Today was a pale blue sky day with a pale white cloud cover. The sky turned overcast in the afternoon and was marbled with gray clouds and blue sky peeks. The birds were enjoying the bird baths and the feeders this morning. The yard was so quiet I could hear the bird bath fountains bubbling. Not much breeze to make the wind chimes sing so I sat in the swing eating breakfast and enjoying the quiet of the cool morning. The yard orchestra started tuning up when the blue jays came over to the oak tree and started picking some acorns off the branches. They are so noisy with their “jeer, jeer” squawking.

Don’t know why I’ve never seen blue jays pick acorns off the oak tree. It fascinates me that they can carry five acorns at one time in their mouths. They take the acorns away, pile them up, and bury them one at a time. The blue jays are so boisterous in the fall. They squawk about the acorns, squawk to warn about dogs and cats, and squawk when they greet their bird relatives. They’re no longer concerned about protecting their nests this time of year, so they are more vocal. Sometimes they sound like a hawk. They are beautiful birds dressed in their feathered coats of blue and black and white. They look like little uniformed soldiers with their gray-blue battle crest helmets.

Had a busy day with workmen fixing a few ceiling lights and a clog in my kitchen sink drain. Man, not being able to use the kitchen sink for a two days almost put me in panic mode! Seriously I was praying for me and praying for the sink. I never use paper plates, never even buy them, so I had a few dishes stacked up since the dishwasher drains through the sink drain.

Stew put some hot water in a large bucket and rinsed everything and stacked it neatly by the sink. I told him that was the nicest thing he’d ever done for me. He said, “You were freaking out about the sink and the dirty dishes…thought you might have a stroke.” Course, he’s just exaggerating to be funny but I was about ready to pack for Shady Oaks. When your home is 103 years old you never know what will be involved when you repair something! Everything worked out well and after three loads in the dishwasher, and a few washing of pots and pans in the sink, we’re all cleaned up. Thank you Lord for helpful electricians and plumbers!

Saw this quote today, “Worry is a conversation you have with yourself about things you cannot change. Prayer is a conversation you have with God about things he can change.” Guess we all worry about different things and we all pray for different reasons. I worried about the sink drain, thinking the worse, that the clog would be expensive if the pipes had to be reworked. I prayed for the Lord to help me accept what ever had to be done and to be thankful I could have it fixed. As usual, I worried about something I couldn’t change and made myself miserable with worry when with the help of an auger the plumber quickly solved the problem. I’ve always said 99% of what we worry about usually doesn’t even come to fruition.

I am a staunch believer in the power of prayer. I’ve seen prayer’s power during the illness of two children in our family and I’ve seen and experienced how prayer and faith can lead us through the darkness of the death of a child and a spouse. In today’s world we need to pray for wisdom from the Lord. The world need prayers for love and peace. We need to pray for our children to grow up in a world with respect for each other, regardless of our skin color or beliefs. We have to learn to agree to disagree without the anger of retaliation.

My three grandchildren say their prayers at night, thankful for their family, friends, and their pets. When they were little I loved to hear their prayers. One night listening to the boys saying their prayers, I heard one of them say, “I hope Granddaddy had a good day in heaven.”

The power of prayer is the power of God. He hears our prayers and answers them. We may have to wait for an answer and we may not like the answer we receive but our lives are in his hands and I believe he has a path charted for us. We just have to have enough faith to accept the outcome of our prayers. God knows us, he sees us, he listens to our prayers, and he loves us.

“Hope is praying for rain but faith is bringing an umbrella,” — Barbara Johnson