"And He gives the love of life itself"

1) Blue Skies

2) Morning sunshine streaming through the window

3) Healthy food

4) Adventures: like teaching in the dark when the power went out! 

5) Sunsets and country drives 

6) Morton Arboretum

7) Bright smiles :)

8) Fall 

9) Golf (and that sky!!)

10) Beautiful music and powerful lyrics at church

11) Good quality equipment for work

12) The smells and colors and flavors of food

13) The gentle beauty of dying things

14) Sunday's lunch at home

15) Sunshine and ballcaps and long, clean hair and sunglasses

16) Indoor light and flowers and quiet rest at the end of a long long week. 

I'm thankful for these days. I'm thankful for the chance to step back and savor the gift of life itself,  each moment fraught with beauty and danger...rich, mysterious, purposeful. Sometimes at this stage of this new adventure life feels lonely and exhausting, complex and overwhelming. But those feelings are gifts as well because they remind me that I am fragile - but dust - and invite me to lean in hard towards God - his truth, his grace. And in those moments when he teaches my heart to rest, my eyes are opened once again to see that every moment -even the very busy ones, the very tired ones and those soiled by fear and disappointment are full of the beauty of God. This beauty is not dependent on anything future or past or on the actions, thoughts or opinions of any other individual (including our own) but is a divine gift of mercy in the present. I don't have words yet for all of what this means to me, but I'm so grateful for the reminder and pray that I will be more faithful this week in "seizing the day" with zeal, peace, holiness and genuine love to those around me.