Every once in a while, I need to write a "blessings round-up" as well as a "reading round-up." Here's a glimpse at just a few things I've been thankful for this week...
A walk in the rain with the sweet girl, where I got to watch her puddle-jump in her purple crocs.
Raindrops strung like a trembling fairy necklaces on slender green stems of Queen Anne's Lace.
An email from my mom, in which she detailed, in her wonderful way, the intricacies of the beautiful new web being woven each summer evening by a remarkable spider on their Virginia front porch. They've dubbed the spider Charlotte, of course!
Giggling with the sweet girl when it suddenly occurred to both of us that, like Charlotte, we read and write on the web. (Groan. Get it? I do love my seven year old's sense of wordplay and humor!)
Review copy of a book that arrived yesterday. 2 books in 1 actually, by an author I've barely heard of. Books I likely would never have picked up on my own, but the first chapters are funny and well-written.
Inter-library loan notices. Books I'm looking forward to getting off the hold shelf this Saturday!
A delicious new crockpot recipe tried (green peppers stuffed with rice, beans and salsa) and liked by the whole family.
A huge car repair bill...no, wait for it. I confess I am not really thankful for the car repair bill, which made me cry (on the phone with the lady who did the estimate, no less). It's caused a lot of stress and anxiety. After the initial tears, I spent some time fretting about the math books I still need to buy and can't afford, and the fact that this felt like the final door slam on any tentative tiny vacation plans (and oh we're tired and so in need of a vacation). What I DID love, however, was the response of a friend with whom I shared the anxiety. She promised to pray for us, and then added, "I'm excited to see how God will respond."
Expectancy! Don't you love it? I know this friend well enough to know this was not a feigned sentiment in any way. She meant it. And it made me realize how much more I long to live in that place, where crisis doesn't automatically send me crashing and wailing, but moves me at the deepest levels to wait and expect something new and good from God. Because life with him is always an exciting adventure!
Making thank you cards and birthday cards for friends and family (especially for beloved sis Martha, who turns 54 next week!).
Good conversations, in person and by phone, with the seminary's online course consultant (who also happens to be one of my former students). His encouragement and ideas have helped to re-motivate and excite me about teaching the Anglican Essentials course again in the fall.
An encouraging note and gift from friends of the heart we haven't seen in a long while. A visit with other beloved friends of the heart.
A gracious note from a favorite author. I continue to discover new boldness and freedom in writing to favorite authors to share with them what their work has meant to me or to my family. In these days when favorite authors and musicians tend to "friend" you on Facebook, it’s actually become a whole lot easier. But I’m still always touched when one of them takes the time to write back and say thank you.
Watching and listening as the sweet girl read the whole story "The Friend of Little Children" from the Jesus Storybook Bible this morning. Her determination and concentration as she lay on her stomach in front of the book (wearing her butterfly pj's) and read by the light of her little purple flashlight (we had a brief power outage this morning, right around breakfast time). Her reading fluency, and the fact that she wanted to read this particular story on her own. My thankfulness over Jesus' immense love for my daughter, and for all of us.
2 comments:
A lot to be thankful for in one week! I love the poeticism of your bit about the raindrops on the Queen Anne's lace, and being grateful for spiderwebs! We have a lot of them too; the other day I was taking a picture of our neighbor's cat who likes to venture into our yard, and I had to be vigilant to avoid crushing a couple with my head... I never thought about Internet usage making me a Charlotte before. I like it!
Wasn't that Epinions delivery a nice surprise? And really made me feel like a "real" reviewer! Great, too, that both of us seem to have struck gold with what they sent us! Which author did you write to? That's really neat that you heard back! I think I want to write to the woman who wrote that book Epinions sent. It really impressed me, and I checked a couple of her other books out of the library and like them too.
Happy birthday to Martha! :) I'm sorry about the car bill. Compiling a list of blessings is a great way to deal with adversity. And even as we speak, God is opening a window...
Yes indeed, lots to be thankful for! This post more or less wrote itself in my head as I was walking home from dropping S. off at sports camp one morning...it was raining (that's when I saw the lovely Queen Anne's lace) and I just starting counting my blessings. Sometimes it's the best thing you can do!
I loved getting books from Eps to review. I've begun getting those from a couple of places this year...review copies from a writer friend and also my first book to review from the "early reviewers" group I signed up for at Library Thing months ago. But getting it from Eps felt especially grand. I'm thoroughly enjoying the book they sent too -- hope to get a review done in the next couple of weeks.
I sent a note to Michael Ward, the author of Planet Narnia. I've been re-reading parts of that book again recently as I've been reading the Chronicles with the sweet girl again. His chapter on the Silver Chair really opened up a lot for me in the final chapter of this book -- and I love it when a book I've read over and over again and loved for years suddenly feels so fresh with new insight. It was nice of him to acknowledge my note too.
I think it would be great if you wrote the author of the book you just reviewed. I really do think most authors appreciate hearing honest thanks for their work! :-)
Still looking for the window...and trying not to feel too discouraged.
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