Welcome to Friday's Fave Five! Our place of encouragement to intentionally practice looking for our blessings and develop hearts of gratitude to God for them. Why do we do this? Why after all these Fridays do I still keep posting this if nothing else? Because gratitude must be developed and continued. I can so easily fall out of the practice. And when I do my eyes are no longer looking for the blessings but gravitate to what I don't have, what I feel I deserve, what I am missing, the cup half empty mindset sets in. I love this quote from Max Lucado in his book "You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent Times"
" We can't name - express gratitude- until we notice.
The practice of being thankful requires cultivating a posture of attentiveness
that spotlights even the smallest graces."
pg. 190
So I want to thank you for joining me in continuing the art of being attentive to the smallest and biggest of God's graces in our everyday lives and thanking Him for them.
~ Sunday lunch with good friends ~ after our respective church services we me our good friends for lunch. It was their turn to pick the place and they chose Tony Roma's which is a franchise restuarant famous for their ribs. Haven't been there in so long and as per usual the ribs were fantastic! A favorite meal with favorite people is something I am very grateful for.
~ haircut ~ it was time!! It's has been unseasonally warmer around these parts and my hair was just feeling thick and heavy. I had my stylist go a touch shorter for summer and it feels great.
~ air conditioning ~ like I mentioned it has been hot here. It seems we skipped right over spring and sent straight into summer. Up until now we haven't run the ac because the nights are still cooling off but now we're starting to stay warm in the nights too so I'm thankful for that ac. I know it's an absolute spoiled privilege.
~ the above mentioned book ~ it is a book that has come into my life at a just the right time. I've been working my way slowly through it, taking notes and really thinking about each chapter. It has been a great encouragement for me in this time. I love books and how they can speak to us, encourage us, teach us and in the case of fiction, take us away. Books are a real blessing in my life.
~ flowers starting to take off ~ with the sunshine and heat the flowers are really starting to fill in and show off. Every time I look at all the beautiful flowers in my garden and around the neighborhood and even online on some of the pages I follow I see the incredible creativity and gift of God. They make me happy and lift my spirits and I love just working putzing around with them. It calms the mind and the heart for me. I'm grateful God has given me eyes to see and the ability to have a few around my home.
What have you been grateful for this week?
9 comments:
One of my fave Scriptures!! and you found such a pretty photo for it.
LOVE and am thankful for MAx Lucado...i hear him often on a podcast or in the car on the way to work via KLove Radio. That quote is GREAT and I'm actually in the process of ordering that book as our local Christian book store doesn't have it. I could use it right now!!
I'm also thankful for friends to do life with like you experienced last Sunday......in fact, we are meeting for breakfast with 4 of our dearest friends from small group, tomorrow followed by a simple hike.
I'm thankful for flowers too and very thankful that we finally got some rain here in eastern NY to blow away that awful wildfire haze and smell!!
HAPPY WEEKEND
You are right, we skipped spring ! From a wet and mild winter directly into summer ! Today 28°C are announced. I let fresh air in in the morning and then close everything, curtains included so inside it is nice and not too warm. The Italian do that. I remember the first time I was very disappointed because I had to sit for a long lunch with closed windows and light on, while outside the sun was shining ! I go to the hairdresser next week, it becomes too long !
I love that quote by Lucado. It fits FFF perfectly.
Your Sunday lunch sounds great--the food and the friends. A haircut is such a boost to the spirit. I depend on AC a lot. I don't know how people functioned without it. My planter flowers are doing the same. They looked pretty sparse when first planted, but are filling out nicely now. It's such a delight to see them.
Hi Suanne. That book sounds great. I think I need to read it. Lunch with friends is always fun. I am glad your flowers are out in bloom and that you are staying cool with your air conditioning in the heat. A good haircut always makes me feel better too! I hope you have a good weekend. See you again soon!
Your introduction was just perfect for me today. We've never been big on AC in the UK but now that our summers do seem to be getting hotter it's definitely becoming something that's needed. Have a lovely weekend Susanne and thanks for giving us this reminder each week.
Hello! Yep. A haircut always does the trick. I just feel better afterward! Have a cozy evening, and thank you for reminding us to be thankful!
How nice to get together with friends after church. We have been cool, rainy, and cloudy here on the north shore of Boston. We still have our windows mostly closed! We have also been experiencing some smoke conditions due to the fires up in Nova Scotia. I am praying for all those that are in the thick of it. If we are experiencing conditions here I can only imagine how thick the smoke is up there.
With the unusual humidity we've been having I'm even more grateful for air conditioning!! That's nice to meet up with friends for a meal after church. Hope your weekend is going well and is peaceful.
Believe it or not, we're still in "spring"! Still in the low 70s (though 80s are just on the horizon next week). Glad you have AC for your early summer weather.
What a blessing for a good book at the right time to sink your teeth into. Glad you shared from it.
The beauty, uniqueness, and creativity in flowers seem endless don't they? Because God is never out of ideas :-)
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