Friday, January 10, 2020

Friday's Fave Five #566



Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  It's our little space on the internet we we gather with the goal of being more intentional in looking for blessings in our lives and sharing 5 of them with each other.  Please feel free to join in.

~ small group "Christmas" dinner ~  Tuesday evening the Ladies from my small group at church had our dinner out that we did not do in December.  Normally we do a Christmas party or dinner out in December but it just didn't work this year so we did it now instead.  It was so nice to get together outside of the small group study and just enjoy each other's company and have a lovely dinner out.  It's moments like these that move us beyond just a group of women that meet for bible study and prayer and moves us into friendship.  We did a lot of laughing and a lot of encouraging and it was great fun.

~ nice easy re-entry week into work ~ It has been a pretty simple laid back week getting back into work.  Which is a good thing because it's brutal getting back into it after my time off.  My body clock naturally gets back into it's natural rhythm of going to bed later and sleeping in a bit (though never past 8:30 am).  So trying to get back to routine has been a bit tough.  But the fact of  a short two day week last week and less kids this week has eased the tiredness a bit.

~ much needed gift ~ my friend gifted me with a salon quality shampoo and conditioner for my birthday.  If you remember reading about my little incident with hair straightener gone awry, my hair is still needing help.  So this gift was very much appreciated!

~ encouragement ~ an acquaintance from church sent me an unexpected and encouraging private message on facebook.  I very much appreciated it  and it made my day.  It really motivated me to keep my eyes open for those little things that I notice and encourage the people who do it.  It could be something big or something smaller, but if I notice I should take the time to encourage.  A little encouraging word goes a long way.

~ home made soup ~  the weather has been pretty mild this last bit though very windy.  That's what keeps the cold away around here.  But this week the temperature has been slipping down and we've got some really cold days arriving this weekend.  When this kind of weather moves in I always crave nice hot soup.  I love soup, always have, and can have it no matter the weather!   It was also a nice change from all the heavy eating we did over the holidays.  This week I made a soup with bone broth, ginger, stir fry veggies and Korean beef dumplings.  So good!

What have been your blessings from the last week?









10 comments:

a spirit of simplicity said...

It’s amazing how much a few little words of encouragement can me to someone. I am always revitalized when someone tells me they notice me. It’s important to build one another up. Have a wonderful weekend.

Faith said...

Great list of faves here Susanne! The dinner sounds lovely. The small group i led last semester also couldn't get our days in sync for a Dec gathering so we are meeting for breakfast out tomorrow at a local tea shop.

Love homemade soups, have you tried the one i posted yet?? We figured out the two separate broth things: if you're using meat, you sauté it first with the smaller amt of broth. I leave the chicken out so didn't think to tweak that part of the recipe. 🤣

Love encouraging gifts and notes,

Enjoy the weekend!

Deb J. in Utah said...

Encouragement, time with friends, a thoughtful gift, an easy week and homemade soup - wow sounds like a really good week filled with God's grace. Have a good weekend and stay warm. We are supposed to turn cold and snowy here too - but then it is January! See you again soon.

Barbara Harper said...

Our Sunday School did that once or twice--had a New Year party some time in January rather than a Christmas one in December. It really helped ease the busyness of December and gave us something to look forward to in January.

I'm glad you had some helps in getting back into routine. My husband just went back to work Monday, and it seemed to take me a few days to feel like I was into the swing of things again.

I need to remember to express encouragement, too. And we've enjoyed soups a couple of times the last several days--hits the spot when it's cold out.

ellen b. said...

Sounds like a great week filled with encouragement. We are having snow as I type and we are supposed to get up to 5 inches today. We have a dinner invite for the late afternoon so it will be interesting to see what the roads will be like. Temps are dropping way low for us this weekend and into next week. Brrr. Hope you have a relaxing weekend!

Susan said...

I just found your blog through Stray Thoughts and I love it. What a wonderful thing to do, this praising 5 blessings in your life. Sounds like a wonderful week and I pray it continues.

Jerralea said...

I'm all about encouragement... and soup!

Love your graphic!

Karen said...

It sounds like a wonderful week, Susanne. I just love those girls' nights out. And I'm glad you got to ease back into work after the holidays. Some friends just dropped by to visit and brought us some soup. It's not homemade, but the gesture was so nice and it's one of our favorite kinds. Your thoughtful friend reminds me that it only takes a few moments to offer someone words of encouragement and that I should do so more often.

Willow said...

I love that little statement at the end--Yes! Just switching your thoughts to being thankful can change your whole day!
Encouraging words were one of my faves this week, too. It's so important!
And spending time out with 'the girls' is always a blessing!

Wendy said...

Encouragement is definitely important and I'm grateful for your encouragement to take a breath at the end of each week and be positive. Glad you had an easier return to work. I find it's sometimes nicer to have a "Christmas" get together in the new year. It's something to look forward to without all the stress and pressure that the run up to Christmas can sometimes hold.