Saving Grayson by Chris Fabry ~ Book Review

Grayson Hayes was an author who could use words to tell stories and convey whatever he wanted.  But now words evade him as do memories.  He carries his trusty legal pad with him everywhere he goes so he can jot down notes of things he feels he needs to recall. But one thing he recalls very accurately is a dream he keeps having of a girl being thrown off a bridge.  He knows she needs help and he knows the bridge is from where he grew up so he is determined to drive cross country in spite of his wife's protests and insistence that she will not go with him.  But Grayson also has another reason he desperately wants to get to the place where he grew up.  He must find his childhood friend and make a huge request of him.  Frustrated because he doesn't understand why Lotty is being so obstinate he finally agrees to have a young man he doesn't know, but who Lotty and his doctor seem to approve of, accompany him.  Along the jouney, Grayson must confront some things about himself he doesn't remember and how the consequences have affected the people in his life.  Can he find the answers he so desperately needs or is ths a fool's errand?

This is a beautifully written story that not only deals with dementia and alzheimer's and how it affects not only the sufferer but also the loved ones around them.  I thought the author did a really good job of letting us into Grayson's not only crusty, frustrated moments but also his humanness.  As his life story unfolds the reader is drawn in to an understanding of the layers of life that make people into who they are and how all our actions can affect those around us leaving them with layers of their own.  It's a deep felt story of unconditional love, loss, forgiveness and hope.  As we journey with Grayson there is much to relate to both through his own struggles and  also through the people around him.  Twists and turns keep the story from getting bogged down and light hearted moments of clarity lighten the hard journey through the loss of memories and oneself.  I love this author for his beautiful story telling and his very real, flawed characters that we can all relate to in some form or fashion.  

I rated this a 8.5/10

Fridays Fave Five #906

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  It's that day of the week to take a pause and remember the blessings in you ordinary days of the last week.  Opening our eyes to the blessings in our regular, ordinary days is like training ourselves to move from a half cup empty person to a half cup full person.  And then once you get there it moves you even beyond that to living a life of gratitude for the simplest things without which life would be very much empty.  Yes the big, obvious, firework work blessings are fun and exciting.  And let's be real, they are rare.  It's those little things that lift us throughout the day, that encourage us, that give us fulfillment, that help us to take another step, that point us to evidence of God working in our lives.  They help carry us through,  gets us through tough times, gives us joy and make us realize that we have much to be thankful to God for.  Please join in as we intentionally develop the habit of noticing the simplest of blessings in our lives.

~ yardwork completed ~ this is such a big thing for me.  Every year I put it off because the flowers still look so nice and then bam, we get hit with a major storm or it gets really cold and half the flower beds didn't get cleaned out.  Last Saturday turned out a bit cool but sunny with no wind so I made myself get out there and get it done.  Hours later, though a bit stiff, I patted myself on the back for accomplishing the goal. 

~OCC kickoff ~ Sunday was the Operation Child kickoff at church.  Even tough I've done this for many a year, I was still a bit nervous but the announcement went well.  And this year I had a table set up in the foyer and lots of people who had never packed a box came and asked questions.  About 90 or so boxes got taken to be filled!

~ gifted produce &eggs ~  so thankful for a bounty of wonderful foods given to us.  A big bag of home grown tomatoes, a couple bags of organic locally grown carrots, and fresh free range eggs.

~  golden leaves ~ in my area we don't have the amazing reds and bright oranges that fall trees get down east but the trees in my back yard turn an incredible golden color with the occasional pinky red leaf thrown in there.  When they don't get wrecked by a too early snowfall I can end up with a wall of gold back there and its gorgeous,  This year right when they turned gold we had a couple days of big wind so they've mostly all fallen already before I could get a picture, but the dayhome kids have enjoyed making a few crafts with the pretty lraves.

~ tea ~ Tuesday was a super stressful day but a warm soothing cup of mint ginger tea in the evening  did wonders to just restore a relaxed feeling.  It's that time of year when I start reaching for yummy cups of hot tea instead of cold sparkling water in the evenings and I'm glad I had a good stash to choose from.

What were your favorite blessings this week?

    

Friday's Fave Five #905

Welcome to the Friday's Fave Five!  We are looking back over the week to take notice of those things that are good and a blessing to our lives.  Honing our radars to note the good things so that we can be uplifted when the stresses of life comes, making gratefulness an automatic response.  Please in join with us.

~ filled some empty dayhome spots ~ this last week I was finally able to fill some dayhome spots I've been advertising for since spring.  The childcare market here is really saturated at the moment due to gov't licensing way too many new spaces.  Everyone is struggling to fill spaces that have opened up.  So I'm very thankful that has finally happened.

~ Portuguese Custard Tarts ~ I first tried these at a restaurant here in town and fell in love with them.  Then the restaurant closed.  I'd never seen them anywhere else.  But then a few months ago C*stco bakery started carrying them.  And they are good.  A layered and crispy tart with a creamy filling.  Took some to study and the ladies also loved them.

~ turkey soup ~ I love soup anytime but when it's cold and rainy outside as it was this week it especially was enjoyed.  Made totally from scratch with the Thanksgiving turkey bones from earlier this month,  even the dayhome kids gobbled it up.

~ confirmation ~  I love when God sends confirmations for a direction you are to go in unusual ways where you just know.  I had a big decision to make this week between going for a sure, though not what I ideally wanted or waiting for an unknown.  And as par for the course, I was way overthinking it, all the pros and cons and what if's bouncing around in my head.  Monday evening I kept getting the the very old fashioned saying " a bird in hand is better than ten in the bush" even though I haven't heard that said anywhere for a very long time.  I told hubby I think I'm supposed to do this thing. But the nxt morning I sought advise from a colleague and when she said "Go with the sure thing because, you know, a bird in hand", I 'bout fell off my chair,   So I knew then and there which direction to take.

~ a good night's sleep ~  after several nights with interupted sleep I was very thankful for a night where I slept right through!

What have your favorite blessings been this week?

Through Each Tomorrow by Gabrielle Meyer ~ Book Review

It's the year 1883 and Charles is 24 year old bachelor trying to prevent his horse farm from going under.  He is desperate to make it work in order to have financial security in place for his Mother and sister.  Being a time crosser, he must make a decision in which timeline he will stay in on his 25th birthday.  In 1563, his other timeline, he is the Earl of Norfolk and advisor to Queen Elizabeth.  His step sister, Lady Cecily, is a lady in waiting to the Queen.  Charles is leaning towards staying in this timeline as Cecily has no other family but him but if he can't provide financially for his Mom and sister in 1883 Charles does not know what to do.  When his time crossing friend, Drew convinces  to pose as an earl in 1883 to distract his owm mother from her constant match making, Charles agrees in exchange for Drew crossing into 1563 with him to bring his medical skills to the ailing queen.  But  complications arise in both timelines threatening to expose their deceptions and cause them to remain in a timeline not of their choosing.

This is Book 6 in the Timeless Series.  While a good read it was my least favorite so far.   I enjoyed the focus being on a male timecrosser in the particular book, but I also found the main character to be frustrating.  And I must admit the Tudor/Elizabethan era is not my choice periods in my reading tastes.  I did love that the author made some connections to the other stories in books 1 through 5.  I think the author has done such a great job of keeping each of the stories fresh and new and keeping characters straight as she slowly starts to lay out connections over the time periods.  

I rated this an 8/10

Friday's Fave Five #904

It's Friday!!  Thank you for joining me once again in being thankful for the blessings in our week.  Seeing blessing in each and every day is a learning process.  Our natural bent is to look for big, obvious things that grab our emotions and attention but developing a life of gratitude to God goes beyond that and searches for His gifts in the quieter, more mundane days and even in the most difficult of times when it takes intention and purpose.  If you are new, welcome to the jouney.  If you have been part of FFF through the years, I'm so thankful you've joined in once again.

~ help and connection ~  Sunday I went to church early to put together some Operation Christmas Child boxes and have a small display up for people coming to the church on election day.  Our church is a voting location when elections, in this week's case a referendum, are held and voter's have always taken some boxex to fill.  One of the church admins volunteered to come and help me and it turned into a wonderful time of sharing and chatting.  I've known this lady for years but it's been one of the few times we've really just visited for a length of time where we could get to know each other better.  Love when God knits hearts together over a shared purpose.

~ spontaneous lunch out with friends ~ we enjoyed the blessing of friends spontaneouly asking us to meet them for lunch.  The conversation was lively and fun and the food delicious.  And bonus:  there were no dishes to clean.

~ stunning fall weather ~  after the crazy wind on Saturday where gusts peaked at 100 km/hr (60 mph), the rest of the week has been stunning.  Warm and sunny, with the leaves turning color we've spent as much time otside as we can!

~ relaxed Sunday afternoon ~ when I was growing up, Sunday's used to truly be a day of rest in every sense of the word.  There were no store's open except your little corner grocery store.  You went to church, had a nice dinner at home, maybe had friends over for awhile.  We've lost a lot of that in our modern culture.  Everything is open for business as usual.   Sunday's seem to be so rushed.  This last Sunday we pushed the pause button on all that and made it a day of intentional rest and it was wonderful.  I didn't run around cleaning or grocery shopping.  Lunch was an easy crockpot meal with little amount of dishes.  We read, watched a show or two, went for a walk.  It was wonderful.

~ praying friends ~ I have had a physical annoyance that lately has turned into a concern.  I'm so thankful for a group of supportive and praying friends.  

What have been your favorite blessings this week?

Friday's Fave Five #903

Hello and welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving and while it was wonderful to have an official holiday to remind us to be thankful, I love that this group intentionally makes it a part of their everyday.  While a thanksgiving holiday can give us wonderful feelings in the moment that we can say a quick thank you for, intentional daily gratitude is a lifestyle, a way to navigate life, our compass when there are difficult times. Please join us a we develop and work to maintain this attitude of consistent gratitude for the good things in our lives.

~ family gathered ~ I ususally host Thanksgiving and this year my two  kids from Calgary came and my sister's family.  Unfortunately my oldest had to work.  But it was really nice to have those who could come gathered together over a delicious meal.  Unfortunately, I did not take one single solitary picture.  

~ turkey dinner ~ We love turkey dinner at our house and it is a great blessing that, once again, we were able to have it.  This year Hubby decided he wanted to try an organic, free range, ethically raised turkey that a meat shop, who are his clients, were getting in for Thanksgiving.  Oh my goodness, was it ever good.  We added homemade cranberry sauce, whipped potatoes, spaghetti squash, carrots/parsnips,  stuffing and my gravy.  I make a delicious gravy if I do say so myself.  My sister bought a cake and a pumpkin pie to round it all off.

~ ladies small group ~ I finally was able to attend my ladies group this week after missing out since they started up again after summer break.  It's just been so busy with Operation Christmas Child also gearing up at the same time.  It was nice to be back and studying God's Word together with my group.  It's nice to have a break but so good to be back at it.

~ back to nice weather ~ after 2 days of snow over the Thanksgiving weekend I'm happy to report it has all melted and we are back to some gorgeous sunny fall weather again!

~ knee feeling good ~ I was a bit worried about how my knee would feel after two days of being on my feet cooking.  The last thing I wanted was to push it into another flare up.  But it made it through and was feeling pretty good and I am very thankful for all help throughout that was given to me. I made sure to wear my brace and good runners and made myself take breaks.   It all worked toward a no pain weekend.  

What were you're blessings you were grateful for this past week?

The Awe of God by John Bevere ~ Book Review

A holy awe of of God is essential to our walk with God. In this book John Bevere walks us through what it actually means to fear God...and conversly what it doesn't mean.  He shows us why it's important, how to develop it and how to embrace it so that we can find peace, joy and safety in Him.

I really enjoyed this devotional.  It's set up in a user friendly way.  There is a weekly lesson broken down into short daily readings filled with scriptures, then at the end of each daily lesson you have the following points to make it apply to you and personalize it:  Passage (scripture reference),  Point (Main idea of the daily lesson), Ponder (Questions toapply what you've learned), Prayer and lastly Profession.  There is also a qr code in the back that takes you to bonus videos and resources for group study.

Personally I think this should be read by every Christian.  In our modern day North American Christianity, I feel we have lost a healthy fear of God and at times treat Him at best as a buddy taking His commands as casual suggestions we can disregard if we so choose or at worst a vending machine getting upset when He doesnt dispense what we pushed the buttons for.  This book brought me back to the incredible awesomeness of who God is and how walking in that is life changing.  It is an easy to read but very thought provoking. would make an awesome group study or book club book as discussion would be great, I think.  

I rated it a 9.5/10.  there were just a couple of things that made me take pause or that need more pondering on my part but nothing that takes away from the main message of the book.

photo from Proverbs 31 Mentor