Just Thinking

The sun hasn't started coming up yet but the darkness has broken and you can see the outline of the NC mountains and the "smoke" that makes them the Smokeys. It's quiet and peaceful. Won't stay this way long. Within a few hours the kids will wake up and the activity will begin. Another vacation day with family. This is day 4. Yesterday was fun. We went to church as a family. I think each of us experienced something different during that hour. We went out for lunch...ate too much. Came back to the vacation house and had a lazy afternoon. We had an impromptu family worship time. Each of the kids shared something musical. It was truly great that they would share their talents with us. Each of them volunteering, no one was forced. Dad shared devotionally on how we are here to connect with each other. To help each other with the ultimate goal of helping them secure a place in heaven. We sang In Christ Alone and Dad ended by reading Phil. 4:8, Kayla's favorite verse. It was tearful but good. Then we played a musical game together and laughed and had a great time. After the game we had supper - a buffet of leftovers or whatever you could find. We had conversations about life and death and grief and life. We watched Toy Story 3 and laughed and cried during the ending, least I did. Silly Pixar sentementalism. This is all part of the eternal life that we experience together. It's not just about the hereafter...it's what we do with what we have here too.