My yard has been full of birdies today. All kinds and all colors — goldfinches, purple finches, nuthatches, brown-headed cowbirds, wrens, sparrows, cardinals, downy woodpeckers, doves, and chickadees. And a big buzzard flew through the yard before heading high in the sky to the wind current staircase. I have been lollygagging in the swing all day watching the birds and the beautiful day celebrate spring. Thanks, God, for another glorious day in my little village of paradise.

The sky is just pure dark azure and cloudless. Father Sky never picked up his pastels today to sketch any clouds. The sun is beaming down warm and bright. Mother Nature is occasionally creating a little whirlwind of noisy brown magnolia leaves. I wondered if she is practicing her tornado skills. She’s still blowing her spring winds but I think she’s almost out of breath.

At sunset it was a lollipop lick of pale colors. Remember those little children’s suckers with the safety string handles, all in clear see through rainbow colors? Mother Nature chose her watercolors today with the little lollipops in her mind. She stroked yellow, orange, and pale pink lollipop colors across the sky at twilight.

The sunset was beautiful in its mellow muted colors. The sun was dressed in a sophisticated gown of silver ice colored silk, beaming brightly as she walked down the horizon on the arm of Father Sky. The sunset’s pale watercolors were brightened by Father Sky’s formal tuxedo colored lollipop lavender and lilac. He wore a silk rainbow top hat and twirled a walking cane that sparked as it touched each step of the horizon. Father Sky and the sun tap danced down the horizon and pulled the day’s light down behind them letting the day die and the night live. The moon and stars waked themselves to watch the sun and Father Sky dance down the skyline. They make a handsome couple!

Read through several books of quotes today searching for inspiration while I pondered in the swing. Stumbled across an article on the things God wants us to do. Number Six was “live your life with thankfulness, not complaining.” That’s wonderful advice and a great thought to try and live by. If we begin our day thanking God for all our blessings, instead of complaining about things we don’t have, our attitude for the day begins on a positive note. We start the day with a happy frame of mind and we notice a difference in how our day passes.

I really think the main thing God wants to do with our lives is believe in Jesus and love him. Acts 16:13 says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.” If we live a Christian life our words and actions will bring others into the kingdom of heaven. God also wants us to read and study his word in the Bible. Reading the Bible helps us gain wisdom and guidance and teaches us how to live a Christian life.

We also need to make prayers a priority. God wants us to come to him in prayers, on blended knee when life is hard to travel, and when life is full of glorious joy, God wants us to give praise and thanksgiving for our blessings. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

God wants us to love each other and treat each other with kindness and compassion. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is such a beautiful expression of love — “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” We need to spread these beautiful words around the world.

“The true call of a Christian is not to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.”—Dean Stanley