A good walk can change your mood! The smell of honeysuckle. The melody of birds, especially in the early morning which is my favorite time to stride. There is something about the beauty of nature that enlarges and calms one’s thoughts. I often find myself thanking God for the gorgeous side of life. I love the vast expanses of green below and blue above. Why do people want to move away from this? I have lived in a large city before but now I reside outside a small town in a rural area. In a big city you don’t miss this scenery as much as you just forget about it. You get used to cement and blocked skies. It can be exciting and I will take a large city for a weekend of fun. But for day in and day out living, I think I prefer more space. I know it is true that tall buildings can inspire…………………. but for me, I am inspired by green and blue!

I confess to being a bit of a news junkie. I love to listen to what is going on in the world. But what is going on lately makes me shudder for the welfare of my country. I love my country. I would like everyone to love my county, especially my fellow citizens who live here. The citizens of Ferguson. The citizens of Baltimore. The citizens of my home town.We have problems. Poverty, lack of education, family breakdown, disenfranchisement, racial tension, even maybe instances of police brutality……they all are on display. But as NFL New Orleans Saint, Benjamin Watson, says “they are smoke, but the underlying fire is something that we all have to deal with and that’s our sin.” If we are looking for root causes, we need to start there. There is a little of Ferguson and Baltimore in all of our lives. None of us treat others as we should. None of us give as much as we could. None of care as much as we ought. But realizing that is a start. Benjamin Watson says that it is “only through a relationship with Jesus Christ that we can really deal with these situations and deal with our problem and then we can move forward and have reconciliation.” Music to the ear…and from an NFL player!! Maybe I will watch a little less news and a little more football!