Summer Stuff and Some Encouragement

A little over a week ago we had the summer solstice on June 21. This was the longest day of the year; now the days are getting shorter in the northern hemisphere where I live. Onward toward fall! I've included a picture of the sun peeking up over the trees in my backyard, taken that Saturday morning about 7:30. That's the farthest northeast it will rise for a good while. 

We've already established that I'm a nerd about these things. On to other things.

The week of June 15th was unbearably hot, getting to the low 90s in the afternoon. I walked mornings when I could, but even then it was in the low 80s. I've included some pictures of the campus, up by the buildings, and the more wooded trail at ASU, which was a little cooler on those days because it was shadier.

Last week we started having more rain again, so at least it cooled off some. I had to walk at Cooper Park several days because they were getting the ASU campus ready for the annual Red, White, and Blue celebration, held on June 28 and 29. I really missed my familiar trails, but it was good to have somewhere else to walk. 

We had a fireworks display Saturday night, and it was magnificent as usual. Pictures don't do it justice, but I will include some. (All the rest of the pictures will be at the end).

I have pretty much finished the front "porch" refresh. I will eventually buy an outdoor rug, and I am considering painting the front door, but for now I'm content with what it is. It's the best I can do right now, considering it's a rental. I like it. I feel like I'm sitting in a little garden when I am having my morning coffee. I especially like the blue wind chimes with the copper bells.

I'll leave you with some encouragement.

I'm still reading the Bible Recap reading plan for the year, and the passage in yesterday's reading is one of my favorites. In 2 Chronicles 20, where 3 surrounding enemy countries were coming against Judah and King Jehoshaphat, the Spirit of the Lord spoke through Jahaziel and told the king and all the people that this battle was not theirs, but God's. He told them to simply stand and watch the way the Lord came to their rescue. 

They watched as all their enemies turned on each other, and their enemies all killed each other. Every one of their enemies was dead, and it took them 3 days to carry the spoils of war back home.

This is really encouraging to me. Not only did God destroy their enemies, He did it knowing that Jehoshaphat would make a wicked alliance in the future that would displease Him. 

It's so hard to get my head around the love of God. He is kind and good to us even when we aren't. We certainly don't deserve how good He is to His children. We can never earn His love. 

Read 2 Chronicles 20 and the following chapter or 2. It's an amazing account.

Blessings to you all! 

"'You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you."

2 Chronicles 20:17 NASB

Busy But Great Christmas

It was a busy Christmas season this year; it seemed shorter. Some have attributed it to Thanksgiving being so late in November. Whatever the cause, the weeks flew by.

It was a good Christmas. I didn’t see my son Jeff but we had a nice phone conversation today. I also didn’t see Jeremy, at least not technically at Christmas, but he did come in for a whole week at Thanksgiving, plus we also had a nice talk on the phone tonight.

Jennifer, Matt, Zoe, and Rhett came and spent time with me on Christmas Eve (pictures are on my page). We opened presents, snacked on chips, dip, and fudge, and played Uno for quite a while.

I went to their house today for a delicious dinner and more quality family time.

It has been wonderful. I’m so thankful I live in the same town with my daughter and her family. I also love that I can talk on the phone or FaceTime with my sons often.

I am also blessed with friends “back home” that I stay in touch with. I have hesitated to post about my trip to VB because I didn’t get to see everyone I wanted to. I just couldn’t make it happen during Christmas. I hope to see the ones I didn’t see this trip in a few months.

There are a few pictures of my VB trip below. They include my friends Debbie and Patty, plus a clip of the awesome VBHS band at the parade. There are pictures of the lights at ASUMH, too. I drive through twice this year because they are so beautiful.

I’m also blessed with friends here in Mountain Home; people I have met and grown to love over the last 3 years.

Most of all I am celebrating the reason for the season: JESUS. God has been good to me in this “most wonderful time of the year.”

“…today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

Merry Christmas to my family and friends!

Christmas 2022 with Family

December 10-12 (even though the 12th was a Monday): 

Over the weekend I went to see friends and family in my hometown. It was a good visit, but too short. I spent some time with BFFs. We had dinner at a restaurant downtown, then we watched the Christmas Parade.

I also got to spend time with my firstborn, who lives out of state. I hadn’t seen him in too long. I blame the pandemic. We had a nice visit with our cousin and her husband (but forgot to get pictures).

My son and I watched movies, talked and got caught up, got coffee and walked around in the beautiful downtown area, and the last night I was there we drove through the park to enjoy the Christmas lights. It was a great visit.

We didn’t take many pictures, but the quality time is more important than the documentation anyway. We did take a picture of eating biscuits and gravy at our hometown's Braums. Neither of us have one where we live now. I have posted pictures at the bottom of this post.

December 25, Christmas Day with Family.

My daughter posted the following: It started calm. It ended wild. But, that is always the case when Rhett is involved. Absolutely wonderful Christmas!! We even sang Happy Birthday to Jesus! Merry Christmas!!!!

My youngest and his wife drove in to spend Christmas with us. So we had a great time hanging out.

...Christmas with family, continues…

Christmas night after dinner at my daughter's, we came back to my house. My son, his wife, and I opened our gifts to each other. We had our traditional Christmas crackers and even remembered to take a picture.

After a late breakfast we went for a walk. The pond was still mostly frozen because is the extreme cold temperatures we’ve been having. We had to take pictures because we southerners don’t often encounter frozen ponds.

We wanted to go to the library, but they were closed. Hopefully we can go there before they head back home.

December 27...

We went to the library and looked around. My son and his wife had never seen my library here, where I spend a lot of time. It's a fabulous place to be.

Afterwards, they got in their car and headed back to the far away city where they live. It was a great visit, but I was lonely the rest of the day.

I love spending time with my family. Over the course of 2 weeks, I got to see all three of my grown children, and my grandchildren (they live across town from me).

I hope all my readers had a fantastic and Merry Christmas! Blessings to you in 2023!!!

* My apologies for the haphazard way the photos are installed. The options for moving them around have been taken away. So this is what we are left with. *

Not a Blackout Curtain

My bedroom faces east, and because of this I have blackout curtains so I can sleep past the crack of dawn. Now that I'm retired, I'm blessed that on most days I can allow my body's natural circadian rhythm to decide when I go to bed and when I wake up. Today, sunrise was officially 7:01 am, but of course it starts to get light out way before the sun is actually up. 

I woke up shortly before 8 am this morning, and I noticed that sunlight was peeking out of a couple of places where I didn't get the curtains completely closed last night. Light was also streaming out all around the edges, like sunlight was trying to sneak in any way it could.

Sunlight was breaking through the barrier I had hung to try and keep it out. My curtains looked like they were "bursting at the seams," letting the overpowering sunlight through against their best efforts to stop it. They could not hold back the light completely.

It made me think of how we who are Christians have the light of Jesus within us. The Bible says, "we have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure." (2 Corinthians 4:7, NLT).

Sometimes His light, also known as His love, shines through us to others. It might be as simple as a smile to someone. Or maybe we have a song bubbling up in us and we start singing or humming a tune. Other times it might be shown in another way, such as feeling led to give a stranger in front of you at the store a twenty-dollar bill when it becomes apparent that they are short on the amount needed to make the purchase they were attempting to make.

A smile or a song doesn't cost us anything, but it might make someone's day.  Giving to someone in need could help restore that person's faith. We have no idea what the people we encounter are going through. 

I don't mean to come across "preachy." I was convicted by the Holy Spirit this morning and I wrote about it in my journal. I even snapped a picture to remind myself that I need to let God's light shine through me more often. I couldn't quit thinking about it, so I decided to share it.

Blackout curtains are a wonderful invention for those of us who are night owls with an east-facing bedroom window. But we have the light of Christ within us! I for one feel like I don't let it out nearly often as I need to. I'm not a blackout curtain, and I need to stop acting like one.

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16 NASB

Remembering a Special Person

Today would have been my cousin Peggy's 84th birthday. She became a resident of Heaven on December 7, 2020; exactly 54 years to the day after our sweet grandma, "Mammy," passed away.

Our mothers were sisters, and she was my only first cousin. The family I grew up in was small. My mom's one sister had one child, and my parents only had two. My brother died many years ago, and now Peggy is gone. I'm the only one left from our generation. 

It seems odd that I am in the same generation as my brother, who was fifteen years older than me, and my cousin, who was eighteen years older than me. I was a late and unexpected addition to the family, no where near the ages of her and my brother, who grew up together. 

She was more like a second mother or a favorite aunt than my cousin. I loved spending time with her. I have fond memories of getting to go with her on errands when I was very young. 

Peggy took me to my first movie when I was 9 years old. Disney's Cinderella came out that year, 1964, and we went to the Malco on Garrison Avenue in Fort Smith to see it. Afterwards, we went to Pizza Hut for my first taste of pizza.

When I was seventeen, she and her family went to Six Flags and she asked my mom if I could go. Amazingly, my mom let me go! (I was very sheltered). Her son, who is four years younger than me, was thirteen and she turned us loose to go and ride anything we wanted to with instructions to meet at a certain place for lunch. 

Two teenage cousins loose in Six Flags. We had such fun! I think we rode every ride twice! And of course, she didn't have to ride stuff with him! Brilliant. She got sick on rides, and I never have. That was a great game; an all star memory that I still think of as the most fun I had ever had at that point in my life. 

Like I said, I was over-protected, and on that trip I got to be a teenager just having fun.

After I was grown and married with children of my own, we didn't hang out quite as much. After my mother passed away suddenly in 1996, though, we became close again. We went shopping a lot, one of her favorite pastimes. I have never been one to really enjoy shopping, but Peggy made it fun. 

Always, without fail, after a couple of hours she would announce that she needed some coffee, and off we'd go in search of somewhere to have a mid-afternoon snack. I think this is why I always have to stop and have coffee or a Coke and some kind of snack when I'm doing serious shopping, like at Christmas.

Once not long after my mother died, we drove to Little Rock to shop in a bigger and better mall. We had such fun on that trip! We each bought a new wallet, because we decided we needed to become more organized. We cleaned out our purses and put all our wallet contents in our new wallets. It may not sound fun, but it was to us. Looking back, I know she was grieving as much as I was for my mother. It was so like her to find a fun way to help us both mourn the loss we had just experienced. She was very close to my mom.

Maybe about a year before she had a stroke in 2012, we went on one last shopping trip. I didn't know it was the last, and it was for the best that I didn't. I had bought my house a couple of years earlier, but she hadn't bought me a housewarming gift she said. So she bought me a lamp for my living room. Of course, we had coffee and dessert, and I believe it was Denny's where we had our mid-shopping trip refreshments.

I still have that lamp, and several other mementos of a very special family member. While I treasure the items she bought for me --I know her love language had to be gift giving--most of all I treasure the memories of her shopping with me. My main love language is quality time, so it meant to me that she loved me, because she spent time with me.  

So, happy birthday in heaven, Peggy. You were not only family, you were a great friend to me. You had a gift for making a little shopping trip into a great adventure. We usually didn't buy a lot, but the memories I have are the treasure anyway.

<3

Mothers Day

Mama in her 20s

We are quickly approaching Mothers Day, and lots of people are posting pictures of themselves with their moms. I've not found a picture of me with my mama, though; at least not in the years after I became an adult. She passed away 20 years ago, before Facebook and the mania of having to document everything we do, before digital cameras, and of course before cell phone cameras with which we are so fond of snapping selfies. Back in the 90s when she was still alive I was usually the one behind the camera, taking pictures of my kids and what they were involved in. So there are virtually no pictures of my mother and me. No one thought to take one. 

I've written about my mom on here before.  The most recent one was 4 years ago, though, so I thought it might be nice to post a small tribute to her. She was a devoted mother and grandmother, and her children and grandchildren were her life.

I was a stay at home mom after my youngest child was born until he started first grade. We were a one car family and my husband drove it to work. It was common for Mama to show up and let me take her car to run errands while she either went with us or stayed with the kids. She was such a help and friend in those days. 

After my dad passed away, she spent a lot more time with my kids. I think they helped her get past the suffocating grief that threatened to consume her. It was really hard for her; he was the love of her life. I'm glad that they had the privilege of spending time with her. It was good for her, good for them, and good for me.

Mama and her grandkids in 1986

Sometimes when kids are small life can get overwhelming as any mom with young children can vouch for. My mom had a way of showing up at my house when I needed help the most.  She would help with the kids, fold clothes, help out with housework; whatever needed to be done. I would love to be able to show up to help with my grandkids, but they live too far away for me to be able to do that. This is a part of my life that I am currently struggling with. Even though it's heartbreaking to not be there for them and help my daughter, I know that God has a different plan for me and my place in their lives. If He meant for me to be able to be there more, He would make a way for it. I know He knows better than I what we all need. I just have to trust Him.

1994

Mama and the kids started playing board games when they were old enough. I still have the Monopoly game that they just about wore out. She was delighted to have them come and stay the night with her. They would play games or watch movies and just have a great time. 

I never considered it before, but perhaps this is why we love movies and love to play board games so much.

Happy Mothers Day in heaven, Mama! <3

"Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: 'Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all.'" Proverbs 31:28,29 NASB

Look Out--No, Really...

This is not your normal Valentines post. I'm past the kicking, screaming, and  hating the day. Please hear me out.

So, here we are again in February, the month of Valentines. I was just going to repost last year's post, but I feel like I need to share what's on my heart. Tonight I have a few thoughts on the subject, so here goes.

It's no secret that for many years I hated Valentines Day. It can be a very painful event for single people. Valentines Day focuses on relationships and we find ourselves yet again single. Over the years, though, it has become less painful for me and easier to tolerate by the sheer grace of God. I was just thinking the other day how good it feels not to be in pain emotionally.

Then the Lord reminded me that is still not the case for many of the singles out there. For many, it is still Single Awareness Day, pointing out to them and the world that they are not in a relationship. For those of you who are still hurting because you are in need of that special someone, I offer this small encouragement, though I know from personal experience it is not what you want to hear: God loves you. Turn to Him and ask Him to show you His heart for you, and He will. I know this to be a fact, because He did it for me.

"...may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." Ephesians 3:18,19 NLT. 

It doesn't matter why you are single. You may have never been married. You may be divorced. You might have lost your spouse to death.

The point is there are a lot of people who don't necessarily enjoy Valentines Day to some degree. Some are not necessarily upset over being alone as much as how society views singles; as though all of us--of course--are looking for love and not finding it. By some, we are seen as somehow incomplete because we are not part of a couple.

This post is for those people. I'm here to tell you I feel your pain.

I'm in the category of those who are single because of divorce. I have struggled with my singleness and moved past merely accepting it to actually loving it. I am finally content for the first time in years.  I do enjoy being with family and friends, but there is a time to be with people and a time to be alone. I know that now, and I'm not afraid of it anymore.

The Lord has shown me when I need to be with my family and friends and when I just need to be alone--and He gives me the grace for whichever He is leading me to do.

This year I am being led to "look out" and turn my focus outward to show the love of Christ. You don't have to look very far to find hurting people. So I challenge you to join me in making this a good Valentines Day for someone who is hurting. It doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive. It may not cost a dime.

Here are some ideas:

Visit someone in the hospital or nursing home. 

Spend a little extra time with your kids; snuggle with your little ones and read a book or watch a movie together if you are fortunate enough to still have one or more small children at home.

Call your mother, dad, or a grandparent or neighbor who lives alone. A phone call can be a treasured gift to an older adult. (Note: If any of my children happen to be reading, this is not an elaborate attempt to get you to call me. This is truly what I believe God would have me write.)

There are many ways to show someone you care,  Ask God to show you how to reach outward this year, and I promise He will.  The best way to forget your own pain and problems is to help someone in need. 

"For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." Romans 5:4 NLT.

Happy Valentines Day!

Living Life

January is almost over, and I am just now writing my first post of the year. In fact, I haven't posted anything since October.

So, we have left 2015 in the past and have begun a new year. As with any year, it had its good and bad moments.  It started off good with my 60th birthday in January, when all 3 of my children came for the surprise party even though they had just been here a month earlier for my college graduation. I was absolutely blown away to see a room full of my friends and family with my children and granddaughter standing among them.  It was the best birthday ever.

I flew to Arizona in May to see my sweet daughter-in-law graduate with her Masters Degree.  That was a great trip; I wrote a blog about it in June.

Everything else was pretty blah until November.  That's when my grandson decided to come at 36 1/2 weeks, weighing 5 lb. 9 oz. but in perfect health, thank God! I took several days off work to help out, and made another couple of trips to see him as well.

My youngest son and his wife came for Christmas and spent a week with me.  It was awesome. We had a great visit, which included seeing several movies  and getting him and his wife caught up on the current season of Doctor Who so they could watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special with me on Christmas Day.  We even went to see their new nephew while they were here, with a detour to see Crystal Bridges on the way back.  The only thing that kept Christmas 2015 from being perfect was the fact that my oldest son couldn't come home.

So, as you can see, I was busy living life and couldn't find the time to write. I am happy to be busy. I am blessed to have family and friends and we have so much to do and say when we are together. I think that's how it should be.

That was my 2015 in a nutshell. The new year came in quietly as most years do in the last few years; just the cat and me. I watched the New Years Day Rose Parade like I always do, and fixed blackeyed peas and hog jowl for supper on January 1.

I promise the next post will be more interesting.  I am already working on it, but I wanted to recap last year and officially welcome 2016.

Stay tuned for a post in the next few days. It is one of those that is like a "fire shut up in my bones." I think God is up to something.

Love That Makes the World Go 'Round

Ah, romance.  Hearts, flowers, candy...this month is brimming over with all the mushy, gushy, "love that makes the world go 'round."  In fact, from a marketing standpoint, the Christmas decorations were still on half price when "pow!" Out came all the pink and red Valentine stuff.  

I have steadfastly avoided all the mush and goo for many years now, mostly because I was hurt, really really hurt in a very deep place in my heart.  The reminder that I was not in a loving, romantic relationship was just too much. I couldn't take it. So I asked God to heal me, and He has been doing just that--I'm a work in progress. In the meantime, though, while He works on me, the pain that is still remaining is buried, and I manage to forget most of the time that my heart was once broken and I feared it would never, ever be the same. 

Except during February.  During this month, the world will not let me forget. 

Valentine ads on TV scream, "You are a failure, you know. No one loves you." The card rack at the front of the store, an explosion of pink and red, whispers as I walk by, "There is no one special in your life that loves you."  Even Valentine banquets, couples' retreats, and marriage seminars, all very good things done with the very best of intentions remind me,"You are alone, so therefore, you are less valuable."

Can anyone relate?  I'm sure someone reading this is feeling alone and unloved and dreading the 14th of February, known to singles as "Single Awareness Day" because of what a good job that day does of pointing out to us just how single and alone--and therefore unloved--we are.

However, I don't feel that way anymore.  I am not unloved, and I am not less valuable, and I can prove it.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness" says my God in Jeremiah 31:3 NIV. 

So you are wrong, TV ads. I am not unloved.

The cards in the hearts and flower section may be saying "No one special in your life loves you," but God's Word says:

"God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us," Romans 5:8 NIV.

God loved me so much He sent His Son Jesus to die for my sins. He went to great lengths to redeem me from my sinful state so He could have a relationship with me. So, I guess you are mistaken, Valentine cards.

If I listen to all the negative voices around me, I will be convinced that I am "unloved" and "less valuable." But if I turn to God when those voices start to get to me, I can be assured of God's love for me. In Psalm 66:19-20 it says, "God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, Who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me!" NIV.

I may live alone, and not be in an earthly relationship, but I am far from alone.  God loves me more than I could ever fathom, and He is with me 24/7, never leaving nor forsaking me. He will never stop loving me, no matter what I do. I didn't deserve His love in the first place, and yet He loves me.  

I was praying and asking God to show me how to approach this Valentine season.  During our praise team practice this week, while my heart was turned toward Him in worship, He showed me. I am to put all the energy I have spent hating and avoiding this season into loving Him. In other words, turn my focus outward, away from myself.

He will show me as we go along how to love Him back.  For starters I can:

Love my neighbor as I love myself.

Really pray for others. It took some time, but I have formed a habit of stopping and praying right then when I tell someone on Facebook that I will pray for them.

And most importantly, tell the world what He has done for all of humanity to save us because He loves us and wants a relationship with each one of us.

"For this is how God loved the world:  He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 NLT

Because love is more than just feelings.  Love is also an action.

The Puddles are Dancing

I love rain. If you've read my bio, you know that I love rain; it's one of my favorite things. But why? When most hate a rainy day, why do I find it so appealing? I asked myself this question this afternoon, as I sat here watching it rain during a break from the closet cleaning I've been inspired to do this afternoon.

It affects me differently than most every one that I know. For most, it is sad and gloomy, and drains them of energy. For me, however, it makes me happy, even energized. I don't know why this is, but I have some thoughts on what it possibly could be. First, though, the things I love about rain.

I love the sound of rain. It is soothing to me. I love the melodious drumming of the rain as it drips off the trees, house, and carport. All the other noises have to take a back seat as the rain takes over in the music department for a while. Occasionally,  there is even some thunder to add a punch of percussion to the tune.   

I love to watch it rain.  It is calming to me to watch the rain pelt down onto the pavement.  Seeing the rain pour out of the neighbor's gutters is mesmerizing.  Watching the puddles "dance"-- a term coined by my youngest son when he was much younger to indicate that it is, indeed, still raining, when the downpour has become light enough to wonder if it has stopped or not. Are the puddles "dancing?" Then, no, it has not stopped.  

Side note: Apparently, this irritates or annoys him, for when I mention puddles dancing, he still rolls his eyes.  But it stuck with me. And I love that it did.

I love the smell of rain.  There is no better smell than the air after a spring rain.  The air smells and feels like it has been "washed," and the trees and plants look so fresh and clean, even if only for a little while. This makes me happy.

These are some of the things I love about rain. But why?  Without intense psychotherapy, or having it revealed to me by God, I really don't know. I think, though, that it takes me back to a time in my childhood when I felt safe and loved.  

I can clearly remember getting ready for school when I was around eight, with the sound of the pouring rain outside. I was with my mother, and therefore, I was safe in my childish mind. She had to drive me to school when it was raining, and this made me feel loved. I remember being dropped off at my beloved elementary school--the one that I wrote about when they tore it down a few years ago. It was early morning, but because of the rain it looked dark outside from the classroom. This is a good memory to me. Therefore, what most perceive as gloomy is comforting to me.

You see, I don't have a bunch of memories of my mom and dad doing stuff with me when I was little. They both worked all the time it seemed. We were dirt poor, and they both worked long hours in factories to provide for us. In the fifties and sixties, the majority of the moms I knew, other than mine, did not work outside the home. Child-rearing was considered an honored profession in those days. Not that it's not today, but in today's economy, one income is generally not enough anymore.

Too bad that my child mind did not understand that working to provide food and shelter = love. My parents were good, and they loved me, but they never uttered the words to me. Since my primary love language is words of affirmation (even though I didn't know it then), I needed to hear it said, but never did.  So I picked up on the times when they showed me love with my secondary love language, quality time.  

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the happy times when I felt loved and safe were most likely punctuated with....you guessed it....rain. 

I walked to school except when it rained. On rainy days, my mom drove me. Mom spending time with eight-year-old = love.

I could sit on the porch with my mom and dad, and sometimes my grandma, and watch it rain and feel loved AND safe, because quality time = love.

So there you have it.  A glimpse into my heart and what makes it happy. I struggled with this one; but I really, really feel like God wanted me to share it. I live to serve Him and do His will, and I'm honored that He lets me write to express what He has shown me.

Do your children a favor; show and tell them you love them in all love languages, at least until they are old enough for you to know what their love language is. Then you can focus on that one or two. Until then, tell them you love them. Hug them. Spend time with them. It will make you both happy, and what may not seem like anything to you may just be their rainy-drive-to-school memory some day.

Now if you'll excuse me...the puddles are still dancing. I think I'll watch awhile.

"Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies." Psalm 17:7 NLT