Friday FIve - Gifts

From the RevGalBlogPals:

Following on from Thanksgiving, and picking up the "Black Friday" theme of boycotting the Christmas rush for bargains I thought it would be good to set a simple Friday Five yet one to get you thinking. I am sure that you'll agree that some of the best gifts we receive do not come in fancy wrapping paper but might be the gift of an unexpected afternoon with a friend or coming across a long forgotten photograph, or- well the list is endless.

 So take a bit of time to think back over the last year and ponder the gifts it has offered to you, then list five of those gifts, in no particular order- there is only one rule- all of these gifts must have been free, neither you nor anyone else should have spent money on them!

Okay.  Well first I want to say that I do not believe in boycotting Black Friday.  I just didn't go today because there's nothing I want, my daughter wanted to relax this weekend and I have no money.   I just don't see anything wrong shopping for bargains.   I don't see anything wrong with shopping.  It's like eating.  Some people misuse eating.  It doesn't mean eating is bad. Although seeing the news today about the bad behavior of shoppers makes me think it was wise to stay home. 

But I can certainly think of the free gifts I received this year. Although I'm probably NOT going to follow the rule of no money spent.  Because I don't think money is evil.  And I received gifts that involved money and I don't believe they should be shunned or discounted or disrespected.

The gift of living in this parsonage in the country for a year.  I've had deer and skunks in my backyard, a fledgling hawk on my front porch, cows in the pasture I could see from the kitchen window (and in my front yard when they got out) and I got to watch a full season of soybeans grow right out my window.  I always enjoy watching the seasons --it is the only thing that makes winter bearable for me but this was especially a gift.  

I love all my kitties Tommy is my oldest.  He's such a good kitty.  He used to love to run outside with the kids when they were playing outside at VBS.  He would let little children pat him and pull his tail. I don't know how old he is, I thought maybe he was a a couple of years old when I found him 11 years ago but the vet thinks he probably is older than that.  He was a fighting Tom when I found  him but any cat I brought into the house he accepted calmly as a member of his family.  All that fighting though had a price and he has FIV.  Which is not a death sentence at all but between that and his old age, I consider all the time I have with him a gift.

The gift of the celebration of my 25th anniversary of ordination.  That took a little money but the real gift was a parish that was willing to do this for their interim pastor

A roadtrip from California to Iowa with my sister.   I was able to do this because my parish gave me a gift of money for the trip when my mother died. Gifts of money can be very meaningful.  

My kids, of course!