surprises that bless us

On Wednesday, a few days ago, I made a new friend - Patti, my next door neighbor, who is really nice and friendly. After 3 months of being her neighbor I decided to knock on her door and meet her. On the same day she took me to lunch, to the Target to get the right exercise cloths and then to her Jazzersize class. I know some of you are laughing so hard that you forgot to breath or you fell off your chair. Yes, this new native Texan neighbor and new friend took me to exercise! I did the whole bit and sweated like a pig. I even signed up for 10 more classes. Go figure! That's Texans for you. Every one I have met so far has been great and has a good influence on me. Perhaps God has more of a sense of humor than I understood. Sven and Will will be happy to kiss Patti's feet for getting me exercising. I also discovered the Bay Area Meat Market which has its own little smoke house attached to it. You can sit down and eat in there too. I got carried away and bought a bunch of staff like I would never get back to it. Those of you who know me can laugh now... I have been making Will eat BBQ that he never really liked. Slowly and surely I am feeling at home in this bottom of Texas. I miss "Wild Oats" a bit less now. It turned out all it took was meeting a new butcher in my new town who would speak to me as though I was a friend. I have also become my father-in-law - there are no longer strangers for me. I talk to any one. Some times I shock my self being friendly. The little lake behind our home is calm and is a play ground of several Egrets. I enjoy watching them as I did when I was a kid. This place reminds me of the home I grew up in. The only thing I am missing is the choir/sound of frogs at night. Perhaps some frogs will migrate to it someday. If not, I will just remember the sound I heard long ago. Life is full of surprises each day: good neighbors, enjoyng exercise, being friendly, talkative butchers, and Egrets playing on the lake. Most of them are good even in our own human understanding. Speaking of surprises, I have called home often and this last week I got to hear my mother's voice twice. She was strong enough to speak to me on the phone. How great is God who answers our prayers! So far I have no complaint but feel great gratitude to God for the fullness of life itself. God's love surrounds us at all times, the question is do we pay enough attention to feel it. Yes, I mean "FEEL" it.