The Shafferland Shuffle

 

Guess what I saw yesterday? THE SUN!!!! I had just told Ryan that I seriously couldn't remember the last time I saw it, but I was guessing well over two weeks ago...and then it showed up! I was so, so happy! Hope you got to see it where you are, too. If you missed last week's shuffle post, I'm changing up the way I do the recap each week. It was just time for something new. But here are some peeks at my favorite moment from each day. 

* One of our favorite moments from last Sunday came right after church on Sunday morning. The church our tenants attend was still meeting virtually, so we all gathered in the Community Room to watch the service on TV, and after it ended, all the tenants decided they wanted to hang out together for lunch. One of them cooked for the rest, and she did a great job. She made crawfish, and for two of us, it was our first experience eating it! Though we encourage our tenants to participate in community and provide created moments for them to do so, it's fun to see them choose extra togetherness spontaneously! 

* Monday was one of the Monday-est kind of Mondays around here. (Anyone else? Anyone?) Ryan and I were crazy busy all day, but this was one of our favorite projects! We successfully put up a new vinyl in the Community Room. We hung it way up high and it's five feet long, so it was no small task to apply it (level, no less) and was a fabulous exercise in teamwork! We loved how it turned out, and it was fun to see everyone's reactions when they saw it for the first time. One step closer to an extra-homey living space! (Also, if you're ever looking for a team-building exercise, we highly recommend installing a vinyl saying!)

* Tuesday was another busy day, but we were on duty together with Tim and Justine, which meant I got some quality time playing with Miss Isla! She's at such a fun stage (every stage is a fun stage to me) where she's completely into playing with her little toys, giggling, and having fun with anyone who will pause to hang out with her for a bit. Since we had a meeting with her parents for a little bit, it seemed like a great excuse to get extra time with her! 

* Wednesday was another day of meetings...and Ryan's turn to get in some quality time with Miss Isla. She has a lot of fun reaching for his beard. (She is a big fan of hair in general, and that's what he has to offer - ha!) I have to say, speaking of meetings, that even though we have a lot of them here, the people in them make them really fun! 

* Thursday was our first day off in our weekend stretch, and we used it for our errand day. Errand day began with meeting our friends Wayne and Shari for lunch at a new-to-us place in Fort Wayne. Italian food for the win, and this was exceptionally good Italian! We always love catching up with them, so it was a good way to begin the day. (It's also a good idea to grocery shop on a full stomach, so we had minimal impulse buys that day!) 

* We had another day off work Friday, and we made that our full stay-at-home-and-rest day. And of course, we partially rest through projects, so I did a little scrapbooking, and we both worked on Abby! We spent a couple of hours in the afternoon installing the backsplash in the kitchen area, and we LOVED how it turned out. We also loved that we had just enough pieces to finish the project. We had about 1/4 of a sheet left by the time we were done, so it was close!

* Yesterday rounded out our break, and we spent some time at Ryan's mom and step-dad's cabin, helping to sort through some of her belongings. She's been gone almost two years now, and the family is slowly going through her things as they have time (especially things like clothes and craft supplies that could be enjoyed by someone else instead of just sitting) so we took a turn with the sorting. Their cabin is beautiful, and being in that particular space reminded me of those many days and nights we spent caring for her, two years ago at this time. I'm still so proud of Ryan for how dedicated he was to caring for her so well. 

The Saturday Six

 

One.

I think it's safe to say most of us struggle with anxiety about one thing or another right now. Even those who may not have historically wrestled it find it creeping up now. And if you're one who doesn't struggle, my guess is that someone close to you does. I think this post has some great insight, so I'm sharing it with you! 

Two.

Have any of you ever cooked all the way through a cookbook before? I haven't, but I ran across this post with a challenge to do just that. I am not hopping on the challenge just now, but the thought really does intrigue me. If you've ever tried it, what book did you use? Do any of you even like owning cookbooks or do you prefer online recipes? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!!

Three.

Here's a fun fact about me: I HATE shopping for winter coats. In fact, the main coat I own right now has been mine for over a decade. I am so over wearing it, but it's too big, which makes it perfect for bulky winter wear underneath, so I keep it. A couple of years ago, I got a much cuter and much more tailored coat that I wear when warmth is not the driving factor. But I hate spending money on coats. I'd rather buy a scrapbook. ;) Having said that, I think all three of the coats featured in this blogger's post are as cute as a little button. I'll take one of each, please. (Just kidding. I'll stick with my paid-for, outdated, big coat and cute little not-so-warm one.)

Four.

I considered taking up crocheting as a new hobby this year. For real, I did. But then I remembered a couple of key things - like no spare time and trying to save money. Suddenly trying to learn a new skill and spend money on the supplies for it seemed like a poor idea. But when and if I ever DO pick up a new skill, I think this one will be a top contender. And because I do like to still peruse what you can make when you have skills, I have to say I'm kind of in love with this headband/ear warmer. Hats and ear warmers are important to me now that I walk more places. This is adorable. Any of out out there like to crochet? What do you think? Could I learn it someday?

Five.

I think this can be attributed to reassembling our house this week after Christmas, but I'm sort of stuck on "less is more." I weeded out a few more things as I made that transition, and I'm so freshly aware of how delightful it is to let go of things. So when I happened upon this amazingly darling small farmhouse kitchen on a blog, I thought it was just about the cutest thing ever. I may also be in love with her retro appliances. CUTE!!!!!!

Six.

For the last couple of weeks, I've been giving you some ideas of things to do each day in January to be purposeful and maybe even try new things! My list last week took you through tomorrow, so I'll start this week's list with the 11th of January:

January 11 - Write a note to someone who may not know they blessed you. You know what it's like to get a pick-me-up out of the blue. What if you were the instigator this time? Think of someone who has really encouraged you and thank them for it with a phone call, letter, or text. A thousand bonus points if they had no idea they even did anything meaningful!

January 12 - Play a card or board game (nothing electronic). Ryan and I have been having a lot of fun playing a word game app on his phone lately. But today's challenge calls for putting away the phone - and all devices. Dutch Blitz. Monopoly. Uno. Skip Bo. Anything you like! Play a game! (We find game playing to give us the mental break we need - even if we only play for ten minutes!)

January 13 - Learn a new way to tie a scarf. I know about two ways to tie one, but Pinterest is an unending source of ideas. Look up "how to tie a scarf" and try a new skill today!

January 14 - Organize something in your home today. For most of us the issue won't be finding something to organize as much as it will be figuring out which of the million things before us to choose! Paperwork? A closet? Kitchen cabinet? What will it be?

January 15 - Clean out your closet or dresser and get rid of what you don't wear. Ryan and I do this fairly regularly, and our recent acquisitions between the Goodwill and Christmas call for us to do it again. We try not to accumulate so much that our closet is packed tight, so it's time to make sure we're not approaching that! 

January 16 - Go on a winter adventure of your choice. It will all depend on the weather where you are, but maybe this is a good day to go sledding...or skiing...or hiking...or anything else that welcomes winter in a good way!

January 17 - Participate in a prayer challenge for family or friends. You can do this any way you like, but it's a great way to spend your spare time. Maybe you want to pray during your commute or your workout. Maybe you want to pray for a specific group of people (like anyone related to you with "in-law" in the title or all the friends you made in the last year). Maybe you want to pray about a specific thing (like illness) and name each person in your life struggling with that. The details are up to you, but do a little extra praying today!

Pressing On and Making Choices

Last night I sat down to look through a my scrapbook from 2011. I wanted to see what I was doing a decade ago - in my last full year of singleness. Ryan was watching a movie, but he sat beside me and glanced over now and then to see some of my adventures. I, on the other hand, read every word of my year and giggled at the details I'd forgotten.

It was a whole other hair length and color for me. It was a whole different job. (Two of them, actually, because I changed jobs that year.) It was a whole different city, church, and even group of close friends. I love it that I still have all those dear friends in my life, but changes for them and for me mean I don't see them daily like I did a decade ago.

But what I noticed most of all as I slowly turned all the pages was the purpose and intentionality I saw within myself. I'd just come out of the worst year of my life, full of such hurt and loss. For months, I'd barely eaten, barely gone anywhere, barely done anything beyond what I had to in order to survive. When 2011 arrived, I was absolutely determined to live. I wanted to make the most of the year, even though I had no idea what the year might bring.

And so I did. I chose to spend time with friends, cook meals and invite people over, take risks, visit new places, and experience more than I ever imagined possible. I blossomed in a million little ways that year, and it was such a joy to look back at it and relive those beautiful moments.

Though I didn't say so in the scrapbook, I do remember how strange it felt at the beginning to do all these things that had been put on hold in my life for so long. I had to remember how to cook meals in such a way that everything finished at the same time. I had to relearn how to drive long and unfamiliar distances. I had to be brave and overcome fears like flying and commuting. 

But all throughout that year, I pressed on and made new choices. Living the fullest version of life wasn't going to happen if I kept napping on the living room floor and eating a dinner of lime tortilla chips. It wouldn't happen without effort. 

It's safe to say 2021 will look much different than 2011. The world in which we live is a much different place and the details won't match. They can't match. 

But the decision to press on and make choices remains, and I can be as determined in this year as I was in that one.

We talk to our tenants about this quite often. They're still learning to make life choices and learning how even small daily choices can have a long-lasting impact on life. We remind them that most of life's choices are made in small ways, not in huge decisions. But those choices are no less important just because they're small and daily.

We're a week into this year now, and I'm excited for some of those daily little choices I've been making that are adding up to good habits.

* I'm purposing to get in those full 10,000 (at least) steps each day. It's challenging in the winter, but I'm finding that if I'm creative, there are ways to make it work. Unless the weather is beyond foul, I can layer up and walk where I need to go. For the steps I need to finish inside, it turns out that those steps make for great prayer time or a mini praise-music concert. I'd gotten a little lazy, choosing movies over moving. 

* I'm purposing to be more thorough in my journaling, mostly for the discipline of writing. I'd been saving my journaling time until far too late at night and then found myself slopping through it, so now I'm choosing to do that a bit earlier so I can make the time for it that it deserves.

* I'm purposing to do a workout every day but Sunday. Ryan and I have both struggled to find a place to park our workout routines in our new schedule, but this is one thing we're choosing to make time for in the new year. This is one of the hard boundary lines we're drawing. We can't do our jobs if we aren't at our best, and we aren't at our best if we're not working out. We are making time for it. It's worth it. 

You get the idea. Meal planning. Reading books together. Using a planner. Resting. They're all little choices, but they add up to a life that is balanced and healthier. 

So we press on, purposing to do the best we can with the days the Lord gives us. We have no clue what they might look like in detail, but we are committed to showing up and giving our all to each one. 

Currently...

I was going to write a different post today, but it's currently (ha! see what I did there) 10:43 p.m. and I still have to read two chapters in my book for work, read my Bible study, journal, and finish my water intake, so I'm not going to have time to really think through that post like I wanted to. I'll save it for another day, and instead, I'm hopping on the Currently...post that Anne does over at her blog. Natasha joined up yesterday too! 

As for life here in Shafferland, we are

...beginning...a three day weekend, and we're so very, very grateful for it. We just came off a seven day work stretch, and though it wasn't bad by any means, the days in that stretch were extra long and we are excited to have a break! We already have the entire thing planned out - in true Shaffer fashion. 

...feeling...a little sore after launching back into daily workouts. It's not horrible. I've definitely felt much worse after re-entering workouts after a break, but my upper arms and upper legs are protesting a bit. I'm also feeling really excited that I've been able to make time for these workouts throughout this last week's work stretch. I've done a few of them super late at night, simply because that was the only time I had left, but I got them done! 

...organizing...the whole apartment. Ryan and I took down the last of Christmas last night - and got it all packed away in tubs. But now the house has to be reassembled. I've kept out some of the plain smaller trees for winter decor, and I need to put back all the regular pictures and items I took down from shelves to make room for Christmas. This is one of my goals for our stretch off work. I want to put the place back together so it can start to feel like a new year!

...resolving...to continue restructuring our days so we have a better work life/personal life balance. Pretty much everyone who works in a role like ours told us it would be really hard to figure out, and we learned that they were all telling the truth! We're still learning when we need to put aside our own plans to make time for things that spring up at work and when we need to enforce strong boundaries to protect our own time. It's a constantly moving target, and what works one day may not work the next. But we're determined to keep working on it!

...wondering...what God has ahead for us in this work we're doing. One day at a time, I know. But we've had several planning meetings over the last week, and it just makes me curious to see what He's up to here at WillowBridge, with team and tenants alike! 

How about you? Any answers to any of these? 

Hope

Yesterday we heard a comment that we hear quite often when we tell people about the work we do here at WillowBridge: "I'm so glad you do what you do...but I could never do it." It's surprised us, actually, how often we do hear that. We enjoy our job and are thankful God called us here for this season to do this work. 

But it is true that it's the kind of work that isn't for everyone, and we do understand that. Some wouldn't enjoy working all day every day with their spouse. Some wouldn't be able to handle living and working in the same space, because it's true that sometimes it blurs the lines between work and personal time. Some wouldn't care for the amount of work to be done each day, and we get that. 

I share with you quite often some of our favorite parts of our job. We love community nights when we get to do fun things together with the tenants. We crack up at their witty sayings. We love celebrating with them when they achieve a success, like earning a driving permit. We enjoy all the baby snuggles. And of course, that's just a sampling of the good things.

There are definitely hard moments, too. Any relationship-oriented job will have its hard parts. Personalities don't always mix. People have bad days. (And sometimes a series of bad days, right?) Schedules are busy and patience wears thin. It happens on all sides. 

Those are the rough days. 

We definitely have days when we go to bed at night wondering if we've done anything right that day. We definitely have days when we think of what we should have said two hours after what we actually said. We definitely have days when we know a hard conversation is coming, and no matter how many hours we spend praying about it, we still feel unprepared.

I had a day like that last week. I didn't actually have to say anything in the hard conversation. I simply had to sit in the room as a presence. I just had to take notes. I just had to listen and pray. And I had to be the one who was there after everything was said to process the next parts. 

It's a challenging part of the job for me, because my natural inclination is to be a peacemaker and peace keeper. I don't like for people to be upset with each other. I don't like unresolved conflict. But sometimes those things take place and trying to speed along a resolution doesn't work. You can only take each moment as it comes.

I went to the meeting, sat on the floor in the corner, and tried to make myself as invisible as possible, or at least as invisible as my nails clacking on the keyboard would allow. 

My bracelet kept rubbing against my wrist as I typed, so eventually I took it off and put it beside me, tossed up against my keys on the floor. 

I typed.

I listened.

I prayed.

And when it was over, I sat and waited. Waited to see what would come next. Sometimes you can only sit and be. Words are intrusive. So I sat quietly. 

At one point I scooted across the floor to be closer and more present, though still just as quiet. As I waited, I glanced over at my discarded laptop, keys fanned across the floor, and the bracelet caught my eye. The word hope was upside down in the way it landed as it slid from my wrist to the floor.

It struck me that the little scene before me was profound. Sometimes hope feels like it is upside down on the floor. It did to me in that moment. But it also struck me that even though it's upside down on the floor, hope is still there. It hasn't gone away. It may not look pretty, but it's there.

Before I cleaned up the room and left for the night, I snapped a quick picture, because I didn't want to forget the lesson I learned in the hard that night.

Hope is always there - even if it's upside down. 

97 Months!

We are closing in on ONE HUNDRED MONTHS of marriage! I am so excited about it, and I loved Tracy's suggestion of throwing 100 water balloons into the celebration mix. (Ryan would probably really go for that, even though it won't land in the warmest Hoosier month.)

In our new line of work, it's not possible to have every single monthiversary off work, and that's okay. Tim and Justine find our monthiversary celebrations landing somewhere between cute and amusing, I'm sure, but I'm also sure they don't want us to request a weekend for every single one of them!

So for monthiversary #97, we were on duty at WillowBridge. The day was filled with all manner of regular chores, along with a few additional ones, like taking down all the community Christmas decorations. 

I worked inside to take ornaments off the tree, and as I dropped them in the tub beside me, I glanced outside to see Ryan beginning to take down the garland from the WillowBridge sign. (Much of the outdoor decor had been ours from our Kokomo house. Since we no longer have an outdoor space to decorate personally, we just shared with the building!) The day was cold and icy, but Ryan buzzed around, quickly taking down all the garlands, lights, extension cords and more. 

It's one of the many things I love about him: he powers through and works hard, no matter the weather or how long the days run.

Tim and Justine insisted that we take a little time for ourselves while they were there to help out with the building, so we took them up on their offer. Justine took our official monthiversary photos...isn't she kind? And better than a selfie?

(If you missed the memo earlier, the coordination game was strong, though entirely coincidental.)

These pictures are one of the many things I love about him. He puts up with my desire to fully document life. He doesn't just tolerate it. He embraces it. 

After pictures, we drove over to the coffee shop and stayed about an hour, drinking fresh brew, having the best carrot cake we've ever found on the planet, and playing our newly discovered favorite word game. 

It was just the heart and brain break we needed! And it's another thing I love about him! He makes time for dates, even when the work lists are long. He plays word games with me (swoon) and if we're honest about it, he was the one who found the word game and he let me crash it and start finding words with him. He shares so well. 

We headed back to WillowBridge and resumed working, which included a late-night visit to the community room to fix one of our tenants' glasses. Someone had stepped on the earpiece (or leg, as she called it) and nearly broken it. "Doctor Ryan," as they call him came to the rescue with his toolbox and unending patience. 

And yes, as you may have guessed, that is another thing I love about him. As Doctor Ryan worked on the glasses, the tenant said to me, "You really did get the best one. He can do everything." And I easily agreed. He takes care of all of us so very well, and I love him for it. 

Thank you, Ryan, for a beautiful 97 months together. How have they flown so fast? Thank you for making not only every single one of those months so great, but thank you for making this busy work day a special day of celebration too! I love you!

Happy New Year in Shafferland!

I'm guessing most of you go back to some version of work/school/normal this week, so if you fall into that camp, I hope it starts well! We didn't have a true break, so our week will probably look a lot like last week - and that's okay!

I did want to give you a peek into our New Year's Eve fun, though, to celebrate the official work week beginning of a new year.

For the last few years, we've spent New Year's Eve with our Sunday School class. We'd all pitch in some food and spend the evening playing games before watching the ball drop and toasting with sparkling grape juice. Our Sunday School teachers had a huge home that was perfect for entertaining, and that was really helpful, because we attended one of the biggest classes in our church. 

This year our welcome-in-the-new-year party was considerably smaller, but it was every bit as much fun. Tim and Justine were here at WillowBridge, and the tenants were out for the first part of the evening, anyway, so we had a party for the team for a few hours!

Justine made delicious ham and turkey sliders, and I made skinny taco dip. Justine brought mini eclairs and Ryan wanted some of those two-bite brownies they sell at Sam's Club, and that made up our dinner! 

We ate together and then did some photo shoots with our party props! (There were a few photobombing incidents, of course.)

We set up games in the Community Room and played. (This was one of the gifts Ryan gave Tim for Christmas.)

I have no idea how this happened - because I am TERRIBLE at it - but we won!

One of our tenants came home after our games; she'd been working that evening. So she joined us and we sat around talking and playing a few unofficial games until midnight. Then it was time to pour the sparkling grape juice and get ready for the countdown!

And then it was midnight!

We toasted and kissed and listened to Auld Lang Syne....

...and just like that it was 2021. A year as unknown to us as 2020 was one year ago. Certainly we hope it's less eventful, but we can count on it being just as God-saturated. And for that, we are grateful!

We stayed up to clean up the Community Room and made sure everyone who was out got back safely - and then we went to bed for a few short hours before we had to get up for work on New Year's Day. 

It was a happy start to a new year, spent with some of our favorites! 

The Shafferland Shuffle

 

Welcome to the first Shafferland Shuffle of 2021! Here is how we transitioned our year from the old to the new...

* Last Sunday we were part of a presentation at a local church, where we talked a bit about what we do at WillowBridge. We have been doing church at home with our tenants for several weeks (their church is online only right now) so it was quite a switch to end the year inside a church building again! We worked the rest of the day too, but that evening, we enjoyed some down time with naps (though Braeya stole our blankets). And I downloaded my first book on my new Kindle!

* Monday was a work day for us, and we ran some errands in the afternoon. On our way home, we stopped in at the coffee shop for holiday lattes before they go away for the season! It was also a mini-date in the middle of a busy day, and we enjoyed that. A kind lady from the church we had visited Sunday came over and brought us a (DELICIOUS) loaf of homemade bread! And we ended the day watching a movie with one of our tenants. A fine start to the week!

* Tuesday was all about the meetings. So many meetings. Apparently there were so many that Braeya wanted to join in and tried to sneak in the Community Room to join us! (Pets aren't allowed in the Community Room because of allergy hazards, so she was out of luck. But I appreciated the interest!) But the best part of that day was getting to have our staff Christmas with Rob! He showered us with coffee and DeBrand treats! :) 

* We had Wednesday off work, and some friends from Ryan's old work came to visit us. We enjoyed showing them around Grabill and catching up on life! They had just left to go back home when it started snowing and being extra-nasty out, so we stayed in and enjoyed a restful night at home. Much-needed!

* Thursday was the final day of 2020, and we established a new New Year's Eve tradition (or at least we hope it becomes a tradition) of ringing in the new year with Tim and Justine! We made party food and had the best time playing games, laughing, telling stories, and ringing in 2021 together here at WillowBridge! 

***

(I decided to do a single picture per day in 2021. I've done collages for many years, but some days it's hard to get three unique pictures, so I'm going to do a highlight photo for each day of 2021.)

***

* Midnight brought us into Friday and into a new year. Auld Lang Syne, sparkling grape juice, sneaky kisses, and laughter with friends made for a perfect beginning tradition in celebrating a new year. My first first in 2021 came that same day, because it was the first time I've ever worked on New Year's Day. I'm actually pretty protective of New Year's Day, so that was hard for my heart, but Ryan and I had a good day anyway, even if we didn't get to do any of our daytime traditions this year. (We'll do them on a delay.)

* Yesterday was our 97th monthiversary! We are on the countdown to triple digits - and I told Ryan to just wait for that month, because I plan to incorporate balloons! (He looked at me with a mix of joy and terror. I don't think he knew if I was serious or kidding.) We did have to work yesterday, but Tim and Justine were also on duty, so we were able to sneak away for an hour and enjoy some coffee and word games at the coffee shop. I told Ryan that 97 months of singleness didn't go nearly as quickly as 97 months of marriage have gone. I love him and love it that we get to spend each day together. And I love it that after 97 months, we accidentally coordinate. 

The Saturday Six

 

I debated about whether or not to carry my Saturday Six tradition into 2021. With our new schedule, I confess there are some weeks when it's really hard to have enough time to track down six things for this post, but I've decided that at least for the time being, I'll keep going with it. It is, after all, kind of fun to hunt for the items! With that said...here is the first Saturday Six of 2021!

One.

I am pretty meticulous about taking down Christmas decor and storing it away in such a fashion that it makes decorating next year very easy. This year I may do a little more purging than I've done in years past, simply because we are in a new space and there are some things I didn't have room for this year. It's good to re-see the layout, right? But for those of you who find tearing down and packing away to be overwhelming, check out this thorough post with some fabulous ideas! (I do several of these already!) By the way - have you already taken down your Christmas decor, or are you still keeping it up for a while yet? 

Two.

Another month ended this week, so here is our final one-second video reel for 2020. I loved using this app this year. I love having these little highlights and looking back over them. Many times throughout the year, we'd pause and watch the whole thing to that point. This is a treasure for us and I'm excited to do it again in 2021! (We watched the full year this week and it was SO MUCH FUN to see the whole thing in one swoop!)

Three.

Source

In the spirit of wrapping up months and years, I wrapped up another Daily Grace study this week, which means in 2020, I completed six of their studies and read through eight of their Be Still magazines. What a treasure for my personal study it has been to find this organization this year! 

My final study for 2020 was The Fruit of the Spirit. I chose this study because I wanted to dive into something I was really familiar with and see what new facets I could learn about it. I remember first truly studying this topic back in my elementary years, when one of our church's Vacation Bible School weeks focused on it. That's when I learned the song I still sing to recite them all, and I began to understand their importance in a believer's life. Now, 30-some years later, I was excited to spend more time learning, this time on a much deeper level. 

This three week study breaks down the passage into tiny bits and goes deep into the meanings behind the words and teachings. The first full week of study, actually, focuses on verses leading up to the passage that specifically names the fruit of the Spirit and sets the stage for the main part of the study. It delves into the tug of war between the flesh and the Spirit and explains some passages that can be difficult. 

The remaining two weeks go through love, joy, peace, and the rest of the fruit individually. I loved reading the words in the original language, understanding more about their meaning, and seeing how they connect to the rest of Scripture as a whole. 

I made so many notes in my Bible as I studied through this passage, and I gained a deeper understanding of some of the words that don't translate as richly into English as they're intended in the original language. 

This was the perfect study for the end of the year and has me excited to begin the study I'm doing together with Ryan in the new year! 

Four.

I know some of you had a rough go of it during the recent holidays. Whether you were alone, not feeling well, or caught up in family drama, it might have been an extra hard year. I love these words from Barbara Rainey about finding hope even when happiness seems elusive. It also has some encouragement inside for days that may just flat out be hard - holidays excluded. 

Five.

Ryan and I have a friend who loves orange (to the extreme!) so one year I gave her an orange-themed gift. This week I ran across this post, which does basically the same thing with blue - and it has links to a few other colors as well. If you need some fresh, easy, unique gift ideas for 2021, check it out!

Six.

Last week I gave you some ideas of things to try each day in January, and I have more for you for the week to come!! (Last week's suggestions carried through the 3rd, so I will start here with the 4th.)

4. Pick ____ books to read this month...and get started!

Fun fact: My sister got me a Kindle for Christmas/my birthday. I've never had one before, and as many of you know (ahem, Charity!) I am firm about REAL books. Alas, I have decided to give the electronic version a try, and I already have my first book purchased! Ryan and I have some books we have to read for work (training) and I really do want to get back into reading for fun after so long away from it. So I  am choosing my number (three) and getting busy with it.

5. Decorate your home for winter/take down the rest of Christmas.

I think it was last week on the Saturday Six that I shared some ideas for how to decorate for winter specifically. Last winter, Ryan and I kept some of our smaller, less Christmas-specific trees up with lights only and added some specific snowball decor. We really loved having that extra coziness in the cold, dark months. It might bring some fresh air to your home to try this one! Though I'm adamant about taking down Christmas decor before the first of the year, this did not work with our schedule this year, so I have to get busy on this one, too. 

6. Light a winter candle or diffuse winter oils.

I've seen tons of decorating ideas with just plain, unscented white candles, and it looks so cozy. And I know a lot of pine/fir scents are popular this time of year as well. For those of you trying to get away from candles in your home (for toxin and/or safety reasons) there are tons of lists of winter scents you can achieve using essential oils in your diffusers. In fact, here's one of those lists for you! Freshen up your home with new scents on this day!

7. Slow cook some soup. Maybe even try a new recipe!

Soup is so comforting in the winter, and slow cooked soup is a double win, because you can throw it all in that morning and have a magically completed dinner by evening! You can go for a stand-by comfort food, or you could use this day to try something new. Maybe even something healthy! Here is the one we'll be making on the 7th...which is one of our favorite Dashing Dish soup recipes! 

8. Take a bubble bath (or an extra long, hot shower).

I love bubble baths, but only in a proper soaking tub. When we stayed in that Airbnb for our anniversary, I took full advantage of that beautiful clawfoot soaking tub. I actually find an extra long, hot shower more relaxing than a tub bath in a regular tub. I don't often have the time for an extra relaxing shower though, so bring on January 8th! (Which one do you prefer? Bath or shower?)

9. Make a snowman pizza.

We don't often make homemade pizza, but I found this healthier crust recipe on Dashing Dish, and we're going to try this one! Any chance our snowman will actually look LIKE a snowman? I think this one would be fun to have each person make his or her own snowman pizza. 

10. Bake (and share) snowflake cookies.

I guess this week is all about the cooking and baking! I haven't made cut out cookies in a long time, but it would be fun to make and share some cookies! 

Believe

Happy New Year, my friends! I hope you enjoyed your New Year's Eve - even though I imagine it looked different for some of you from your normal routines. 

I glanced back through early-January blog posts for the past couple of year and learned that this is my third year to take Dayspring's word-of-the-year quiz. In 2019, my word was courage, and God taught me in that year that part of being courageous is learning to wait well. In 2020, my word was abide, and God taught me that much of abiding required waiting in Him. (And my goodness...I certainly did a lot of abiding in 2020 as we made such huge life changes!) 

For 2021, my word came back as believe. 

Believe.

One of the first things that popped in my head when I read the word took me back to high school when I took sign language lessons. When Sheila taught me the word believe, she explained that it was the sign for thought and marry put together. When you believe, you are married to your thought. That's what makes it a belief. It's a covenant of your mind, heart, and soul.

It seems (per social media) everyone is eager for today to arrive. It feels to so many hearts that if we can somehow get past writing 2020 on everything, life will reset and be okay again.

But 2021 is merely a new number and no magical fix arrives in a Santa-esque way, dropped down chimneys at midnight on New Year's Eve. By the time you wake up and read this post, today probably will look very much as yesterday - on the outside, anyway.

We do, however, have control over what goes on inside our hearts, minds, and thoughts. We have the chance to marry our thoughts into the covenant of God's Word and His desires. 

And that's what I hope to believe most in this new year. 

I'm reminded of a Beth Moore Bible study I took many years ago - back when I was still single and had endless nights open to participate in Bible studies with other women. My friend Marie and I attended the study at her church every Monday night, and it was called Believing God.

Those of you who took that study remember what Beth called everyone to do at every session. We stood and said with conviction the five core statements of the study:

God is Who He says He is.

God can do what He says He can do.

I am who God says I am.

I can do all things through Christ.

God's Word is alive and active in me.

And then at least in our group, we ended that recitation with a loudly proclaimed I'm believing God!

Maybe I need to start reciting those again each day. They're powerful reminders that this life I'm called to live is not done in my own strength, but it requires me to offer belief.

So in this year, I'm believing God. I'm marrying my thoughts to His Word and I'm believing Him to do big and impossible things in our lives and in this work we've been called to do. 

What are you committing to in 2021?