Friday, March 25, 2011

Friday's Fave Five #132


It's Friday and welcome to FFF!  Please join in as we look back over our week and take note of blessings, large or small, that have touched us as we walk through our days.  If you are new, the guidelines are here, otherwise just jump right in!

1.  One of my all time favorite books from a Christian author is again available as an ebook in Kindle or Nook format.  I have read this book at least 3 times and I still love it just as much each time.  I think I'm due for another reread soon.  A blurb about it, reviews and ordering info is  available here.  I'd say a heck of a deal at only $2.99.

2.  Beautiful mornings.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we woke up to snow.  Yes, snow.  So it was donning the winter coat and going outside early in the morning to shovel before the dayhome parents came.  That wasn't necessarily the favorite part but the peace and calmness out there was.  It was beautiful, hovering around zero but absolutely calm and the birds chirping their songs made for a peaceful time before the chaos of the day.

3.  Volunteering with my daughter.  T and I spent a few hours volunteering together last Saturday afternoon and I must say I really enjoyed it.  Chopping vegetables and cutting desserts and then serving food at a downtown soup kitchen with my girl was a great experience.   And one that I am looking forward to repeating.

4.  Making a dent in the purging of the craft room.  Being a child care provider I tend to hang onto all sorts of ridiculous things that most of you immediately throw out with the idea they might be good for some kind of craft.  So very soon it becomes an overwhelming amount of stuff.  I finally put my foot down about some things and ruthlessly threw out a ton of stuff.  And I've only just begun but it's encouraging already.  I can hardly wait until it's finished.

5.  Fresh, herby smelling candles.  With the putting away of the winter decorations, I also put away the "heavier, thicker" scented candles are brought out the lighter, herb smells I like in the spring.  My favorite is Basil Nectarine from Yankee Candle.

What were your blessings from the week?  Was it a week full of wonderful goings on and you have to contain yourself to write down just five or were you having a harder week where you really had to be aware and look harder?  Either way it is a good thing to remember them as it makes us more aware of all the ways God touches our lives.  We all want the really great weeks, where the blessings are big and obvious, where it is easy to remember them and write about them,  but being in the habit of doing the exercise helps those hard weeks we all at some point face, where we have to dig deep and search for them amidst the trouble.  It is in those weeks that the simple, everyday graces of God show through.  My prayer is that whatever kind of week you are having you may find those ways that God is trying to say He loves you in the midst of your everydays.

Please join us and do a post and link up.  It's a blessing to visit and read all your favorite things from your weeks.

21 comments:

Marg said...

I'm never first...but here I am...Thanks again Susanne for allowing us to share our favorites. You summarized it so well at the end of your blog...I thought you were having snow...cleaning up stuff...I've been working on that all week also.
I'm going to check out that new basil scent...
Have a wonderful week.

Anonymous said...

Ah, you really are making the purging rounds -- congrats! It must feel great to get started in this tough area.

Love it that you are seeing beauty in the midst of a snowy start to spring! Enjoy your weekend, Susanne.

Carrie said...

And I'm never second. =D But here I am again!

Good job on making a dent in your craft room! It feels good to clean out sometimes.

It also sounds like you had a great experience at the local soup kitchen with your daughter.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Laura@OutnumberedMom said...

"Simple everyday graces" -- I like that, Susanne! I love your smiles amidst the snow.

Have a great week ahead!

Mom24 said...

Thank you for the tip on the book. I'm always looking for affordable books for my Nook. I read to fast and too much to pay $12 a book.

Hope you get some good spring weather soon.

Hazel said...

There is so much good in volunteering. I've been working on something connected with volunteer work these past days. Glad you have such beautiful mornings. Peaceful time recharges us and gives us renewed energy to face a new day.

Faith said...

I just love how you summarized the point of the Fave Fives at the end of your post!!! and i did some purging this past week too and wrote about it!! Unfortunately, I had a tough week but I did find some little things that helped me get through it....hopefully next week is better all around and I can write about "deeper" things...lol...yay for you and T working at a soup kitchen...such a blessing to be able to volunteer!!

Lisa notes... said...

Don’t you love when a book becomes available on the Kindle? I have been wanting to read “Margin” and it suddenly came up FREE on the Kindle this week. I was excited. How wonderful to get to serve with your daughter that way. Can’t beat that! Thanks for the encouragement to see God in the everyday graces. He is everywhere; we are blessed indeed.

ellen b said...

Sounds like a good productive week. Purging continues around here. It's funny the things we stuff into a nook or cranny that just needs to go...
What a worthwhile thing to do with your daughter.
I've been noticing the birds this week. It's always fun to see a different variety instead of just crows!

Jientje said...

It's such a pity I can't seem to find any Yankee Candles any more. I used to sell them in my shop, but that was years ago and now they seem to have disappeared from the shops here. The weather has been very nice in Belgium and that has encouraged me to do some decluttering in my garage. I may need to continue some more over the next weekend or so but I already love how empty and tidy it's beginning to look!

Christina said...

Thanks for the book recommendation.

Yes I can identify with your craft supply issue. All three of my boys who are still at home absolutely love crafts and I find all sorts of cool stuff they can use. We don't have a room so basically it's
all over the house. I too am going to have to do some purging and organizing.

When does Spring actually come in your part of the woods? I am here in WA so it's kind of late. I think it really comes in in April VS March like some places.

Volunteering with your daughter must be so much fun and so rewarding. My one daughter is here and she would love to do something like this although she is a 2 hour drive from me and my other daughter in HI is very involved with church but if I was there she'd have plenty for me to help with. I'm glad you have this time with her. There is nothing like it.

I have heard of Yankee candles but don't have any. I will have to check them out on the web.

Willow said...

I too loved your summary of appreciating all the blessings large and small. You're absolutely right. You've had a great week--volunteering with your girl is wonderful. Loving the decluttering the way I do (those cleared spaces!), I'm cheering for your clearing out.

Jerralea said...

I love to purge! Rooms, that is. ;)

Your candle sounds yummy, and different. I'll have to check it out.

Barbara H. said...

This has been an in-between week for me -- nothing terrible happening, but not a lot of big obvious blessings, either. Last night I could only think of one item for today's list! But by the time I started working on this post I had more than five to choose from. Love those "everyday graces."

We did a lot of purging with our move and even more afterward -- such a good feeling!

Jen said...

What a blessing to be able to volunteer with your daughter!

I'm on a big simplifying/purging/organizing kick. We need to do that every once in awhile to be able to see what we have.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Gattina said...

What you had snow ?? How awful I think I would get a nervous breakdown, the flowers are just starting to show their little noses !

Tonya said...

Thanks for the fun link up. I finally got around this week to listing five things from my week. I'm always thankful for the privilege to live another week serving the Great God of the universe, even if it is in the little things. :) Have a super weekend.

Brenda said...

Wow, you are still having snowy mornings, but I imagine they are very beautiful. And I bet the candles smell even better when its cold outside and make the house cozy!

Catherine said...

Basil Nectarine.. yummy! I'm glad it was a good week. How nice to volunteer with your daughter. That's definitely time well spent! I'm ready for a good Spring purge. Especially of my closet, and our garage! Thanks so much for FFF!

Karyn said...

Thanks for that last paragraph. Lovely. God loves us in the midst of our everydays.

Paula said...

Hi, Susanne! A few of my blog friends often link to you, and I've been reading your blog for the last few weeks. Thought I would finally comment. ;)

I'm so glad you mentioned Robin Lee Hatcher's new book; just clicked over and purchased it for my Kindle.

Have a blessed day!