The Raft

I love this time of year. It gets dark earlier so our families are nestled into our homes just a little earlier. The heat is on or the fire is crackling so the smell is just a little homier. The crockpot is cooking so the dinner is just a little tastier.
If you're like me, the occasional - not quite yet constant - holiday music makes the house just a little cheerier. The leaves are still crackling under our feet, we're not quite slipping on the ice and snow yet. We can see our breath in the air while we feel the warm sun on our faces. We're not hot and sweating but we're not cursing messy slush yet, either.

Yeah, this is definitely my favorite time of year. I feel more patient, more forgiving, more loving, more charitable, more blessed, more content and I just feel a real peace in my heart. I try to feel this all through the year. And I do, for the most part, but not to the same degree and not with the same ease.

So, my friends, may God bless you with the same happiness that glows around my home - that wish is the greatest gift I can offer this season.