A busy day is drawing to its close, at long last. It's so good to finally sit down and just take a moment's rest. :) Our family's Sundays begin very early, as we are responsible for leading worship in a Baptist church about thirty minutes away. It's always a great blessing to be before the Lord in such a way, but a tremendous will power is required of me during the first service's sermon, in order to keep my eyes from "glazing over" in sleep deprivation. :) I must, however, not lead you to believe the expositions dull in any way. I commend my pastor for the excellence of the word he shared today from Philippians 2. It's rather humbling, honestly, that the Son of God would, "not counting equality with God a thing to be grasped", choose to take on the form of a bond-servant of a fallen humanity. How very much that thought fills me with a desire to be ever willing to serve, no matter what He requires of me.

"...But drops of grief can ne'er repay

The debt of love I owe.

Here, Lord, I give myself to Thee.

'Tis all that I can do..."

After the morning services were completed, I stopped by a friend's horse farm for a little while. It was a glorious day out, and the hour spent in the company of such a dear woman could not have been more pleasant. My little sister, Anna, is getting a miniature horse from this farm very soon, and we all wanted to say hello to the little mare, Joanna, too. You must understand that our family already has a very well established menagerie, but "where there's room in the heart, there's room in the home", or stable, in this case. :) Dear Anna couldn't be more thrilled, especially since we're building Joanna her own miniature yard and tiny stable to match her slight build.

Papa and I went to buy all the posts and planks for the fencing today, and the excursion turned out to be more enjoyable than most would think. (I love the scent of freshly hewn lumber, always have.) :) As I was helping Daddy hoist all of the boards atop our Suburban roof-rack, another shopper came out to the parking lot and, after a few moments, could no longer stand the sight of me and my feeble attempts at helping. I was on my very tippy-toes, reaching as far as I could to get the lumber where it belonged. The man came over with a good-natured grin and absolutely insisted on taking my place; he chuckled and told my father that I was "vertically challenged". I have to admit, 5'3" doesn't "go too far". :)

Anyway, all is well here, and I'm a blessed woman, indeed. I'm surrounded by a family I adore and a menagerie of which I try to be fond. :) God has seen to it that my life is full of many people and creatures to nourish in some way, and that makes me both contented and fulfilled. :)

Goodnight, friends!