Friday’s Fave Five – Week 8, 2014

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you”? ~ William Arthur Ward

That is the intent of my participating in the Friday’s Fave Five. I recall to mind and print five blessings of the week because I am thankful, to God, for His hand of blessing in my life.

ONE. I Read 2 Books on Prayer. (1) Seven Guides to Effective Prayer by Colin Whittaker. Whittaker told the stories of 7 prayer warriors. (2) Prayer: Life’s Limitless Reach by Jack R. Taylor. I NEED to reread this book and copy into a notebook the things I underlined. Many new ideas to think about. My prayer life has been rebooted. I am thankful there are books like these to help me grow in this spiritual discipline.

TWO. I have a new favourite Girl Scout Cookie. It is the Cranberry Citrus Crisp. Awesome. . . . Note to my British friends, this crisp is not a potato chip. It is not a very sweet cookie and goes great with a cup of tea or coffee. And because it isn’t very  sweet, I don’t feel compelled to eat 3 or 9 of them in one sitting. THAT is a blessing and causes me no end of gratitude.

This is now my 2nd favourite pie. Nothing beats Lemon Meringue. What’s your fave pie?

THREE. I Baked an Upside Down Apple Pie. You use 2 deep dish store-bought crusts, of course the requisite apple and spices, and add brown sugar, butter , and nuts under the bottom crust (which turns out to be the top when you flip it).

It was too sweet the first day. But if you let those flavours mingle, on the 2nd day, this pie is a TRUE delight. It is always fun when a new recipe is a keeper.

Soon I will make 2 more pies and give them away as just-because gifts. Here is the link to the recipe. 

One caveat: Be careful when you take the pie out of the oven. Some of the apple, butter, and brown sugar mixture oozed onto my pinky and I received a wicked burn.

FOUR. I Used a Motivational Tool to Get A LOT of Work DONE This Week. Mondays are typically low energy days for me at work. I wrote a post on how to have a productive day on those low energy days.

But what do you do when the whole week is a struggle? I played a game. Bingo to be exact. I put all my work items on a BINGO card. I took great pleasure in colouring in the completed squares. Read about how I use BINGO here and here. I am thankful there are ways to trick my brain into having a productive week and enjoying it.

This lovely niece is 18. I am so proud of her and look forward to seeing what adventures await her this year.

Five. We Celebrated a Niece’s 18th birthday. Sushi dinner one night. The ritual waffles and ice cream for breakfast. And then another family dinner with the birthday girl. I am thankful that she is walking God’s path for her life. She is also a TRUE delight.  

Your Turn . . . Feeling like you’d like to say “Thank you”? Then join us at Susanne’s (Living to Tell the Story) to share your post. Or leave a comment here.