Rivers and Roots in an Ocean of Love; Winner

Heraclitus said, "You can never step in the same river twice" and it's true; it's also true you can never step in the same ocean twice. Both statements give me pause. This life is so fleeting, so transitory but what should I expect when we Christians are aliens on this sphere? In His image we were made for this Earth but the Fall changed all that and instead of living in a garden Paradise, we yearn for something we remember through a veiled mist of time. In the meantime, the entire Earth groans for His return; from a Garden we came and to a Garden we'll return.

One of my very favorite things to do, when meeting a babe in arms, is to ask about heaven and Jesus. Always that babe delights with gurgles, smiles, bright eyes, raw, untempered excitement...they are new enough to remember being released from His arms to make their journey to this alien land. They don't yet carry all the doubts and fears that, ultimately, join us on our journey, causing us to spend enormous amounts of time striving to shed the weighty, familiar cloak of baggage we carry.

Almost everywhere in Blogland, people are writing about Autumn's bittersweetness and winter prep on the farm continues. Recently, both chimney and furnace have been cleaned, both ready for wood to be laid for fires. The back porch needs re-arranging so the wood rack can be brought from the barn, then filled.

Cleaning the chimney involves a man on the roof,

while another man cleans the wood stove.

A few weeks ago, Gypsy and I were on the back porch, searching for the location of a crying kitten.

There! In the tree straight ahead, Good Golly Miss Molly, sits in the tree, crying piteously, asking begging for rescue. Oh, by the way...we've had a gender identity issue problem on the farm...I took Good Golly Miss Molly and

Smudge Moonbeam to the vet clinic for vaccinations and to schedule an appointment to have them both spayed. Dr. Anne said, "Ummm, you need to take another look. These kittens are males, not females." I replied, "Well. Okay. In my defense, I've been a widow almost five years and while things haven't changed all that much, my memory is a little weak."

All that to say, Good Golly Miss Molly is now Good Golly Mr. Molly but still answers to Molly. You know, life is always interesting...even behind a locked gate.

At Living a HeartFul Life, I had a giveaway for a hand crafted wooden nut bowl and implements. There were thirty comments and number 18, Lisa of In the Boon Docks, won and has 24 hours to respond to my private e-mail.

Ponder this ~ Jesus stepped out of eternity, into time, so we might step out of time, into eternity. ~