Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  I am linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals, and her friends, for this blog post.

This week has been crazy...but, truthfully, I think this is my new normal.  The only difference between this week and last week is that this week, I didn't have a full day at home.  I've learned that I need one full day at home, every week.  I have a few reasons why, but here are the main ones: I do have quiet time every single morning.  I rarely skip a day, but the one thing I've missed is the long, drawn out time with the Lord that I so love.  The kind of time that can span a few hours.  I really, really need one day like that every single week, and I have to be careful from here on out, and how I schedule my time.

Another reason I need one full day at home each week is because I like to spend a day not having to worry about getting dressed and caring what I look like.  I spend the day doing laundry, cleaning, organizing, and the like.  I will have more days at home this coming week, like this, and I am BEYOND excited.  There are some areas in my home that need my full, undivided attention.  I also always get a good jump on my bible study homework during the week, on a day like this.  I have a tendency to get behind on it, and I tend to wait later sometimes, so that I can remember for the purpose of my small group discussion that takes place on Wednesday nights.

I love bible study nights.  They're always a favorite night of my week, each and every week, and I treasure the time after when I go with a few friends to McDonalds afterward to catch up and eat together.  I have to be a little late this semester, because of the time our bible study group meets, but they don't mind.  One of these nights, we may remember to take a picture, so I can share it on here.  I feel so fortunate to have such sweet ladies in my life.  Not a day goes by, hardly, that I don't thank the Lord from the bottom of my heart.

Also, know that when I write of such things like being busy and not being at home for one full day this week like I like, please know and understand that I don't mean that as a complaint.  I am happy to be out and about, and (slightly) back into a working environment, and I love being able to accomplish things like I've been doing since I started working five weeks ago.  I love all of this, and just recently when I retook a spiritual gift test (the online Lifeway version), I was surprised to see a new gift that popped into my top gifts.  I can't remember where each gift falls, but faith is my top gift.  The rest are tied.  They are exhortation, discernment, wisdom, knowledge, and the gift of administration.  How cool that God has started sharpening that in me, and that I now have a job that requires that skill?

I love how He works, and that He never ceases to amaze me.  Also, if you haven't taken a spiritual gift test in more than five years, you should!  They're always changing, as we grow closer to God on a yearly basis.  That Lifeway one works well.  I'll give you a link, so click HERE.  It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman, by the way, we should all know what our spiritual gifts are so that we can make sure we are serving in the right areas.

I don't really know why I'm considering this post a "favorites post", because it seems a little more random than just things that are my favorites.  That being said, I'll remind you that reading is my favorite hobby (see what I did there?) of mine, and August, needless to say, has not been a stellar reading month for me.  I am currently on book number three of the month, and it's this one.

I returned my (very late) library book last night, after not being able to even pretend to get into it, and last night, Toddley started watching football.  I needed a book to read, so I went and perused my book shelf, and found this one I bought over the summer for $1.50.

Let's stop right there, and appreciate that price.  That is what I consider a used bookstore price.  I was in McCay's used bookstore near Nashville a few months ago, and was thoroughly irritated when I came home with a book I had bought for $8.00, that someone else before me purchased from Barnes and Noble for $4.99.  NEVER AGAIN.  A buck fifty?  I can do that.  When Missy and I went to Bentonville earlier in the summer, we stopped at a place her hubby told us about, Once Upon A Time used bookstore.  It's near Rogers, Arkansas, if you're ever in the area.

I don't know how I missed this one, but I'll make my way through it pretty quickly.  (Edited to say, I'm stopping after a hundred pages.  I say this all the time, but I mean it: Life is too short to read mediocre books.)

It was a good night to read, and when Todd is home, I'm more likely to do this.  When I'm alone, I can watch whatever I want on tv, and I'll always do that over picking up a book to read.

I can't tell you how happy I am that August is almost over, and that fall is approaching.  Every year, come August the first, I am over summer.  I'm ready for routine, and for cooler temps.  And, if I may be so vain, darker nail polish.  In the fall, I love all the shades of gray, purples, and navy blues.  On Wednesday, it was so much cooler here in my area.  I was a little cold at home, even, so because of that and the fact that my shoes were making my feet hurt, I changed in the middle of the day and put on actual jeans and flats.

On Tuesday, I'll be the one pulling out all the fall decorations out of the attic.  Now I know this is probably not the best idea I've ever had, because we're about to be under construction inside the house.  It'll be a mess for a while, then we'll start to put it all back together again.  I'm still going to put up my pretty fall things, because I think it'll make my heart happy while all the mess is taking place.  Don't question the way my mind works, just go with it, people.  If Todd ever reads this, he'll be the one shaking his head at me.  Fall is my favorite!

I'm looking forward to several things this weekend, mainly the marathon of movies I'll be watching.  ;)  Todd is working all weekend long, so I'll be alone the majority of the weekend.  Well, I finished this post on Sunday night, so it's a few days late, but life just happens like that sometimes.  Thanks for reading!  Love to all.