A Tale of Three Weeks: Friday's Fave Five

Friday July 15, 2011 Can you name five blessings from your week? Susanne from Living to Tell the Story hosts Friday’s Fave Five each week. Click on over and see her if you’d like to join in!

I’m home! After three weeks of traveling, we’re back in Florida. We had a great time, but it’s good to be home. (You can read about why in my Wednesday post.)

So much to be thankful for. Where to start…?

1. Safe travel. We drove a lot of miles, and an uneventful trip is always a blessing. The trip included hearing my oldest son preach (and taking his grandmother, my mom, along with us), traveling with Aiden and his parents, seeing both sides of the family, from Kentucky to New York. We got to see a different beach in the Outer Banks, too (pictured above). Before coming home we stopped at ICRS, which showcased upcoming Christian publications. For more about that stop, visit my Thursday post at Kindred Heart Writers.

2. The Lost Colony. This is an historical drama of the colony of Roanoke, performed in the Outer Banks. I’ve always been fascinated with Roanoke and Queen Elizabeth is one of my favorite historical characters, so I was so excited to see this. We had a great time! (Kudos to my youngest son for most of these pictures--the ones with the watermark are his.)

3. Nature time. I love watching creation pass by the window in the car and seeing the changing landscape, but I love even more getting out in it. Our NY relatives have a “bungalow” that we all love. No phone, no television—just kayaks and hammocks, fishing and grilling. It’s so relaxing.

4. Family. We were missing two boys this year (jobs and distance made the trip impossible for them), but we’re already looking forward to being together at Christmas. It was great to spend time, though, with so much family. The boys saw a cousin they hadn’t seen in years and had fun catching up. And of course, there’s Aiden. We spent lots of time with him. He’s on the verge of walking and is such a happy boy. Fun, fun, fun.



5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and a quote. This book is just charming! Maybe it’s the British wit that has captured me or the strong affinity for reading that it fosters, but I’m thoroughly enjoying it. One character speaks of how reading Thomas Carlyle got him thinking about faith. I love this Carlyle quote:

“Does it ever give thee pause, that men used to have a soul—not by hearsay alone, or as a figure of speech; but as a truth that they knew, and acted upon! Verily it was another world then … but yet it is a pity we have lost the tiding of our souls … we shall have to go in search of them again, or worse in all ways shall befall us.”

To have lost the “tidings” of one’s soul and know it only by hearsay—what another tells you. How sad. Carlyle says we should go in search of those tidings again. I love that advice.

The end of summer is looming for me as the school year approaches. But I’m committed to enjoying the next three weeks. Hope you do, too. (It’s good to be back--with you!)

Summer's Comin': Friday's Fave Five

Friday April 15, 2011 Can you name five blessings from your week? Susanne from Living to Tell the Story hosts Friday’s Fave Five each week. Click on over and see her if you’d like to join in!

Here are my favorites from this week:

1. A calm week. Funny – last week’s #1 was my busy week! You can read about how I dealt with it here. Yes, this week is slower, and it’s definitely nice. Maybe it takes busy to appreciate calm.

2. Photobucket’s maintenance is over! Oh, my. If you weren’t here on Tuesday or Wednesday you may not know, but because my blog is hosted on Photobucket, its maintenance affected me big-time. I was okay with one day, but when it stretched to two, I was getting antsy. Glad everything is squared away now.

3. An upturn for one of my boys. One son has had a rough two weeks, and things are looking up. He sounds so much better when I talk to him. And I’m so thankful for his brothers and other encouragers who stand in the gap when Mom can’t be there. Once a mom, always a mom!

4. Twenty-three more days…in the classroom. Yeah, I just counted. We do have three days of exams after that, but only a total of 23 more classroom meetings. I’m looking forward to summer – lazy mornings, time to write, a little travel, time to read…

5. This quote:

“Wonder is the basis of worship.” (Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historican and essayist of the Victorian era)

I just love wonder. I find it in nature, in a child’s eyes, in a smile or a tear. And it leads me to worship the One who created it all.

Wishing you wonder this week.