Beautiful day to be alive and spending the day on Mother Earth. The sky is azure blue, clear and cloudless. Mother Nature is blowing a cool breeze, the wind chimes pounding out a fall symphony, the bird feeders full of purple finches and crimson and fawn-brown cardinals. The little wren, his chest pumped out with song, is serenading his lover from the porch bannister. The bamboo are getting an aerobic work out bending and swaying in time with the banging wind chimes. The green of the bamboo fronds against the azure sky is a picture.

Been in Christmas mode again today. Got lights on the big cedar tree and the living room mantle decorated. I’m loving these real trees, the cedar smells so good. My daughter collected little collectible shoe ornaments and after she died I kept adding to the shoe collection, little purses, prissy girlie ornaments, old chandelier crystals, and I decorate a tree for her every year. The tree was pretty scraggly last year so the “girls” need a new tree this year. I have two tall silver trees I might make into a girlie tree. I hope my granddaughter will put these beautiful little ornaments on her Christmas tree one day.

When Rosie died Chief and I would decorate a small Christmas tree for her at our family cemetery in Alex City. Talk about a sad experience, take a Christmas tree to the grave of your child. It wrenches your heart. Chief bought some beautiful little fragile glass angels for her tree. We’d take the tree over on Christmas Eve. Years later we had a beautiful large china urn that we’d fill with cedar and boxwood and nandina berries. One year it was so cold the urn froze and broke in two pieces. I took a bird bath and a bird feeder there and would sit on the iron park bench my feed store friend gave us thinking about Rosie and watching the birds. When we got to the cemetery for Chief’s funeral, I noticed someone had stolen the park bench. Sad!

Watched Mother Nature paint the sky with turquoise and golden light for her nightly pageant of sunset, brushing a turquoise watercolor wash across the dusky skyline and glazing the horizon in a golden honey hue. The sun, dressed in a bright blinding white gown, gracefully walked a gold runway down the horizon and waved the day goodnight as she slipped under her golden cloud covers.

Father Sky kissed the sun goodnight and waked the moon and stars, placing the gleaming diamonds in the sky to welcome the night’s light that guides our way. Could not find the moon in his full moon self but finally noticed him shining shyly through the slender leaves in the tops of the tall bamboo stalks. He was luminous but bashful as he slowly floated to his stage high in the sky. Love this quote, “The night walked down the sky with the moon holding her hand,” Lyla K. Pearson. But I think of the night as masculine.

The stars are shining prettily in the navy sky tonight. Not a lot of sky jewels but the ones I see are beaming their lights from the heavens. Made me think of a quote I recently read by Edith Wharton. “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” I’m not sure if I’m a candle or a mirror. I think God and our faith put a glow in our hearts, a warmth that manifests in how we go about our lives. The candles burn brightly, hot with their flames. The mirror reflects the warmth and distributes it. A candles flame is a symbol of God and his presence and power.

When we step into the darkness and troubles of life, God is our light. Our faith in the Lord is our light, spreading the warmth of God’s love. With kindness and compassion, we can be a mirror that reflects the light of God’s love. Our words and actions mirror our Christianity. God is the candlelight of our lives. Let’s be the mirror that reflects his light

“When God comes into your life, He lights a candle in your soul.” — Anita Bryant