A DAY FULL OF BLESSINGS

Woke up to a beautiful blue sky day, a little brisk, but not as cold as it has been. A perfect day for a walk.

I'd been wanting to take a walk around town to see the painted ornaments, but have been struggling with shortness of breath and barely able to manage a block or two. This morning was different though. I made it down the stairs feeling fine.

At church, the elders anointed me with oil and prayed over me (according to James 5:14), and I decided to try again.

First stop was the library to return a book, and then to City Hall to see our town Christmas tree.

In the library parking lot, two trees caught my attention. One had two nests on it--a little one and a much larger one.

The lower half of the other tree's trunk intrigued me. It looked like a bust sculpture without the head.
















After visiting the Christmas tree, I found a spot closer to the center of town to park in, and began my stroll along Main Street, and down and around 21st Street.

Two hours later, by God's amazing grace, I had covered almost three miles (6,498 steps) and taken over 250 pictures without experiencing any shortness of breath.

Following are just a few of my favorite sightings on this walk. The rest of the hand painted holiday ornaments will get a post of their own.

I really liked the words on the music store's sign, and a couple of blocks past that one, got a chuckle out of the upside down sign wishing passers by a great day.






















































I stopped for a few moments to watch some squirrels scampering around, and took several shots of this one gorging on acorns.








Then, before continuing on my way, I got to meet these two beauties--Jack and Hugo.




























































This piece of litter caught my attention because there are no Bloomingdale stores in this neck of the woods. I wondered how it got here. The closest one is about 30 minutes away, I think.






When I got back to my car, I looked up and saw a cross in the sky.  What a great reminder that God is always watching over me. It made me a little teary, and a lot grateful for the miracle of this day.








One final reminder when I got home came in the form of a little heart shaped stone that caught my eye as I stepped out of the car. No matter how things may look in the natural, no matter what my intellect may try to convince me of, God is a good God and He loves me.

HOME AGAIN

This was my first blog. I started it a little over 12 years ago when I was grandma to six, great-granny to one, and thought sharing my experiences might brighten someone's day, or even offer encouragement to someone who needed it.  I enjoyed making and following new friends.  Then along came Facebook, and I got so caught up in that, my blog posts became fewer and further apart. They stopped altogether when I started two new blogs--The Splendor of God's Brushstrokes, to post my photos on, and At the Foot of the Cross, for pretty much the same reason I started this blog.

Now I'm a grandma to seven, great-granny to four, still aspiring to make a difference and brighten someone's day, but wondering why I thought I needed two additional blogs to do this. So here I am back "home" again, searching for an answer, and grateful I never followed the impulse to delete this one when I moved on.

What a humbling experience these past few hours have been. Reminiscing my way through posts has brought tears and laughter, but most of all, it has blessed me with the very gift I had hoped to bless others with. Long forgotten comments have encouraged me, lifted my spirits, and brightened my day. Who would have thought? If any of you who wrote them still inhabit blogland and are reading this, thank you, thank you. thank you. You've made me want to stick around for while.