This morning the sky is the bluest of blues with not a cloud on the sky’s pulchritudinous canvas. Love my new word, pulchritudinous, an adjective for great physical beauty. The cardinals are enjoying the feeders. I see the little downy woodpecker hanging upside down eating from the suet basket. Yes, he’s still in need of a bath. I saw a little wren, not very old. He was a skinny juvenile and didn’t have the rounded chest like the mature one who sings in the yard all day and perches on the swing chain to watch me. He’s so curious. I love the wrens. They are dressed plainly but sing beautifully. A chime of wrens is always flitting and fighting with the titmice for the perches on the bird feeder by the bannisters. So far, I see no evidence of the raccoon having a party on the porch last night. Thank goodness!

I sat quietly and watched the cloud formations gather in mid-morning. This huge cumulus cloud behind my great-grandmothers house was blinding white, glistening as the sun rays beamed on it. The cloud looked just like a T-rex dinosaur, then morphed from a dinosaur to a big horn sheep, a fish, a dog, and a grizzly bear before it dispersed. Don’t think I’ve watched a cloud for so long since I was a child. Sometimes my youngest son and I will watch the clouds change shapes when we’re sitting on the porch together. We never see the same pictures, though. Next time my grandchildren come we’re going to do some cloud watching and be cloud-spotters. If you enjoy watching clouds for leisure you are a nephophile. Another new word to file away.

I honestly have watched my cucumbers and tomatoes grow today. I checked them this morning and I swear when I checked on at them at twilight tonight they were twice as big! I wanted to pick that cucumber and eat it but decided to let it enjoy the vine till morning. I’ll be picking tomatoes tomorrow, too. Can’t wait for that first delicious tomato sandwich. Oldest brother came for a porch visit and bragged on my vegetable plants. Then he says, “Better get your hoe after that grass in your flower bed.” Think I’m going to have to pull that grass up by hand. I don’t have a hoe. Hope Balthazar and his snake friends aren’t in there!

Was reading about the sky and clouds today and came across this quote, “It’s the darkest nights that produce the brightest stars,” John Green. When we struggle in life our strength and our character shines brightest in those dark moments. Even when the darkness of the storms rage we can always find light and hope in God’s grace. The stars are always pinned on the sky canvas, we just can’t see them in the bright sun. The darkness of night makes the stars visible. When we have dark times in our lives, we find our stars in our prayers and our faith in God. We have to learn to see the stars in the darkness. We have to pray arduously to find the stars but they are always present.

Our lives are constantly changing. If we don’t accept change we’ll miss out on what life is offering us. We have to harness these changes into something positive. In the darkest of our nights, we learn of our blessings. An old Chines proverb says, “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, other people build windmills.” If you build a figurative wall, you are focusing on the negative changes. If you build a windmill you can harness the changes into positive blessings.

It’s pouring down rain now, the living waters from heaven, cooling the air and nourishing they earth. In scripture reading we equate water with energy and healing. In Luke 5:4 Jesus tells Simon Peter, “Now take the boat out into deep water. Then put the nets into the water to catch some fish.” Jesus is teaching the fishermen to trust in God’s guidance using the vastness of the sea as a metaphor to deepen the faith for their discipleship. Jesus walking on the water is a reminder that with faith and God’s help anything is possible.

Many scriptures in the Bible speak of water as soul cleansing and healing. When we swim in the ocean, we’re nurtured with spiritual renewal as we connect with the earth’s pulse through God’s grace in the motion and sound of the ocean’s heart beat. We feel God’s power and strength and we believe he is present in the natural world. The vastness of the ocean reminds us of God’s omnipotence and how we are but a spec in the universe.

Water is also a symbol of new life and rebirth. In John 3:5, Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” When we’re baptized with water, the water signifies our spiritual birth into the family of God. Without God’s grace we would die spiritually just as we die physically from a lack of water. John 4:14 states: “But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” God’s “living water” quenches our spiritual thirst and gives us life.

“Like a spring of pure water, God’s peace in our hearts brings cleansing and refreshment to our minds and bodies.” — Billy Graham