Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Barbara Harper

Welcome to Friday’s Fave Five, hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story, in which we can share five of our favorite things from the last week. This has been a wonderful exercise in looking for and appreciating the good things God blesses us with. Click on the button to learn more, then go to Susanne’s to read others’ faves and link up your own.

I had a wonderful Mother’s Day. I always appreciate my family’s efforts in making it a special day. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s been nice to be able to Skype Jeremy so he is included in these special days. Here are a few highlights of the day:

1. Mother’s Day dinner. Or feast, I should say. I love that the family all pitches in together to make dinner on Mother’s Day and then to clean up afterward. Jim grilled his wonderful burgers and sausages, Jesse shucked corn on the cob, we had potato salad and baked beans, and Mittu made:

2. Mother’s Day Cake.

It was a chocolate fudge cake with peanut butter icing and fudge sauce drizzled over the top with bits of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on top.

It was very good! It was also very sweet and rich! We could only eat small pieces of it at a time. But it was good!

3. New books! I’ve finished one already and will review it next week.

4. Hanging plants. We used to hang plants by our patio of our old house, and I’d been lamenting (inwardly — I don’t think I had said anything out loud) about having no place to put any here. But my husband put hooks up outside these windows and I saw the plants there when I opened the blinds on Sunday.

5. An encouraging Mother’ Day message. Mother’s Day sermons can be inspiring, but sometimes the ideal Mother is presented in such a way that the bar is raised so high that moms often feel discouraged. But our pastor gave a message from Romans 5:5b: “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Believing mothers can love as they ought to because God has shed His love abroad in us. It reminded me of II Peter 1:3-4: “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” I can remember being astounded when that verse first dawned on me.

Hope you have a great weekend! Ours will be busy — Jesse has a Junior-Senior banquet tonight, our church has a Mother-Daughter luncheon tomorrow, and we have out-of-town company coming on Sunday. I’d better get busy!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Barbara Harper

Here are some favorites from the past week:

1. These:

I’m glad they only make them this time of year!

2. Finishing my cross stitch project! More about that here.

3. A possible job lead for my son from a serendipitous encounter. I’ll say more about it if/when something works out, but I thought, “Wouldn’t it be just like God to bring it about in such a neat way?” Whether it’s this or something else, I know God has something for Him, and I guess a related praise is just the reassurance of that this week. I had been kind of discouraged when one very promising lead didn’t work out because of a new hiring freeze and because of the problems he had come up against in looking for a job, and I always knew on some level God would take care of things and open the right doors at the right time. One day this week my devotional book was full of verses about God knowing our needs and taking care of them, and that renewed my hope that He would take care of my kids’ needs, too.

4. Getting several things checked off a to-do list in one afternoon. I had some Mother’s Day shopping to do for my mother-in-law and “secret sister” at church, and then Jesse needed a new shirt and dress shoes for his upcoming Junior-Senior banquet. After not making any progress even after one trip to the mall earlier in the week, we knocked out all of that yesterday. Felt good!

5. Power naps. I was just dragging after doing a little bit of errand-running yesterday, and decided to call it a day and come home. But sleeping 20-30 minutes refreshed me enough to get back out and get everything else done later in the day. Sometimes when I take a nap, I end up sleeping too long or waking up too groggy, but this was just perfect.

We had a dreary, rainy day earlier in the week, but it’s been bright and sunshiny the rest of the week. We’ve had a bit of a cold snap, though. I actually like it in the 50s or so — the really hot weather will be here all too soon!

Happy Friday!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Barbara Harper

I was just thinking that since we skipped FFF last week for Good Friday, I’d have two weeks of faves to choose from — but I can’t remember the week before last! Isn’t that sad?

But on to this week’s faves:

1. Easter. Though in a sense we remember Christ’s death and resurrection every week, there is just something special about Easter morning church services. Our church here just has one longer service on Easter morning with no evening service. The sermon, special music, and communion service all worked together to fill my heart with joy and worship and appreciation anew for what Jesus did for us.

And then Easter dinner is another fave part of the day. A local grocery store sells a brown sugar-glazed spiral-sliced ham that we like every bit as much as the more expensive name brands. Plus we had cheesy potatoes and I think a salad, and Chocolate Dream Pie for dessert. I had been looking for an old recipe I had for French Silk Pie that I hadn’t used in a long time, but was dismayed to see it contained raw eggs, as did every online recipe I could find of it. I just couldn’t make myself do that, but while looking around I saw a recipe in my files for Dream Pie. I didn’t know they even still made those Dream Whip packets, but they do. My husband said he liked the pie better than the frozen kind I sometimes buy. Oh, and we had Resurrection Rolls with Easter breakfast.

My husband doesn’t like not having an evening service, especially on holidays when it seems we should be doing more and not less to commemorate them, but I have to say I loved taking a nap without setting the alarm clock and having a leisurely evening.

I could have made my whole FFF about Easter. But here are a few others faves, and I’ll try to keep them shorter:

2. An annual physical is NOT a favorite, but getting it over with is. I had been thinking about putting off til summer but finally decided to just get it done.

3. Comments. A lot of blog friends were taking blog breaks last week, and even those who were around were understandably busy getting ready for the holiday. But going about four days with no comments at all was really lonely. It was good to have some people come back by this week.

4. Red Lobster. We don’t all go out to eat often due to the expense, but one day it was just three of us at home and Jim had a gift card for Red Lobster, so we went. We hadn’t been there in months, and it was really good!

5. Irises and azaleas. In the continuing unfolding of spring, these have been the newest contributors around town. I’m used to seeing azaleas, but I’m not used to seeing so many homes with irises in their yards. So pretty!

And I am abundantly thankful for safety during the awful weather this week. I forgot to mention in my post about tornadoes and thunderstorms that Jason and Mittu were driving through severe storms in Arkansas on their way back to TN from a visit in OK earlier in the week. When you see footage of the storms and the massive destruction, you realize there is really no defense against that kind of thing. My heart goes out to those affected by the storms this week.

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Barbara Harper

It has been a super-busy week! Here are some of the highlights:

1. Cookies, cookies, everywhere. Jesse’s school lets the seniors sell baked goods at lunch time to fundraise for their senior trip. This year’s seniors have already gone on their trip, so now the juniors can get a head start on next year. The way they do it is that each one who wants to participate signs up to bring baked goods for an entire week — and this was our week. I’ve made double or triple batches of seven different kinds of cookies this week. Even that was less than I thought I’d have to do — the band was away for a competition a few days, which cut into his sales a bit, so he had leftovers to bring back some days. Of course the family has enjoyed a few of the extras, but I don’t want to have to make any more cookies for a while now.

2. Dogwoods after all. I feel like such a ninny — I said last week I was enjoying seeing the dogwoods in bloom around town but missed having some in our yard. Then what did I discover in my back yard this week:

I’m afraid I don’t recognize them when they’re dormant or leafy, just when they’re blooming. 😳 But I was glad to see that that’s what those trees are! They’re fairly small yet — just about 6-8 feet. So it will be nice to watch them grow.

3. Good AC with a vent right by the oven. I feel bad mentioning AC when some of you still have snow, but we’ve needed it this week. Having a vent right by the stove really helped as much as I had the oven on this week.

4. Plenty of counter space. The kitchen was one of the things I loved about this house, and when three of us were in there getting a meal ready this past weekend, I was so glad there was room to do so comfortably. That was impossible in our last house! And then when making cookies, I used to have to leave them on the table to cool, but now there is enough counter space to keep everything in the kitchen.

5. This tree, which I think my husband said was a Japanese Maple, is placed so that it gives us privacy in front of the house, plus I like the way the window on the door frames it. It’s fairly small as well now.

I’m also glad for antibiotics. My husband has a monster ear infection with what the doctor called a virulent bacteria and missed two days of work earlier in the week. His ear is still painful and swollen a bit, but it’s much better than it was and he’s feeling closer to normal than he was.

We had to get up early last Saturday to get Jesse to his ACT test, so I am really looking forward to getting to sleep in and not having any obligations tomorrow.

Happy weekend!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Barbara Harper

Here are a few highlights from this week:

1. A visit with a dear friend. I’ve mentioned my friend Carol in SC a few times here and there. She and her husband were in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area over the weekend, which is about an hour or so from us, and they drove over for Sunday dinner before heading back home. It was so good to see them again and to have them here!

2. Four Layer Dessert with chocolate this time!

3. A come-from-behind Scrabble move that wins the game. One friend I play Scrabble with via Facebook used to always beat me soundly, until I learned some of her moves (bwahahahaha). Now we go back and forth. In one game she had pulled ahead and it looked like she would win — but then I was able to go out with some unlikely letters and win. I love it when the game is close and suspenseful.

4. Dogwood trees. Back in SC, after the first crocuses, daffodils, and tulips bloom, spring’s next act is the dogwoods and azaleas. We’ve had dogwoods in nearly all of our yards over the years except at our very first home and this one, and I missed them. But in the last week or so I’ve seen many blooming around the neighborhood. Maybe some day we can plant one here, but in the mean time, I’ll enjoy them when I am out.

5. Eastern Redbuds. I’ve noticed these trees with lavender buds on them along the highway between here and church, and they’ve really brightened the view since many other trees don’t have their leaves yet. I wasn’t sure what they were, but a couple of people suggested Redbuds, and I think that’s right.

Sorry, no photos of either tree — I’m in the car when I see them.

Have a great weekend!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Barbara Harper

It’s been a busy week! Here are a few highlights:

1. Special meetings at church with the Frazor Evangelistic Team. I had never been in a church where they held meetings before, but the leader, Jeremy Frazor, used work with the youth at the church here and used to travel with the Steve Pettit Evangelistic Team. And….

2. Seeing old friends. Two of the young adults of the church we just came from in SC are traveling with the team. It was so good to see them! One in particular, Aaron, was in school with Jason, and, if there is any one person I could choose from any church we have been in to sing, it would be Aaron. And therefore…

3. A new CD. The Frazor team just recorded their first ever CD, Calvary’s Mountain, and it’s been a special blessing to have the two we mentioned on it! I’m telling myself I need to stop thinking of the CD as “Aaron in a box,” but it is nice now to be able to listen to him any time. He sings “Beneath the Cross,” and he and the other young lady we knew, Jennifer, sing “Sweet Rivers of Mercy,” as well as singing with the rest of the team on other numbers. I’m enjoying both familiar and new songs on the CD.

4. Fellowship. Jason and Mittu wanted to get together with Aaron some time this week and were talking about going for coffee one night, but they ended up coming here and asking Jennifer as well, so we enjoyed having a bit more fellowship than just chatting at church. I hadn’t been sure if they’d be able to get away since they have other responsibilities with the team, so I am glad they could. Mittu made snacks and I just enjoyed it all.

5. Good preaching. We enjoy that weekly, but we’ve been in special meetings in other churches with evangelists whom we felt were maybe a little pushy or manipulative, and it’s been wonderful to hear the Gospel preached well and clearly and strongly but also with a kind and welcoming tone.

Bonuses: The church had a Ladies’ Steak-Out Monday night and a Men’s Steak-Out Tuesday night — steak dinners and special meetings with the team especially designed to bring non-Christian friends to.. My only regret is that I didn’t know anyone to invite. It’s been nice that there have not been any other obligations this week besides the usual laundry, etc, so I’ve been able to take it a little easier in the day time. Being out nearly every night takes more out of me than it used to! Yet I am surprised the week is nearly over already. And I am looking forward to a visit this weekend from my good friend from SC, Carol!

Have a great weekend!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Barbara Harper

Here are a few of mine:

1. A low-key week. That’s been especially helpful since our church starts a week of special meetings next week. It’s hard to start out that kind of week tired.

2. Going back to bed. Jesse had to be at school at 6 a.m. for a trip to a Fine Arts Festival his choir from school is in today in another town. Getting to school at that time means getting up that much earlier….so pretty soon after he left I went back to bed (thus my lateness in posting today!)

3. My husband taking Jesse to school so early so I didn’t have to.

4. A haircut. No pictures: nothing special or different, I was just overdue for one and finally got to it yesterday. Feels so much better!

5. The hope of heaven. I’m not trivializing that by putting it on a “favorites” list. It’s just especially poignant today as a the step-father of a friend from our church here passed away after a long health struggle. As believers we sorrow when a loved one dies, but not as those who have no hope (I Thessalonians 3:13-14). A verse that often comes to mind when a believer dies is John 17:24: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.”

Friday’s Fave Fives

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Barbara Harper

I had to think more than usual to come up with five this week. It wasn’t a bad week, but there weren’t highlights or standouts. But the everyday blessings are just as much evidence of God’s love and care as the “big” ones, and here are a few:

1. Naps. I don’t know if it is due to the time change or what, but I have desperately needed a nap every day this week. I kind of hate to take time out of the day for a nap, but I am glad for the refreshment it brings.

2. Ceiling fans. It’s been a bit on the warm side the last day or two, but not enough to turn on the AC. A ceiling fan on low was just right. And on a related note, after the whopper winter utility bills, it will be nice to have a lower one since we haven’t used the heater much lately.

3. Garage. I may have mentioned this before — but it is still a favorite. 🙂 This is the first house we’ve ever had with a garage (though we had one with a carport) and it is so nice to bring groceries in without having to do so in the rain and go out to a semi-warm garage in the morning rather than shivering in the car til it warms up.

4. Sunshine. I think I have mentioned this before, too, but it has been an overcast week, and the occasional sunshine really lifts my spirits.

5. Kids who pitch in. Last Sunday Jason, Mittu and I were all home from church not feeling well. I woke up from a nap to realize it was time to start dinner, and when I came out into the kitchen, they had already started it and had the table set. And then Jesse is always good about doing anything I ask him with generally a good attitude.

It might be tomorrow before I am able to visit some of you — company tonight means housecleaning and food prep today. 🙂 Have a good weekend!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Barbara Harper

Here are some highlights of the last week:

1. My dear hubby’s birthday.

2. Spring break! It’s a little earlier than we’re used to, but I enjoy it any time. 🙂 My favorite part of spring break: no alarm clocks! (Funny how 6 or 7 a.m. is “sleeping late” these days.)

3. Jesse’s visit. For months now Jesse had been wanting to go visit his old school in SC over spring break because theirs isn’t until later. Jim had some work he needed to do on our old house, so they went down for a couple of days this week. Jesse told one of his friends (both to arrange to spend some time with him at his house after school and to make sure the class wasn’t going to be away on a field trip or something), and we contacted the school office ahead of time, but otherwise he wanted to surprise the rest of his old class. What was really funny was that one girl wrote last week on his Facebook page that they all missed him and he should come down for lunch Monday — not knowing that he was planning to do just that! So that added some fun to it. A bunch of them even got together with him for dinner one night. He had a great time.

4. Daffodils. I mentioned before I had wanted to plant some daffodils last fall, but then thought maybe I should wait to see what might already be here — this is our first spring in this house and I don’t know what might already be planted. But so far I hadn’t seen any signs of them — until yesterday. As I pulled up into the driveway, I saw a whole patch of them — behind the shed, of all places. Would it be silly to say they almost brought tears to my eyes? They’re not my favorite flowers, but I love them because they’re a cheerful first sign of spring.

5. My blog host, WordPress, survived an attack with relatively little trouble. I was working on my Marriage Monday post when I noticed it wasn’t auto-saving like usual. I clicked on “Save Draft” — and poof, everything but the first paragraph disappeared. I was….upset, to put it mildly. But later I learned that WP was subject to a large attack of some kind. So losing one blog post and having some slower than usual loading times on other WP blogs were comparatively minor annoyances. Thanks to those at WP who worked so hard to keep it up and running. And I DID learn to copy my text first in case anything like that ever happens again.

I could also add I’m glad we did not have any serious flooding this week — we’ve had a bunch more rain, and the ground was still pretty saturated from last week’s flooding. There were roads where the water was almost to the edge of the road, but at least in out area, that was mostly it: only one road on my regular route had some standing water on one side. I am more than ready for a little sunshine!

Have a great weekend!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Barbara Harper

Here are some highlights of the last week:

1. A Ladies’ Birthday Party! We had an activity at church last Saturday celebrating all the ladies’ birthdays at once. We signed up under the month our birthday was in, and everyone in that month got together to decide on table settings and decorations to somehow reflect that month, and the tables would be judged in a contest. (Months with not as many people were combined together). People in the different months were designated to bring different foods (finger sandwiches, pasta salads, and fruit trays).

I didn’t think to bring a camera, but took a few shots with my cell phone. Our August table had a picnic theme:

One lady made these super-cute place cards:

I didn’t get a picture of every month — some were still working on their tables when I took pictures. But here is February:

And April:

And November:

So elegant! But I have to say, I was very glad at clean-up time that our table had used paper plates. 🙂

And the winning table was May — I’m sorry this one is so blurry!

Someone made this tree and had birds and fruit in it and verses about fruitfulness.

A very talented lady made cakes that looked like gifts:

We played a few games, sang happy birthday to each other, and then two ladies gave their testimonies of their spiritual birthdays when they came to know the Lord. They were from different backgrounds — one was a “good church kid” who was doing right for the wrong reasons (approval, etc.) but didn’t trust in Christ alone for salvation til her college years. The other was from an atheistic family in another country whose brother was saved, but the family wasn’t interested. But on an internship to the States she met other Christians and was given a Bible ad eventually came to believe. It was such a blessing to hear these two accounts! The whole event was very enjoyable.

2. ISI — which in my son’s youth group stands for Iron Sharpening Iron, what they call their occasional fellowships after Sunday evening services. And every now and then they invite parents. I hate to admit that at first I didn’t want to go — I wanted to go home and kick off my shoes and grab a book and get comfy. 🙂 But I am glad I did go — it was a very enjoyable time of singing, testimonies, and information about a summer mission trip.

3. Safety during the flash flooding we had earlier this week. Thank you, Lord!

4. Signs of spring. A tree outside my mother-in-law’s window is starting to bud, and a yard in the neighborhood has a row of daffodils across the front starting to blossom. The grass is getting greener. These little flowers are the first things I saw blooming at our house: