There we were with our lanterns.
Small, cardboard lanterns with intricate designs on the side.
Intricate designs to let the light through.
A small battery operated light was at the base of each lantern.

Night of 1,000 Lanterns was the name of the event.
I wanted to take my youngest daughter so she could practice her nighttime photography.
Even before we walked into the conservatory, she was taking pictures.
A row of red lanterns caught her eye, as she positioned herself to get the perfect angle.

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We were very naive.
Thick woods surrounded our previous house.
We knew there were deer in the woods, and we wanted our children to see them.
My husband decided he would buy a salt lick.

I had never heard of such a thing.
Sure enough he came home with a big block of salt.
He put it in the meadow, a clearing that he had made in the back of our property.
He told the children that the deer would come.

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I love to read.
My children tease me when they see my choice of book.
It may be history, church history, or books to prepare for Bible study.
That kind of reading is relaxing to me.

I have a few fiction authors that I will read from time to time.
But I guess I’m making up for lost time.
There are so many books I want to read; so much I want to learn.
I feel like a sponge.

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We had a gas fireplace installed last year in our family room.
It was one of the best improvements we have ever done.
There is something about being able to turn a switch and have a toasty fire.

Of course, regular fireplaces are wonderful, a reminder of days of old.
Days when fireplace cranes swung over the open fire to cook the family’s meals.
Days when the fireplace was the source of heat for the home.

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A friend of mine just got back from a mission trip to Haiti.
Her exuberance upon her return yesterday, was met with terrible jet lag today.
Her circadian rhythms have been disrupted; her internal clock has been disturbed.
Rest will repair her tiredness in a few days.

It is said that jet lag may last for several days.
It takes time to adjust to the new time zone.
Supposedly there is a recovery rate of one day per time zone.
It is difficult when the body’s clock is out of sync.

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My youngest daughter and I went to the bank to open a checking account.
She has had a savings account for many years, but with college in another year, it was time.
The woman that opened the account was so helpful.
Setting up her online banking was the longest part of our morning.

There are many security questions to answer, passwords to choose, user ID to determine.
Now if the customer can just remember all the answers they gave in order to log in.
Those things are there for a reason and I am grateful.
In this digital age, we seem to have passwords for our passwords.

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She looked at me with her big blue eyes.
Her cute little dress just perfect for Sunday.
She has gotten so tall; living up to her “big sister” moniker.
She and I have a sweet friendship.

What books are you reading? is always one of the first questions I ask her.
This little girl is home-schooled.
She is bright, precocious, inquisitive, and creative.
She has a love of sea creatures and can tell you in detail about anything that fascinates her.

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Jesus called us to be the Light of the World.
So lets brighten this place up!

I read this in a Facebook post yesterday.
This young man, in his early twenties, has it right!

As believers in the Lord Jesus, we have been given salvation.
We have been given every spiritual blessing.
We have an eternal home in heaven waiting for us.
We have the presence of the Holy Spirit with us now, teaching us and guiding us.

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There it was…mounted on the brick wall.
You could easily reach it when you opened the front door.
You lifted the lid and put your hand inside.

The mailbox.
I am so used to seeing the mailboxes at the end of the driveway.
I forget that growing up, my mailbox was right next to my front door.

Mr. M was our mailman.
He was a small man in stature, but incredibly strong.
The mailbag that he carried on his shoulder was bigger than him.

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(originally published March 7, 2012)

I walked into the grocery store sending my shooting arrow prayer to His throne.

Father, use me today.

I was alone and walked immediately to the produce…my favorite section. I was gathering fresh vegetables for our salad and fresh fruit for the large bowl in the kitchen. Thursday was a good day to shop since the shelves tend to be fully stocked in expectation of the weekend shoppers.

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