Friday's Fave Five #727

Welcome to the last FFF in March.  I for one am so ready for April and some actual spring time weather. Bring on the sunshine, green grass and sandals.  But meanwhile, there are other blessings in our week to be thankful for.  Please join us as we share five of our favorites from the week.

~ beautiful bouquet ~ my sweet hubby bought home a lovely bouquet of one of my favorite flowers for me.  So pretty, I love how they bring the spring time indoors. 

 

~ helpful husband ~ hubby has been so helpful in doing grocery runs for me.  Usually I don't mind doing groceries but sometimes the weekends are just so hectic.  I'm so grateful that when he notices the list getting a bit long he just takes it upon himself to go and get it done.  I'm especially grateful because I know he is setting aside one of his own chores that needs doing in order to give me a hand and give me a break.  Can you tell that gifts and acts of service of my two main love languages?  

~ movie night with the girls ~ this week I got together with my sis and a couple of friends and we went and enjoyed a movie together.  This has not happened since before covid.  It was so nice to have us all together again.  I made a note to myself that we've got to start making it a regular occurrence again.

~ unique and delicious ice cream ~ I've mentioned before the ice cream store near my house that does homemade small batch ice cream and their unique monthly flavors.  This month's fun feature that I tried and liked was Apple Pie ala cheddar.

~ free little library finds ~ In the last week I've come across several books that I've actually been wanting to read in free little libraries.  It's like finding a treasure.  There is all sorts of books to be found in these book sharing libraries, but when you come across one that is actually on your list of want to reads it a real prize.

What have been your favorite blessings this week?

I love this quote.  It reminds me to look for those blessings and not just at problems or what I perceive to be lack.  I hope our little weekly exercise of intentionally looking for our blessings over the past week has helped your see how full your other hand is!  Have a wonderful week everyone!

Friday's Fave Five #726

Happy Spring everyone and welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  How has your week been?  Good or bad, hard or pleasant, it is important to intentionally take a pause and look for blessings.  When things are going our way and all seems good in our world blessings can easily get by us as we don't really take note of them or we take them for granted.  When things are harder and we are in a season of testing and trying the blessings can sometimes be unnoticeable.  In both cases, if we have developed the habit of pausing at some point and taking note of those good things God brings into our days, then it is easier not to let them slip by without being grateful and thankful.  This habit can get us through our toughest times and make our good days even better.  Please join us as we share five of the blessings from our past week.

~ memories ~ today is one year since my Dad passed away.  This has been a week of not only remembering his last week and how grateful I am that I was able to take time off and spend it with him, but also remembering all the fond memories of childhood.   My sweet Hubby spent a lot of hours trying to restore this very faded favorite pic of me, my Dad and my sister at the Calgary zoo probably from 1965 or '66.  I'm so grateful he did that for me.  

~ beautiful frost ~ this last week we have had some nice days, but the nights have been below freezing and we've woken up to fog several days.  On one of those mornings once the fog dissipated with the rising sun it left behind a lovely coating of hoar frost on the trees.  Such a pretty picture it made against the blue sky.  

~ spots filled ~ it took some time but all my spots in my dayhome are now filled.  It feels like the family and I will be a great fit for each other and I can't wait to have my home full again.  I actually find it easier and more fulfilling when all the spots are filled and all the kids are here.  I'm so thankful.

~ hair cut and color ~ a nice spruce up for spring!

~ declutter and clean ~ I went through a couple of drawers and got rid of stuff that I know I won't use or wear anymore.  Felt good to get it pared down and off to someone else who can put the items to better use.  And the good feeling makes me want to keep going.  I've found that if I just do smaller steps, like a drawer or two at a time, rather than like say a whole room, I am much more motivated and way less overwhelmed. 

What have been your favorites from the week?

Facing Fear: Step Out in Faith and Rise Above What's Holding You Back by Nik Wallenda ~ Book Review

Nik Wallenda's family has been living the circus life for 7 generations.  As high wire walkers, his family has learned how to face fear.  They have learned to how to face it, compartmentalize it and trust their training and their skills.  But one day during a practice of their 8 person pyramid things went horrible wrong.  The pyramid collapsed severely injuring many of his team including his sister and aunt.  In the months that followed Nik did what he knew to do and what he'd been trained to do.  He kept on.  But during practices someone was shaking the wire.  Nik was surprised and stunned to figure out that it was himself that was trembling on the wire.  Soon the fear was creeping into all parts of his life and work and he started to doubt what he had always believed: that walking the wire was his God-given purpose in this life.   Facing Fear is Nik's story of overcoming the fear and insecurity the fall produced, of getting the negative thinking under God's control and getting back up after a fall, both literally and figuratively.

I loved this book.  I have always been amazed at Nik's life and how he glorifies God during his walks.  His personal story of tragedy and how he overcame the debilitating fear and guilt that literally would change life as he knew it if he succumbed to it was both interesting and very practical.  Nik is a man of faith in God and he doesn't back down from that, as that is his story, but the book is written in a very approachable manner to any reader, whether they are a Christian or not.  It's like sitting down with him and having a conversation with him where he tells you his story and how he overcame but also understands that you might not be at that place.  

I rated this a 10/10

Reading Challenge 2023 Met:  at least 4 hard copy format non-fictions, February color of the month on the cover: red or pink

Friday's Fave Five #725

Happy St. Patrick's Day and welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  We are intentionally looking into our ordinary day to day and looking for God's hand and blessings in them. Then we are pausing to be grateful and thankful for blessings big and small.  By sharing five of those blessings we are encouraging one another and building community.  Won't you join us?

~ rescue ~ well that sounds dramatic, doesn't it?  And it kind of was.  This week, late at night, I got locked into the bathroom.  The knob would not open the door.  I had to rattle the knob and yell for my hubby who was already fast asleep.  The man woke out of a deep slumber and tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge.  So he got dressed, went out to the garage, got the ladder, trudged it through the snow to the opposite side of the house, set it up, climbed it and then crawled through the bathroom window in order to get the knob off the door.  This was no easy feat!  He is not a young whippersnapper anymore and even though our home is a bungalow it is raised so that bathroom window is higher than the ladder.  And I was so grateful this happened at night when he was home.  I don't know what I would have done if I had been locked in there when the dayhome kids would have been here.  I'm so thankful that if it had to happen it happened when it did.  And I'm thankful for my hubby for the rescue.

~ meet and greet ~ this week I had a meet and greet with a new doctor who replaced my doctor who moved away in December.  I loved my former doctor, she was caring and empathetic and was easy to talk to.  While I'm sad it's not a female doctor who replaced her I am thankful that in a city where about 40,000 (out of about 105,000) people don't have a family doctor (primary care physician) I am able to at least have a doctor to go to.  He seems very nice.  

~ when kids take things literally ~ working with preschoolers who sometimes take things very literally, there are some pretty funny moments.  One of those happened this week.  We were learning about color mixing and what happens when we mix blue and yellow together.  We sung a song about "hugging" blue and yellow together and magically getting green then I set up the easel, gave the kids a pot of yellow and a pot of blue and let them have it.  One three year old went all out mixing her colors all over her page.  The other three year old painted a big circle of yellow and a big circle of blue.  I encouraged him to "hug" his colors.  He looked at me a second, then asked me to hold his paint.  I said ok thinking he had to go the bathroom.  But when I took his paint from him he took his arms and wrapped them around the easel and gave his painting a hug.  Let's just say we're grateful for washable paint.  Sweet moment that gave me and his mom a good laugh.  She wondered what was going through his mind when I asked him to hug his colors.  Like "you want me to do what?" or "sure, ok".  I said he was probably thinking Miss Susanne is weird but she's the boss so whatever."  LOL.  

~ earlier bedtimes ~ I always find the time change brutal and it's just gets harder the older I get.  I've been trying to get to bed earlier even though my body at night thinks it's too early for bed.  But I've fallen asleep relatively easily so have been able to get a good night's sleep, even though the morning is still brutal with my body thinking it's 5 a.m. 

~ blue skies ~ beautiful blue skies have been so appreciated after having several days of dull and gray and snow.  The sky has been such a lovely blue in the day with sunshine warming things up.  Even though we'll probably get more snow it just feels like spring is on the way.

What have been your favorite blessings this past week?

It's Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lysa Terkeurst ~ Book Review

Has life turned out way different than what you ever thought or hoped it would be?  Have your dreams and prayers been crushed?  Have you ever wondered where God was in all of it?  Then this book is for you.  Lysa wrote this book in the midst of crisis in her own life.  She is very transparent and honest about what she went through, her disappointments and fears.  So she comes from a place of understanding.  But she doesn't just leave us there.  She shows us how to find the path back having our disappointments and disillusionments become opportunities to encounter the work of God in our lives.  She leads us in how to better process these times in our life and how to train ourselves to stay strong and persevere and not panic.  She points us to the truths of scripture that help us to change our mindset about God in these life circumstances.

I found this book to be super encouraging and uplifting.  Even though not going through any of her exact pain or circumstances I found she was able to directly speak into my own trials of the moment.  It's very relatable as she was able to be transparent and honest about her raw feelings in the midst of her trials even while pointing us to biblical truth and insight.  It's great just for reading through, each chapter ends with an easy reflection section, and then when the reader is ready to get right in and study all scriptures used are listed by chapter in the back along with a chapter titled "9 scriptures for surviving the times when God seems silent" that records lies we let our minds tell ourselves in turbulent, uncertain times and the scriptural truths to counteract those lies.  My book is underlined on every single page with lots of dog ears ( I never dog ear but I did with this book!)  The only part that didn't speak to me was a journal entry she shared in the back but others might get a lot out of it.  Highly recommend if you are feeling in any way swamped by disappointment and trials you never thought you'd be going through or if you are wondering where God is in it all.

2023 Reading Challenge Goal Met:  At least 4 hard copy non-fiction

Rating 9.5/10

 

Friday's Fave Five #724

Welcome Friday and to Friday's Fave Five!  Are you ready to pause and recall some blessings from the past week?  We are sharing five of our favorites as we intentionally develop the habit of taking note of what is good in our lives and being grateful for it.  

~ snow sparkling like diamonds ~  once again we've had snowfall in our parts but the other day it was bigger, lighter flakes that sparkled like diamonds when the light hit it.  I was so peaceful and absolutely beautiful.

~ Indian meal with friends ~ Friday night we had a double blessing in going out for Indian food and enjoying the meal with dear friends.  The meal was delicious and the conversation animated and fun!

~ show recommendation ~  during our conversation at dinner with our friends we shared different shows we were watching and one my friend recommended to me was a new series called The Way Home.   I thought I'd give it a try.  It's about mothers and daughters, a mystery and time travel!  Say what?  I'm in.  So far I've enjoyed it.  I hope it continues to be good.  It's so hard to find decent shows that suit my tastes these days.  

~ vanilla slice ~ my sweet hubby surprised me by bring home one of my favorite desserts for me.  I haven't had one of these in a long time.  He stopped in at a bakery in a town where he was making a delivery and brought it home for me.  It was a special stop as he had no other reason to go into the bakery.  Made me feel very special.  

~ my hardworking appliances ~ not a day goes by without me appreciating one or another of the appliances we are blessed with nowadays. 

What have been the blessings in your lives this week?

 

 

March Reading Possiblities

Considering February was a shorter month I did pretty good in the reading department.  3 1/2 books read.  The half being one I ended up setting aside which was an audiobook.  So now onto March.  March typically sees some blustery, snowy days for us which in my mind translates to lots of nice reading time. 

The color I chose for the month of March is green.  Yes, I'm a bit predictable.  So all the covers of my reading possibilities will have some kind of green.  And there is a pretty good stack to choose from!  There actually was more in the piles of books I have but these were the ones that grabbed my attention most at the moment.  Hopefully there will be some good reads in there with no DNF's (Did Not Finish) at all for the month!  

  

Read What I Own:  Color of the month - Green

          ~ No Place For a Lady by Gil Paul  (finished)

          ~ Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill

          ~ The Physicists' Daughter by Mary Anna Evans

          ~ Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

          ~ The Pearl That Broke It's Shell by Nadia Hashimi

          ~ Brooklyn by Colm Tobin

          ~ When We Were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor

          ~ Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor

Oldest and Newest of Purchased Books

          ~ The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas

          ~ A Piece of the Moon by Chris Fabry

Audiobook

          ~ Live Your Life: My Story of Loving and Losing Nick Cordero by Nick Cordero

Library Books

          ~ Lifemark by Chris Fabry

          ~ When the Meadow Blooms by Ann H. Gabhart

          ~ Beneath the Bending Skies by Jane Kirkpatrick

          ~ The Nurse's Secret by Amanda Skenandore

          ~ The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin

Read My Own Shelf Non-Fiction

           ~ Facing Fear by Nik Wallenda  (carry over from February) (finished)

           ~ You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help For Your Turbulent Times by Max Lucado

          

What about you?  Reading anything good this month?