I believe these two cute faces have some upcoming plans in the making!  Just thinking about our Nashville couple and those smiles.  Proud of Sarah and Tony and happy our little treasured professor/song bird has found such a dear and talented man to share life and love with.  Miss you both!  XOXOXOXOXOX

Love people watching.  Love people smiles.  Love people expressions.  Love people hearts.  Love people colors.  Maybe each one is a mini-spec of the image of God. 

What if all the specs began to be in sync with His desires? 

This classy lady was docked in Hannibal Missouri about a year ago when I happened to be driving through.  I felt so honored to get to see her on such a beautiful blue-bird day.  I so wanted to get on board and spend time exploring what must have been a grand interior.  I was anxious to see those massive steam chimneys pour forth dark smoke and make the deep hollow sound that is only heard on mighty rivers.  I spent at least an hour walking around, surmising the incredible regal scene. Some things only come around once in a life-time.  And sometimes we are fortunate enough to find ourselves face to face with those rare gems.  What a joy to simply admire and soak in the pleasures and treasures of life!

I look at places and photographs such as these and they exhilarate my soul.  Something begins to dance and flutter at the space....the majesty...the color.  There is light and movement, growth and time happening in synchronized glory.  I want to twirl and run...maybe shout to see how much sound and excitement the expanse can absorb and embrace!  There is history and soft whispers of the past connecting with what is present.  Stories.  Mysteries.  Sweat.  Tears.  Years.  A grand painting of what God touching man might look like.  As there seems to be no end to the rolling background, so is there no end to speculation of what might have taken place in this very field....this very barn.  It is an open book.  A magnificent display of God grace to this America the Beautiful....rolling fields of green and gold, skies as blue as the sea playing with wispy, poofs of white billows...and man's simple shelter humbly accepting His favor and increase as well as turmoil and tragedy.

I took this picture on a little road trip heading towards Hannibal Missouri along the Mississippi River on a warm summer day about a year ago.  Along the way I found myself stopping to breathe in so many beautiful scenes similar to this.  I stood amidst rural farm land that has served as the backbone of my country.  This is one example of what hard-working men, women and children have done to make a living and build a nation that has served us well.  Much has changed as the years have come and gone.  However, if one pays attention, he can find the very same beauty that the generations before us admired at the end of those hard-earned days.  

Oh that we might take more time to stop and contemplate what God has done.  Oh that we might appreciate what those before us provided, and cherish the hands and hearts that cared enough to live and work honestly.  They have set an example for those of us who might willingly inherit the same qualities and respect for our blessings.  I thank God for the land I have grown up in and the people who have continued the traditions with enduring simplicity and kindness.  "God bless America....land that I love...."

Blessed celebration of the risen Lord to my friends, family and blog followers.  I so appreciate all who stop here to think, contemplate and play!  May our hearts be aglow with the knowledge of what Jesus has accomplished through His death and powerful resurrection!  

Rolling from one period of time into the next, this charmer sits in the quaint little town of Caledonia, Missouri.  It is a quiet reminder of days gone by.  If it could have kept a diary, wouldn't some of us scramble to read it?!  I love the treasures of the past and the stories they continue to offer their following generations.  Maybe someone knows a bit of this wagon's tales?  If so I'd love to hear about them.  If not, let us not stop imagining what might have taken place under and upon these very four wheels...and how it's history is in fact, a part of us.  I encourage families to keep records, dates, memoirs and accounts of the happenings and joys of life.  These can be passed to the generations that treasure our traditions and stories.