Valentine's Day and beyond...

Friday February 14, 2014 

Giving love away… 

On Valentine’s Day and beyond. 

More about that later.

I’m linking up with the Friday’s Fave Five ladies, while we share our blessings of the week.

What are yours?

My favorites this week: 

1. Journeys. My youngest son is certainly on one as he’s working on the broadcast of the Olympics in Sochi. It’s been great to talk to him and text back and forth and to get pictures like the one above. I’d know the back of that head anywhere! 

2. Completion. The research paper my students write is a major project, and we’ve completed a good portion of it. The rough draft is coming, but it’s nice to celebrate the last of the note card grading! Also, I finished an article for ParentLife magazine last weekend and got it all sent off. A good feeling.

3. A book list and babies. A former student of mine will take off this weekend to go to China and get her new daughter and son. Theirs is a precious story. They will bring home a little boy and girl with dwarfism characteristics who will be warmly welcomed into their family of two American-born daughters and two Ethiopian-born toddlers. Missy emailed to ask for ideas for books for the long flight over, and I was only too glad to oblige. What fun to put together a recommended reading list for someone you hold dear!

4. Gifts. I know it’s fun to get gifts, but it’s so much fun to give a gift someone really likes. My mom is pretty much house-bound (especially in this weather), and she loves flowers. If I send her roses, they’re nice for a short while, but I happened upon this bucket of bulbs that sprout and grow indoors. She loves watching them come up and bloom, little by little, for weeks.

5. A quote: 

“God has called us into the joyous ministry of giving His love away to others.” (Don Lessin) 

Valentine’s Day is wonderful when you have a loved one who values you, but there’s so much more to love than those roses and chocolates. Day after day, season after season, we have the privilege of giving God’s love away to others. I’m thankful for that “joyous ministry.”

Wishing you God’s love in the coming week,
 

Returning to my Source

Friday  January 24, 2014
 

Ever wish you could go back to the beginning?  

Find newness, rediscover joy? 

My #5 today, a quote reminds me how to get there… 

I’m joining Friday’s Fave Five again today to recount the blessings of the week. Won’t you take a moment to count yours, too? 

My favorites this week:

1. An opportunity for my son. My youngest, a college senior, is on his way to Sochi to work on the Olympics broadcast. I’ve ever-so-excited for him, and a wee bit concerned, as any mom would be, I think. What an opportunity! He’ll be there for three weeks, so if any of you would like to join me in prayer, I’d sure appreciate it. Praying for safety and an great experience. 

2. Faithfulness! God’s, that is. When my son and daughter-in-law embarked on the adoption adventure, the funding seemed an insurmountable barrier. But God had other ideas, and He has helped them get closer and closer…and now it all seems so real and so possible. All the paperwork is now in India (all six pounds of their dossier), and they’re waiting for a referral. That can take up to a year, but it could happen at any time. I’m asking for sooner rather than later—but our times are in His hands. 

3. Fun with students. This was Winter Court week, and the kids (and teachers) have been dressing up along with the themes of each day. Tuesday was Teacher Clone Day, and yes, I had one (minus the red hair). We planned our outfits—it was fun!

4. Working on another web home. I’m working with the greatest designer on a web landing page and personal blog. I’ll still be posting here, too, though. She’s the best! And if you want to check out deals on the latest Christian fiction for your Nook or Kindle, she runs The Vessel Project. It’s a great thing! 

*Bonus: My hubby is planning a little getaway for the two of us. I can’t wait!

*Bonus #2: We saw The Book Thief last weekend. What a poignant, thought-provoking movie.

5. This quote:

”The yearning to know what cannot be known, to comprehend the incomprehensible, to touch and taste the unapproachable, arises from the image of God in the nature of man. Deep calleth unto deep, and though polluted and landlocked by the mighty disaster theologians call the Fall, the soul senses its origin and longs to return to its source.” (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy)

Deep calleth unto deep…isn’t that lovely?

But the best part to me is that “the soul senses its origin and longs to return to its source.”

I know I do.

Thankful for the longing,