Dear Reader:

The ancients, like us modern folks, loved nothing more than to throw their heads back and revel in a starry night and the vastness of the universe, as they knew it, in wonder. I spent many a childhood night, especially in the summer, lying down in cotton fields, to stare at the stars and make up starry shapes for stories.

The ancients believe that this vastness was the home of God and it became their own theology as a tool for predictions about the future and here-after. They were called Magi, and as the story goes, three of them followed a star all the way to Bethlehem.

The modern descendants of the Magi turned the world upside down with their invention of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990. This telescope opened up the skies like never before because its “magical” ability lay in being able to eliminate the distorting effects of the earth’s  atmosphere.

If you have a minute today google photos of the Hubble Space Telescope and then be prepared to be blown completely away. I took the title photo from one of hundreds of space photos available on-line. After about ten minutes of mind-boggling images I felt like my brain was going to burst.

It was too much for me to take in…but all I could think while scanning the images was Wow! How can anyone not praise the “Lord of this firmament?”

Perhaps Quinn Caldwell (“All I Want) expresses it best:

” Maybe the Hubble can stare at the stars indefinitely without earth’s atmosphere in the way, but I’m pretty sure I couldn’t without totally losing it.I need the distorting effects of the earth’s atmosphere…it is like a security blanket wrapped around us to spare us the hugeness of the universe.

The wisest part of what the wise men did the day they came to honor Jesus was this: They realized that while praising God in the firmament is okay, praising God on earth is harder…and better.”

So until tomorrow…God , thanks for knowing that I just can’t handle all that vastness. Thanks for risking distortion and showing up where we can see You. Amen!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Eva Cate hung in there with me yesterday….I needed to get my blood work done before my next check-up this Monday….so Eva Cate got up early with me so we could get to Dr. Montoya’s office early enough to get the blood work done and not wait very long.

It was done so fast Eva Cate was taken back….”I didn’t even have time to build my blocks high at all” she exclaimed, rather sadly. Then I took her home to check on Mandy’s doctor visit and Jakie’s check-up….Mandy is still in right much pain but her pain medicine was changed and she got something for nausea which is helping some. Jakie did good too at his doctor visit…even though he had to get three shots…I only had to get one “owie” myself. Brave Jakie!

From Mt. Pleasant I drove to my oncology check-up (quite a medical day for the family) and all continues to look well, Thank you God….the hardest part was filling out the new insurance information forms for 2016 and for that I am extremely thankful.

Before we left Eva Cate and I checked on all the garden fairies to see if they looked warm enough…some definitely needed some extra pine straw….Eva Cate also found  a place to put the new fairy home that Honey sent….the fairies are all tucked in for the winter now.

Latest Update on Trey: (he’s in the middle with his brother Charlie and little Rhett)

Libby sent out a video yesterday showing Trey actually up and walking earlier yesterday….just amazing. It appears that his stay in the hospital will be longer than originally expected. They have to wait on the cultures to come back and then stay another week until probably the following Thursday.

That is a long time for a little boy who wants to just run and play so please keep Trey and his family in your continued prayers as  they await further results from the surgery and tests….a tough time in the medical process.