A Peek at My Quiet Time, Updated Version

In my birthday post a few days ago, Ryan mentioned how he appreciates the way I study my Bible and spend time with the Lord every day. (By the way, it made my heart so happy that he sees and appreciates that!) I had a request to write a post about what my quiet time looks like, and of course, I'm happy to share about that!

I wrote a post touching on that topic last year (which you can read here) but I'm going to approach it from a different angle today, because it looks a little bit different this year than it did last year. It's an ever changing thing for me.

I will also give you a couple of other resources here at the beginning before launching into my new thoughts today.

First...this past year, our small group did a study in verse mapping, which is all about really digging into a particular verse or passage to learn as much about it as you can - from every angle. I learned about that practice from this post, written by Arabah Joy. I highly recommend reading it if you'd like to try verse mapping!

Secondly...I also use a prayer/note-taking binder when I do my quiet time, and I wrote about how I made that binder here. I still use it and still love it!

SO! How do I do my quiet time now?

Well...last year, as many of you may remember, Ryan and I both read through the Bible chronologically. We did our reading separately on our own time, but we would come together at the end of the day to talk about what we'd learned and to process ideas. Neither of us had read the Bible through using the chronological plan before, and we both really enjoyed doing it. But as those of you who have read through the Bible in a year know...it's a sprint! No time for sitting and soaking unless you have no other plans for the day...every day...all year.

The portion of Scripture that really caught my attention as we sped through our reading was the Gospels. I really wanted to sit with them and marinate in them at length. So this year, that's my study plan. Just the Gospels. Originally I planned to read one book each month and then start over, so by the end of the year, I'd have read each Gospel three times. But I realized they're not all the same length, and I felt like it would still be rushing things. So I went through and counted the little sections. (Not the chapters. The actual little sections that have been "named" over time by Bible editors. I discovered that if I read one section a day (and doubled up one day a month to read two sections) I can get through all four Gospels in one year. Some sections are longer than others, but typically they're much shorter than a chapter, so I have time to read and digest.

When I sit down to read/pray/study, my time typically looks like this.

* I start on Twitter.

What?? Well, I start with prayer/reflection time, and I follow a bunch of Bible teachers on Twitter. (Beth Moore, Jennifer Rothschild, Scotty Smith, Tim Keller, etc.) I scroll through to see what they have to say in the world of uplifting/teaching/edifying comments and often copy their tweets into my prayer notebook. (I have a section for praise/myself/ministry/listening, etc. and their words often fit into one of those categories.)

* I pray for others. 

I keep a list of people/situations I've promised to pray for, so I pause to pray in the official quiet time, although I also often pray while I get my steps in later in the day and will use that walking time to pray at length for my friends and family.

* I pray for Ryan.

I'm actually doing a prayer project for him this year. It started out as a temporary thing and I liked it so much I've instituted it as a year-long project. Perhaps I'll do a whole separate post on that eventually, but in the meantime, I basically choose a word for every day, and I pray that word over him. Often the words are attributes or character traits, but not always. I really enjoy taking that time to pray specifically over him and our marriage.

* I study my Scripture passage.

I open my Bible and move to the next section. I write the date in my Bible so I know where I am and what date I studied which passage. I read through the words of the passage and let them wash over me, and then I move to my supplemental commentary. I think most of you know that when I studied Matthew, I read Charles Spurgeon's commentary and loved it. (My review is at the bottom of this post.) I also learned that Matthew was the only entire book of the Bible that Spurgeon wrote a commentary for, so I had to start over for Mark. I landed on Charles Swindoll's commentary on Mark, and while it is very different in tone and presentation from Spurgeon's style, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Swindoll is a preacher/teacher (still alive today if you're not familiar with him) so his content is pulled from a combination of sermons he has preached and study he did in writing the book. I find it to be very conversational and not at all intimidating. I also learned he has other commentaries, so I will probably end up getting them all and learning much more from him!

As I read the commentary, I underline and star things I love, copy some quotes into my prayer binder, and end by moving my best learning into the Bible itself. (That way if I'm at church/Sunday School/a Bible study and need the wisdom, it's right there.) Ryan finds the pages fascinating, so I'll post a picture for you. I know some people don't like to write in their Bibles and if it bothers you, just keep scrolling! I surely do not want to offend! I just like to have all my notes in one spot!

When I'm done reading, then my official quiet time is over for the day. If I'm writing a Bible study or something else, I will spend more time researching for that, and I'm also taking some online Bible classes right now, so I also spend time listening to lectures and taking notes for that. But all of that is just extra.

I hope that helps answer your questions, and if there's something I didn't cover, let me know! Happy to answer any additional questions!

Weighted Blankets in Shafferland

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I bought Ryan a weighted blanket for his birthday, and several of you asked me to tell you more about it and weigh in (Ha! See what I did there?) on whether or not we liked it.

Today is the day!

* What is a weighted blanket?
Well, they are blankets that are filled with pellets or beads (materials vary) to make them heavier than the standard blanket. (Ours is filled with glass beads, if you are interested.) The weight of each blanket depends on the size and the amount of weight added to it. (As you might guess, of course.) The blanket is constructed somewhat like a quilt to create little pockets so all the filler doesn't go to one corner. It's distributed throughout the blanket.

If you want to read an article that goes more in-depth about them and about several options you might explore if you want to get one, you can read here. You can also hunt around on the internet/Pinterest for other articles, if you're looking for specific information to fit your needs.

* Why do people want them?

I have a number of friends whose kids have an autism or ADHD diagnosis who have said the weighted blankets help their kids tremendously with their anxiety. If you read articles about the blankets, you'll find all kinds of reasons people feel they've been helped by using weighted blankets. I never really thought much about getting one, since neither of us have been diagnosed with any of the things on the main lists.

* So why did we decide to get one?

It all started with one of my trips to the dentist. I think most of you know I have incredible anxiety about the dentist (and many things in life, actually). One day, when the dental assistant was administering x-rays, the process took longer than normal. (I don't remember why.) I had the weighted x-ray vest over me, and I happened to notice by the time she was finally done with the x-rays, I was incredibly relaxed. (Words that have never before been said about me while inside the dentist's office.) As soon as she took the vest off, I felt the anxiety coming back. That was the first time I realized firsthand there really was something to that whole gentle pressure thing. I mentioned it to Ryan when I came home, and he started researching weighted blankets to learn more about them and began pricing them.

* So if I'm the anxious one, why did Ryan get this for his birthday?

Great question! Yes, it is true that he tends not to struggle with anxiety - at least most of the time - but he started getting more excited about the idea of getting one as he learned more about them in his research. I knew he was pretty serious about it, and his birthday was coming up, so I decided to surprise him and get him one for his birthday. He was even more surprised when I told him to pick out the one he wanted. HA! I knew he had some favorites because of all his research, so I wanted him to get the one he liked most.

* How do you know what to get?

We decided to get one that was big enough to fit on our whole bed, rather than getting two, smaller personal blankets. I will say that if you explore this for yourself, part of choosing the best blanket for you involves getting a blanket that is appropriately proportionate to your body weight. So if you share a bed and your body weigths are very different, sharing one blanket may not work for you. You may need to each get your own. Ryan and I weigh close enough to the same thing (ohhhhh the things you hate to admit on the world wide web) that we are able to share the same blanket.

The other thing Ryan found in his research, which has been a personal lifesaver for both of us, was a blanket with a different material on each side. It has a warm side (fuzzy and blankety) and a cool side (tencel botanic fabric). Now, we haven't used this blanket yet in the winter, but I will say that for the not-quite-yet-sizzling spring we have had, we haven't gotten too hot under it yet. But then again, we tend to keep the temperature pretty cool at night because we HATE being too warm to sleep.

If you decide to purchase a blanket, you can find guides that help you know more about the weights and materials so you can choose what works best for you.

* Can you wash them?

We can only speak for ours, but yes! Ours is machine washable on cold or warm, and we can hang dry it or tumble dry it.

* Has it helped with my anxiety?

I haven't tried it out yet in a thunderstorm, so I'll get back with you on that, but I will tell you this. Prior to getting the blanket, I had been struggling to fall asleep at night. Like sometimes I would crawl in bed and be awake for one to two more hours. And according to my Fitbit, I was very restless throughout the night, awake often, tossing and turning. Since getting the blanket, I'm sleeping better, except for when Braeya decides otherwise. (She likes to get up during the night to play sometimes.) I fall asleep much faster and don't wake up as often during the night.

* How about "anxious" Ryan?

He's still not anxious. And he never had trouble falling asleep before. (It's maddening, really.) But he says that he feels his quality of sleep has improved. He sleeps more soundly. (How that is EVEN possible, I do not know, but he says it is.) And he also says it's even harder to get out of bed in the morning than it used to be. True story there. No one likes leaving a hug. And this blanket is a hug.

He also said that because our comforter on our bed is so lightweight, he noticed he never slept well in the warmer months. (We have extra blankets on our bed in the winter.) Once we had just the sheet and comforter, it was SO lightweight that he noticed a differenced in his sleep. Now that we have this blanket, that issue seems to be resolved!

* Is there anything we don't like about it?

Not so far! I will say it's a little harder to make the bed, because you have to pull the sheet up underneath it, and sometimes it gets stuck. (Our blanket is 25 pounds.) The blanket itself slides around pretty nicely right now because it's on that cool side, so it's a little slicker.

* Do we feel like it was a good investment?

Yes! The older we get (we're in our 40s now, you know!) the more we're interested in purchasing things that are solid investments, rather than just buying a bunch of fluffy stuff. Weighted blankets aren't the cheapest things in the world, but we feel like the benefits of sleeping better and feeling calmer were worth the extra money we paid for this kind of a blanket rather than a plain old comforter or blanket. We plan to keep it for many years, so over time, it will more than pay for itself!

I tried to think of the things you might want to know the most, but if I've missed something you are curious about, just ask! I'd be happy to answer.

* UPDATE!!! We had a nasty thunderstorm overnight, and I am happy to report that while both the storm and the weather radio did wake me up and scare me, I felt the most restful I've ever felt in a storm. (Basically I kept immediately falling back asleep because I couldn't keep my eyes open!)

She Pours

Earlier this year (in February, to be exact) our church brought together a team of women who, for the most part, didn't know each other, and we became a women's ministry team. Each of us came bearing a passion for some facet of women's ministry, and our first task was to put together an event to kick off a brand new organized women's ministry within the church.

We knew we worked hard. We knew we gave it our all. We knew we put in a lot of time. But absolutely NOTHING prepared me for how seamlessly God brought it all together when the day of the event arrived.

Our ministry is called She (themed from Proverbs 31) and the different arms of the ministry have different phrases attached. She Makes will gather women who want to learn skills in making different things. She Serves will reach out into the community. She Studies will encompass Bible study groups. You get the idea.

Our kickoff event was called She Pours, and it was a two hour event to bring together women from the church and community for the purpose of enjoying a night of worship and fellowship, as well as introducing the opportunities to come.

The ladies who were in charge of decorations had incredible vision, and I thought the room looked absolutely stunning. (I helped set up/set the tables, but the decorations were alllll done by other team members.)

Cute little centerpieces...

 Each place setting included a little roller bottle of essential oils to take home!

 Stop it. I couldn't get over the cuteness of the floral chandeliers!

 Cozy tables...

 Beautiful space...

 Photo booth #1:

 Photo booth #2:

 Registration table...

The evening started with music. Three very talented musicians from the church sang and played, and it was beautiful to hear.

(Photo below was taken by Jason Graves at Jason Graves Photography. He did a phenomenal job covering the night and doing photo booth photos. I can't wait to see the rest of his pictures! We had another photographer as well, and I really enjoyed getting to talk with her between pictures!)

A couple more pictures I grabbed during the music:

After the music, the ladies ate dinner. I was far too nervous to eat, but I heard great things about the food! I tried to get a picture of the me serving. They looked so dapper in their white shirts and black pants! But they were on the move, so my pictures weren't so great:

Jason did a better job. (Which is why he's the professional photographer and I was the speaker. HA!) I asked Ryan why he was so intense about serving salad. He's NEVER this intense in a picture.

We had the meal catered in, but the women's ministry team came together to provide all the desserts, and the buffet table looked SO CUTE!!!

Ryan snagged a mini sugar cream pie when it was all over. He was SO EXCITED.

The ladies seemed to enjoy their dinner. This is another Jason Graves photo, but I love all the joy and fellowship it shows:

He also took this of our friend Joyce, who is part of our small group and is an INCREDIBLE prayer warrior. She told me she had been praying for me all week leading up to this night.

After dinner, I had the privilege of sharing a talk with them. I had prayed and prayed leading up to this, and it was probably the most nervous I'd ever been. (Speaking to people you know is totally different than speaking to strangers.)

Pastor Cindy introduced me. (Photo credit here to Gail Trammell.)

Ryan took a few of me speaking:

And here are a couple more that Jason Graves took:

All in all, I think the night went pretty great!

Even sneaked in a picture at the photo booth:

And these ladies made planning this night so much fun!

The Big 4-1!

It's podcast Tuesday, and isn't it helpful that the audio stories match up with the blog itself today!?

 Listen here

A week ago today, I was busy turning 41! :) Wanna see what I did?

Ryan got up early and went to get my favorite breakfast pizza so I could enjoy that!

I had the most delightful morning of resting, relaxing, watching TV, scrapbooking, and completely enjoying the day.

Ryan was still in the cornhole tournament at lunch time, so I went to work to watch and ended up warming up with him while he waited for the game to start. (We played cornhole on the ship on his birthday!)

My parents wanted to take me to coffee that afternoon, so we arranged to meet at a local shop called Big Ben. Random fact: the day before my birthday, Big Ben got hit by a car. Like the actual building! I'm not sure what happened...but it looked like either someone got the gas/brake confused or drive/reverse confused, because the hit came from a parking space. I was sure glad it didn't happen while we were there!

For the record, neither of my parents drink coffee, and I'm fairly certain my dad had never bee inside a coffee shop in his life. So you can better believe I documented!

Dad got Coke. LOL! (And he split a cinnamon roll with Mom.)

Mom got a frappe, which she didn't like quite as much as the ones from McDonald's, she said.

I stuck with my tried and true latte favorite:

Ryan actually got off work a little early that night, so we had extra time to celebrate! He told me he wanted to take me to Market Street Grill, which is a little local place in Wabash. But because it was actually a nice day, we decided to go over a little early and check out the river walk!

Dinner was SO GOOD!!!! We had the best waitress (which, let's face it, makes any dinner taste even better) and we loved everything we had.

Ryan got (based on the recommendation of someone he knows) the BLT soup for one of his sides, and he said it was really good. I got a salad, but I was so happy it was a nice, full salad, not like two pieces of lettuce and a shred of cheese as some house salad sides tend to be.

We both got the same entrée. It was called drunken chicken, and it was so good. (We each got the petite version, and it was still huge!) Ryan got his with rice, and mine was with veggies. I couldn't finish all of mine, so boxed leftovers for the win!

We don't normally get dessert when we go out to eat, but hello! Birthday!!!! So we each got pie and coffee. Coconut cream for Ryan and peanut butter for me.

Yeah I took over half my pie home too! Those pieces were HUGE!!!

We sat for a while, savoring our coffee, and then we headed home. It was a perfect day with the perfect ending:

I LOVE SUNSETS!!!!

And that was my birthday in a nutshell. A very. good. day.

Mommapalooza 6.0

Last Friday I told you about getting ready for our annual Mommapalooza party...and today I'm going to tell you about the party itself!

It wasn't supposed to be a very pretty day, so we had the party in our garage and kept the garage door shut to keep it all warm/dry/not blowing. It wasn't as ambient as if we'd been able to keep the door open, but it worked well and everyone seemed happy!

After church, Ryan and I finished up the food and decorating so it would all be ready when our guests arrived!

We made slow cooked honey glazed carrots (Dashing Dish recipe)...

...and low carb cheddar and herb zucchini biscuits (also from Dashing Dish)...

...and the poppy seed chicken. I'll have to make it again soon so I can share that recipe.

OH! And I assembled the cheesecake stuffed strawberries. (Guess what? Dashing Dish.)

Ryan got the garage all set up and I plated the salads. (The rest of the food was all buffet style, but the I did the salads individually.)

Ryan's step-dad said he wanted to come spend the day with us, and he brought some beautiful flowers in memory of Nita. He had also gotten up early to make brownies, and he brought them in her brownie pan.

(That's the brownie pan above, lest you think I just added some random picture. Ryan's step-dad called her Sarah.)

We weren't able to get a group picture this year, but here are a few pictures with the mamas.

It was Bre's first Mother's Day, so we got their official photo:

 I thought Mom and I color-coordinated fairly nicely. :)

 Ryan and Mom...

 Ryan and his grandma...

 Ryan and his step-mom...

We weren't able to get a group picture this year. First one we've missed, and yes, I'm sad. People came and went in shifts, so it just didn't work out. But it was still a good day, and we were thankful that we had a crowd around the table!

We realized after everyone left that we didn't get a photo. Fortunately, we rock our selfie game. And Ryan rocks pretending to pick his nose with flowers.

I love entertaining with Ryan. He is such a great help and makes it so much fun!