Posts filed under ‘Friday Fave’
Using your Name to Spell Gratitude
How many ways have you expressed gratitude? I have expressed gratitude in many ways. Some of these ways were through . . .
- 30 day photolog
- Finding reasons to be grateful
- Being thoughtful
- An ABC List
- Reluctant counting of blessings
A wise person once told me to make an ABC list of things I am grateful for any time I feel sad or depressed. It is a good practice when one is feeling happier than that, too. So for this Friday Five, I suggest that you use your name or nickname of about five letters and express your gratitude about something that starts with each letter. Some people have longer names, so you decide how you will go about this! (Last names, middle names, and nicknames count!)
Here’s my name, Susan, as a gratitude list.
S – Sunshine. I woke up this morning thinking how grateful I am for the sunshine. (I am not too grateful for HEAT!) The sunshine invigorates me, makes me healthy (vitamin D), grows my plants, and makes life seem happier.
U – Underwater. I have been doing many of my physical therapy exercises underwater this week. The pool water is kinda cool, but once I get going, the water temp feels fine. Doing the exercises in the water is a change (I get bored easily with exercises), I can do more without hurting myself, and it is more fun since I pretend I am a mermaid. (I recently watched the series H2O: Just Add Water. Very cute.)
S – Sounds. Or really the lack of sounds. I live in a (usually) quiet apartment complex. When I am surrounded by too much noise I get cranky. So I really appreciate the consistent solitude my home offers.
A – Animal. Chip is my animal companion. He is a miniature toy poodle who has lived with me 13 years. He is 19 years old, blindish (cataracts), deaf (or really good at ignoring me), and arthritic. This week Chip has been more feeble, tending to fall over way too easily. I am grateful for his constant affection towards me, his playful nature, and his determined spirit (which at other times I call stubbornness and then I am not grateful).
N – Never. I have been contemplating on and grateful for the facts that God will never forsake me, never forget me, never let me be snatched out of His Hands, and never let me die (spiritually).
Your Turn . . . Use your name as a way to express gratitude. Share it here, on Facebook, or on your own blog. Related Posts . . .Rolls and Buns: A Communication Mishap
After unpacking and settling into our new home in Levington, England, our first friendly act was to invite some British neighbours to an American Bar-B-Que. Soon our weekend tradition of having a Bar-B-Que for the evening meal appealed to Robbie, our blond, curly-headed, always hungry, 3-year-old neighbour. (This tradition lasted the 5 years we lived there.)
Robbie was usually first in the queue (whether he was an officially invited guest or not) when the bangers and rolls were being passed out. He knew the drill. That wasn’t always the case though. One thing Robbie taught me is that even though people may be speaking the same words, communication is not always taking place.
At that first Bar-B-Que, I prepared plenty of food not knowing what our new neighbours would prefer to eat: hot dogs and buns, chicken, hamburgers, bratwurst, pasta salad, potato salad, green stuff (a fancy jello salad), and a vegetable salad.
Robbie expressed delight over the hot dogs and buns. He’d finish one up and then would ask for another.
After his third one I asked, “Robbie, aren’t you full of hot dogs and buns yet?”
“Crikey,” he exclaimed. “I keep waiting for the buns!”
After some discussion I realized that to Robbie a bun was something sweet, a dessert. The delight I thought he expressed was really surprise and anticipation. He wanted to taste a (British) bun holding an American hot dog. From then on we both made an effort to make sure we were speaking the same language.
I wrote this anecdote in response to today’s RevGal Blog Pals’ Friday Fave.
Your Turn . . . Have you had a communication mishap with someone from another culture? Please share!
Related Posts . . .recounting blessings makes me feel better
if you’d like to share your own friday’s fave five blessings, do so in the comments. or write a post and link up here.
related posts
- 5 reasons to be grateful to God – from my archive
- God smiles when we praise – devotional from purpose driven blog
- grateful for feelings – from my archive
- untangled – post from gold in the clouds
Love is in the Air for this Friday Five
Some people boycott Valentine’s Day. Others embrace the soppy sentimentality and are devastated when their significant other blows it off. And still some use this as an opport
unity to talk about those they love.
- My kiddos. Can’t pick one over the other. Both are special to me in different ways. I am proud of both. I will love, defend, encourage, and pray for them until I die. I am blessed to admit that they encourage, support, and love me well.
- Carol (husband) and Ruby (wife) Fellers. They also come as a package deal. They knew me before I was born. Ruby carried me out of the hospital at 3 months old because my mom was too nervous to carry her preemie (aka “that damned baby” – there is s story to that which will tell sometime) outdoors for the first time. A precious memory I have of Carol is us making his mom’s jam, pear honey.
- Jo Lay. We lived in England from 1988-1993 in a small village called Levington. One of the neighbours who befriended us right away was Jo. Jo and her family provided us with friendship, family, fun, and nurture. I wrote a post about what she means to me here. There were other dear folks in that neighbourhood, but I spent the most time with Jo, probably because we were both stay-at-home moms.
- My sista and her family. Another group that I cannot split and rank. They ALL make this cut as people who will remain in my heart forever. These wonderful folks helped me make it through the toughest time in my life (a divorce). They have continued to love me and my kiddos through many a dark time. They went above and beyond. And their care has made a HUGE difference in my healing.
- Louise Mohrhardt. I moved a lot while growing up, about every 18-24 months. When we were in Puerto Rico (middle school) I met Louise. Our dads worked together (Bechtel) and we went to the same private school in Ponce. We had the same immature outlook on life, got stuck in the apt elevator, and talked a LOT. Then my family moved to Texas and Louise and family to Canada (her country). Several years later my family also moved to Canada. Would you know that on our first day in Fort McMurray while shopping in the drug store, I ran into LOUISE! We spent the last two years of high school together. She helped me survive both middle and high school!!
Your Turn . . . Who will remain in your heart forever?
Fruitful Words 