6th      October 23, 2016

I am sleepy today.  Waking up during the night and not being able to go back to sleep is a mess.  I know many "older" people who complain about this.  Heck, I remember my mom complaining about not being able to sleep some nights. I was not very sympathetic at the time.  I remember telling her she should get up and read or something; it didn't do any good to just lie there.  I see it a bit differently now. I want to go back to sleep; I know I need to go back to sleep and I know the next day is going to be a groggy mess if I don't go back to sleep.  So getting up to do something seems counterproductive to getting back to sleep.  Still, the longer I lie there wishing I could go back to sleep, the harder it gets.  Eating a small bowl of cheerios before bed seems to help but last night I didn't do that. So, welcome groggy day.

Last week I just about decided I could not stay in the house by myself at night but then I remembered the time I hit a deer driving home. The deer slid right out of the road in front of me, letting the oncoming traffic just go right past instead of all of us having a crash of some kind.  And I remembered the car that just last month, was headed toward me across the median and all of a sudden it just simply went backwards! Fast! How in the world can that happen? I absolutely believe the only explanation is that there was a huge angel or several who just swooped the deer off the road and who just shoved the car backwards.  So I am asking for one of those angels to hang out with me at night and keep me protected. Logically I know I will be alright...well, logically, I do know that bad things can happen, but I believe it is quite unlikely.  It is so quiet here.  I can hear the crickets, frogs, cicadas, and once in awhile a truck. So of course I hear every little creak of the house and sometimes I get a little shiver when I can't readily explain the sound.  Oh lovely, now the coyotes are having a festival in the pasture. So here's another thing I need to figure out about myself: why am I so skittish at night?

I almost went to my sister's house this evening but I didn't want to hint to myself that I didn't really rely on God's protective power. I believed, and kept reminding myself, that I could manage quite well with big protective angels and God Himself living in me...I mean, really, how can someone be scared of anything with that knowledge?  Blessings on blessings, full measure, pressed down, shaken together, poured into my lap...another grace happened right after I asked for the angel.  I got  a request for someone to stay at the house for the next eight nights! Not the same person; ten guests total.

This new venture of a bed and breakfast listing is quite fun. I am meeting such wonderful people and I am kept busy cooking and cleaning while getting paid a bit too! My global family.  Thank you, Jesus!