She Shines

Well, after running 200 miles an hour through last week and being unable to record or edit a podcast, we finally arrived at episode 200! Can you believe this!!?!?!? For those of you who hang out with us on Spill the Beans each week, we thank you for spending extra time with us. We hope we make you laugh and think...and you feel encouraged when you're done!

Here's episode TWO HUNDRED!!!

Listen here

I wanted to give you a peek at the event our church had on Saturday! I will tell you that I don't have a huge variety of pictures, nor are any of mine great quality, because I took all of them ON THE FLY as I ran from one thing to the next. We'd planned to have a photographer there, but it ended up not working out, so we'll be thankful for what we were able to capture and not stress about the rest, right?

Our church tries to have an event for the women in the spring and again in the fall. We've pretty much been working on this one since our spring event ended in May. All during the time we planned this event, we had four transitions in team members, so I just have to say that I am crazy proud of our group for creating an event that seems to have been very much enjoyed by the ladies who attended.

Of course we didn't do everything perfectly, and of course there are things we can learn for future events, but when I sit back and look at our time frame and our team transitions, I could just squeal with joy for how beautifully everyone came together and worked to make a memorable event!

We called this one She Shines, and the purpose was threefold. On one hand, we wanted to present an afternoon that would allow the women to enjoy fellowship and food. (Aren't those things just expected at a women's event?) Secondly, we wanted to continue informing and educating everyone about what we offer in the realm of women's ministry, and finally, we wanted to showcase the works and talents of women within our congregation and community who have businesses or products as their livelihood or side jobs.

That's a lot to ask out of one afternoon, isn't it?

Despite fall being such a busy time for so many with sports...and despite fall break landing on that weekend for most of the schools in our city and county, we had somewhere between 100 and 125 women show up for the afternoon, and we were just thrilled with that!

The girls on our team who were in charge of food and decorations did an amazing job. We didn't serve a meal, but we served what I liked to call "hearty snacks," and if anyone went away hungry...well...I'm not sure how. The decorations were just simple and lovely and so fall. (Most of our front porch landed in the church commons for decorations. Ha!)

Here are some peeks at the room setup:

 This was the food table. Isn't that ladder in the middle cute? It had boards across it to hold food!

Ryan's cousin (the one I've been working with on the jewelry project) was one of the vendors for the shopping time, and we collaborated on a project together. It was so fun to see it all set up! She designed some leather bracelets and I wrote devotional pieces to go with each one!

The ladies all arrived around 2 p.m. and spent the first part of the time eating and talking together:

Then I served as the emcee and had a panel of women share about their experiences being part of our ministries:

And then we set them free to shop!

We had door prizes and all kinds of fun! We're going to call She Shines a great day!

Is This What Reality TV is Like?

We aren't huge reality TV watchers here in our household. In fact, Ryan can probably claim complete exemption from such frivolities. I do watch the Duggars and Bates - but I try to watch those while he's at work, so he can have more time for football.

But last week, we had a little touch of reality TV here in our home. And it was quite the to-do, let me tell you!

I mentioned it briefly yesterday in the shuffle post, but if you missed it, here's the background:

Earlier this summer, when I started leading the women's ministry, Ryan and I were also given the opportunity to oversee the small group ministry at our church. We were part of the startup of such groups a couple of years ago, serving as small group leaders in our home. Since then, many of the other groups have dissolved, for one reason or another. The church asked if we would be willing to try to relaunch that program, and we said yes!

The timing of it all made it too awkward to try to start it up for fall, because we didn't have enough time to come up with a plan and properly implement it. We (along with the church leadership) decided it was better to wait and try to do it correctly, rather than trying to do it haphazardly.

So last Tuesday afternoon, the church's video production guy came over to our house and set up camp in our living room, prepping to record a 2 minute(ish) promo video about small groups.

I helped Scott bring in all the equipment, and then I went into hair and makeup while he got all the tripods set up, the lenses selected, and began tweaking the lighting.

And lest you get any wrong impressions, "hair and makeup" means I did my own. Ryan did his own too. ;)

Since Scott didn't have an assistant with him, and since I had time to help, I did...including helping him shop the house for chairs and decorations for the area in our living room where Ryan and I would sit while he recorded us.

Ryan scurried home from work as quickly as he could, changed out of scrubs and into video clothes (is that even a term?) and then he got the script up and running on his computer.

I'd written the script a while ago and the church gave its approval for it to be used for the relaunch. I'd color coded it (shocking, right?) so we could read our parts.

The official recording photo. If we'd had an extra person in the house, it would have been fun to get pictures of recording in action, but it was just the three of us, and we were all just a little busy.

Ready, with microphones on!

Scott had four camera angles going at all times, and we recorded the whole script 4-5 times. We wrapped up about a half hour before small group began, and we had to take everything back down  to make room for a full living room!

Scott stayed and took footage of our group arriving, getting snacks and coffee, settling in and talking - and then he stayed to observe the group in action. He took a little more footage at the end, before fully packing up and going home.

I can't wait to see the whole thing! All I know is it took a LOT of work to set up, film, and tear down - and he hadn't even started editing yet!!!

Kind of a fun little experience though!

The Shafferland Shuffle

WE MADE IT!!!!!! I wasn't sure if we'd get through the week in one piece, but we surely did!

* Last Sunday morning, I worked at the women's booth to get final signups for our event. (You'll enjoy this: one lady told me that even before she saw ME, she knew I was in that booth, because she saw hands clutching a coffee cup. HA! My reputation goes before me.) And that evening, as you already saw, Ryan and I served as greeters and ushers for the Dino concert!

* Monday was a busy day, starting with a new course in my Bible classes. (It was on the Major Prophets...and it was only a four lesson course, so I wrapped it all up and started the Minor Prophets before the end of the week.) I also made cute food: little pumpkin patch brownies! They were for a chili cookoff at Ryan's work the next day. And we had a gorgeous sunset - one of many, actually, this week. I appreciated it!

* Tuesday was the one particular day I wasn't sure we'd make it through, but we did! Ryan had a full, full, full day at work, and I buzzed around at home getting everything done. At 3:00, the video guy from church showed up with alllllllllllll the cameras and tripods and set them up to record a promo video for our small group relaunch. When Ryan got home, we spent an hour and a half recording the script, and then all our actual small group members arrived and we hosted group while more filming ensued. After everyone left about 9:00, Ryan and I went back to his work so I could decorate his co-worker's office for her work wedding shower, and THEN I went home to make cinnamon rolls for boss's day the next day. I'm tired just reliving it.

* Wednesday was the wedding shower (and she loved her decorations!). I sent the cinnamon rolls to work with Ryan and got busy making taco dip for the lunch carry in. (I only cooked for others this week - not for us. Ha!) I went to celebrate with them at work, and Ryan modeled the crown and veil. He cracks me up! That night was our last women's Bible study meeting at church, and we had hot chocolate and snacks while we worked our way through the last session!

* Thursday, Ryan and I spent part of the evening at the church beginning the setup for Saturday's event. We got all the tables and chairs moved into one of the rooms, and I would like the record to please show that I ran the chair dolly and didn't lose ANY of my stacks of chairs. That's a pre-Christmas miracle right there. We even got all the linens on the tables and started decorating the vendor tables with their signs and baskets. And my sweet husband finished up before I did, told me to stay and do whatever I needed to complete, and then he went home to cook dinner for us. HUSBAND. OF. THE. YEAR.

* I spent Friday afternoon and evening at the church again helping with decorations, food prep, and all other manner of final set-up. Ryan (did I mention husband of the year?) did all our grocery shopping for us so I didn't have to worry about it, and he had dinner ready for me AGAIN when I got home. I don't mind telling you that last night I just flat out cried over how kind and extra-wonderful he's been this week while my plate has been extra full!

* And yesterday was event day! I was at the church all day long, helping with the event, and Ryan continued being amazing by using his own lunch hour to bring me a sandwich! I was the emcee for the day afternoon, and it was so much fun to watch all the ladies having fun talking to each other and enjoying the activities we planned. Literally the very minute it was over, I scurried across town and joined Ryan at the wedding for his co-worker. It was an outdoor wedding, and she had PERFECT weather for it. We had a fun date night there! Then I came home and put on jammies and crawled onto the couch!

The Saturday Six

One.

I can't imagine how taxing it must get for parents to think up new themes for birthday parties. Even with Pinterest, it seems like the themes are all fairly standard. I stumbled upon this post this week about a bird-day party for a boy who LOVES birds. While I realize that might not be every child's love, I thought the theme was amazingly creative and fun - AND - as the blogger points out, no housecleaning involved!

Two.

I've talked to more than one struggling friend lately. Seems like attacks against the heart (which are very different from medical heart attacks) are happening at an alarming rate right now, and it makes me a combination of sad and angry. I hate seeing my friends hurt! But I think Holley Gerth's words are awfully powerful, and if you're feeling a bit pummeled today, you should read them.

Three.

Where are my cute little cottage fans?? This one is for you! Cute as a little BUTTON!!!!!!! (This one isn't an actual tiny house, but it is a small house - under 1000 square feet.)

Four.

I am so easily swayed to stop and read when I see a list promising romantic getaway locations. So I checked out this one earlier this week. Here are my thoughts on their list. 1. I have been to Miami (merely as a cruise port) and I have to say that many words came to mind about that city, but romantic wasn't one of them. So I'm not sure I agree with that part of the list. 2. Ryan and I went to Chicago for our second anniversary trip, and we even had dinner at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building, which is one of the things mentioned in the article about Chicago's romantic style. We loved our visit there and agree that especially at Christmas, it can be very romantic. (Minus all the horns and traffic.) 3. We haven't been to any of the other places on the list, but SEVERAL are on our bucket list. Have you been to any? Thoughts?

Five.

We had our final women's Bible study at church this week, and my friend Kari brought a little mini hot chocolate bar to share with the ladies while we studied. It was such a great idea, because normally when women gather to pitch in food, no one brings warm drinks. (And it was a COLD AND NASTY night. Hot chocolate was a perfect solution.) Here's another idea for a simple little fall warm coffee or cider buffet, and I will just leave you with that idea for your next gathering! (Side note: Kari brought hot chocolate already prepared in a slow cooker, and then she brought little dishes of marshmallows, chocolate chips, and crushed peppermint candy to put on top of it. Everyone loved it!)

Six.

And speaking of the end of our Bible study, I wanted to tell you about the book we went through over the last few weeks and some of my thoughts on it!

Our women's Bible study groups went through Lysa TerKeurst's book Finding I Am. Lysa is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, so if her name is familiar to you and you aren't sure why...perhaps that's it!

Even though I was very familiar with Lysa as a person, this was the first study of hers I'd done. It appears that several of her other studies have regular books as the basis, with study books and DVDs added as supplements. This one, though, appears to be "just" a study - meaning there's no stand-alone, non-study related book to accompany it.

If you've done studies published by LifeWay before (as this one is) you might know that some of those studies work better if you do them as part of a group and use the video teaching in addition to the reading. (I particularly find Beth Moore studies to be that way; I lose something if I try to do the study book without her accompanying teaching videos.) While I definitely think the video teaching made the study richer for me, and there were things I did learn from the videos that weren't part of the written study, I don't think you would lose the whole heart of the teaching by doing only the book. (I say that in case you don't have a group nearby going through the study and you can't afford the cost of the video series for your personal use.)

Finding I Am is a study about the seven times in Scripture (all in the book of John, actually) when Jesus says, "I Am..." I Am the Bread of Life. I Am the Light of the World. I Am the Gate. I Am the Good Shepherd. I Am the Resurrection and the Life. I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I Am the True Vine.

Lysa became intrigued by these statements during one of her trips to Israel, came home, and began to study them in depth. Out of that study and the deepening of her own relationship with the Great I Am, this study was born.

Having done studies by some of the other LifeWay authors, I will say this about Lysa's writing and study layout. While she is not surface and fluffy about her teaching, she's not as in-depth and academic as some other authors are. I say that not as a detriment to her style AT ALL, but to say that if you're intimidated by really deep and academic studies, I think you would find this one relatable and understandable. Each chapter is divided into four days of study with an optional fifth day of reading through an entire portion of John. (You read the entire book over the course of the study.) Most LifeWay studies have five full days of homework, so this one is a little lighter, and the last two weeks of the study, that was VERY helpful to me, because my daily life schedule was a bit on the insane side.

I learned many things about the culture of that day that I hadn't known. I learned things about shepherding and vineyard-keeping that were new to me. I enjoyed the Bible-based portion of learning, but I also enjoyed Lysa's down-to-earth teaching style. She told stories from her own life that I could identify with, and I loved that.

The study is six weeks long in the video portion, but there are really only five weeks of homework study. So if you're looking for a shorter study, this is a great candidate. This might also be a great study to do heading into the Christmas season! It can put your focus on Christ in a different sort of way than you might have experienced before!

Ten Months of Letter Prayers

It started completely by accident...this little project of mine.

At the end of 2018, Ryan heard about a prayer retreat for men that several guys from our church planned to attend in January of this year. He felt he should go, but he hated to be away from me, and he wasn't sure he could get time off work on such short notice. We decided he would take the steps to try to go, and if for whatever reason, something didn't work out, we would accept that as a closed door from the Lord.

All the doors opened.

I think the retreat was supposed to be about a dozen days into January, so I got the idea to spend those first 10 or so days of the year praying specific words over Ryan's life. Being the alliteration nerd that I am, I decided to make all my words start with the letter P. And my plan (see what I did there?) was to write out these prayers and send them along with Ryan for him to read throughout the weekend. He could see what I'd been praying in the days leading up to the retreat and (I hoped!) see what God did with those prayers.

Everything changed on January 2nd, when his mom had her last huge health setback and landed in ICU. None of us knew if she would even make it home from the hospital.

She did, but she came home on hospice...the night the retreat began. As it became clear to us what we were dealing with concerning her health, Ryan knew he couldn't go to the retreat. We realized the open door of a day off that God had given him was really an open door of a day off to get his mom settled in at home to begin the final piece of her earthly journey.

I remember sitting in the cabin loft that Friday - that day he was supposed to be at the retreat. I had my books and Bibles spread all around me, and I wondered what would become of my ten words I'd prayed.

I decided to keep going. Every day of January, a different word that began with the letter P. And then came February, and I picked a new letter. And then another in March. On and on it has gone all year, and now I'm 2/3 of the way done with October. Two more letters and I'll have a full year of scribbled prayers. 365 words I've prayed over Ryan's life.

When I started this project on the first day of the year, I never expected it to be a full year prayer project. It was just a little gift of love I was going to offer for a prayer retreat.

I'm sure I don't know all the things God has done in Ryan's life and heart (even though I see him living out life every day!) through those words I've prayed. I'm sure there are things that even Ryan might not be able to see right now. (He doesn't know the words I've prayed, though he does know about the project.) But I can see how God leads me to words that seem to fit each season as we pass through it. The letters I choose at the beginning of the month lead me to significant words I couldn't even have known I'd need to offer when I chose the letter.

I've enjoyed praying each word...each letter. It's been a different way to approach praying for my husband, and I am looking forward to sifting through those pages, one by one, at the end of the year, to see the prayers I prayed over him.

Maybe it's just a nerdy Bekah thing and not something that would zing you in the least. But if it does, give it a try! You might just find some beautiful blessings hidden in the words!

Dino!

Our weekend was FULL. As you just saw over the last few days, we had a jam-packed Saturday, touring around a state park. I wasn't sure I'd be able to move on Sunday, but I did. ;)

Anyway, Sunday evening, our church hosted Dino in concert. Some of you know exactly who he is, and others of you are very confused right now, so I'll start by telling you  his name is pronounced Deeno...not like the nickname for a dinosaur. ;)

He is a piano player and showman through and through. I remember hearing of him back in the 80s and had actually lost track of what he was doing in recent years. Evidently despite being 77 years old, he hasn't slowed down at all. He continues to travel, appears regularly in Branson and also has a coffee and cake shop in Branson.

His current tour is called a hymn revival, and I thought it sounded really wonderful. I love good, solid piano music and I love hymns done properly, so the night was a success to me even before it started.

Ryan and I signed up to be greeters and ushers, so we went early and worked our way through the concert, but we had a lot of fun.

My pictures from the night aren't the best quality ever, because the lighting in the sanctuary was off for my camera to capture properly (without flash) and of course I was too far back to get great cell phone pictures, but that's okay. You'll get the idea. ;)

Dino was fantastic, and between his amazing piano skills and our choir's full sound, it was the best night ever for an anthem-loving girl. (Several songs took my breath away - in a good way). If you've never seen or heard him play, this video gives a good blend of his talent and showmanship.

As the night kicked off, I was leaving my greeting post to walk into the sanctuary when I realized there was someone standing beside me. It was Dino. He was making sure he had the right door into the sanctuary.

So you know - just hanging out with Dino!

A few pictures of the choir and Dino:

He was teaching us some Greek song, and we were encouraged to dance. Some needed less encouragement than others:

LOL!! Sorry that's blurry; phone wasn't in live mode, and he was really moving! When I went up into the mezzanine later to hand out hymn books, one of the ladies said, "Tell your husband I really enjoyed his entertainment."

He had another musician with him that night, who was also a phenomenal piano player, so when Dino first pulled him up to the stage, he also called out a guy from the choir who can tear up a piano, and the three of them did a round robin number followed by a trio - all on the same piano! It was pretty fun!

This was Timothy (the guy who travels with Dino) watching Dino and Matt (the guy from our church) play a duet.

 Then Matt took a turn watching Dino and Timothy play:

 Then they all played!

A panoramic view from the back:

Dino had boxes of these hymn books that we distributed to the congregation and people sang from them while he played - and then they could either buy the books or return them to the boxes after the concert.

Dino's wife told a story and sang a little too:

And then his traveling musician, who is just a young guy, and his wife played and sang together. Their names are Timothy and Hosanna Noble. WOW. Talented. This isn't the song they did Sunday night, but this is a good one!

And here is the invisible picture of the two of us ushering together. I FORGOT TO GET ONE!!!!!!

#facepalm.

But it was a great night - and even Ryan liked it. (This isn't nearly as much his thing as it is mine.)

Great work, Dino, Timothy, Hosanna, and choir!

Owen County: Wrapping Up the Fun

I promise to wrap up our trip to Owen County today - with just a few more pictures from McCormick's Creek State Park! Though the other park in the county (the one we didn't make it to on this trip) is the one with the big waterfall and the covered bridge, McCormick's Creek has a waterfall too, and we were able to get up close to it, since the creek wasn't too high!

 A really nice gentleman took this one for us.

And then we had to wind our way back out, via some more interesting paths and near-slips for me! This was also the part of the park where we had to hike down an actual creek bed. One guy near us was in hip waders, and I definitely saw the wisdom in that vs. my running shoes!

 Ryan thought this rock looked like a biscuit - and you know? He wasn't wrong. I'm guessing it was very well done.

 Isn't he sweet to ask for a picture of me? Good husband!

You remember the stairs, right? I told you there were multiple sets? This was the last one - after about eight miles of hiking.

 Multiply that times the eight sections you can't see, and this is what I looked like at the top:

We hiked two more moderate trails after that, but there wasn't any magnificent scenery, and I was starting to get hangry, so I didn't take pictures. Nor did I take pictures of our Red Robin gift card dinner, because I practically ripped the food out of the server's hands and stuffed it in my face all at once. :)

But it was a really fun day (even with the stairs included) and Owen County showed us some beautiful pieces of Indiana that we hadn't seen before!