Big boom and a crash of thunder work me up this morning. Penelope jumped up from the end of the bed and leaped off to go to her safe zone under my bed. Even it I put my hand on her and pat her she won’t stay by me during a storm. If I’m in the lady den she squeezes under my chair till the thunder and rain passes. I watched the bamboo forest dance in the wind and rain.

When things quieted down I took Penelope for her morning walk and everything was so beautiful and green, the sky so blue, the clouds so white. I checked on my vegetables and saw a small yellow squash and two tiny cucumbers and lots of tomato blooms. The zinnias are so perky, raising their leaves to worship the sun, and the sunflowers are just coming up. I was afraid something had eaten the sunflower seeds but I could see the little rows of them today.

I ate my bagel perched in the swing watching a little host of sparrows. I sat in the swing without my cushions because I let it rain on them but they dried quickly in the heat of the day. Didn’t see many cardinals today. But the big wood thrush feasted on the suet baskets and the little downy woodpeckers were around. My hummingbirds have been gone for a few days. Haven’t had luck with them for several years. I think they are jealous of all the time I spend doting on the songbirds.

I came inside in the heat of the afternoon and had a little cleaning spree before I sat back down on the porch to watch the magnificence of the sunset pageant. I watched Mother Nature wash the whole horizon in pale pink watercolors as the sun prepared to walk down the pageant runway. Dressed in a vivid orange-red ball gown the sun stood boldly on the horizon, letting her golden fingers color the hovering clouds pink and aqua as she waited for Father Sky to join her.

Father Sky was dressed in a black tuxedo, very handsome as he took the sun’s hand. As they walked down the horizon Mother Nature blazed a watercolor wildfire of peachy orange flames that burned themselves out quickly, leaving the silhouettes of the oaks and magnolias inky black in the dusk of twilight. Father Sky kissed the sun goodnight and went to wake the luminous moon and the twinkling stars, waking the night to begin its pageantry. The day is done and the night begun.

As I watched the twilight come alive I thought of the quote by Voltaire, “Paradise on Earth is where I am.” I’m sitting on the porch in my 103 year old family home that needs some paint and some new windows and a few brick bannisters and I’m so happy to be here. This is my paradise and I’m grateful to be where I am. I feel God’s presence here. Paradise is a place of perfect beauty and happiness existing on earth as opposed to heaven. God wants us to enjoy our time on Mother Earth. He wants us to prosper and do well. And he wants us to be a blessing to those around us.

Micah 6:8 reads,”He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah lists three principle of what God asks us to do during our time on earth — to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with him. To do God’s justice means to care for the vulnerable and to confront evil and to make right which is wrong. To act justly is to treat people fairly and respectfully. We should strive to fulfill our obligations in a manner consistent with the Bible’s commandments.

God call us to love kindness, a concept that seems to be really hard for some folks. God calls us to love others and put others ahead of ourselves, calls us to love people we don’t even like. The world could use a big dose of kindness. Everyone is so busy on their life’s treadmill, pushing others away, not taking time to listen, trying to get ahead and win the race. They’ve already won the race and don’t even know it. We need to try to love people as Jesus loves us, treating others with dignity and respect.

The third principle of what God asks is to walk humbly with him. Walking with God gives us opportunities to receive his strength and his guidance, opportunities to grow spiritually through prayers and Bible studies. God is always in our hearts and always by our side. We need to put our faith in God and humbly follow the path God has chosen for us. Walking with God makes everything possible.

“Those who walk with God always reach their destination.” — Henry Ford