Another vanilla bean ice cream colored overcast sky today, beautiful as I watch the subtle grays and purple and blues meld together, keeping the sun’s rays to herself, the clouds spitting out a stingy few drops of rain, barely enough to wet the sidewalk. Guess it’s time for another rain dance, been 17 days since it has rained on my yard and flower garden. Drank my morning coffee perched in the swing enjoying the morning coming to life as it drowsily woke up in the cloudiness. The wind chimes across the street played their organ music softly and the happy birds joined in to compose a pleasant yard symphony. Slight cool breeze made for perfect porch swing perching.

My yard is full of cardinals joined with a small flock of American goldfinches, dressed in their bright crayon yellow coats with jet black sleeves, enjoying the feeders and the sunflower blooms’ dried seeds. The goldfinches are so beautiful in their contrasting yellows and blacks. A flock of goldfinches is called a charm and they are charming little birds as they fly in a undulating wave pattern across the yard back and forth from the feeders to the flower garden. I tried to photograph them perched on the dried sunflowers blooms but just couldn’t sneak up quiet enough. Course Kat following me didn’t help. I think she misses her other home but doesn’t ever get too far way from the porch. She doesn’t like loud noises so maybe she ran away on the Fourth of July. She’s a sweet little cat.

So glad to see Fatty the squirrel back today and to know he wasn’t roadkill in the street. I know he’s mad about the slinky on his favorite bird pole but there are many more poles he can scamper up. I’ve been wondering where the squirrels are. I found four of them today partying on the back deck eating the chestnuts when I opened the curtains this morning. It’s amazing to watch them chew open the prickly burs to get the chestnuts. The smallest squirrel kept playing with the bigger ones’ tails, aggravating them to death. I love to watch them frolick.

Today’s quote in my book is by Christopher Columbus. “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” I wonder if Columbus was a Godly man and did he pray for calm seas on his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean? Ships are always safe at shore but they aren’t built to stay on shore. Our lives feel safe when we stay on the shores of our comfort zones. There’s a whole world to explore but most of us don’t step off our shores. Most of us don’t even know what we are capable of till we get enough courage to leave our safe zones.

I think God wants to to step into the world bravely and content in the knowledge that he is walking beside us and giving us encouragement. Psalm 37:23 reads, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” That first step takes the most courage but once the journey begins we experience the wonders of life. I think widowhood made me step out of my comfort zone and I’ve had experiences and questions that took some heavy praying to complete. We can step out of our comfort zone with God’s grace and strength.

God has predetermined our path but we choose whether to follow his path or to set off on our own, struggling till we realize we need to turn to God to find our way. “There are times when we have to step into the darkness in faith, confident that God will place solid ground beneath our feet once we do,” Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

When we walk with faith in God we have the confidence to go where God is calling us. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” Psalm 119:105. Life can be difficult and sometimes we want to turn back from the path we’re walking because we don’t know what God is calling us to do. When we come to a crossroads we can turn to God in prayer for help in finding our direction. God leads us one step at a time and we never walk alone.

God is our safe harbor.

“God will test you because He wants you to mature. He wants you to develop a walk with Him that is not based on your fluctuating emotions, but on your commitment to Him as you learn to walk by faith.” — Greg Laurie