Beautiful day, blue sky, white clouds riding low on the horizon, wisp clouds stretching out in the high sky. Sat in the swing mid afternoon when the sun had warmed up the day. Penelope sat in her play pen shivering till she burrowed under her fox and owl blanket. I was comfortable in my feeted pajamas. Gave the trash pick up crew their Christmas candy. Stew stroked cause I walked out in the yard in my feeted pjs but I disguised them with shoes and a down vest. The workers were so appreciative of the candy. They smiled and their faces lit up.

Read a quote about pondering today. “Pondering is a little like considering and a little like thinking, but looser. To ponder, one must let the facts roll around the rim of the mind’s roulette wheel, coming to settle in which ever slot they feel pulled to,” Christopher Moore. I love to ponder on things and I love obscure facts. I file them away, calling them up occasionally for inspiration. Pondering is pleasant and doesn’t tax the brain like deep thinking does.

So, so many birds in the yard and on the feeders, enjoying the sunflower seeds and the suet baskets. The scarlet cardinals with their fawn brown mates, the little flocks of olive colored goldfinches, the chickadees wearing their little black toboggans and kerchiefs, the titmice always alert with their soldier crests standing tall, chattering around the yard feeding and socializing. The raccoons didn’t disturb anything last night. I moved the bird baths where they couldn’t reach the feeders by standing on the baths. I have a bottle tree where the birds perch to wait for a spot on the feeders and it was turned over so the raccoons must have climbed it.

I’m watching the sunset from a window in the lady den. Was just too nippy to sit in the swing and watch. I tried but it was too cold. The sun dominated the horizon, a fiery red-orange ball blazing in a golden yellow light. When the sunset began, Mother Nature dipped her watercolor brushes in pale pink and turquoise and painted the clouds on the horizon in Jolly Rancher candy colors. Next time I glanced out the window the sunset’s pageant was ablaze with the colors of a forest fire. Just a picture to watch the colors layered by Mother Nature’s brushes turn into the personification of a fiery blaze. I bet Father Sky singed his nose hairs when he leaned down to tuck the sun under her beautifully blazing cloud covers. The night came alive as the sun slipped comfortably into her featherbed and turned off the day’s light. Father Sky kissed her cheek, and woke the luminous half moon and the sparkling stars, to greet the night hello.

“The sky is a reminder that even in the darkest of nights, there is always a light to guide us.” God is our guiding light, his light a symbol of goodness, grace, and hope. The Lord is the North Star that guides us through our journey of faith. When our days are rough we can look toward the sky and know the light of God will help us on our way. When we trust the Lord, he will guide our steps in the direction we need to go. No path is too rocky, no road so dark that God cannot help us find our way to a ray of sunshine. A modern translation of Psalm 119:105 says, “By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path.” Isn’t it comforting to know when our lives take a turn down a treacherous path, God can help us turn around and get back on his lighted path. Trust the lord to guide your way!