First, let me thank you for the prayers and concern you offered for my sweet brother. I was so relieved when I found out he wasn’t being evacuated. But, with that being said, please pray for my Colorado hometown…Glenwood Springs. Glenwood Canyon has been burning on both sides of the Colorado River with high winds and no rain in sight. I’ve spent many wonderful hours in that canyon over the years and it was never a matter of “if” this would happen…but “when”. And when is now, I’m afraid. There is another much larger fire west of there, as well. Please pray for the smoke jumpers and slurry bombers navigating dangerous territory.

My day was filled yesterday. It started with baking bread and continued on to smoking 20 pounds of pork…a full rack of ribs and two fresh picnics. Today will be packaging the pulled pork, cleaning the smoker, and starting on the tomatoes from the garden.

The other day I wrote about maintaining a peaceful demeanor during these crazy times. For a while, I tried counteracting misinformation with articles from reputable news outlets. I found that didn’t change anything except my mood. It made me dark and stormy. And, it was incredibly time consuming. The next thing I tried was hitting the three little gray dots to the right of a post. On the drop down menu, there is usually a choice to “hide all from_______”…the source of the material. I hid things right and left. That started easing my feed a little bit because it didn’t matter who shared it…if it came from that source, I didn’t see it. Still, more and more hate was flowing through my page. I love my friends. I love my family. I want to keep up with what’s going on with them. I made the executive decision this week to take my page back. I started snoozing people for thirty days. Bingo…the hate level dropped tremendously.

Am I sticking my head in the sand? No way! It’s self preservation. I don’t need to see all that stuff. I just need to see pictures of my grandkids and my friends’ gardens and the occasional cartoon.

I focus on the calm, steadiness of the Holy Spirit. I seek the peace that goes beyond all understanding. I can feel the stress melt off my shoulders already. I find I actually surf less because I’m not drawn into “discussions” which are causing rifts in my relationships. There is something I learned many years ago. The person who is actually IN a toxic relationship is the last one to know it. I think right now, about 40% of us are in a toxic relationship with at least one person they know and they won’t realize it till they get out of it. I am hoping and praying that eyes will be opened, that compassion  and civility will be restored, and that we will all seek a calm and steady path. The world feels like a really bad marriage right now.

Mr. FixIt has graduated from Physical Therapy so I see camping in our future! The Perseid Meteor Shower is technically past its peak, but you are liable to catch some shooting stars if your skies are clear. And, if they aren’t? Take advantage of the warm night air and sit outside for a while. When it comes January and February…you’ll be so glad you did.

❤️

“God blesses those people who make peace. They will be called his children!”

Matthew 5:9 CEV