Summer of Love
It's summer here in the Pacific Northwest, and as I predicted HERE in May, my blog has taken on a new twist and schedule due to my priorities of making every moment count.
I'm committed to seizing the day - it's a life principle that's served me well and is especially needful this summer as the traditional season of sunshine is often painfully short-lived here in the Pacific Northwest, and folks are taking their vacation days, popping in for spontaneous get-togethers, meeting up for walks in the park, and even flying in to sleep on our air mattress. :) I've been hosting a myriad of well-attended events in my smallish old apartment building; birthdays, brunches, happy hours, and barbecues, proving to me that people really could care less how fancy the setting or food is, they just want to connect. (One sudden birthday meal was Annies Mac n Cheese and peas!)
My happy place is facilitating a comfortable, joyful and accepting atmosphere for strangers, friends and family to enjoy something yum to eat and drink while they meet up and find relationship in this crazy, ofttimes lonely world of ours.
I'll keep this short as I've had a busy weekend of barbecues, a wedding and as I type this I'm preparing our abode for a precious couple to arrive from out of state. They recently lost their son to heart disease and I long for them to find a place to rest and enjoy friendship. I'm determined to do everything I can to make that happen for them.
I don't always take photos as I'm usually occupied with engaging in all that's going on when we host, but I've included a few pics here.
I want to encourage you to open your home - it may be a mansion or a trailer but it's not about that - it boils down to heart...and some food and drink, of course. (We like music, too, so you'll usually walk into our place with tunes playing on the Bose.)
Grace and peace to you and yours this summer; I truly hope you make a plan to invite a good mix of people into your home, however humble you think it is. When we get our eyes off of ourselves and what we don't have to offer, and simply give what we do have to give, God multiplies the fishes and the loaves of our lives and feeds the multitudes some pretty miraculous food.
Until next time I'll be signing off; I've got a bathroom to clean and sheets to change.
Hugs,
Denise
