my favorite part of the party was the cake! Not because it was good, although it was, but because after he blew out his candles, and she picked up the cake to take it into the kitchen, it flew off the tray and landed on the floor! But get this - it landed right side up and stayed on its cardboard bottom, so we didn't have to throw it away! It was a fun night full of many stories and laughs.

* Yesterday was our last Christmas celebration, believe it or not. We had a Christmas get-together with Ryan's extended family. We had to leave early because our church had a farewell party for the interim pastor who has served our church for the last 18 months. He has been so good to us (as a church and personally) and we couldn't miss our chance to say goodbye! Also yesterday...Ryan began his first project of 2020!

The Saturday Six

One.

My sister sent me this article, and I loved it. She knows my undying love for deep reflection and pondering! I know we are a few days into a new year, but it's not too late to reflect on your 2019, celebrate the successes and learn from the harder parts. Take a few minutes to read and think!

Two.

If one of your hopes/goals/resolutions for the year is to study your Bible more intentionally, check out this article! It's easy to understand and provides simple ideas for studying with a purpose. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does provide some great reminders for how to do more than just open and skim.

Three.

As we head into the coldest months, you might be looking for a few ways to keep warm! Have you ever made DIY warmers? (For your hands or neck or back?) I found this post with a list of the best and worst fillers for warmers. So if you're planning to do a little crafting this January, check out the research and save yourself some time - and money!

Four.

This blogger, Rebecca, is a friend of mine from days gone by. She is a pretty big deal in the crochet design world, creating patterns and blogging about all things crochet. This past Christmas, one of her designs and creations showed up in an ESPN commercial. How cool is this?

Five.

This may be one of those inconsequential points in the grand scheme of life, but I'm sharing anyway! A few months ago, I finally remembered (after months of forgetting) to buy a pack of earring backs at Hobby Lobby. I had a bunch of earrings (some store-bought and some handmade) that didn't come with backs, and some tended to slip out of my ears. I was terrified I'd lose one and not know it, so I stopped wearing the worrisome ones. I had other rubber earring backs that had hardened up over time and were impossible to slip on and off the backs. I bought a pack of earring backs for less than two bucks, and I now have several dozen on hand to replace ones that fall into no-man's-land or to add to the earrings that come without. I wish I would have thought to do it so much sooner. A little thing - but a big help!

Six.

Tuesday marked the end of my slow read through the Gospels in 2019. I finished up the last ten verses of John and celebrated all I'd learned throughout the year. As you know, I read a commentary in conjunction with each Gospel, and for John, I read Michael Card's book: John - The Gospel of Wisdom. Michael has a book for each of the four Gospels, but this is the only one I read this year.

If you aren't a huge fan of overly academic and textbook-feeling commentaries, you might like this book. It reads much more like a regular nonfiction book and much less like a commentary. On the flip-side, if you enjoy a verse-by-verse breakdown of Scripture, you won't find that in this book. (Again, because it flows more like a regular book.)

Michael breaks up his writing according to Bible sections, rather than verses, and even at that, the length of each reading is shorter and very manageable. (The whole book is just 217 pages.) The entire text of the book of John is included in the book, presented by section with Michael's thoughts following each set of verses.

If you've studied the Gospels, you know John is very different from the other three. He includes things that none of the others do, and he omits things included by the other three. Michael does a good job explaining what is at hand within the pages of John, while carefully weaving in helpful details found in other Gospels, just to tie together all the information. (You would be surprised how many things you know from Jesus' life are not in the book of John. His choice to carefully weave them in as needed helps you find your place as you read.)

He explains things about the original language, offers details about the culture of the day, and suggests theories for John's reasons in sharing some accounts the way he does.

While I am a girl who prefers a verse-by-verse breakdown, I still enjoyed this book. It was a different kind of read and offered me many insights I did not know from previous studies on these passages. I will probably eventually get them all and read his insights on the other three books as well. I respect Michael's teaching and enjoyed the chance to study "with" him through the pages of his book!

(PS - He also takes tours to Israel, and I really like the way he structures them! If we had an Israel trip on our radar, I think I'd be highly considering his tours!)

85 Months Strong

As you know, if you've been reading here for a while, we purpose to celebrate our marriage on the second day of every month - our monthiversary. Last year it seemed like the second of every month turned into chaos and we had to modify every single celebration we planned. (We actually came to expect chaos on the second day of every month, because it seemed to wait until then to unravel.) Clearly we have no way of knowing if that will happen again this year, but I wanted to at least try to have a special plan for the first monthiversary of 2020.

The best part? It was an at-home date, which allowed us to enjoy a low-key, warm, cozy celebration sans crowds and cold weather. 

I gathered my inspiration for this date from The Dating Divas and their Indoor Picnic at Home date. (I love using their site for inspiration, and much of their content is free, which I love even more! This particular date included free resources, so I was able to add cuteness at no cost. WIN!!!)

I used their digital invitation downloads (there are four) to tell Ryan about the date. I sent him the first one a week before the picnic to tell him to save the date, and then the remaining three went to him two days before, one day before, and the day of the date. I must say - he remained most intrigued leading up to the date! 

Because we also determined that we were going to reenter the land of healthier eating beginning in January, I didn't want to totally derail us immediately. So here was my menu plan:

* On New Year's Eve, I made a big batch of marinara sauce (because I had used up my reserve) so we could have fresh sauce for our pizza-inspired main dish. 

* Our main dish was Pizza Chicken Salad from Dashing Dish. (This recipe isn't for members only, so anyone can access it.) I had grilled the chicken when I was home from work on New Year's Day, so I didn't really have any work to do on date night other than assemble the salads. Well. And send Ryan over to the store for new mixed greens since ours somehow went bad ahead of schedule. #facepalm.

* I wanted to use the cute "You're the greatest thing since sliced bread" printable from the date supply box, but I didn't want to over-carb us, so I made Parmesan-Herb Low Carb Flatbread from Dashing Dish. (That one is a member recipe...I'm so sorry if you can't access it!) I also made that on New Year's Eve, so it was ready to go. I gave Ryan extra marinara for dipping, because he loves it!

* I wanted to use the cute "You make me feel all bubbly!" printable, but we don't drink, and we also didn't need to drink an entire bottle of sparkling grape juice. (We love that stuff, but we will guzzle it right down with all its sugar!) I found a mini-bottle of sparkling grape juice at the Dollar Tree, so I got it instead. Win-win!

* The date also calls for a s'more bar for dessert, but again, I didn't want to go super crazy with an overload of sweets so early in our return to cleaner eating, so I didn't do a full bar. I really wanted to try to make my own graham crackers and marshmallow (because I'm crazy) so I made those things on New Year's Eve, too. I found both recipes on Pinterest. (Funny story: We had a big chocolate bar in our cabinet, leftover from fall s'mores, and I planned to use it for our date, and don't you know that on December 30th, Ryan sat down and ate it! Had to go get a replacement.) The graham crackers turned out GREAT, but the marshmallow was questionable. I couldn't tell if it was the recipe or the cook (or a combination.) Ryan doesn't even really like marshmallows, so he ate his without a marshmallow, but I did try the homemade ones. Meh. Tasted okay, but not worth the work.

* Of course we had coffee, too. And water. We were well-hydrated.

I printed out the conversation questions ahead of time so we could talk through them during our date. And then it was time to set up the picnic!

I made sure I got home before Ryan that evening so I could have it all staged when he arrived. I turned on all the soft lights (and the fireplace) in the living room. I found a yule log channel still in operation to run on the TV, and then I spread out some blankets on the floor. I pulled in pillows from the guest bed, just to make it a little extra fluffy and cozy, and we settled in to enjoy! 

After dinner, we hung out by the multiple versions of fire (ha!) and answered all the conversation questions. It was so relaxing just to sit and talk - we may have dozed off for a quick nap, but don't tell!

Then it was time for coffee and a few rounds of Dutch Blitz!

We decided it was a wonderful celebration. Good food, good talks, good coffee...and we are grateful for all 85 of these months we've been able to share life!

(PS if you want to try the indoor picnic with much less cooking effort, you could very easily order in or do simple, traditional picnic food.)

A New Year in Shafferland

Yesterday I read this quote by Scotty Smith, and I thought it was a great perspective for a new year - especially for those of us caught up in the joy and wonder of a fresh start! He said, "Whether or not 2020 is going to be a 'happy' new year is irrelevant. What really matters is knowing there won't be one day this year You'll fail to send us new mercies, grant us sufficient grace, and be at work in all things for our good."

Yes!

For us, 2020 did begin in a beautiful way! We went to a New Year's Eve party with our Sunday School class! Our teacher and his wife host the party every year, and they have a beautiful house with so many trees. It's a Christmas happy place, and we thoroughly enjoy going! 

Everyone pitched in with snack foods, and no one should have gone home hungry. I made Skinny Cranberry Bliss Bars from Dashing Dish, and they were quite delicious! (My first time to cook with almond butter, and I liked it.) 

After we ate, they broke out the games, and I did my very best to get out of being on a team. I was eventually roped into play Catch Phrase (to even out the teams), so I ended 2019 in a full sweat. I kept telling them over and over that games make me nervous, but they kept playing. I'm pretty sure when it ended, we'd been playing for two full hours (without drink refills or bathroom breaks). I held my own, but WHEW! There's something intimidating about looking stupid in front of your Sunday School crowd. And I absolutely accomplished looking stupid - with extra flair.

At the end of the night, we gathered around the TV to count down to the new year, toast with grape juice, and have a midnight kiss! 

Yes, we are laughing our way through that kiss, because when I took the ORIGINAL kissing picture, I forgot to flip the phone, and I accidentally got everyone else instead of us. #facepalm.

On our way home, we stopped to check on Phoebe, and she was SO SO SO excited to see us. We hung out with her for a little bit, and when we left (and she realized she wasn't coming with us) she flopped down on the couch with a huge sigh and put her head between her paws. She wouldn't even look at us when we said goodbye. Is it really possible to be shamed by a dog?

Ryan and I both had New Year's Day off work so we could pursue our traditions together! We slept in a bit and enjoyed breakfast. (Hardee's biscuits and gravy for Ryan, since it was a special day treat and yogurt, granola, and blueberries for me because...you saw my New Year's goals yesterday.)

We had a beautiful morning, which included enjoying quiet time with the Lord out on our sun porch. I started my new Psalms study and scribbled dozens of notes just in the first few verses. (How have I never noticed some of these things before?) I'm looking forward to this year of study.

Braeya makes no goals. She just lives for the moment.

As you saw yesterday, I have a whole new fitness plan lined up for the month, and it kicked off with a 5K. We named it the Day One Run, and as you can see, we had a beautiful day to run outside - sunny and in the mid-forties.

The day was pretty. The run was not. I struggled like crazy, but it's been months since I ran a 5K, so I reminded myself of that often, and I did finish it. And when I wasn't praying for air and another minute of life, I was genuinely praising the Lord for such a gorgeous start to the year! And then...recovery.

One of our favorite New Year's Day traditions is to go through our box, where we keep memories throughout the year (ticket stubs, programs, etc.) and reminisce about the fun we had. We read through the previous year's questionnaire and fill out a new one to be read next year! It had been a full year, and we had much to remember!

And so...we welcomed 2020! We are thankful for the glimpses of God's faithfulness we've seen already. We are thankful for fresh starts, traditions, and days spent together! 

Dreams and Goals for January 2020

Good morning, my friends! Happy, happy new year! Welcome to a brand new day, month, year, and decade! I have been looking forward to this day for a while now, because although I realize there is nothing magical about one day in comparison to the one before it, I'm a girl who thrives on fresh starts. 2019 was a heavy year for us, and I have been looking forward to the hope of a new beginning - in many facets of life.

As I enjoy the fullness of this day, I thought I would share with you some of my dreams and goals for this fresh-start month. To look at the whole year feels a bit too big, so I'm just looking at January for now. I have worked hard to prepare for it, and now that it's here, I want to live it well.

* Finding fresh consistency in working out. Don't most lists for a new year contain an immediate nod to health in some way? If you've been reading here for a while now, you know that Ryan finds much joy in working out. I don't, but I do find much joy in my clothes fitting! 2019 was a year of extremely inconsistent workouts for us. For the majority of the year, we didn't have the luxury of maintaining our own schedules, so when something had to give, it was too often a workout. Both of us crave a return to normalcy and consistency with this. My personal plan (already mapped out for the month) is to complete a progressive workout cycle six days a week. Each day has seven different exercises that start small and gradually build toward the end of the month. In addition to that, I plan to run a 5K every Wednesday. (I even named them all so they will feel cute as I run them.) On Sundays, when I take my Sabbath from working out, I plan to do some stretching, because I know that will be relaxing and good for me at the same time!

* Study in Psalms each day. In 2019, I studied the four Gospels in depth. After much prayer, I feel led to move my study to Psalms for 2020. One of my simultaneous goals for the new year is to be more intentional and devoted in my prayer life, and since so many Psalms are prayers, my hope is that studying them intently will help my prayer life to grow. I have a brand new commentary all ready for my first day of study today!

* Enjoy three at-home dates. Besides workouts, another piece of our lives that took a significant toll in 2019 was our intentional dating. We did date throughout the year - and regularly, at that. But they weren't always creative or well-planned. Partway through 2019, I began planning a series of dates for 2020, and all of them can be done right at home. Our hope is to alternate those with dates that take us somewhere fun. The first of my three ideas is already mapped out, and I can't wait for it!

* Get a fresh haircut.  I haven't had my hair cut or colored since August, and I'm starting to feel all frumply. No time for that! I also haven't had a different haircut in over three years. (Probably getting close to four if we're counting intently.) I think it's time to change it up.

* Finish the Atlanta scrapbook. Now that I've returned to working full time, I can't use my extra daytime hours to work on scrapbooking. I have several half-finished projects lingering in my account, so my goal for January is to finish the book about our trip to Atlanta. If I'm careful about my time, I might be able to accomplish even more than that, but I always overcommit, so I'm trying to start out easy.

* Archive two months of blog posts. I'm still working on the long, arduous task of archiving old blog posts. It takes me about an hour to archive one month's worth of posts, so I figure surely I can find two extra hours in this month to archive two more months' worth of material, right?

* Work on memorizing Scripture. I am terrible at memorizing. I've told you this before! A few weeks ago, I found this list of 100 verses that are important to know. Some are verses I already know (at least generally) so that makes the idea of 100 verses less daunting. I don't know that I can memorize all 100 in a year, but I would love to get a start on it and try!

* Organize entry closet and foyer table. At the end of last year, I'd started reorganizing/decluttering some areas of our home. (Closets, drawers, etc.) Again, returning to work means I can't do these projects during the day, but perhaps I can slowly work through them during weekends or evenings. Since we are in the heart of coats/hats/gloves season, I've decided my January project should be to weed out the coat closet and foyer table. I want to reorganize and get rid of things we don't or can't wear.

* Read a book. In the last few months, with my increased work at church, I haven't had time to read like I used to. I miss it! Even though work at church has only INCREASED with taking a full-time job, I'm hopeful that I can carve out a little bit of time each day for reading. I used to read a book a week, so I'm hoping a book for the whole month is attainable!

So there you have it! My main goals for the month! I know that all of this, combined with reacclimating myself to working outside the home and my church responsibilities might be a bit much, but I surely am going to try to do my best!

How about you? Are you a goal-maker? Anything on your hope-to-achieve list for January?