Oh, how sweet are the blessings of July! While the heat can feel sweltering, I am so grateful for all that the Lord has given me.

Today my husband and I had decided to visit the garden we are members of, but had to cancel our plans in order to accommodate one of our older daughter’s plans. At first I was a tad disappointed, but it ended up being such a sweet day.

We stayed at home for awhile, and I was able to make one of my daughters a new dress. Friends, this was so exciting for me! I recently discovered how to make “smock” dresses as some call them. This is just a basic, timeless, dress. I’ve made one for myself, and now my daughter has one as well. This opens up a world of possibilities for me! Sometimes it is difficult to find the exact dress that I am looking for, and now I can make my own.

I also had the time to read, and to actually take a bath. It was glorious! Since our plans were cancelled last minute, I hadn’t planned to “do” anything that day. It was so nice to just decide to relax for awhile.

During the afternoon, I felt like we just had to check on our ducks and arrange them a bit differently. You see, our female Becky had been sitting on a clutch of eggs, and I thought it was nearly time for them to hatch. Sure enough, ducklings were starting to pip their eggs! We removed the two drakes and put a good barrier around the duck pen to keep ducklings from escaping. I was able to see a tiny duckling peeking out from underneath his mama. How precious!

At dinner time, my husband and I were able to sneak away to a local Mexican restaurant. Dark clouds were rolling in, and by the time we left fat raindrops were dropping from the sky. We squeezed in a quick grocery run on the way home, which included surprise strawberries for our children.

It was such a nice day. My cup runs over.

It is wonderful to find sweetness in the slow times, isn’t it? After a very busy week, today was an amazing reprieve.

While our bodies are made to mainly be at work, we also need times of rest. The Lord knew this, and even gave us a Sabbath day. What a wonderful gift!

It is not lazy to rest after a hard week’s worth. I must admit that I was feeling overwhelmed yesterday. For days on end, I had been trying to learn how to preserve new things in the kitchen, along with my regular chores. So today was quite wonderful.

I felt the Father’s love surround me today. I have been rejuvenated, and am ready to get back to work for the sake of my family.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today, friends. May your times of work be productive, and your times of rest be sweet. I hope you have a wonderful day!