Dear Reader:

I was reading an article on Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt’s private home, in which he proclaimed the day before he died (January 6, 1919) “I wonder if you will ever know how I love Sagamore Hill.”

From 1901 to 1909, while Roosevelt served his terms in office as the 26th President of the United States…Sagamore Hill became known as the “Summer White House.” Many important political discussions of the times and even cabinet meetings took place within its walls.

At one particular grid-locked discussion one late afternoon (that left everyone disjointed and irritable)…dinner and drinks were announced…allowing for some much needed respite from the heated conversations.

At the end of the lovely dinner….President Roosevelt asked his cabinet to retire outside for half an hour to stare at the stars…no talking or sounds allowed. At the end of the allotted time…they were then to return to the discussion room.

Roosevelt began the discussion about how he loved staring up at the stars because the majestic galaxy reminded him how small man and his problems were in the great scheme of things. He admitted that the stars humbled him and jokingly added “And all of you seated here know that takes a lot of doing.” 

***(Roosevelt wanted every participant to realize that their point of view was not the ‘all or nothing’  only solution but simply one idea among many that needed to be fitted into the communal puzzle problem in the correct proportion of magnitude.)

The group laughed…and then it was back to work with Roosevelt’s  famous quote – “‘Look toward the stars but keep your feet firmly on the ground.’

I love the moments in life when I am so caught up listening to the sound of nature or someone telling a story or a whisper that floats, across the room,  towards me… that I can actually see and feel what is being said.

I think that this deepest definition of listening is what God hears and feels about all of His creations. Like scripture says:

Psalm 116:1-2:

“I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.”

Don’t you love the idea of God bending down to listen to us as a parent does to a child? I can think of no better gift than a listening heart…

Let’s take time to look at God’s Handiworks each night…His galaxy of stars and then thank Him for His gift of deeply listening to our personal problems and helping us keep our problems proportionately appropriate.

So until tomorrow…

The Dingles are off to Duck, North Carolina (Outer (outer) Banks)…to join Mollie’s sister and brother-in-law for a family vacation. I didn’t realize how long this trip would take Walsh and Mollie until I googled it…almost 8 hours from Charleston, SC to Duck, NC. (Didn’t think anything would take that long between the two Carolina states…those Outer Banks just keep on keep on going.

So they stopped in New Bern, NC for an overnight break for the children and then heading in today. Thank goodness for headphones for children now…does anyone spot “Spider Man” Lachlan in the back seat? * You just never know who you might find hitchhiking these days? 🙂

The Lowcountry Dog contest is still on and our sweet Pip sure could use your help…the contest ends in just a few days...June 15...and Pip needs  more votes!

You can only vote once…but if you haven’t done so yet… please do and send the info to friends…it literally just takes a minute! Hit Submit...find Pip’s photo as seen above and click on the heart next to him. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We so love this rescue dog who rescued our hearts!

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