When I started making plans for my post-station life, it became very important to me to live on some sort of schedule. Not that every day would look the same, but that each day would have its own set of tasks and I would not fall prey to watching endless movies and taking naps.
But I also determined that part of the joy of this season and its accompanying flexibility is the opportunity to take "vacation time" and "sick days" as needed. I don't want to get so caught up in working and marking things off my checklist that I don't take time to rest and rejuvenate when needed.
So I think it's a pretty fair start that last week involved two work days and three vacation days! I already told you about Sisters' Day Out last Wednesday, but I wanted to show you some of the fun from the rest of the week as well It's a rare treat that Lori comes to visit, so when she does, I like to spend as much time with her as I can!
Braeya was excited for a new friend in the house...
{I believe that is her "please stop taking pictures during my back rub" face.}
Lori and I visited Cato and actually lost all track of time while shopping. We were late to lunch with Mom and Dad. WHOOPSIE!
We went to visit my nephew's grave...
Mom wanted to take us to this cute little restaurant in Kokomo {called Gabetta's}, and it worked out that Ryan had a long lunch that day and he got to join us too!
And then it was an afternoon of shopping for the girls...where I managed to avoid spending a dime, and instead texted my love to Ryan.
Also...why are these back????
Friday night, we tried to have a hot dog roast in my parents' backyard. Dad certainly succeeded with ample kindling for the fire:
Ryan found it to be a little on the warm side for the actual roasting.
After all that, we were forced to eat inside because it started to rain AGAIN while Ryan cooked the hot dogs.
And we had lunch together on Sunday as well...but I didn't take any pictures of that. Too busy stuffing my face with food!!
I did get a going-away picture with Lori, though.
Such a fun visit - and I remain highly grateful for the flexibility to spend time with her! I am keeping careful track of the many blessings I'm already seeing out of this season of life, and time with her was one of them!
Last Thursday was another milestone in Shafferland: our 31st monthiversary! Yes, we're still celebrating months. {And you know what I love? The random emails, texts, and messages from those of you who have figured out your own monthiversary number. My parents are at 731. I think that's pretty cool!}
Ryan obviously had to go to work on our monthiversary, and I spent the day hanging out with my mom and sister...but that evening, we celebrated!
First, the photo of the month...which only took about 30 tries. Some attempts are just more labor intensive than others. :)
Here was one of our outtakes:
We like to call it...timer gone wrong.
After our photos, we headed to Kokomo, to have dinner with Adam and Sara from our wedding party. About six months after we got married, they moved away to start a new job with a teen ministry, where they'd felt God calling them to go. It's been two years now, and we have loved seeing all the ways God has used them in the lives of so many kids. We miss them terribly, but we know they are exactly where God wants them to be, and it is truly inspiring to see the fruit of their faith.
They were passing through town that day and invited a whole big group of people to get together for dinner, so we jumped at the chance to see them.
You know that feeling when you're trying to be all serious for a picture and you KNOW something isn't right elsewhere in the picture...but you're not sure what's happening?
Ohhhhhh those two.
Thirty-one months earlier, they stood beside us as we promised our forever to each other.
And it seemed appropriate that thirty-one months later, we were reunited! Great monthiversary date!!
* Last Sunday afternoon, I made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies to have for sharing this week. Of course that meant taste testing, which meant consuming milk, which meant Braeya hovered until it was gone so she could wipe the glass clean with her paw. Beggar. We had a rare break in the rain, so that evening, we went for a walk, which was lovely. We miss walking! When is the rain stopping again???
* Monday was my first real day off work!! I kicked it off with a trip to the hospital for a physical. {Want me to plan your next party? I know how to do it up right!!} Bad news: I'm fat. Good news: not as fat as I thought I was! Gives me something to work on, right? Before I came home, I visited Ryan at work, took cookies to his co-workers, and stopped at the jewelry store to have my wedding ring cleaned and sparkle-fied. I felt that was a good first morning of productivity! I spent the afternoon cranking out work at home {and writing}. And then - the Shafferland salad bar was open for dinner. First day: BOOM!
* Tuesday was crazy busy - can you believe that two days in, I'd still not had a nap or scrapbooked a single page?? Ryan actually had an appointment that morning, which allowed us a whole extra hour of sleep AND gave us the chance to enjoy breakfast together. How cool is that? I spent some time editing and writing and trying {in vain} to teach Braeya to sit on the correct side of the fan. I did tons of cleaning and chores - AND - made my own laundry detergent. Just call me Mrs. Ingalls!
* Wednesday was such a fun day! As you read about already, my sister Lori is visiting from Kansas, so the three sisters declared Wednesday "Sisters' Day Out." It was our first time ever to do such a thing, and we had a blast! We spent the day in Indianapolis at Julie's house and went to the salon, ate lunch, had a pool party, took pictures - MUCH FUN. Loved it! Lori also spent the night at our house that night, so it was fun to host a guest. We don't get to do that very often!
* Thursday, Lori and I squeezed in some shopping at our favorite place: Cato!! I had been hoarding a gift card for just such an occasion, and we had fun making short work of it! We got to have lunch with my parents, and then that evening, Ryan and I celebrated our 31st monthiversary by having dinner at Half Moon, a restaurant in Kokomo, with our good friends {and wedding party members} Adam and Sara. They were in town just briefly and gathered a HUGE group of friends together for a meal. It was so good to be with them and to mark another milestone in our marriage with people who stood with us that day!
* Friday was another family day out, and what fun it was! Mom and Dad, Lori and I all went to Kokomo to have lunch at this really cute little restaurant downtown, and because Ryan had an uncharacteristically long lunch that day, he was able to join us. YAY!!! The girls went shopping for the afternoon, and my willpower held up long enough to buy NOTHING, thankyouverymuch, and we rounded out our day with a hot dog roast and indoor dinner {stupid RAIN!!} at my parents' house. A good way to round out that first week off work!
* Yesterday I actually got a little relaxing and fun in! Did some scrapping, read a mere 145 pages in a novel I also started *ahem* yesterday...and even took a nap! I figured since it was a holiday, I deserved a little of that fun. Ryan and I tried a new BBQ place for dinner...it was really cute, and the food was good. And then we headed to find a seat for fireworks. We both pulled out books to read while we waited, and then we enjoyed a GREAT show before heading back home. I do love me some 4th of July! {And more on this to come!!}
In honor of our nation's birthday today, I wanted to share one of my very favorite patriotic songs. Of course it involves David Phelps...and it gives me goose bumps every. time.
I don't know about you, but my heart beats faster {in the best possible way} while touring this three seasons porch. Wonder if these folks have a house for sale next door so we can be neighbors and enjoy evening coffee with them...at their house, of course.
I would guess that a lot of you probably already read Ann Voskamp's blog, and I always believe her words are worth reading, but if you've not read this post of solid life advice offered to her teen daughter, you should read it now - and pretend you are her teen daughter. So many lines worth journaling, learning, and LIVING found in this post. Worth the read!
Speaking of Ann Voskamp, I took her One Thousand Gifts challenge about three years ago. If you haven't done that, the quick summary is that she challenged people to look around them to find the gifts in every day. Could be super simple things like strawberry jam on toast, or huge things like healing from a disease. It's interesting to me that since officially completing the challenge to count one thousand gifts in the dailyness of life, I seem to miss many of them. So this post by Lysa TerKeurst was a good wake up call for me!
Five.
While I don't have kids, I do have PEOPLE I like to photograph who don't particularly love to smile or who feel they have awkward smiles. {Case in point: although Ryan has a GREAT smile, he hates the way his smile looks when I'm taking pictures of us at restaurants before meals. He says it's because he's so hungry, he's thinking about food instead of smiling, and I sure can't blame him there!!! So we usually go with a photo of him taking a big bite of his food so we can get around the smile.} This article offers ideas of ways to get good photos of non-smilers.{I'm also pretty sure the photo above is not EXACTLY what the author had in mind...
Six.
For the last couple of weeks, I have had the privilege and {truthfully} Divine appointment of reading Susie Larson's book Your Sacred Yes.Susie was on Mid-Morningto talk about this book right before I left the station, and after the interview, my first thought was "sure wish I would have gotten that book!" Imagine my delight when it arrived in my mailbox a couple of days later! I'd completely forgotten I'd signed up with the publisher, Bethany House, for a chance to review it.
I'm utterly convinced God ordained this review for me at this very time, because no book could have been more perfectly suited for my transition out of full-time, outside-the-home work and into this new season of my life. First, I want to say that I believe Susie Larson is anointed and appointed by the Lord, and I would heartily recommend any book she's written, because I believe she's chosen to knit her soul to the Lord and anything she writes has been put on her heart by Him.
This book, though, is for the person who feels drained by busyness...especially when the busyness comes from doing GOOD things intended to bring honor to the Lord. It's an epidemic among believers, really, to do...do...do. More and more. Be involved in it all. Say yes because if we don't, something might not be done. And we utterly exhaust ourselves in the process, leaving us not just tired, but vulnerable to physical, mental, and spiritual burnout.
Susie knows this, because as a woman in ministry, she's been there. Years ago, she and her husband restructured their lives, because they were admonished if they did not, they would be headed for a burnout that could even destroy their marriage. Drawing from the lessons she's learned in the years since, Susie encourages us to listen to the Lord for His assignments, rather than falling to the pressure of the well-meaning people around us urging us to take on their assignments. She gives permission for two things Christians can be terrible at doing: saying no and resting. She urges us to find freedom in God's yes, which may not always look like the yes expected of us.
I read this book during the last days of my job and my first days away from full-time work and found myself encouraged and affirmed that I was making the right decision in saying a sacred yes to God, even though people might not understand why I was doing so. She left me with much hope that the freedom from busyness and the freedom to rest in this new season is God-ordained and will prepare me for whatever He has next.
If you struggle to say no, if you feel laden with busyness, I urge you to read this book. If you read with an open heart, I believe it will change your perspective to see what God expects of you instead of what people expect from you. And it will give you permission to be the most productive you...you can be - and show you how that productivity is boosted through seasons of down-time as much as it is through seasons of doing.
* Thanks, Bethany House, for sending a copy of this book to me in exchange for the review. And thank you for publishing an outstanding, timely, and needed book. *
My sister from Kansas came for a visit this week. We always love having her here and probably exhaust her with all the things we want to show her and include her in...all poured into just a few days.
When I heard about her visit several months ago, I got the tiniest germ of an idea - I like to think God put it in my mind, but perhaps He'd just as soon not take credit for this one. Either way, I pitched it to my two sisters to see what they'd think. Last summer, the entire family gathered in Shipshewana for the first ever Freelan family vacation. First time we'd ever all gathered with everyone - spouses, kid {there's only one} and the whole nine yards. I had a blast, so I proposed a spinoff of that fun...a sisters' day! A day for just the three of us to get together and do whatever we wanted. We didn't even have to have a true agenda...just a chance to be together as sisters.
{When you're the caboose of the family, as I am, you miss out on all that kind of stuff growing up, so you crave a chance to cram it in through a more organized fashion later.}
So I thought I'd let you peek at our first ever {and hopefully not our last!} Sisters' Day!
Julie had picked Lori up from the airport, so they were already together at Julie's house, so Wednesday morning, I got up and took my first "vacation day" in my new life role. I packed up my car and drove to Indianapolis to meet the two of them. Julie surprised us with matching shirts to wear for the day - and we did some little photo opps.
Shortly after we arrived, Julie told us she'd arranged a surprise for us, so we hopped in the car...
...and headed out for an unknown destination. That was fun! When we arrived at last...lookie!
Manicures for Julie and me...and a massage for Lori. What a great treat!!
After our fun at the salon, we grabbed lunch at Subway and headed back to Julie's house for a little poolside dining...
A couple of photo opps later...
...it was time for a pool party! I was beyond grateful that Indiana experienced a rare break in the rain for our day out...but by the time we got around to swimming, the day wasn't exactly warm. Thankfully the pool was heated and the water was actually much warmer than the air outside!
And after swimming...an attempt at recreating THIS gem. Please feel free to be jealous of my ROCKIN' bangs.
It started well...the recreation attempt:
And then...well...it fell apart.
Oh my word. What a fun day!! Even though we are not the traditional sisters, because I showed up so late, I'm really thankful for these two and all they have invested in me over the years of my life. And frankly, I think we got the best end of the deal, because we get to have fun being sisters without all the fights sisters have growing up together! :)
I hope this becomes a tradition in some way. It was such a fun day.
A couple of days ago, when I wrote about my first day post-full-time-job, you all had SO MUCH to say about this new season of my life. I don't remember the last time I've enjoyed reading comments so much! {Well, to be fair, I do enjoy reading a good comment thread on Facebook when it just goes crazy over something ridiculous, but this was an entirely different kind of enjoyment. This was productive.}
It seemed like many of you have a passion to stay home/work from home yourselves, and I think that's great! And I know many of you have a passion to work outside the home too...and I think that is great as well.
I wanted to tell you about something my friend Polly said in response. Polly comments here all the time, so you've probably read her encouraging words before, but I met her through my job at the station. She's a listener and came to meet me once at a Sticker Stop. We've been blogging/texting friends ever since and my life is richer because she speaks joy into it MANY times every week.
After she read my post, she sent me this text:
I just heard an amazing message by Andy Stanley, and he said, "Why would you trade what is unique to you for something someone else can do?" Amen! Why trade time and energy for a job lots of people can do, even though you were great at your radio job, for the ONE job you and only you can do - be Ryan's wife and best friend.
I share this with you today not because I want to start a debate between working and staying home {because I so do NOT want to start a debate} - but because I want to remind all of us, myself included, of the absolute stunning BEAUTY in the great diversity of passions and causes that the Lord has placed on our hearts.
Sort of feels like to me that with the advent of the world wide web and social media, we suddenly have this intense pressure placed upon us to love every single cause in the world. And by love, of course, I mean devote our lives completely to each thing.
In the years I worked in radio, Lynne and I interviewed dozens of people who were crazy devoted to a passion the Lord gave them. I interviewed a mom who created a line of nut butters to help adopted kids adjust to a diet that wasn't largely orphanage porridge. I interviewed a lady who organizes underwear drives so kids in the ER or a women's shelter can have clean underwear and not be embarrassed at what they don't have. I interviewed a mom who created a planner system for homeschooling moms so they could be effective teachers without feeling overwhelmed. I interviewed a young mom from my own stomping grounds, who created a ministry to send bracelets to moms who had lost their babies - because she knew their pain and wanted to give them something tangible to hold a memory of what they'd lost. Lynne interviewed a gentleman who rescued retired racehorses and gave them a new career in helping veterans with PTSD go through some therapy. She also interviewed a young man who works with an organization that takes junked cars and uses them to help at-risk teens learn practical life skills in rehabbing them and selling them.
I loved hearing their stories.
And I loved it that at the end of each interview, we'd connected one person's passion with thousands of listeners, and maybe a handful of those listeners would connect with the story in such a way that they'd also want to help. They'd want to become part of that ministry or that vision.
But I also loved it that we all didn't have to take on every single cause. Out of that whole list I gave you...my heart beats faster for only one of those causes. Not that the others are not worthy or wonderful. They all are. But the Lord has given me a tender heart toward one in particular.
And that is the beauty of the Body of Christ and the heartbeat of people working together. We can all be passionate toward different things, and when we each devote ourselves to those things the Lord has pushed us to invest in, we'll find the needs of the hurting around us being met in the most beautiful rhythm.
The fact that I'm able to be away from a standard work day right now means that I have the chance to pursue some of those passions I might otherwise not have time for. It doesn't mean I have to invest in everything in front of me.
I don't know what your passion might be. But I urge you to think about what is unique to you...the passion God has put on your heart. Do that. You don't have to do it all. But do what He calls you to do, and do it with all your heart.
My dream has always been to become that wife...the one who sends treats to work with her husband, just because. But sadly, it hasn't happened nearly as often as I would have liked in the last 30 months. Sometimes it was all I could do to get meals on the table for the two of us. Forget making treats for others!
But this past Monday was my chance. My first day in the post-work world, and it just so happened I had a doctor's appointment not far from Ryan's work. To me, it sounded like the perfect excuse to stop by, see the most handsome PTA I've ever met, and take some treats! And so, I did. Sunday afternoon, I planted myself in the kitchen and whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, because this recipe makes DOZENS of cookies. I had plenty to share with his co-workers, plenty for us throughout the week, and plenty to share with my family, since my sister is visiting.
This actually isn't the first time this recipe has hit the blog, but I wanted to update it a bit. Last time I featured it on the blog, there was quite the discussion about the use of butter flavored shortening instead of just plain butter. I haven't changed the recipe, and it certainly isn't one of the healthier things I make, but I won't lie: a giant glass of milk and a couple of these = happiness.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
* 2 cups white sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 2 cups butter flavored shortening
* 4 eggs
* 4 teaspoons vanilla
* 4 1/3 cups flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and drop by teaspoonful on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
A Few Tips
* I use butter flavored Crisco sticks for my shortening. I HATE measuring messy stuff, and there's no way I have the time or patience to measure out two cups of shortening when I can break out two one-cup bricks and be done with it.
* I use my stand mixer {Miss Mixy} for this project, and it has made ALL the difference. I start by combining the sugars, add the shortening and eggs, and then put in the vanilla, followed by the flour/baking soda/salt mixture. At the very end, I have to stir by hand, because the batter gets too thick for the paddle to work through effectively, but the mixer sure helps at the start.
* I do use pure vanilla. I will skimp on some things, but that's not one of them. I really do feel like it improves the taste of the cooking!
* I also use a wheat flour instead of a white flour. I don't think it changes the taste, but it does make the cookies look a little browner. {Is browner a word?} That would be the ONLY healthy thing I do with this recipe. {That and organic eggs, I guess.}
* Once the cookies are baked and I have them in a storage container, I tuck a piece of bread inside a folded paper towel and put it in with the cookies. Helps keep them softer for the time you have them. {Which probably won't be long.}
Like I said - grab milk or coffee, a couple of cookies, and enjoy. I highly recommend them STRAIGHT out of the oven. And shared with friends. If you make them, remember I'm your friend.
Ryan asked me, back when we made the decision for me to leave my job at WBCL...what will you blog about?
What? Is a recap of washing towels and making my own ranch dressing NOT riveting blog material? I am shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you.
And so, to calm Ryan's concern, and the worries of any of you faithful readers who {for reasons unknown to me} do NOT want to read about the number of towels I folded or how many cups of water I poured over my begonias...I hereby promise to not make the blog all about that.
Starting tomorrow.
Just kidding. {Kind of.}
Yesterday was, in the words of the Matthew West song, Day one of the rest of my life.
The first day I did not have to get up at the ridiculous crack of dawn and be in a car by 6:45 in the morning and drive with one hand while gripping coffee with the other hand. It was the first day I didn't have to mentally plan out a whole day's worth of chores to cram into an evening after a long day of juggling producer details.
Want to know my favorite part of the day? The utter peace that never left me from the moment I woke up until the moment I went to bed. The peace of living in what I know is my calling for this season.
I went to the store in the middle of the day - for tomatoes and milk, not to be consumed together - simply because I could. I went when crowds were small and lines were non-existent, and while I was there, I ran into a guy I worked with way back in the days of Financial Aid. He asked how radio life was treating me, and I told him it was my first day of a new chapter. I told him the short short version of resigning, and his response was an offer of places I could check for a job.
I wasn't offended. I appreciated his thoughtfulness. But it also made me remember that this season is sacred ground. I don't know how long God will allow me to pursue this particular path...this writing and "wifing". I don't know if this is my new forever or if this is a respite between assignments. But I do know it's a sacred calling for this time.
And so yesterday, I gulped in the freedom of being a wife and a writer. I ran errands so Ryan didn't have to. I actually swept the carpet on a weekday {and not because company was coming}. I folded towels and boiled eggs and made salad dressing. I answered emails and launched into the list of people I haven't checked on for far too long - to catch up on their lives and learn how I could pray for them. I took a big tray of cookies to Ryan at his work so he could share with his co-workers, and I threw in a treat of a sweet tea for him because he loves it so. I made lists and strategized how to best use the moments in the rest of my week.
And when he came home, I was suited up for the gym so we could work out, come home, enjoy our dinner, and then enjoy a Monday evening in whatever way we chose.
It feels like a gift. A treasure. I know some days ahead will be crazy busy in their own way. I know some days ahead might lull me into a nap. But I also know this season is God-breathed. A sacred gift. Day one of the rest of my life was all I'd hoped it could be. Productive and restful. Energizing and peaceful.
