Friday’s Fave Five – Five Things I Am Thankful For

Today I am joining Friday’s Fave Five: a moment to look back and count five blessings.

It was quite a week... no voice, coughing fits, my mother-in-law’s surgery, an inflamed insect bite, and far too much heat. 

But today I’m choosing the nicer list: the blessings. 😊

1. Beautiful skies outside my writing room

This week the skies outside my writing room were so beautiful. Sometimes I only had to look out of the window to be reminded that there is still beauty around me. My writing room has its own little window of wonder.

The photo was taken with my phone, so the stars are a bit blurry. But hopefully it gives you an idea of how beautiful the sky was.

2. An early walk in the woods

It was very warm this week, but I still went to the woods for a little while. I went very early, before the day became too hot. The quiet, the trees, the morning light on the grasses... it all did me good.

Below is my favorite tree-lined path. If you're there early enough, and the light cooperates, you'll see a bright light at the end of the tunnel. No, not that kind of light! It's simply the rising sun. Isn't it beautiful? ☀️🌳

3. Continuing my study of Acts

I continued my study of the book of Acts. I read slowly, but maybe that is not a bad thing. Slow reading can also become deep reading. 

My Insta 👉 𝙱𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚜 & 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

4. Writing, blogging, and a small Vinted find

I wrote a few blog posts this week, and I hope to add the links here. Writing helps me to think, to notice things. I also bought something lovely on Vinted for my writing room. Just a small thing, but it made me very happy.

• Zonnebloemen en de sandwichgeneratie (about sunflowers)
• My author blog
  
• My Photo Journal
  

5. My daughter’s wedding dress

A very special moment this week was going to the bridal shop. My daughter’s wedding dress had arrived, and we went to see what still needed to be altered. The dress was pinned and checked, and suddenly the wedding felt a little closer again.

It was also a tense day, because my mother-in-law had surgery. So joy and worry were very close together that day. Maybe that made the beautiful moment even more precious.

These were my five blessings of the week.
What was something that made you thankful this week?

Join Friday's Fave 5

If you are in a hurry, patience is the fastest way

 My One Word is Patience.

This week my husband told me (again!) that I was being impatient with myself. He often reads little quotes from his calendar to me. They are usually the kind of sayings that make you stop and think.

This week's quote was:

"If you are in a hurry, patience is the fastest way."

I took a photo of it because it fits my One Word perfectly. The funny thing is: I'm not sure I fully understand it yet.

I've been coughing and dealing with a sore throat for two weeks now. I would really like to be better already. So how can patience possibly be the fastest way?

Maybe the answer is that impatience doesn't actually make healing happen faster. It only adds frustration to the process. If I keep checking whether I'm better yet, counting the days, and getting annoyed with myself for not recovering quickly enough, I still won't heal any faster.

Patience doesn't speed up recovery. It just removes the extra burden of fighting reality. Or, as ChatGPT would probably tell me:

"When you're in a hurry, impatience makes you run circles around yourself. Patience simply lets you walk straight ahead."

 

I'm still thinking about that one. 

Do you understand the quote?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.

---

PS Read other blog posts about One Word: One Word 2026 May Linkup

Five Minute Friday-Sustain

This week’s FMF writing prompt is: SUSTAIN

SUSTAIN

Oké, oké. But that word sustain… it was actually a totally unknown word for me. I know quite a lot of English words, but sustain? No idea.

So I looked it up. First I found the Dutch word onderhouden, but immediately I pictured a man with a gereedschapskist (toolbox) coming to check the cv-ketel... oh that's a boiler, you know.  Not exactly inspiring for a Five Minute blog. Then I found the Dutch word in stand houden. But that sounds more like keeping an old tradition alive or protecting an old building.

Ondersteunen maybe? I didn’t know.

Funny how one little word can have so many layers. What does it mean exactly? This English word simply refuses to cooperate. And now I already wrote for five minutes, so I guess this little blog is finished.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

Ten minutes later...

I found it in my English Bible: “Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee.” And in Dutch? It says onderhouden. Apparently sustain has about seventeen meanings and my brain understood exactly none of them. So I needed Psalm 55 to explain it to me personally.

Ssssst… this does not count for the five minute prompt.

Friday's Fave Five

This week flew by so quickly, so I thought it would be nice to pause for a moment and notice some of the little blessings tucked into ordinary days. 🌿

Joining: Living to Tell the Story - Friday's Fave Five

1. I started turning our son’s old room into a writing room. Years ago I wrote three books there, so it feels special to sit at a little desk by the attic window again. Somehow being up there feels a little closer to heaven. I’m sharing a photo taken from the window of my writing room while trying out the night camera on my iPhone. 😊

2. On Tuesday I went for a walk, even though I almost stayed home. I’m so glad I went, because the yellow broom was glowing along the path and I spotted the first rowan blossom of the season. I even used one of the photos for a little meditation on my Instagram.

Do you love rowan blossom too? 🌿 I always think it looks so delicate and almost a little wild at the same time.

3. The next day brought steady rain... the kind our dry gardens and fields desperately need. While the rain tapped against the windows, I cleaned kitchen cupboards and listened to a podcast. One little blessing this week was that, for once, I actually enjoyed cleaning. There was something peaceful about quietly working with my hands while the rain fell outside. 

4. I put an old rattan cabinet online for free, and my phone practically exploded with responses. In the end a mother and daughter came to pick it up, and their excitement made the whole thing unexpectedly cheerful and cozy.

Before the girl came to pick up the rattan cabinet, I had already written down a whole list of handy tips... how to clean it, repair it, and keep the rattan looking nice. Apparently I take giving away furniture very seriously. If you look closely at the photo, you can even spot the little note lying inside the cabinet.

5. And one of the biggest blessings this week was finally managing, after trying twice, to write down what I want to say in church tomorrow. In this church it’s customary to give a short introduction speech when you join the congregation, and after two years I’m finally connecting myself to a church family again. It feels a little scary, but also very good. 

P.S. There were also all the tiny in-between moments that don’t really fit into a list... starting a new book, swapping coffee photos with a friend over WhatsApp, laughing because her cappuccino always has the most perfect foam layer while mine looks slightly less impressive every single time.  ☕😂 

How was your week? 

What little blessings made you smile? 🌿

Five Minute Friday – DECISION

Happy to join the Five Minute Friday community this week... 

The prompt is Decision.

Five minutes on the clock… let’s see where this goes.

This week it happened again.

I had to make a decision.

An invitation popped up on my phone.
A birthday.

And then… on the same day, in the same group…
another one.

Two in one week.

And I felt it immediately.
In my body.

A little knot in my stomach.
Okay, not that little.

Because my first thought was:
“I should just say yes.”

Of course.

That’s what I’ve always done.

But then came the second thought:
“Wait… I already know how this goes.”

If I say yes to both,
I will feel it. Not just that day,
but the next one… and probably the one after.

Apparently my body keeps better records than I do.

So there I was.
Phone in my hand.
Trying to be a good person.

And also trying to be a wise one.

Because those are not always the same thing.

I’ve learned something this past year.

I don’t do well with too much in one week.
One is good. Two is… ambitious.

Let’s call it that.

So I made a decision.

Not a big dramatic one.
Just a simple one.

One yes.
One no.

And the surprising part is this:

The one yes actually feels good.

Relaxed. Present. Real.

And the no?

Still a bit uncomfortable.
But also… honest.

And I’m starting to think
that’s not such a bad combination.

STOP.