#159 - #161

159. Newborn babies, pink and fuzzy as a peach, wrinkly and soft and knowing, like a little old woman...

"It is no small thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us."
Charles Dickens




160. Kisses

"In the kiss of an infant, each of us should, for very piety, think of the recent hands of God, which we in a manner kiss in the lately formed and recently born man, when we embrace that which God has made."
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, AD 258




161. Tiny baby feet, soft and uncalloused, still in mama's lap for the moment...

"Most visibly brave no aprehended gloom
First to take this foot to virgin snow

I am a magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment
I am a wunderkind
And I lift the envelope, push far enough to believe this:
I am a princess on the way to my throne

Destined to serve,
Destined to roam."

#156 - 158

156. ...loveliness around me, tucked in corners,
taking up well-lived-in spaces...

157. ...warming tonics, textures that warm heart and soul...

158. ...cozy spots,
comfortable with the familiar and the loved,
things given and things bought long ago,
laden with memory...

155.

159. ...John's gift that will keep on giving all year long...
a reminder to put on a Happy Heart before walking out my bedroom door...

"a cheerful heart does good,
like a medicine."
Proverbs 17:22

#153 - 154

153. ...ingredients for linzer cookies in the pantry...
special cookie cutters waiting in anticipation for that one recipe...

154. ...the benediction... peace proclaimed...
"good will toward men, upon which His favor rests..."

148 - 152

148. cold fronts blowing in,
taking the leaves along with it on its way out...

"the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it but cannot tell where it comes from nor where it goes. So it is with those born of the Spirit..." (John 3:8)




149. the generosity of a friend,
true Southern hospitality,
Southern grapes on our tongues,
the taste of autumn memories...

"Autumn is the parable of everything that fades." (Dr. Clarence McCartney)





150. shared inspiration,
the gift of creativity,
a peek at the same things through another's eyes,
the exclamation at the end of the project,
"it looks just like you!" ...

"the decisive factor in art is precisely the unlearnable..." (Klaus Edam)




151. work to do, strong arms to finish the task...

"All our work in the field,
in the garden,
in the city,
in the home,
in struggle,
in government -
to what does it all amount before God
except child's play, by means of which
God is pleased to give His gifts in the field,
at home,
and everywhere?
These are the masks of our Lord God,
behind which He wants to be hidden
and to do all things."
(Martin Luther)




152. the sound of pages turning
and tea kettles whistling,
the scent of brewing coffee and tea...

"It is not how much we have,
but how much we enjoy,
that makes happiness..."
(C.H. Spurgeon)

145 - 147

1. Nesting instincts kicking in... home comforts... quiet days...






2. Creative juices flowing, inspired by a bit of unexpected free time, perfect porch weather, beautiful, glossy pictures and fellow bloggers Beck and Ann...




3. A timely find... the quote of an ancient, and a reminder of a hero of the faith who found his place to stand and moved the world...

137 - 144

137. rumpled sheets to smooth in the morning, the lingering traces of my husband's presence in bed next to me each night... the ritual of smoothing out each wrinkle in expectation of his return each evening, prayers going out for him to find favor and safety in this world...




138. the wafting scent of the tea olive blooming, reaching around the house to fragrance the entire yard with its sweetness... a reminder that "we are the fragrance of Christ to God." Miraculous...




139. hidden clusters of berries with the promise of holiday reds...




140. a clean linen closet, and piles of memories to refold and stack... baby blues hand-stitched by grandmothers, pale yellows crocheted by great-grandmothers, quilts purchased by dear old friends to celebrate a new arrival... I can't help but brush them with my fingers, lifting them to catch a whiff of baby scents long gone...




141. the fruit of the vine, ripening in our own backyard, and I am reminded to abide in Christ, the Vine Himself, the fulfillment of all the law and its promises...




142. peppers in pots on the patio... the remnants of summertime... happy memories of bowls of salsa and first attempts at canning pickled peppers...




143. freshly laundered fabrics in bright, cheerful patterns, all ready for Claire's sewing circle on Friday... the anticipation of gathered friends, the mischievous smiles of girls still happy in their girlhood, patient with lingering time...




144. the return of sweater weather... new jackets mix with old, fit for growing boys and mostly-grown girls; Sunday whites and dusty hoodies, handmade scarves and a purse for Mom, ready to run out the door for afternoon activities...