I’m sitting here listening to my iPod and one of my new downloads, “Who Am I?” by Point of Grace.    This song reminds me of a few hours earlier, when I was driving home from work and noticed, far off in the distance, a formation of clouds.   In the midst of the formation, a break in them allowed a concentrated stream of light to shine through.

Aside from a rainbow or a meteor shower, this is probably one of the most beautiful sights in the sky to me.   Paintings are made from it.  

It was at that moment that I began to think of how peaceful my week had been.  In the midst of the “Terrible-Cold-I’m-Going-To-Pass-Out” day, the frequent demands at work, etc., etc., it’s been a serene week for me, touched by small things (and maybe a few larger ones) that made me want to say “thank you for the gifts” to whomever allowed me to receive them.

To me, the gifts came from whatever power lies behind life, whatever is guiding our destinies, whatever allows a moment (or two) of peace to envelope us.   Maybe that is God, or the wind, maybe fate, or perhaps a chef creating something interesting out of the ingredients of our world. 

Tonight, after dinner, my husband, daughter and I went out for a motorcycle ride. It was the first time that I felt comfortable with what I was doing. I had time to look around and enjoy the scenery, play around with my road position, and practice maintaining a proper staggered formation.

My daughter enjoys riding with her dad. Of course, she’s properly suited and helmeted and booted.

I’ve always been a little nervous getting out of the garage. It’s a lot of maneuvering and a slow start and requires a lot of balance. Tonight before we took off, I sat there for a second and looked at my husband, who signaled me to take a deep breath, which I did. And I was ready to go.

While I was driving, I was thinking about an audio CD I’ve been listening to, “Live Like You Mean It“. Today, I heard something about how people fail to speak to God, even when they know He will bring them comfort. And praying or asking for help isn’t rocket science; just be yourself. Carry on a conversation with God, like you would your best friend.

So on the way, I asked God to watch over our ride, and make sure we did all the right things, so that we’d arrive home safely.

It wasn’t that I doubted our ability to ride, or any one else’s ability to interact with us. I just figured, why not just have a little conversation with God? Why NOT ask for a little protection? There certainly wasn’t any harm in it.

Well, there is no moral to this story. We arrived home safe and sound, and much more happy and relaxed than we were before we’d left.

It was a good ride.

Thanks for visiting Lisa’s Place.

Bank Holiday
Monday is Labor Day. In the US, this is our “late summer bank holiday” (if you speak the Queen’s English, or English in general, that should make sense to ya). Thank Goodness for late summer holidays. A day off is a welcome gift.

Preparing for the Birthday
My mother’s birthday is next Friday. TLK’s birthday party is next Saturday. Her actual birthday is the following Wednesday. My stepdaughter’s birthday is 4 days later. Planning 欧美人体艺术 is always fun. To top things off, I should have a new nephew by the end of the month.

Anyway, 4 girls have RSVP’d so far. Do you think it’s rude to query the other 3 on Tuesday? I mean, a headcount is a good thing to have, at least for planning purposes.

(am I boring you yet?)

Roofing
Tuesday is the big roof replacement day. I’ll be interested to see how the new shingles look on the house. I’ve seen them on various other houses in town. The fiberglass (Heritage) shingles we’re using look so much better than the older composite shingles. They’re supposed to reflect light, so not only might our roof be cooler, but you can probably see our house from outer space.

Ok, maybe not.

Comments
Your comments and suggestions are always valuable. You may have noted that all the comments on the blog have disappeared. It’s not because of you… it’s because I am repairing a mistake I made when transitioning to the new Blogger Beta. Besides the comments, everything else should be pretty seemless. I promise not to zap your comments in the future. Well, as long as they’re not rude or, you know… crazy. Not that you would do that, mind you.

Thanks for visiting Lisa’s Place.