Taste and See!

"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good..." Psalm 34:8

      Summer calls us with garden-grown tomatoes and fresh-harvested berries, peaches, watermelons and more. Seasonal Farmer's Markets burst with colors and fragrances capturing our senses. It's true that now days we can find most fruits throughout the year, as grocers import from selective climates, but there's nothing that compares to vine-ripened and freshly gathered goodness. These sights and smells refresh and excite our senses, often bringing to mind memories of yesteryear while igniting anticipation of gatherings like picnics, cook outs, vacations, and family reunions. 

Symbols of seasons, rooted in ancient cultures and literature and Scriptures, depict society's dependency on planting and growing and harvesting. Summer symbolizes a time of plenty and passion, a fullness of living, being in the moment. Somehow, summer's longer daylight hours expose our desires to share with others and become an offering of extra-time to gather and linger with family and friends, to meet and get to know new friends. Depending on where one lives, factors vary, but for those of us in the Southeastern United States, summer means hot weather and cool pools, warm evenings and refreshing ocean swims, steam rising from the streets with an unexpected shower and giggling children playing in sprinklers. Summer is the season to once again find the innocence and the joy of chasing fireflies on a summer's evening! 

So - I'm planning something different for the blog this summer. Beginning tomorrow - Friday, June 3rd - I will post on Fridays (instead of Thursdays) with a series called "Friday's Summer Fruits"! Each week I will share some of what I'm reading this summer - from blogs to books and more. Let's gather some Summer Fruits, delicious and refreshing authors, ideas, and possibilities as we find new ways to experience God's nudges, to linger in God's presence, to be refreshed with God's goodness. Let's taste and see that the LORD is good! ~dho