Rocky Mountain Christmas

Cozied up in our Colorado home watching the lights twinkle on the tree with the snow-covered mountains as a backdrop out the window. Yo Yo Ma's haunting yet lovely cello playing and sipping cocoa with a pile of marshmallows. . . and still, no Christmas spirit. Where has it gone? I long for those years when my children were small and the air was charged with excitement over Santa's imminent arrival. I should have done a better job encouraging them to be excited over the arrival of Christ. I guess that is what's missing in our world today. How fortunate we are to have salvation handed to us, yet how sadly we take it for granted. Sadness does not come from Christ, it comes from a lack of Christ. I need Christ in my life.

Starfish

One more star tonight . . . the song has been running through my mind all day--reminding me I'm not alone and my friend is still out there. I found a starfish on the beach last month. I knew it wasn't going to make it because he was so far from the water's edge. Sorry little guy, but I wanted to take him home to remind me of my beautiful week at the shore. I carefully picked him up and walked along the waters edge. Sadly, slowly, his little arms began to curl and turn grayish--the life was leaving him. I just couldn't do it. I laid him gently down but I knew it was too late. I watched until the waves took him back home . . . one less star tonight

Leaves

I'm longing to jump into a pile of leaves. Fall is here, my favorite, and yet I find myself so melancholy. Something about the passage of time I guess. I love living in the south, but there should be changing leaves--and at least a hint of some cool weather. Memories of kicking up leaves and the smells of summer fading into autumn. Walking with my hands buried in my pockets to protect them from the cold. Ah, I love Fall!