Abundant living...

* children peacefully working together making a dam in the creek nearby
* a long overdue visit with a dear friend and her charming, polite and beautiful children...
* fresh baked pumpkin muffins...
* sunshine and air infused with the aroma of Fall...
* uninterrupted conversation with dear hubby...
* cheering on the cute preschoolers as they bob for apples..

I'm determined to tap into the abundant life Jesus promises us. Surely it must be possible to live a life of abundance in spite of the poo that flies from time to time. (Not just figuratively, either--I have a puppy, a not-quite-toilet-trained preschooler, and a 10 month old!) It's a choice I must make-every minute of the day--heaviness or happiness, mercy or madness, bless or blast, play or pout, laugh or languish (okay, I guess I'm getting carried away with the alliteration!) Today I chose to play, laugh and be happy--with a little madness mixed in. (Hey, nobody's perfect!) A taste of abundant living...and it was delicious.

A warm welcome....

Thanks, everyone, for such a warm welcome! More later...

Keeping the longview

A friend of the family makes a to-do list for himself everyday. At the top he writes "Longview". It's to remind himself of the need to look beyond right now...to keep the higher goal in mind when trying to get through the troubles of the day. At the bottom of the list he writes "Leave it better". Ken and I have kind of adopted that as our motto. When circumstances are difficult, when obstacles arise, we look at one another and say "Longview." Thus, the name. And so begins my foray into the world of blog. I'm keeping the longview. And hopefully, when all is said and done, I will have "left it better".