We have ten bookshelves in our house that are filled with books.
Some shelves are filled with classic books that I have read to my children.
Some shelves are filled with history books.
Some shelves contain theology books or books written by great thinkers and theologians.

In my mind’s eye, I know where any book can be found.
I can go to the correct shelf and pull out a book I am looking for at any given time.
The shelves are getting so full that some books are now laying horizontally on top of others.
Short of buying some new shelves, additional books will have to be stored this way.

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We have Google at our fingertips.
We have the ability to search for anything and everything whenever we choose.
We have access to huge amounts of data any time need it.
In minutes, we have our answer.

It was not always that way.
There was a time when you had to get out of your chair to get a dictionary.
There was a time when you had to go to the library to do research.
There was a time when you had to physically, systematically search for answers.

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There were only two checkout lines open.
The line of customers waiting to be checked out was getting longer by the minute.
The customer service desk allowed customers to check out there.
For the most part, people made the best of it.

Some people talked to each other in line even though they never met before.
I happened to see someone I knew who was waiting three people ahead of me.
We talked a bit over the heads of the people between us.
Talking around people feels a bit uncomfortable since it appears to be rude.

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A friend was coming over for tea.
She was going to stop over before going to work.
I told her the tea would be ready.
I was looking forward to a refreshing morning of conversation.

Tea by itself is fine, but when a friend comes to sit and talk, a bit more is needed.
I decided that I would bake my five grain breakfast bread that is healthy and delicious.
The house always smells so good when this breakfast bread is baking.
The smell of cinnamon seems to permeate every corner and crevice.

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My oldest son is a lawyer for a firm in D.C.
After finishing law school and passing the bar exam, he clerked for a year in federal court.
He moved into an apartment bringing many things with him from his apartment in law school.
It was a kitchen table that he needed.

The table he had during law school belonged to one of his roommates.
I knew so many places where he could find an old farm table.
However time was of the essence.
He needed a nice table with chairs and did not think much about finding something old.

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My husband came home from work carrying a box.
It was a gift he had received before he left for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
It’s candy, he said.
Probably one of those boxes of assorted chocolates, I thought.

I put it in the pantry with the intention of getting it out when everyone was home.
I forgot about it before Christmas.
I remembered the night we all returned home from the movies.
I knew that everyone would have their favorites.

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They came to my house for an afternoon.
Four young boys from church who are very precious to me.
Our home is familiar to them.
Our home is home away from home.

They know where all the toys are.
They know where all the snacks are.
They know they will find M&M’s in the chicken feeder dispenser on my kitchen island.
They know all the best places to play outside starting with the tree swing.

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Every time my husband gets a haircut, he comes home with flowers.
He has always been a flower sender, but this is different.
A little grocery store bouquet that adds a touch of whimsy to my kitchen.
It is a sweet gesture because it lets me know that he was thinking about me.

Daisies are my favorite flower.
Inevitably, there will be daisies in the little grocery store bouquet.
However, the daisies are usually colored to match the season.
They very rarely have the typical white petals with a yellow center.

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The floors in my house creak.
Not all the floors in my house, just some of them.
There is one place in particular that comes to mind.
One place in particular that has the loudest creak.

The loudest creak comes from a floorboard in the room that belonged to my sons.
As soon as you enter the room, the floor creaks quite loudly.
I used to appreciate the sound when the boys were at home.
I always knew when they got up each morning.

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My husband is an engineer.
Engineers have a different way of thinking.
Married to someone like me is an interesting journey.
We couldn’t be more different in the way we approach life.

That makes things fascinating.
He with his logic and facts and precision.
He admits that he is the “big picture guy.”
Details are not something that he is interested in at all.

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