The day after the storm.
Sandy has gone…wherever storms go…when they have wreaked havoc on millions.
Devastation in her wake!

The day after.
We lost power for sixteen hours.
Inconvenient…but a blessing compared to what others have experienced.

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Fall Break.
A mainstay this time of year if you have anyone in college.
In our house, we have a son in college and a son in law school.
Two fall breaks…though not at the same time!

Each son has been home once before…those weekends where you just need a break.
You just need some home cooking…and time with the family!
My law school son began his fall break first.
He stopped to see his brother in college on the way home.
Brother time…important…necessary.

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I did a lot of cleaning this morning.
The kind of cleaning where once you get started, you just move from room to room.
The music is louder than usual…you find yourself singing.
Before you know it…you are done!

But let’s backtrack a minute.
Today as I was washing my kitchen floors, I realized that this was the first morning, since the middle of May, that I have had the house to myself!

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Our phones are not working.
There is a problem with the copper wires buried in the street.
Apparently, they have been failing in many places in our area.

Anyone that calls our house this past week would have gotten a busy signal.
Yet, no one was on the phone.
All of our cordless phones say IN USE…but there they sit…in their cradle…useless.

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I received an email from a friend.
It was a two-fold prayer request.
Someone she had asked a few of us to pray for, had died and gone home to the Lord.
Someone else…a “forever” friend…got an unexpected, unwelcome diagnosis.

My friend is in shock.
Using her words…my friend went in for a routine blood test and “bam”… her life is turned upside down.

I have prayed.
I will pray.

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In my quiet time, I stumbled upon something we all can relate to.
You know what I mean.
That certain sigh…that we all do.
Quiet…subdued.
Biblical?

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There is nothing better than talking to a child.
I was talking to a precious little girl today after church.
She is a new reader and just loving this world of books that has been opened to her.

She told me about the story she just read as if we both literally jumped right into the pages.
The characters were her friends, the places were real, the situations her own.
She was animated as she told me the story of a clubhouse…and then, just as quick, jumped to the next topic without transition.

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Do you ever think about all the things you have to remember on any given day?
To do lists…scheduled meetings…homework assignments…dentist appointments…
The list is endless.

Feelings can get terribly hurt when birthdays and anniversaries are not remembered.
To help us remember we have our planner, our BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad.
I am the post-it queen!
That system works best for me.
There is one cabinet in my kitchen that will inevitably have a post-it note on it with the things I have to do that day.

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I missed an opportunity today.

This morning, I had a neighbor over for tea.
It is something we talked about doing for quite some time.
God graciously opened up a way for us to finally sit and get to know each other better.

Tea was in the teapot…cups were ready…applesauce oatmeal cake was freshly baked.
We sat down and without even thinking, began to enjoy the food that was before us.
And I never suggested we pray.

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Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue; God’s voice is its most essential part. Listening to God’s voice is the secret of the assurance that He will listen to mine. – Andrew Murray

Many people have little to say, but it takes a long time for them to say it.
We tend to fill awkward pauses in our conversations with meaningless words instead of allowing the pauses to speak for themselves.

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