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| View from our front yard this morning |
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Weather: Snowing. It snowed about an inch or two this morning after midnight. The temperature rose above freezing during the day. Now it is lightly snowing again and the temperatures are supposed to drop below freezing tonight.
Undecorating: It is the time of year when I question why I have so many Christmas decorations since I have to spend so much time undecorating the house after spending so much time decorating it a month ago. So far we haven't done much, just putting away a few items but I hope to take down the tree and ornaments tomorrow for sure.
New Year's Day Thoughts: During church today the whole service was focused on God's promises and faithfulness. It was very touching. This is the benediction:
We leave today going into a future as yet unmapped.
Take faith with you as you go;
Into the parts of your life not yet traveled by love;
Into the parts of the world unexplored by grace;
Let compassion and hope be the roads that you follow: today and always.
Amen.
Hard year: 2016 was a hard year for us with the death of Don's father and the election of Trump as President. Yet, we are so blessed. We are surrounded by loving family members and friends. Our children are healthy and happy in their jobs and schooling, in their lives. We are both employed in stable jobs that help shape how we view ourselves. We have a nice home and plenty of food. Life is good.
Prayer for the day: Prayers for my high school friend, Debbie, who was just diagnosed with a rare bone marrow cancer which has been causing painful hematomas. She started chemotherapy yesterday.
Scripture for the upcoming year:
Books finished this week:
- A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moritarty...the third book in the Colors of Madeleine series. I like the series a lot but I think this book got a little lost along the way. It did end satisfactorily, though.
- The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens... a murder mystery. Really well done. We listened to it in the car as we drove to and from Christmas vacation in Oregon. We we got home we had to listen to the finale in our living room so that all three of us could find out how it worked out. Very exciting.
Currently reading:
- The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner...a book club selection which I may not finish on time. Eek! It is 25 + hours of listening on the audiobook and I'm only 8% done.
- Rani Patel in Full Effect by Sonia Patel... a YA novel set on the island of Molaka'i. This book has the potential to be much deeper than it appears by the cover with themes of incest and marital infidelity.
- The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon...this is going to be my first book of the year. I hope, at least, since I haven't started it yet.
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| Our backyard today. |
