Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. – James 1:16-18

Photo Friday this week comprises the usual mixture of images, all reflecting how interesting and how beautiful life is from day to day.

First of all, we are very excited about “The A-Team” (Andrew, Alicia and Mr. T.) and their new life in Krakow. Alicia has been asked to head up the music department and Andrew is teaching 5th grade.

If anything was perfectly designed for both Andrew’s lifelong love of the world and his exceptional gifts with children it would be this: living in Old Town Krakow and teaching a classroom full of ten-year-olds from so many different countries. He captioned his photograph “Eleven people, nine nationalities.” How cool is that!

The photograph of our church (above) was taken before 7:00 in the morning – about the same time as the sunrise pictures from the river. I especially love the color and definition of the clouds and the way it seems as if the light is pouring out of the steeple.

In Orlando, Geoffrey continues to shine in every possible way. At the moment we are enjoying how his language is developing, along with his curiosity. Always learning, never a quiet moment, always in some kind of mischief, very much a force of nature.

Also in Orlando, our granddaughter Beks picked an instrument for orchestra and she wants to play the cello. I am so excited! I have visions of cello-guitar duets and have already sent her a recording of James Taylor and Yo-Yo Ma playing George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun.”

Next, Max. He was gifted with of a box of treats from his friend (his crush) Angie at the church office.

Finally (the first in the gallery, below), the picture of me at work is an invitation to keep up with the latest from my in-process memoir. Here is the link in case you missed it: “Rescuing our First Puppy.“

Life is good; life is busy; life can be challenging; life is beautiful; life is worth slowing down to appreciate and to reflect and to think about its deeper meanings.

This is my journey – DEREK