Friday's Fave Five #767

Happy New Year everyone.  I hope you all had a lovely holiday.  We're starting the new year off right continuing to develop a heart of gratitude connected with an outward display of thankfulness.  The new year is a fresh start, a change of the calendar year, a chance to start anew.  We can take the steps we've made and build on them, we can learn from mistakes and failures, or we can start something totally new.  However it manifests in your life in the context of living a life of gratitude and thankfulness to God for His good gifts, let 2024 take your further in this intentional exercise.  We're all better off for living a life that looks for the blessing rather than a life that gets mired in mistakes, failures, the hardships.  Will doing this simple exercise magically get rid of anything bad from happening to you?  Of course it won't.  But it will help you to find those blessings, large & small, when we feel we are under the cares of this world.  It will help you to keep your head above water when it's been a tough day, a tough week, a tough year.  It will help you to see that in spite of things this world throws at us there is still God showing us that He is there with us.  Remember this is a journey not an arrival.  So let's just jump into 2024 keeping ours eyes open for everything that is good.  

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Philippians 4:8

~ lovely birthday ~ this year 2 of my 3 adult children were here for my birthday which is a really nice blessing.  It was a pretty quiet one as usual.  By that time after Christmas everyone is peopled out and we usually just relax.  Coffee and lots of reading finishing my last book of the year was how I spent the morning.  Then in the afternoon I had a mother/son afternoon.  We went to a chain bookstore and then to 3 local little shops downtown: a unique local bookstore, an apothecary and a collectible gift shop.  It was a great time together.  Then in the evening usually we would go out to eat but with Hubby and daughter not feeling 100% with coughs we did Indian takeout instead and had a lovely dinner at home.  My youngest had to go back to the big city to work but she sent me some lovely gifts via delivery and I was thoroughly spoiled by the rest of the family too.  I felt very special.  

~ gift card win ~ the morning of my birthday I won a $10 St*rbucks gift card from their online game they have in the Christmas season.  So on our Mother/son afternoon you know our first stop was the coffee shop!

~surprise gift from my blogging friend ~ Faith (Gold in the Clouds) and I have been blogging friends for many a year.  We have a lot in common and share a faith in Jesus and common values and interests.  We email back and forth and are share prayer requests knowing the other will pray and seek God on our behalf.  This year she sent me a little surprise for my birthday.  It was so sweet and made me smile.  She knows me pretty good getting me book and library themed gifts.  

~ Christmas Glow ~ we joined our good friends to take in the Christmas Glow - Glow around the World in our city.  It's an indoor walk through light festival this year themed going around the world.  It was a very pretty, enjoyable walk through.  Afterwards we enjoyed a good coffee, good conversation and exchanged gifts.  Our good friends are a blessing to us.  

~ easing back into work ~ after more than a week off, meaning staying up way too late and sleeping in with no routine followed whatsoever, the first day back after Christmas holidays is always hard.  But this whole week I've only had 3 or 4 kids instead of 6 and it's a short work week because of New Years day being Monday so the ease back into work seemed a bit easier. I am very thankful for that.

What have been your blessings this first week of 2024?