Summer Sounds

I woke up this morning to silence. The busy mating rituals and territorial calls of thousands of birds has stilled somewhat, and the quiet lazy mornings of summer are settling in. It has rained during the night and every thing is gray and moist. There are cars passing by on the highway but even they are muffled by the wet pavement. I love these mornings. I was out early and hoed the garden, trimmed the grapevines, and tended the flower beds. Now I sit at the computer with a cup of Cafe Lib (the coffee addiction was cured almost two years ago) and wait for the boys to wake up. The skies are ominously gray so it will be a good day for cleaning closets, washing floors and curling up with a good book.

I need to choose a good devotional book to read through too. Summer is less scheduled and I tend to let my devotional life slide a little. I read a few chapters here and there from my Bible, play some good Christian music in the morning and try to convince myself it is enough. After all, family time is important, right? But I need to seek God's face at every step of my life. I need to diligently guard my heart, nourish it, strengthen it. The boys and I are going to study Daniel over the summer. We will haul out the commentaries, listen to some sermons by John Piper (http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/by-scripture/daniel) and just plain read the book through several times. I like to take on a summer project like that. It helps keep us focused and stresses the importance of daily time in God's Word.

No pictures today. Just this.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.