Another wonderful porch swing pondering day in a yard just bursting with flocks of songbirds. Blue sky with feather clouds and jet contrails, stretching themselves till they blended into the blue of the sky canvas. Warm clear sunshine, then the clouds gathered together mid-day to make a thin overcast cloud cover to block the sunshine’s rays. I love the colors of an overcast sky, the grays and blues and whites. I could occasionally see smoky wisps floating quickly by from Father Sky’s tobacco pipe.

Mother Nature was pondering herself on her sunset pageant going forth behind the clouds. She doesn’t care if clouds cover her creation. She’s painting for God’s glory. I’ll create a sunset pageant in my mind just as glorious as she paints with her watercolors. I think I’ll choose shades of amethyst, heliotrope, and orchid for my watercolor painting of the sunset, the sun a bright golden yellow shining on cotton candy clouds in rainbow colors. Won’t be as magnificent as Mother Nature’s no matter how hard I try, though.

Didn’t catch any critters last night so I’m declaring raccoon hunting season over. Caught four so maybe there aren’t any more. But something did snitch the marshmallows for three nights. Must have been a little critter, not heavy enough to set off the trap.

Ever wonder what heaven is like? I love this simple definition of heaven from the Cambridge Dictionary — Heaven: the place where God lives and where good people go after they die according to some religions. Other definitions include, heaven is the abode of God, the angels, and the spirits of the righteous after death; the place or state of existence of the blessed after the mortal life.

When I think of heaven I don’t think of mansions or streets paved in gold, I see family togetherness and happiness and love, a continuation of life as we lived it on Earth, where we are reunited with our loved ones who have gone on before us. My definition came from Chief because he was always saying, “Mama, we are living our heaven right now on Earth.” I think heaven will be a place of perfect peace and tranquility, full of happiness and love, rocking chairs and swings on the porches. Imagine pondering behind the pearly gates! And think how exquisitely beautiful the songbirds will be!

I think we can have heaven on earth, too. Our mindset can help us achieve true happiness and contentment. When we accept our lives as they are and quit searching for what we think is missing from our lives, I think we can be content and happy. We are all responsible for our own happiness. Always focus on the positive and not the negative. Take stock of where you are and be thankful for all your blessings, both great and small. And be thankful for family and friends who travel the paths of life with us.

God cares about our happiness. By following and obeying God we will find a road to our happiness. They’ll be rocks and boulders and changes and challenges on our paths but God’s light will show us the way and guide us through our prayers.

“Heaven on earth is a choice you must make, not a place you must find,” Wayne W. Dyer.