First Line Fridays: "Whose Waves These Are"

Happy Friday, friends! School's out for the summer (my condolences to those of you who go into June ...), so my boss has decided to let us adjust our office hours, and we're now officially closed at noon on Fridays! I still have lots of yearbooking to do, so this long weekend won't actually be much of a break for me, but at least I can work on the book from the comfort of my living room (with the Cubs game on, currently) instead of in the office!

First Line Fridays: "Sweet on You"

Happy Friday, friends! This week has been A WEEK, you know what I mean? But it's been nothing compared to what many of my fellow Nebraskans are dealing with. Last week, we saw historic flooding that has devastated many towns; destroyed countless bridges, roads, and property; caused the loss of many livestock; and has led to the deaths of at least three people, maybe more.

I'm safe. My family is safe. We've had zero damage in my town, but towns nearby have been completely flooded and in some cases totally cut off from everything. Here's a look at some of the flooding—really just the tip of the iceberg. (That first photo? I drove over that bridge a week ago Wednesday. It was out by Thursday morning.) The devastation is astronomical, and the cleanup and rebuilding process will take a long time. So when you think of Nebraska, would you pray for all the people impacted? Though the flood waters are receding, the heartache they've caused will last much longer.

First Line Fridays: "The Thirteenth Chance"

Happy Friday! We've made it through another work week, it's beautiful here in Nebraska today (currently 57°!!!), and the thought of sleeping in tomorrow makes me smile.

First Line Fridays: "How the Light Gets In"

Happy Friday! It's bitterly cold here—January is definitely acting like January—and I can't wait to spend tomorrow curled up with a blanket and a good book!

First Line Fridays: "Mind Games"

Happy Friday ... and Happy Christmas Break!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know not everyone gets a Christmas break, and I'm so grateful that my office is closing until January 2. I don't think I've had this long—11 days!—off at once since I took a two-week trip to the west coast with my sisters in 2009. I'm not traveling this Christmas, as all of my siblings are coming here, and I'm thrilled to just be home for an extended period.

First Line Fridays: "Wait for Me"

Happy Friday! As I sit here on Thursday night prepping this post, I've just returned home from choir practice (for our Christmas cantata), I'm sipping on a glass of apple cider, and I have a Hallmark Christmas movie on in the background. I love this season so much!!! (What I don't love so much is the cold. It's still pretty mild here—it dips into the upper 20's and lower 30's at night and gets to about 60 during the day—but I dread the day that it remains cold.)

Today, I'm spotlighting a book I've been anticipating for a long time—Susan May Warren's Wait for Me.

First Line Fridays: "A Sparkle of Silver"

It's finally Friday! I have a big work event tonight, so the weekend won't really start until about 9:30 p.m., but ... once I get home, I'll be able to turn on a Christmas movie! I just love Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas 😃. While some of the films are, yes, horribly cheesy, I still watch them all, and I always find a few that I love. I made a couple lists of favorites a few years ago (here and here), but I'm thinking it's time for an update.

First Line Fridays: "Shelter of the Most High"

Happy Friday! Since it's fall, I thought my First Line Fridays graphic needed a little update—the old one looked very summerish. This one should last me through both fall and winter 😊.

First Line Fridays: "A Tale of Two Hearts"

Happy Friday! It's been a long week, thanks in part to the marathon Cubs game on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning ... which ended (finally!) after 13 innings. It didn't go the way I wanted and ended the Cubs' season. And, while I wish they could've gone all the way (or at least beyond the Wild Card), I'm also kind of relieved ... because I'll be getting WAY more sleep this October than I did the last two Octobers! I've also enjoyed watching some stress-free baseball over the last couple of days, and I'm struck once again just how strange it is that I like baseball. I love the Cubs, but I actually enjoy baseball even when the Cubs aren't involved. I guess people really can change 🤣.

First Line Fridays: "Lies We Tell Ourselves"

It's finally Friday!!! Unfortunately, I don't have much of a weekend—I'm subbing in my school's girls dorm on Saturday, and I have to spend my afternoon on Sunday helping the student council decorate for Homecoming. (Ah, the joys of being an activity sponsor.) And I really need to mow my lawn somewhere in there ...

This week, I'm sharing the first line of the novel I just finished reading: Amy Matayo's Lies We Tell Ourselves. It's a fantastic book that I highly recommend!

First Line Fridays: "Hidden Among the Stars"

Happy Friday! Why do holiday weeks feel so much longer than other weeks? I didn't have to work on Monday ... and Tuesday through Thursday felt interminably long. So I'm thrilled to be approaching the weekend!

This week, I'm spotlighting my current read, Melanie Dobson's Hidden Among the Stars. This is a split-time novel set in Nazi-occupied Austria and present day America.

First Line Fridays: "A Worthy Rebel"

Hallelujah, it's Friday! And Monday is Labor Day for those of us in the States, so it's a three-day weekend! Considering I just was on vacation last week (to San Francisco—see more here), I probably shouldn't be quite so excited, but I'm thrilled to have Monday off!

I'm hoping to make great progress painting my parents' kitchen cabinets ... a project my mom and I have been working on (and off and on) since April. And the first Husker football game of the season is on Saturday! Plus, there's always baseball (Go Cubs Go!). I'm also hoping to get some reading done.

First Line Fridays: "A Rumored Fortune"

Happy Friday! We've made it through the first week of school! (Well, almost. I have to go back to school at 8:30 for a Student Council event—I'm the sponsor, and we're showing a movie outdoors after the sports scrimmages.)

First Line Fridays: "Unbreakable"

Happy Friday! I missed last week's FLF because of a road trip to Pawhuska, Oklahoma, home of The Pioneer Woman! My sisters and I took our mom as a belated birthday gift, and it was such fun! (You can see more about it here.)

First Line Fridays: "Miss Serena's Secret"

It's finally Friday!!! These past two weeks have been incredibly busy, and I'm so thankful to be approaching the weekend.

This week, I'm spotlighting the book I finished reading last night: Miss Serena's Secret by Carolyn Miller.

First Line Fridays: "If I Live"

Happy Friday! And Happy Christmas Keepsake Week!!! (Which is actually more than a week, but I'm not complaining ...) It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Hallmark movies, and I love the weeks in July when they play Christmas movies. I've watched a couple movies on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries over the last week, as Hallmark's sister station has its Christmas week first. But I definitely prefer the movies that air on Hallmark Channel, and I may have spent a little too much time last night perusing my TV app, adding reminders for all the movies I'd like to catch. I'm sure I won't watch all of them, but Countdown to Christmas will be here before we know it, and I'll get them then 😃.

First Line Fridays: "Sons of Blackbird Mountain"

Happy Friday! For those of us in the US, this is our second Tuesday/second Friday of the week, thanks to Independence Day on Wednesday. Needless to say, I've been confused about what day it is all week long.

First Line Fridays: "Just Let Go"

Happy Friday! This has felt like a long week, and I'm so glad to see the weekend approaching, followed by a day off on Wednesday for Independence Day. I believe that's a schedule I could get used to: two days off, two days on, one day off, two days on, two days off 😊.

First Line Fridays: "Enduring Love"

Happy Friday! I've been thinking about joining First Line Fridays for what feels like forever, and now I'm finally doing it! First Line Fridays is all about sharing the first line of a current read or a book you'd like to bring attention to.

Today, I'm spotlighting Toni Shiloh's Enduring Love, which is my current read.