Friday morning and I woke up late. Not that I have to be anywhere today, but I usually get up around 6 a.m…sometimes a little before, sometimes a little after. Today it was after 7 and I only woke up because the dog got me up! We got a new dusting of snow last night. A lot of the 6 inches or so on the ground had melted, so this just put a new white coating on things. My friend Stacey in Phoenix doesn’t have snow, but Stacey and I first met when we both lived in St. Louis. St. Louis has gotten some snow and it is REALLY cold there now. If you have ever heard about how harsh the Midwest winters can be, it is true! On Wednesday or Thursday morning of this week I believe I read where the temperature was 4 degrees Fahrenheit. Ouch! THAT is cold.
As the sun is coming up today here in eastern Pennsylvania the sky is turning pink, peeking through the bare trees, rising over the snow white roof of the house…a beautiful sight. The bright red cardinals are waiting for their turn at the bird feeder, the vividness of their color so stark against the white backdrop. While I do not necessarily like the cold, snow is better than ice and I would prefer some snow to a lot of rain. But I do like the different seasons…what a wonderful God we serve that gave us such a wonderful place to live. From the vastness of the Grand Canyon, from sea to shining sea (yeah, I borrowed that line!), to the beauty of Niagara Falls, the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains, the smoke of the Smokey Mountains, the absolutely breath-taking vistas of Yellowstone (right side picture-my photograph does not do Yellowstone Falls justice!!) and Grand Teton National Parks (blog title photograph), beautiful Acadia National Park in Maine (top left picture), to the amazing state of Hawaii (most of the sidebar pictures, but I think the 2nd sidebar from the top may be Acadia) that I got to visit last March. Our country is so beautiful and I feel blessed to have been able to see so much of it.
So, while today is different than many of my posts, the white snow and pinkish sky give me reason to be thankful for so many things. Not only the beauty of this country, but for the change of seasons, for basic things like food, shelter and clothing. I have always liked the song by 4Him called The Basics of Life….maybe the purpose of today’s post was to remind me to get back to the basics. What do you need to get “back to” today?
Peace and Blessings…
Amen. This country is beautiful and I have my husbands USN career to thank for seeing most of it!
And I have to thank your husband for my freedom! Please thank him for me and thank you to you for being at home to support him. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Mary B, I was stationed up at Acadia National Park in Winter Harbor Me for 3 years. I loved it then and I long to go back now. It is breathtakingly beautiful. Thanks for taking me back.
Acadia & Smokey Mtn. National Park are two of my favorites. What did you do that you were stationed there? Do you work for NPS? Thanks for reading!