Global warming? Somehow I don’t think the memo made it to the Deep South. As I drink my first cup of coffee on this frigid Saturday morning, trying to thaw and get my bones moving, I am thankful that I do not have to venture out today. I’m blessed!

I love to reflect on my blessings. Seems there is something special about Saturday mornings that makes it more conducive to reflecting? Maybe it’s a hold-over from the days of working outside the home when the rush of the work week suddenly came to a stop and there was time to actually choose the day’s activities? Perhaps. But even after retiring – when every day is Saturday, “they” say – Saturdays are just in a league of their own in my opinion and deserve to be savored!

We are all blessed and nurtured and enriched from so many sources! For me, to be so blessed as to wake up in a very warm, comfortable home where I can choose to stay warm from more than one source of heat if I want to, is a true blessing; or, I can choose to simmer a pot of soup today, selecting from several varieties (thanks to Luke and Hannah who presented Daddy Bill with yummy soup mixes for Christmas!). Will it be Chives Potato Soup, Sailor Soup, 3 Amigos Stew, 4 Tortilla Soup, Country Harvest Lentil Soup, or Chicken ‘N Pasta Soup? Ah, I just love semi-homemade!

Or, I can choose to enjoy God’s beautiful world simply by looking outside my home from any number of windows (even though with a little effort on my part there might be more clarity. One friend suggested that when her windows needed washing, she just moved!) Even though the trees and shrubbery are bare and appear to be shivering; the sweet gum balls are decorating my outside kitchen entrance (they are so faithful, abundant, and provide a great surface for impromptu skating!); the limping vines and sweet little yellow tomatoes are mere facsimiles of what they once were; and the overturned deck containers that once nurtured plant life and lovely foliage are all in various stages of singing, “I’ve had it!”, and other unidentifiable greenery are in their final resting places, it’s still beautiful out there and reminds me that these “bones” shall live again! Spring is buried somewhere underneath all the deadness!

Or, if I choose to, perhaps I will re-read all the Christmas cards from friends from so many places. I will thoughtfully remember and cherish the memories that accompany those cards and letters because someone took the time (not to mention paying for the postage!) to send them our way. I will be thankful for friends who continue to enrich my life, over and over and over. Distance matters not. As someone said, "It's never far to a friend's house."

So what will I choose to do with this Saturday’s 24 hours? Right now I’m choosing to get another cup of coffee and search for the bacon and eggs! (Yes, my fridge is begging for space!) It’s Saturday, after all, and that’s the day Mr. Bill gets a real breakfast! As you might figure, we don’t “figure” Weight Watchers points on Saturdays! Oh, perhaps that’s another blessing? Maybe Saturdays cancel all calories? And, since he just planted a kiss on the way down to where he lives (at the bottom of the stairs), I guess I’d better get going and look for that skillet! For those not raised in the South, that’s also known as a fry pan!

Choose wisely today and give thanks for freedom afforded us in Christ!

Joshua 24:15 (New International Version)15

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

PS: My deepest apologies to you for the previous "publish" ... the formatting feature on this blogging outfit is not awake and doesn't mind me! So forgive if there are duplicate entries while I try to get it right!