Friday Five: Love!

Revjarla brings today's Valentine Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals:

Share 5 Valentines you would like to give this year, and why--but here is the hitch,
Can't give them G-d, Jesus, Holy Spirit...or your mom, your beloved, your sweet child(ren)...tell us about the other amazing beings in your life.

1. Joe and Fan--dear friends who moved to Colorado last year, but are moving back this spring! In fact, today they are meeting husband CB and me for lunch, as they are her trying to get their return somewhat organized. Not only our church but the Corpus Christi community rejoice at their coming home to us.

2. My four bridesmaids, who are still good friends--though they live in WA and CA and I live in TX.
Do you remember that picture I recently posted of them from 1971? It can be found here. I am grateful that they are good and faithful friends.

3. Daryl, Paige and Melissa, who make up my Monday Lunch group. We meet almost every Monday to talk about our families, politics, and religion. In 1996 we started out to be an Emmaus Reunion Group, but soon fell into being a support group for raising teenagers and also to ask questions, often seemingly heretical, about religion. The continuity, acceptance and authenticity of these women nurture me on a regular basis.

4. Richard Foster, founder of Renovare and author of many books on spirituality. His book Celebration of Discipline, which I read for the first time in 1994, opened me up to spiritual practices and writers from the past and the present who have broadened my mind and my heart. Thanks to the bibliography in that book, I found books I had never heard of, which led me to other books--that kept leading me out and in.

5. The Wisdom Class--I wish I had the time and determination (as well as the use of my right hand) to send each person a Valentine. This book group, which I began facilitating in 2005, has opened my heart and mind. I send love in my heart to each person who has visited and/or stayed with this weekly group over the years, especially to Georgia and Helen, who were founding members of the group before I knew of it and who have joined each other in God's Beyond.