“Make your heart like a lake with a calm, still surface and great depths of kindness.”

Lao Tzu

Our last full day at the Lake House turned out to be close to perfect, with sunshine, a light breeze, temps in the mid-70’s and no sign of any pollution coming from those wildfires across the border.

We started the day – of course – in worship, visiting with the good folk at the Presbyterian Church of Traverse City. It is always a beautiful moment when we can fill up an entire pew with our family, and spend an hour with our hearts focused on the grace and the goodness of God.

Then, invited into the proper frame of mind and heart, we returned to the lake to play, pausing occasionally to feed the kids when they took brief breaks from their nonstop splashing around.

The evening featured a “girls night out” for Alicia, Rebekah and Beks. They attended a symphony concert at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and the evening was, according to our granddaughter, “Amazing.”

We will absolutely have to come back here, hopefully when there is no chance of dense smoke drifting down from Canada. The location is perfect, the house just right, and we very much appreciate the hospitality extended by the owners of the property we rented.

The house was a great find. It accommodated the eight of us comfortably, providing every amenity we could possibly need.

But the jewel of this Airbnb is very much its position poised on the lake, its isolation in the wilderness, its peaceful views and the inclusion of a long, private, dock. Not just access to the water but a canoe, several kayaks, a paddle-board and more.

As always, Rebekah and I are deeply grateful that we are able to be with our family in this way and that we are in a position to – once in a while – make a vacation like this happen.

We have so much, and we do not want to take any of it for granted.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 118:29).

– DEREK