Mid-September Faves

I missed the FFF community last week!

But....it had been a hectic week and my husband came home from the hospital the afternoon of Friday the 12th.  He went in to the ER on Tuesday after work with a sudden heart attack.  And is now doing very well.  You can read about THAT event here.

This week, I'm joining in with other grateful people by linking up at Susanne's and sharing our FIVE FAVES from the past week.  Mine will include some from the pervious week as well.  How about joining in with us?

FIVE FAVES

Dave and I (mine is the green kayak)
 kayaking on Lake Algonquin
7 September

town beach picnic spot

Nort-heast  side of the lake

• KAYAKING!  Sunday the 7th was a gorgeous day!  It was 74 degrees here in town so we decided, since we had gone to the Saturday evening church service, to kayak up in the south-central Adirondacks on one of my very favorite lakes in the mountains.  We arrived at about 11 a.m and had made a picnic lunch which we stored in my kayak. Dave's held the blanket and towels.  What a lovely day we had together. We did a lot of talking which we really needed.  And we dreamed of owning land/a home up there for the future.  The village of Wells, NY where the lake is located is one that I am very familiar with as I had extended family there growing up and we spent every summer of my childhood in that area.  It also has many hiking trails that I have completed.  It was a huge blessing to have this day to ourselves doing a fave activity and in the mountains!

Fruit Bouquet

• GIFTS! Dave came home from the hospital last Friday around noon and later that day the doorbell rang and it was an edible gift bouquet.  FRUIT!  Lots of it!  From his company.  Many of his colleagues are Christians and his boss called me personally TWICE that week to tell me they were praying for him and that he would take care of everything for Dave regarding work, etc.  He even told me to contact him if we needed anything.  We also received several emails from my small group ladies and other church friends, as well as family members, along with a couple of cards from family and my co-workers, with comments about good health and recovery and prayers.  My neighbor/friend gave me the gift of picking up Claire from a ballet class so I could visit Dave in the hospital that evening....another church friend gave us the gift of treating Claire to dinner out and giving her rides to and from youth group so we didn't need to worry about me missing any time after work to spend at the hospital.  It is such a blessing to have these people in our lives.

photo courtesy of colonie library website

• RESPITE:  Monday was a very nice, although cool, day.  I have 45 minutes for a lunch break at the elementary school, so I hopped in the car and drove to the town library which is only 4 minutes away from the school.  I had lunch there under the umbrella and spent the time reading. It was nice respite from the busy workday......and Monday was a busy one! What a blessing to have this pause in the middle of the day.

photo courtesy of amazon

• SMALL GROUP!  The small group of moms that I lead started back up last Thursday.  How I love this ministry!  Small groups are very important in our church because we are a "mega-church". We have about 2100 people over 3 weekend services and we have 3 other campuses in the capital region of NYS.  It is a huge blessing.  But to get to know people and do life with them, one needs to find a small group.  I have 5 moms in the group so am looking for 2-3 more.  The above book is the one we are studying this year...and so far it is awesome!  It is probably the best study we have done in the last 3 years....this is the beginning of our 4th year.....and a couple of dear friends had to drop out and we will miss them, but God already brought one new mom to the group AND...she is someone I have known for years!!  Her family used to attend the same church my family attended for 15 years and she and her husband used to co-lead a couples group with us way back when my youngest was just a toddler.  It is a real blessing to facilitate this group.  I can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do with us this year.

• Comfort and Care:  God used so many friends to comfort and care for us these past 2 weeks.  The heart attack was so sudden that I didn't have time to ask anyone to pray until I was in the ER and Dave was being hooked up to the EKG. And like the type A teacher that I am, I started multi-tasking. I texted my pastor's wife first.  Then I texted my friend M who is gifted in the area of intercession and healing prayers.  I then called my sister Hope and she prayed on the phone.  Our pastor's wife got back to me within minutes saying she was praying and about an hour later, when we were in the cardiac care unit of the nearby hospital, she and Pastor walked in with a bag of snacks and water for me. They stayed for a little while and were there when the cardiologist came out to talk with me.  Their love and care was so evident.  I was overwhelmed.  Other church leaders called me, emailed and messaged me via Facebook.  So many people wanted to do practical things for us.  It has been a huge blessing and we are so thankful to have these leaders we can call friends.  We thank God for each one of them.

That wraps it up for me......I'm savoring these last days of summer and welcoming autumn this weekend.......

Have a restful, refreshing weekend!!