It’s time to slow down for a moment with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to think about the blessings of the week before their memory is gone forever. Please feel free to join in!

1. Outside time. I’m very much an indoorsy person. But last Friday night, Jason and Mittu brought take-out barbecue over. Then we all sat on the patio and drew with sidewalk chalk, blew bubbles, and threw Pop-its on the concrete. It was before this week’s heat wave set in, and the sun was on the other side of the house. It was a pleasant evening.

2. Peace and security. There have been some shake-ups behind the scenes here which I can’t discuss just yet. But whatever else happens in life, we know God loves us and will take care of us.

3. Anticipation. We learned for sure this week that my step-father, nephew, and two of my sisters will be coming to visit us this fall. I can hardly wait.

4. Mini candies. I don’t usually make desserts much any more unless it’s a special occasion or we’re having someone over. With just two of us here, we don’t need extra sugar. But we keep Hershey’s miniatures and Reese’s mini peanut butter cups in the pantry when we want a little sweetness.

5. Flowers. My flowers are all doing well, thanks to my husband’s diligent watering. But my petunias, in particular, are flourishing more than they ever have before.

Bonus: Fathers. I am thankful for the fathers, father-figures, and grandfathers in my life and for the fathers my husband and son are. Happy Father’s Day to the dads out there!

It’s time to slow down for a moment with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to think about the blessings of the week before their memory is gone forever. Please feel free to join in!

1. End of school celebration. We had a little party with pizza and confetti cake after Timothy finished his school year.

2. A long talk with an old friend. We had touched base on Facebook, but it was good to have an extended conversation and catch up on all the family.

3. Timothy’s help. Jim bought a big pile of dirt to fill in several paces in our yard. Timothy wanted to bring his shovel over to help. 🙂

4. Not cooking. Jason and Mittu brought dinner the night Timothy helped with the shoveling. Jim was out of town one night, and I splurged with a takeout meal. With dinner for Timothy’s party and takeout Sunday, I’ve had a light week in the kitchen.

5. Humor. One evening when the sky was overcast, I asked Alexa if it was going to rain. It gave me a weather report, but said nothing about rain. Then Jim asked it, “Is it raining?” It said, “It will start raining in half an hour.” I sighed and shook my head and said, “We’re a long way from making a Commander Data,” the human-looking android in Star Trek. Then we began to come up with ways Data might answer like Alexa does:

Captain: Data, fire phasers!
Data: Would you like me to put phasers in your shopping cart?

Captain: Data, are the Borg nearby?
Data: Here’s what I found on the web. . .

Captain: Data, plot a course to Deep Space Nine.
Data: Setting a course for Deep Space Nine. By the way, I can also track meteors.
Captain: Okay, do that.
Data: Go to the Data app on your phone . . .

We shared these on the family group text, and my oldest son added this one:

Captain: Data, slow the ship to one-quarter impulse.
Data: I don’t know any devices named “Ship.”

This reminds me of a quote by Henry Ward Beecher: “A man without mirth is like a wagon without springs, in which everyone is caused disagreeably to jolt by every pebble over which is runs.” I’m thankful for the way humor can turn irritations into a fun exchange.

Here we are at the first Friday of June already. It’s time to slow down for a moment with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story. to think about the good things of the week before they are gone forever. Please feel free to join in!

1. Memorial Day. I am thankful beyond words for those who gave their lives in the defense of our country. It has become something of a tradition for me to watch the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS the Sunday evening before. They always have a few actors retelling the stories of a few veterans, and they are so moving.

2. A long weekend. All the family was off Monday, and Jim took off the previous Thursday and Friday as well.

3. A clean patio. Jim spent part of the weekend readying our patio for summer–pressure-washing the concrete, cleaning the patio furniture, etc. It all looked so nice.

4. Cookout with the family. Jim grilled burgers and everyone contributed something else to our meal. Timothy played with a water table we’ve had since he was a toddler. I wish I had thought to take a picture for a then-and-now comparison. We played games after the meal. A nice evening and a good kickoff for summer.

5. Ad free apps. I play a few games on my iPad mini while eating lunch and then again in the evening while watching TV. I usually get the free versions, which include ads. I understand the need for ads or fees. But sometimes the ads were SO annoying. Words with Friends was the worst—very long ads that would then hang up somehow so I’d have to force close and then restart the app. But the ad-free version was $9.99–way too much, in my opinion. One day I remembered I had a gift card for Apple from someone in the family. I hadn’t been sure what to use it for, but suddenly it occurred to me I could use it to go ad-free for some of my apps. It has made such a difference! Truly a gift.

Last week I mentioned taking a trip to Jan Karon’s Mitford Museum. I told more about it and shared some photos here.

What’s something good from your week?

Once again, I am running a little late. We has a fun but long day yesterday, and this morning I went back to bed for a while after I woke up. But it’s never too late to stop and recount the good things God has brought into our lives. We take time to do so every Friday with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story. Please feel free to join in!

1. Dinner and games with the family. Jason and Mittu invited us and Jesse over last Saturday for nachos and games and visiting. Mittu also made these wonderful chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing–and sent a few home with us!

2. Day trip. Some of you are familiar with Jan Karon, author of the Mitford books set in a fictional small NC town. Last fall, the Mitford Museum was opened in the elementary school Jan attended in the town of Hudson, NC. It’s a little over 3 hours away from us. I am a big fan of Jan and her books, but my friend, Melanie, is a super fan. We wanted to visit the museum ever since we heard about it and finally went yesterday. We also enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the nearby Vintage Cafe and Bakery. I’ll post about our excursion one day next week.

3. My husband, Jim, graciously chauffeured and accompanied us even though he wasn’t familiar with Mitford or Jan’s writings. It was nice for Jim and Melanie to finally meet after only hearing about each other for so long.

4. Safety on the roads in bad weather. Rain was forecast for the whole day yesterday. It wasn’t too bad in the morning, but in the afternoon we kept getting notices of thunderstorms, flooding, and possible tornadoes. Thankfully we didn’t experience flooding or tornadoes, and were safe with the heavy rains and slick roads. I was doubly glad that Jim was driving.

5. Reward points. We decided to pick up pizza on the way home. When I started my order on my phone app, I saw I had enough reward points for two free medium pizzas.

We came home and ate pizza, and I had the German chocolate cake I had brought home from the Vintage Cafe. We watched a little TV and then crashed. Thus my tiredness and extra nap this morning. I don’t know why traveling makes me tired when I’m not driving, but trips usually wipe me out! But we had a great time and I am looking forward to telling you more about it.

I hope you have a good Memorial Day weekend. I am abundantly thankful for the sacrifices made by those who have gone before that we might enjoy the freedom we have today.

I’m running late this morning, for a number of reasons. So I’ll jump right in sharing five highlights of the week with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. A colonoscopy is not a favorite thing, but I am glad to have mine OVER with and clear. The gastroenterologist said my colon was “beautiful”—he’s probably the only person who would think so. 🙂

2. Meals. My sweet daughter-in-law came over and made dinner Saturday night, and then dropped dinner off the night after my procedure.

3. My husband takes wonderful care of me.

4. My roses are exploding.

5. Normalcy after a disrupted schedule.

Happy Friday!

Wow, this week sure went by fast. I’m thankful Susanne at Living to Tell the Story started this habit of pausing on Fridays to reflect on the blessings of the week. Here are a few of mine:

1. Mother’s Day. My family does a good job making me feel special on Mother’s Day. We had a mostly “man-made” meal, though Mittu said she and Timothy helped with the dessert. Jim grilled his trademark teriyaki chicken, Jesse made homemade baked macaroni and cheese, and Jason made Chocolate Pretzel Pie. Jim and Jesse worked together on corn on the cob. It was all so good! I didn’t get a picture of the whole dinner, but here’s the dessert:

2. Hanging baskets. Jim traditionally gets the baskets of flowers that hang outside the front door, the kitchen windows, and “office” windows for Mother’s Day if I have not gotten them beforehand. I love seeing flowers outside most of the windows.

3. Front door decoration. I finally traded out my spring tulips for a different look. I had this container up before, but the flowers had gotten mildewed. I had more but just got around to replacing them. This hangs beside, rather than on, our door because the door has an oval glass insert.

4. An unscheduled week. It was nice to have nothing on the schedule this week after Sunday and nothing that had to be done besides the regular everyday stuff.

5. A special answer to prayer. I can’t discuss the details, but it was wonderful to see God intervene, in answer to my husband’s prayer, in a situation that, humanly, looked very much like it would go a different direction.

I hope you’re week has been good.

Yikes! I fell asleep in my desk chair this morning and woke up very late. Thankfully, I had most of this post written yesterday.

It’s hard to believe we’re through the first week of May already. It’s time to stop and reflect on the good things of the week with Susanne and others at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Raises. Jesse, my youngest son, received some new responsibilities at his job, which included a nice raise. Then Jim told me last night that he had also gotten a raise.

2. Celebrations. We turned a family gathering into a celebration for Jesse. Mittu made his favorite meal (hamburger stroganoff) ad some gorgeous and delicious gluten-free lemon cupcakes.

3. Important paperwork. We got our wills, living wills, and powers of attorney all set and notarized this week–something that’s been on our to-do list for ages. It’s nice to have them done.

4. Planters planted. Just today (Thursday), I got my front and back planters planted. We’re supposed to have thunderstorms tonight, so I hope the plants don’t get pummeled. I not only love the flowers themselves, but both areas look neater with plants rather than the residue from last year. Update: we had rain and storms all night, and we’re supposed to have them all day as well. The flowers look okay but a little bedraggled. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of them when I first planted them, and they’re too droopy for photos now. But, my roses are blooming!

5. Ceiling fans. The temperatures have not been high at night, and we have central AC anyway, but I have been waking up very hot. The ceiling fans help without my having to turn the AC down and freeze Jim out.

Happy Friday, and Happy Mother’s Day to the moms!

It’s the last Friday of April, time again to pause and reflect on the good things of the week with Susanne and others at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Ham bone soup with the remnants of our Easter ham has become a delicious tradition. We had enough to have the family over with a good bit leftover besides.

2. Lunch with a friend was good because of the fellowship but also because we ate at Cracker Barrel.

3. Sales on dresses. I don’t usually shop at Old Navy except for my middle son and his family. They haven’t had anything I was interested in the few times I’ve been there. But lately they’ve been advertising some styles I really liked. I ordered a couple of things online. Then I was near the store for some errands and stopped in–and found three dresses I love for $19.99 each!

4. A washed car. My husband doesn’t want me to use a drive-through car wash because he doesn’t think some of the plastic pieces on our car would hold up well in a commercial car wash. This past weekend, he cleaned my car inside and out. It looks so nice!

5. A good errand-running day. I had a lot I wanted to get packed into one afternoon and thought I might run out of time or energy before I finished. But I hit all the places I wanted to, then got groceries, gas, and prescriptions, and brought Arby’s home for dinner. It was nice to crash that evening.

How has your week been?

Another Friday has rolled in, so It’s time to pause a moment to recount some of the highlights of the week. Time goes so fast, without these weekly reckonings, I’d forget half (at least) of what has happened. We join Susanne and others at Living to Tell the Story to share our blessings.

1. Easter. We had a wonderful day with all the family except my one out-of-town son. I enjoyed thinking, reading, and studying through the week of Jesus death and resurrection for us. We attended church Sunday morning, had a wonderful dinner with the family, then had our Easter egg hunt and some wonderful gluten-free carrot cake made by Mittu. We got a couple of games in before we started conking out.

2. Answered prayer is, of course, always a favorite. But this situation was a little unusual. I was looking for a particular story I remembered from a missionary book to use in Monday’s post about the importance of the resurrection. I had the right author in mind, but the two books I thought the incident was in weren’t on the shelves. (I remembered later that I had loaned them to someone, and when she returned them, I had forgotten them in the car). So I picked up two other books I had by the same author, thinking the story I wanted wasn’t in them, but deciding I’d leaf through them anyway. I prayed that I might be able to find the story without needing to closely reread the whole books or check the other books by this author. The first one I looked through yielded no results. But I found the story a few pages into the second book. Sometimes those small but very specific answers to prayer make me feel especially seen and loved.

3. Medicine. I’ve had need of some this week, besides the regular prescriptions. Nothing major going on, but it’s nice to have access to the basic relief we need.

4. Central heating and air conditioning. Probably some of you have had the same experiences we’ve had the last few weeks with needing to switch back and forth between AC and the heater. I’m thankful we can so easily do that.

5. Availability and good prices on clothes I like. I have a hard time finding clothes I like, but I saw a couple of ads for places where I don’t usually shop, places I didn’t think would have anything for me. But I looked online, and both places had a few things I loved with great prices and, at one, even sale prices on top of that. I ordered a few things. I haven’t received them yet, but I hope they fit and look well.

Thus ends another week here. What is a bright spot from yours?

I hope you’ve had a special week remembering what Christ did for us over 2,000 years ago. The past several years I’ve read some kind of devotional book or other book leading up to Easter. I didn’t do that this year. But I spent some time going over verses about Jesus death on the cross for our sins and resurrection.

As always there are good things scattered like seed during the week. We join Susanne and others at Living to Tell the Story to share our blessings.

1. Timothy’s birthday. He has come such a long way since surprising us with an early arrival eight years ago. You’d never know to look at him that he was a preemie. I’m so thankful for him and pray God will always have His hand on him.

2. Not cooking. I know, I mention this often. But this week, I’ve only made dinner twice! One night was Timothy’s birthday celebration.One night we watched Timothy so Jason and Mittu could do things for his birthday, and Mittu made dinner for us that night. Three nights, either Jim or I had a hankering for some kind of take-out. And Sunday after church, Jim thought he had a free entree from one of those places where they punch a card every time you order. He realized when he checked out that he didn’t have said card–he must have used it the last time. I like the food we eat at home, but I also like something different sometimes as well as a night off from cooking, planning and clean-up.

3. Dogwoods blooming. We have a few in the back yard, but they are all over the neighborhood.

4. This B. C. comic about Good Friday. It reminds me of a phrase in the hymn “My Jesus Fair” by Chris Anderson. The chorus speaks about “joyful grief”—joy over my salvation, grief at what it cost.

5. This song, Calvary Invitation, has been on my mind for the last few days. The version I listen to is on the album Creator, Redeemer, and King by The Wilds Christian Camp. The repeating line, “Linger for a moment more,” goes along with Maree’s post about not rushing past the cross to get to Easter.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful Easter weekend.