Today--live!

        "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!  You have set Your glory above all the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babies and infants, You have established strength because of Your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.  When I look at the heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?  Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor." (Ps.8:1-5)
        Just this morning, they ambled across the greenway right in front of us--a mama and her buddy along with a baby--

(That's the little fellow--the grownups had just passed into the woods ahead of him.)
         What gentle, graceful creatures deer are!  We see them fairly frequently on the greenway, but I never want to grow apathetic and not be amazed at God's astounding creation.  Aren't you thankful He made deer...and hawks...and hummingbirds...and butterflies...and dogs?  And how about changing leaves...sunlight splashed across the pavement...cool, crisp air...pumpkins and mums?  What a Creator!  What a Giver of innumerable good gifts!
          Here's how worked up  Bingley was when we glimpsed the deer--

 He'd found his usual big stick and languidly glanced back at me as if to say, "Deer again.  Ho hum."       
         It was one of those moments where you pause, sensing how precious, how lovely the gift of life is, and how grateful you are to be enjoying your moments on this planet.  This day is what He's given us--this day to laugh and love and see and savor and thank and encourage and feel.
      Oh don't let me slip into autopilot while walking our dog or cooking a meal or chatting with friends or running errands.  Help me to see--truly see--God as reflected in His creation all around me and in His priceless, irreplaceable gifts of the people He puts in my path.
         There are no "throw-away" moments.  There are most definitely no throw-away people.  It all matters.  He crafted every blade of grass and every star in the heavens--it's all His.   And they all matter--every single priceless person so lovingly created by their Heavenly Father. 
       Might we have eyes to see clearly, hearts to love boldly, and senses to experience fully each moment, each person the Lord has so extravagantly and generously placed in our lives.  And might every moment we savor, every person we cherish point us always straight to the Giver of every, every, every good and perfect gift. (James 1:17)
        While we are alive, let us live.  Live thankfully.  Live kindly.  Live forgivingly.   Live encouragingly.  Live joyfully.   Live fully and gratefully.  Live today!  
       And today--and every single day--might we live all by His grace and all for His glory.
       To the One who came and died that we might truly live, be all the glory.