Tuesday Tales: Staff Retreat Adventures

 

Happy SEPTEMBER! The ber months have arrived, and while there are things about fall I enjoy, I’m not quite ready to let go of summer just yet.

                Today I want to tell you about our staff retreat adventures, and I confess this feels like 100 years ago now. In reality, it was just a couple of weeks ago. Last week I told you about last year, when Ryan didn’t go with me to this, and I ended up having a panic attack in the middle of the night when I couldn’t reach him. So this year he went with me, and life was much happier.

                We stayed at a retreat center in Ohio, and I was so excited to introduce him to this place I experienced last year!

                Ryan didn’t come to (most of) our staff meetings. He used that time to rest and do some things that were life-giving to him. One of our meetings took place outside, and I kept catching a glimpse of someone out of the corner of my eye. I kept thinking it was Ryan eavesdropping on us (ha!) but it was just a statue. I did get their picture together the next day to show I wasn’t crazy!

                The first night we went out to eat at a place Ryan and I have been before and liked – CJ Highmarks. We were seated next to a louddddddddddd party, but once they left, it was an enjoyable evening. We even got ice cream on the way home!

                We stopped to look at another retreat center and the sunset on the cross there was GORGEOUS.

                Ryan and I hoped to sit outside when we came back from dinner, but it was raining, so we sat on a covered porch until the mosquitoes got the best of me. Then we had to give up.

                Ryan got up early the next morning and went out to see the cross in the fog. Cool picture!

                We had some free time that afternoon, so we went for walks on the prayer trails. After that, we found a coffee shop down the road and enjoyed a little coffee date.

                That night we had dinner together (and it was all staff and all spouses!) at one of the restaurants we’ve come to really enjoy in the last year – Do Good!

                After dinner, we had time for one more walk and then everyone played games – except me. I had a lot to catch up on, and I didn’t feel like losing games. (I always lose.)

                The next morning we packed up to come home, stopping for groceries on the way.

                I was so glad Ryan could come with me! I slept so much better when I wasn’t worried about him!

Menu Monday: Nourishing Body and Soul

 

Here we are at the end of August, and Ryan and I have (mostly) returned to our protein-fest eating plan that we’ve committed to for a season. Here’s a peek at the week we just had!

Monday: Chicken Taco Salad

What We Did: I had some frozen chicken breasts, so I put them in the slow cooker with a little salsa and some taco seasoning, and by dinnertime, it was fully cooked, ready to shred, and we ate it over mixed greens with some salsa and garden-fresh tomatoes. I am not normally a yellow tomato girl, but these are really good!

Tuesday: Subway for Me

Plan B Dinner: I ended up being at Swiss Village well into the evening and unable to cook, so Ryan warmed up the last of the pizza we had the week before and ate it, and I stopped by Subway on my way home for some turkey-on-flatbread. Delicious. Of course, by that time of the evening, cardboard might have tasted delicious!

Wednesday: Cobb Salad

What We Did: I had to be at the church pretty early that day to get everything squared away for the fall launch of midweek services, so I made us cobb salads for the road! Chicken breasts, boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, pepitas, cucumbers…yum!

Thursday: Swiss Village Open House

What We Ate: Ryan had to work late this evening, so he ate at the open house, and I stopped by to see him and ate while I was there. A little brisket and some NOT protein-heavy mac and cheese. (But it was good!)

Friday: Subway Again

Plan B Dinner Again: We both had long weeks and by Friday, we were exhausted. Our visit to Mom and Dad ran a little closer to dinner than we planned, so we decided to let Subway cook for us on the way home. What would we do without Subway in this season of life?

Saturday: Appreciation Dinner

What We Had: We knew this night was going to be a fun treat, and it was! Ryan was invited to the appreciation dinner for the worship team at church, and it had an Italian theme! I had some salad and a little lasagna and ravioli. So good!

Sunday: Beef Stew

What We Did: We have stopped buying beef for the most part because of the cost. But we will have it upon occasion as a treat, and this was such a day! Early in the morning, I put the beef stew meat in the slow cooker along with a bag of frozen green beans and some diced celery. It smelled SO GOOD all day, and we enjoyed it for dinner!

Sunday Scrapbook: Moments from the Week

 

                This week was plot twisty. My journal got a workout, I needed a few extra naps to clear my head, and I’m still behind on homework. But between all the plot twists, we had some good moments, and I’m going to focus on those (for the most part, anyway).

Last Sunday was our summer baptism service, and it was just about the most perfect day possible for a pond baptism. I was actually worried about the water being too cold, because after weeks of 8000 degree heat, we ended up wearing jackets that morning. Go figure! But the water felt SO good, and I loved hearing the testimonies of those baptized that day!

Monday afternoon I traveled back to Marion to speak to IWU’s Division of Modern Language, Literature, and Communication. That was my division (though it had a different name back in the day) when I went there, so it was a privilege to get to return and share with the very place that shaped me so much. They were having a training day ahead of the school year, and I went to speak on prayer! This picture features a couple of friends I went to school with and one of my professors.

Tuesday was a challenging day for us in the world of caregiving. This blog is such a strange space for me sometimes, because my stories intersect with others’ stories (including my parents), and while I have nothing to hide, I want to respect their stories. But then how do I share the realities of my day sometimes? Enter Tuesday. It was a hard one for my heart, and by the end of the day, I felt a little like this picture of Lexi. A thousand props to Ryan for endless listening and mopping up some many tears.

I had so been looking forward to Wednesday, and it did not disappoint. It was the start of our Bible study sessions for the fall, and I’m teaching An Unexplainable Life by Erica Wiggenhorn. It’s a study on the book of Acts, and I’m just so excited to learn and teach this all! The first day of study-world always requires extra setup and prep, but it was so worth it.

Ryan worked late on Thursday to help with a fun open house at Swiss Village. I went to visit him and see all the efforts the staff had put into this event, and it was so fun! (It’s also like going to a real estate open house, which is still one of my very favorite things in life.)

I worked from home on Friday after a long week of being gone many hours, between work and Swiss Village. I prepped messages and lesson plans and Sunday School material and watched a webinar and finally crashed from an overly-full head. But it was still a really good day of learning.

Last night Ryan and I attended an appreciation dinner for the worship/tech teams at church. Ryan is part of both of those, and I was his grateful plus-one. 😊 Julie organized the night, and it was great! Italian food and some good conversations at our table.

Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

Good morning, friends! I look forward to a day of homework and home chores today! Much to do, and I’m sure I’ll not get to nearly as much of it as I hope to! Here are some fun finds for you while I work on the homework adventures.

Ryan and I have not done a major house project in a year. Honestly, we have the house (inside and out) pretty updated from how it was when we bought it, and we are pleased with how everything functions. The one area that we would like to tackle and haven’t is the kitchen. It was the only room in the house that had been redone before we bought it, and while most of the cosmetic choices would not have been ours, we appreciated the quality of the room. But it is SO brown. Everything in it is brown. We’ve been talking about what things we could choose to affordably alter so it doesn’t feel so small and dark. I was shocked to find this kitchen (scroll down in the post just a bit) that looks almost like ours in the “before” pictures. Granted this kitchen is much larger, but all the pieces look like ours. I scoured every bit of their choices to see what they changed and think we have some good ideas for ours!

This bride’s story absolutely sounds like something that would have happened to me. (I’m glad it didn’t!) I’m so happy she was able to get her ring back!

Over the years we have been married, we have done more and more of what Katie describes in this post. We have so much that sits out in plain view, but we actually use it in our everyday life. It is helpful to not store what we really use so we can have “pretty only” versions on display – especially because we live in a smaller home! Do you do this, too? (Also, I now know the actual meaning of the word vignette!)

Watching my parents grow more fragile has been a hard journey. Knowing what to say to them when they are fragile is equally hard. I know that I can’t truly know what it feels like to have my body slow down and frustrate me with its weariness in the same way they can. One day I ran across Scotty’s post and found it to hold the perfect words that I should keep on the tip of my tongue for their hard days. Maybe you need to hear the words too!

Audrey offers some good advice here about learning how to dress as you get older and your body changes. This isn’t about accepting gained weight as much as it is about learning that our body shapes change over time, and if we work WITH those changes, we will find a confidence boost.

Ryan and I watched (and loved more than I expected) the first few episodes of the new version of Little House! Have any of you seen it? While I am fairly certain I wouldn’t have done well on the offffffffffff-grid prairie, I did love the simplicity of their hobbies. (Nothing simple about the survival, for sure.) Anyway, this post explores some of the fun, off-screen hobbies the Ingalls family enjoyed that we can still enjoy today! Great recommendations in here for those of you interested in slowing down and simplifying your lives!

Friday Fun: August Randoms

 

At the end of 2025, Callie wrote this post as a structured roundup to the year. I loved it so much that I earmarked it to revisit at the end of THIS year, but I actually decided to use it as a springboard for a monthly recap. I have written posts with this theme each month so far this year, and I’m back again for August!

Best Personal Adventure: Are you ready for this one? I guarantee you are not. Even if you think you are, you are just not prepared for what you’re about to read. My best personal adventure for the month of August was injuring my shoulder during an ab workout. Yes. You read that correctly. My talent knows no bounds. (I’m healed up now.)

Best Adventure Together: I think my favorite thing we did this month was attend Staff Retreat. We have been living in fast forward for a while now, and sitting back for two days was much needed. Being together for that time, spending extra time in prayer, and talking about what lies before us – this was the best adventure.

Best Milestone: This month marked 14 years since our first date! I always love our relationship milestones. I am so glad he asked me, and I’m so glad I said yes.

Best Faith Grower: One new thing I’ve started doing is praying regularly in our sanctuary. Back when I lived in Marion, I prayed in the chapel at IWU, and I have missed that space. God nudged me that I might not have THAT space, but I do have a beautiful sanctuary in which to pray, so I’ve started doing that, and it’s been good for me. I’ve had to confront some hard things in my own heart, and it’s been good to grow.  

Best Lesson Learned: When I started my class back in August, the professor said that we were likely to have our faith shaken up a little bit as we began to learn. We might encounter things that we had never known before, and it might be hard to work through. Guess what? It happened. It’s been uncomfortable. But I am learning it is okay to encounter that discomfort and push through it.

Best Purchase:  When we bought this house (four years ago next month!) one of the first changes we made was to the light in the kitchen. The previous owners had a hanging light over a table, but we wanted a island in that space, so we put up a light that was flush to the ceiling. We chose it because we liked the style, but more because it was heavily on sale. It never ended up being a great workable light. It cast strange shadows and never functioned quite like we hoped it would. As we head into a spruce-up-the-kitchen project this winter, we found a new light! We like the style even more and the actual light works so much better for our room. (Stay tuned for a proper reveal...)

Best Habit Created: We haven’t done a great job with this one, but we are doing our best to do a charcoal mask every week. We’ve missed one here or there, but we are sure tying!

Best New Recipe: The eating plan we’ve been following doesn’t afford a ton of variety, but one good thing that has come out of it is this turkey and green bean skillet recipe. I’ve swapped out different veggies as I’ve had things available from the garden, and it’s been tasty!

Best Tradition: August brings about the return of rhythms at church, including the return of our Growth Groups! Ours started this week, and I am SO EXCITED. We are studying the book of Acts along with Erica Wiggenhorn’s magnificent study called An Unexplainable Life.

Best Little Luxury:  As you might remember, we attended a Fort Wayne TinCaps game as part of an appreciation night, and it was so fancy to get to sit in a CLUB. Luxury indeed.

Best Date:  Silly as it may seem, my favorite date was a coffee date we had while we were away at the Staff Retreat. We found a shop about a mile from the retreat center, sat with our coffee, and had the best talks.

Best Answer to Prayer: In the aforementioned prayer meetings in our sanctuary, I found beautiful answers to prayers of my heart. I’m keeping those close to my heart at this time, but I’m thankful they happened.