So many thoughts...

It's been many years since I've blogged, but there are so many thoughts in my head today that I just had to come back here and write. So, bear with me while I untangle the thoughts in my head.

This summer, my goal has been about simplicity. The three older children each have a camp or lesson of some sort, and the two oldest have swim team. Otherwise, we're going to the gym, playing outside, going for walks/bike rides/runs, playing with friends, and occasionally trying to clean the house. As I write, I'm snacking on sugar snap peas from my garden after a day in which we went to church, then went for a bike ride, jumped on the trampoline, picked mulberries, and picked the peas that I'm eating. Those last two things gave me time to really think, which is where all of these thoughts are coming from.

First of all, I feel very blessed to live in a place where I can enjoy the conveniences of Target and Starbucks (both of which are within a walking distance from my house), yet have a yard that's large enough to grow a fairly large garden, hold two apple trees, allow my kids to have a trampoline and a little pool, and, lo and behold, to discover that we also have 3 or 4 mulberry trees. Not only that, but we also have neighbors who not just allow my boisterous children to play in their yard, but encourage it by letting the little ones shadow them all around their yard and telling them to swing on their swings anytime. I'm blessed that my children have friends in the neighborhood who are kind,  respectful, and fun to be around, and whose parents I enjoy being around. We're blessed, and I am truly thankful. These were my thoughts while picking mulberries.

Second of all were my thoughts while in the garden. (By the way, part of the reason I enjoy my garden is the quiet thinking time that it allows me.) This morning when I woke up, my husband informed me that there was a mass shooting in Orlando. It was disconcerting, but I didn't think a whole lot about it at that moment. I got ready for church; I went to church; I came home and cut my husband's and son's hair; I went about my other afternoon activities. And throughout that time, I posted a couple of pictures of my family and our fun afternoon. I didn't post anything about the shooting. One would think that it wasn't on my radar, and, although it was on my radar, it wasn't high on my thought priorities. So, I was thinking in the garden about what I should say about it (on Facebook and to my kids). I've read some posts and articles about how people are saying that we need more love. And I've been thinking that, to me, that's the equivalent of saying that we need more God, because God is love. He's the way, the truth, the life, and He's love. Thinking this makes me realize that I need my children to know that today was a day that horrible things happened in our country, and those things happened because a man had a heart filled with hate. That man was a sinner, but so am I. So are we all. The only one who can overcome that hate, overcome our sin, is the one who gave His Son for us as a blood sacrifice for our sins. So, yes, we do need to pray for Orlando. We need to pray that they can come to discover the love, forgiveness, and peace that God offers through Jesus' sacrifice. We need to pray for the families of those people who so brutally lost their lives in this attack. But we also need to pray for ourselves, that we can see the freedom that we're given to choose Christ over our sin, whatever that may be. And while we pray and remember these lives that were lost, we continue to live and love.

I'm probably not going to post about Orlando on Facebook. When I think of it, I'm heartbroken. But I think most others are as well. I'm not sure that I need to give another reminder to pray. Instead, I'm going to pray and read articles and watch news updates and play with my children, and post pictures about us trying to live simply and love fully.