hip hip hooray!

It may be a tad early for us to be talking about snow, but come cool weather, rain, sleet,or freezing nights, we are officially READY! When we looked for a new home one thing that was on the top of the have-to-have (Lord willing) list: a wood burning fireplace. Well, talk about "grateful", this girl was and is more than grateful to have found such a lovely one that works so well and provides the same exact coziness as our old one, the same exact comfort, and the same exact thrill. Now, if that were not enough, today we put together our wood rack and stacked our new load of wood on it. Honestly, as I think I said in a past entry, I almost have to call 911 when I see wood stacked, ready and waiting.

Is it the "ant syndrome," you know, being ready for winter? Or is it more the romance of cutting, stacking and working together that makes the enjoyment of a wood fire so lovely? Is it the warmth, the unmatchable smell, or the welcome it evokes that makes it so wonderful? I don't really know why a fire brings such joy, but I am ever grateful for it and a soul mate to share it with who seems to love it as much as I.

"the darker the storm, the brighter the fire," Jane Austen

the morning sun

This little entry is for you, Brenda, my most faithful and maybe only follower.
One wonderful truth God has taught me is to look for anything and everything that I am grateful for and take the time to ponder the nourishing effect it has upon my everyday life. There is a daily occurrence that has remained near the top of my list for years, the morning sun. It fills my house with early golden light, moving across the floor (revealing previously invisible dust) and highlighting objects that I love, giving them an ethereal glow for a moment. Many mornings you may find me slowly moving around the rooms waiting and watching for this momentary magic trick only the sun can pull off. I have taken so many pictures, but none ever do justice to the thrill if affords.

One reward I receive for early rising is to be met by long, bright rays of sunshine flooding the hall as I leave my bedroom. God's everlasting faithfulness is once again revealed by the constant return of the sun, a life-giving miracle that we often take for granted. I suppose that without realizing it, the sun has always carried more than warmth and light for me. It is a reminder of "new mercies" that always accompany a new day in Christ Jesus. New hope, new opportunities, a new way to see something......

"No matter how dark the night, somehow the morning sun rises over again and all shadows are chased away." David Click
ever grateful for that!

A Perfect Birthday

God never fails to order up delightful weather for my birthday! I've had years where sweat would be dripping off my hair on September 29th, but lo and behold on September 30th I have to grab a sweater for the cool wind and sunglasses for the bright sun. It has been a day of friends, love and much joy. I don't even have to cook supper!

I've been working in our little garden. Who could have known, (least of all me) how beautiful our new little home would be to me. I cannot name my favorite room. Dorothy knew her stuff when she said, "There's no place like home." Before our move, I guess I thought our home had to be the one we had. Oh, sweet blog friend, your home is where your loved ones are, where your well-loved things are, and where Jesus is. So, like Dorothy, I click together my muddy brown Crocs and agree "there is truly no place like home."

It's Fall and last year this time I was writing about my passion for it. I won't bore you with repeating my sappy love for every minute of it, but let me close with this stirring word picture found in "Autumn" (a precious gift from Clare a couple of birthdays ago.)
"October gave a party, the leaves by hundreds came-the chestnuts, oaks and maples-their costumes all aflame. Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor wind the band. The guests were all a flutter and danced off hand in hand." george cooper
ever grateful for that picture.....

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Contentment

Well, man does make his plans, but God does direct his path. I have never known the truth of that statement as well as I do now. The good news is, God's paths are way neater, way more satisfying and way more wonderful even if you don't think they will be.
Phil and I have sold our home I thought I could never leave and paid for a lovely home (I refuse to call it a condo) that I now don't think I could ever leave.

As I type I am watching a tiny hummingbird feed just outside my window. Everything about our new "nest" is a blessing to us. Every morning Phil says, "I am so happy." I am just as happy as he and ever grateful for God's big vision in spite of our sometimes tiny one and His marvelous provision for not only our needs but our desires.

I guess if I want this little blog to speak to anyone's heart today, I would have it say, "gain contentment." Contentment is without a doubt the most precious state of mind and spirit and worth more than just about anything else one could desire. The most amazing thing about it is that anyone can have it! It is simply the result of not getting what we want, but recognizing and appreciating what we have. Oh, how monumental it is to embrace your life, just as it is. From that vantage point, God can outdo Himself (as if that were possible!) If we can just learn to trust Him, He will pull many bunnies from His hat, surprising and delighting us with His divine ability to know us better than we know ourselves!

We call our home our "nest." Let me rephrase that. I call it a "nest" but think that Phil thinks that name is a little cheesy. But we will NEVER call it a "condo." Nest is a word that conjures up a much more accurate description of our new home. One of kind? yes- Cozy? immensely so -Made to fit us? exactly-Safe? very... I could go on but you get the picture.

Let me close by saying this, don't go looking for happiness and contentment as if it is a button that has rolled under the sofa. You will find it when you accept your life, and go about your day doing the things God has put before you with a grateful heart.

"Contentment is a pearl of great price, and whoever procures it at the expense of a 1000 desires makes a wise and happy purchase."

Can you say, "Man makes his plans, but God directs his steps?"

"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." Whoa! What a difference 3 months can make! To all those very few but faithful blog followers, I am back. So much has happened since the lovely pictures of the old log cabin and the hope of building on it's land. Cyberspace cannot hold the long version explaining why now we want to buy a condo! If anyone had told me that this would be in our future, I would have said, "Well, one thing is clear, you do not know me." This would be the equivalent of me buying a plastic Christmas tree, or choosing gas logs over the real thing, or buying margarine instead of sweet cream butter!
Turns out, God is pretty much the only one, including myself, who really knows me.
The closer we got, the less peace we had about this decision of building in the country...let's face it, we are old! We would be facing the hardest work of our lives, blah, blah, blah, so let me just say that God brought us to our senses just in time.

Now my chickens will have to walk around in my paintings, and my big garden will be a little one surrounding our fenced-in patio. Another plus is Phil won't be spending the entire weekend cutting grass, weed-eating and hoeing. All the outside work is done for us. I've never had a work-free weekend, there is no telling what we might be free to get into! We have peace and know that anywhere we live we will have each other (Lord willing) and we will have Him and we will be content--ever grateful for that!