My Mom and Dad often speak about the things they miss about the "old days", and chief among them is the way people would simply drop by for a visit. No formal invitations going out, no prearranged time to show up, just a knock at the front door. Neighbors stopping by for a chat, Aunts, Uncles and cousins standing at the door knowing they were welcome to come in and sit around the table, have a cup of coffee and catch up on all the news while the kids played games in the family room or out in the yard.

I'm old enough to remember those visits and to remember summer evenings sitting outside on the front porch with neighbors who just happened to be walking by and stopped to chat for a little while. There was a feeling of warmth and closeness that came simply from sharing the stories of our lives with one another. Whether good news or bad, laughter or tears it is all so much better when shared with someone who cares.

So....come sit on the front porch with me this Sunday afternoon. You don't need to call first or wait for a special invitation. There are comfortable, empty chairs waiting just for you. Perhaps you'd like a nice cold drink or a cup of tea. Just come as you are and let's visit.

It's been one of those weeks where every day was just filled with things "to do". It makes the days pass quickly, but I really do like to have a bit of down time if I can. Don't you? I'm thankful it's Sunday and a day to just rest.

I thought Friday would be my day to just stay home and do some of the things I enjoy doing, but we got an early morning call from my Dad. His knee had become so painful overnight that he could barely walk on it and couldn't even manage to get into his little compact car. He had a doctor's appointment for 10:30 and asked if my husband and I could take him. So off we went. It turned out that he had lots of fluid on his knee. The doctor drained it and sent us off with a couple of prescriptions to be filled. He also told my Dad he would have to get back on his water pills. His cardiologist had said he could discontinue them, but evidently he still needs them. By the time we got him home, his legs and feet were all swollen up. He is doing much better now, and we're very thankful it wasn't something more serious. We've had enough "serious" for a while.

We arrived home with only about fifteen minutes to spare before our son and daughter-in-law dropped off our two granddaughters. They were on their way to an overnight Marriage Retreat. L. and H. arrived with their backpacks full of all the Valentine goodies they'd gotten at their school Valentine parties. We had such fun with them. They are ten and six. I love just sitting and listening to them talk. Life is so much the same and yet so different from when I was a little girl.

My husband gave me a beautiful pink and white bouquet for Valentine's Day. We went to church Saturday evening (after the girls went home) and then out to dinner. We had to wait over an hour to get a table. Just between you and me, I'd have been happy to go home, heat up a bowl of soup and just relax with my husband. I must really be getting old.

Have you been listening to talk radio much this week? I begin to listen to it less and less, but I want to keep up with what's going on, so I listen to some. It has been, for me, rather depressing this past week. I begin to have some very serious misgivings about the future of our country. We sang a song this week, our special choir number, that came at a perfect time. I am going to put up the youtube video just to share it with you. There isn't a video, but the audio is wonderful. I think it is a song for our time, a call to those of us who love the Lord and desire to see a great revival in this nation. I hope it will minister to you.

How was your week? What has the Lord been speaking to your heart? How can I pray for you?

Thank you so much for visiting. You are a blessing to me.