Friday five for the first of May

Amazingly, it is May 1.  In some ways April seemed unending, and yet in other ways it flew by as quickly as any other month.  One thing I realized about three-quarters of the way through April is that I never even set any goals for the month.  It's a bit challenging to set goals when your calendar is pretty much cleared for you, but I would have attempted to set some if I had remembered it.  Still thinking about what my May goals will look like.  So anyway, on to my Friday five.

1.  A lovely day last Saturday.  The weather was beautiful and in the 60s.  That's warm for April here.  My walking partner and I don't usually walk together on Saturdays, but it worked out for us to that day, which was wonderful.  Mr. T was able to climb a local mountain and enjoyed his day as well.   He can confirm that there was still a good bit of ice and snow in the woods!

2. Wonderful online messages to edify us on Sunday.  We listened to two and were blessed by both of them, but this one in particular: The Need for Careful Thinking is particularly practical.  If you don't have time to listen to it, the preacher shares 7 main points concerning how we should be thinking in this time of crisis: 1) Be careful of your flesh; 2) Run to God in prayer; 3) Submit to God-ordained authorities; 4) Remember who you represent; 5) Don't be surprised by suffering; 6) Use what God has put into your hands; 7) Thankfully take one day at a time.  There are Scriptures for each of these, of course, but if you go and listen or watch, you can jot those down then.

Graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

3.  Time for creativity.  I ran out of hand-crafted envelopes for my Etsy shop (I use them primarily to ship vintage sewing patterns), so had to take time to make some.  And that was fine with me!  Below are several envelopes I've made in the past.

4.  The truths of God's Word to rest upon.  So, so thankful that we can know God.  There are so many unanswered questions right now; so much of life continues to be completely upside down.  I am incredibly thankful that we can stay our minds on God and that we can anchor our thinking deep in the roots of Scripture.  This morning in my prayer time, I was praising God that He is Truth (John 14:6).  This fact alone can give us peace in unsettled times.

"Thy Word is true from the beginning: and every one of Thy righteous judgments endureth forever."  (Psalm 119:160)

"God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it?  or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?"  (Numbers 23:19)

"But the LORD is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting King: at His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation."  (Jeremiah 10:10)

Another delightful graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

5.  A picnic with my hubby one day this week at a local park.  We saw people biking, fishing, walking, and picnicking, but there were only a handful of people a good distance from one another.  It was delightful to just enjoy our impromptu, make-do picnic out in the beautifully fresh air, looking down upon a little pond.  The photo below is of the same park and pond, only in the summer time.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!