Life in the sun

4:44 p.m. Today's project was to take my husband and older grandson to my dad's house in Redlands to trim tree branches on his property. We took the long way around,through San Timiteo Canyon, over to Alessandro, and then on a serpentine journey on Sunset Drive, the elegant neighborhood where my friends and I staged elaborate scavenger hunts back in high school: "Go Terriers!Class of '69!"

Adrian joined his grandpa to earn "community service credits" for his high school, but when his great-grandpa paid Steve and him $50 apiece, he decided to forgo the credit for spending money at Disneyland Wednesday, kind of a no-brainer since he has 3 and 1/2 years to earn 30 hours of credit. Since Xavier had declined to go, but was working for me in the garden and around our home, we'll find a way for both of them to earn their spending money. "The workman is worthy of his food," Jesus said in Matthew 10:10, and in John 4:36, "He who reaps receives wages." The boys' workmanship shows that they have qualities of eternal value: goodness, self-control, patience and faithfulness! Those qualities will earn them acceptance and open many doors in the future. The Fruit of the Spirit wins both friends and converts! But it's not all work and no play this week, as Xavier had fun running through the sprinklers with our labs, and both of them mastered some new video games.

On a more serious note, the daughter of old friends is having her baby 4 weeks early, and needs prayer. about an hour ago, I noticed that a former girlfriend of our son Steven's, normally in the bank's corporate office, was subbing at our branch. Since I am there all the time, she told me one of the tellers was having her baby, and the manager verified it was our friends' daughter, a month early. I remember expecting Steven in August, and being hospitalized for 3 days with high blood pressure before delivering him 10 days early. Today's brutal heat must be 15 degrees higher than it was then! 115 degrees reported in Beverly Hills? Must be 125 here!!

We all would do well to stay inside, pray for the pregnant ladies we know as well as for the sick and elderly, and be ready to assist our neighbors in any way.

Lord, keep our weaker members safe and well, and may we all receive a fresh, cooling refill of Your Living Water!