A Wonderful Day

Yesterday was one of the most wonderful days I've ever had. In light of last week's wicked trial, it was such a blessing!

The morning started with a nice wake up call from Rod, ever dutiful to deliver a delicious steaming cup of coffee in bed! My time with the Lord during my Bible study was fruitful and encouraging. At the end of my prayer time Gracie greeted me with her usual morning cuddle. I have to push my Bible study materials out of the way to make room for her as she nestles her way under the covers. We kiss and hug and kiss some more. (It's the best part of every day and it usually happens before 7:30!)
Then Rod came in and we prayed together, the three of us...asking for the LORD's blessing on our loved ones and friends. Thank You, LORD, for these mornings together.

Dear Liz is moving and I know she has some running around to do. I also know that 7:30 am is NOT the time to call her home. So, I get dressed and take my place behind the stove and let the cooking begin. Cheesy scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and wheat toast served with cinnamon and honey are on the menu (as on most other days). Gracie happily ate her breakfast with few complaints. Rod ate his in hearty silence. (He is so easy to please in the food department.) Thank You, LORD, for letting me cook.

The day before yesterday Gracie and I made our way over to Fairview to our favorite library. We took home several DVDs. She had been begging me to see a movie called WATERHORSE. Rachel, Rod and I watched this movie a few years ago and we really enjoyed it. Gracie was too young for it then, but at 5 1/2 she could handle it now. So, after all the breakfast dishes were done and the first load of laundry was started I came upstairs and started the movie. Gracie and I watched it together. Near the end the phone rang. It was Liz. I asked her to bring Adah (almost two) and Elijah (almost 4) over for a splash in the pool so she could get her many errands done before moving day. Thank You, LORD, for the magic of ordinary days.

Before they arrived Gracie and I had a walk around the yard...nature inspection. Our yard is infused with black raspberries and they are beginning to ripen. I get to pick them and plop them in her mouth. Grace found a tiny inch worm and a ladybug. She had the worm on one hand and the ladybug on the other, giggling, "It tickles!" We found other "insteresting" bugs. Bug finding and handling is a particular favorite pastime of both of ours. Yesterday was a great day for it. We saved the inchworm on a leaf for Elijah to have a look at. Thank You, LORD, for Your glorious creation.

I have to say that watching these kids playing together is one life's most simple pleasures. They watched Tinker Bell and then ate a quick lunch. They donned their swimsuits and ran outside for a fun romp in the splash pool. The sun was shining brightly. The butterflies flitted all around the yard and I soaked it up under the shade of the big dogwood tree. They giggled and splashed and ran and jumped in again and again. Adah grabbed the big brightly colored beach ball..."a ball" she said two dozen times at least. I smiled as she tossed it out of the pool and I chased it down and popped it back in. It became a game. She offered a delighted smile. It was the perfect compliment to her wildly beautiful strawberry blonde curls and perfectly pink baby skin. She makes me pine for a baby like crazy. "Oh God, please let me have another baby. If you don't let me give birth to one, then please let me adopt another one." Thank You, LORD, for children.

Elijah is a precious little man splashing and playing with his best bud, Gracie. Sometimes they act like an old married couple. Gracie bosses him around constantly and he does what she says without question. His big hazel eyes are both dreamy and intense. His wavy brown hair just begs to be tousled. I have to intercede, "Grace, don't boss Elijah around, please." A correction here and a warning there lent themselves beautifully to a lesson that Jesus offered about treating others the way we want to be treated. (We all need this reminder, I think.) The kids were completely tuckered out by 2:00. We waved bye-bye to them as their lovely Mommy drove them home for a long well-deserved nap. Thank You, LORD, for time to enjoy good friends.

I left Gracie for a little while in Rachel's tender care and made my grocery trip to Wal-Mart but first I had one other stop to make. Gracie had begged me for a toy. I told her I'd stop by the Dollar Tree (Where everything's a dollar) to check out their selection. My eyes landed on a giant plastic magnifying glass for inspecting bugs. I had scoured the store looking for other ones, but to no avail, that seemed to be the only one. Two other children handled that thing before it was finally left all alone in the wrong place. I snatched it up, and along with a box of spaghetti and a jar of sauce I made my big $3.00 purchase. A $2.00 dinner for four and a treasure for Grace. Thank You, LORD, for the dollar store.

At Wal-Mart there were deals galore. The Tilapia I usually buy for $3.98 a package was on sale for $2.23! I decided against purchasing ready-made frozen meatballs and bought the ground beef and an onion and decided to make my own. I got outta Wally-World for under $40.00. That was really a blessing because at that point I only had $44.00 in my wallet. I wasn't worried, though. I had prayed earlier in the day that the LORD would thrill me and show me He hadn't forgotten us. He made good on that prayer by the end of the day: we got a surprise monetary gift from one friend and a money order came in the mail for a generous amount from another friend. No, He hasn't forgotten us. Thank You, LORD, for Your continued gracious provision.

I had a ball "a ball"...I wish you could hear Adah say it...making dinner last night. Everything was delicious...the spaghetti, the sauce, the homemade meat"balls". (I actually don't make them into ball shapes anymore. I make tiny little hamburger patties. I mix the beef with egg, sauteed red onion, freshly minced garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, fresh cracked pepper and a handful of shredded Parmesan. I fry them in my big gorgeous aqua colored non-stick skillet to delicious perfection.) Add a nice salad and some garlic Texas toast and we had ourselves a feast! Thank You, LORD, for nightly dinner with my family.

After dinner Daddy and I slipped away for a quiet coffee date. We skipped our usual fare and headed downtown hoping The Green Sage Coffee shop was now open for summer hours. They were and we both enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and shared a sumptuous piece of organic carrot cake. It was delicious. The sights were not, however. Asheville, especially downtown, is a reason for a grieved spirit and at one point I was moved to tears. "Was Sodom like this, LORD?" One day the LORD is going to let us open that coffee house/chapel down there and when we do we will finally be able to minister to these wanderers, proud to be freaks, hurting, dying, lonely and lost souls. Thank You, LORD, for making a way through Your lovely Son.

The sun set beautifully across the Blue Ridge Mountains last night. The sky was purple, pink and grey. The lush green mountains stood strong below. It was breathtaking. I see why people come to Asheville. The car tags boasted travelers from Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Indiana and Florida. Biltmore Village was bustling as we made our way home. Thank You, LORD, for sweet, sweet coffee dates with my hunky husband.

My brother called at 8:00 and begged me to send Rod to Kentucky to help him get his construction jobs done. "Jenn, I need someone I can trust. I need someone mature that I can rely on; someone who will actually work when I'm not standing over them. Please, send Rod. He can come home on the weekends and I'll pay for his hotel and his meals. I want to spend time with him. Talk to him." Rod was pumping the gas. I laughed. "He won't come, David. He has to take care of his Dad." My brother kept begging and then, he let it go. Kert is scheduled for surgery next Tuesday...it's the only thing on his radar screen. If Rod were to go out of town I think poor Kert would lose it, really. I enjoyed my conversation with my baby brother. I am looking forward to seeing him at the end of June. Thank You, LORD, you made him call.

Alas, I slipped into bed at 10:45 and tossed until 12:15. Rod was very aggravated with me. "Jenn. I WAS asleep until you came in and woke me up. NOW, I'M wide awake!" Well, that's married life. We lay there in the dark waiting for that blessed sleep to overtake us. I thought he had nodded off again until he said, "Do you think that coffee wasn't decaf????" The question hung in the air over the bed and then we both laughed. Thank You, LORD, for a wonderful day.

"This is the day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24