We are basking in a week’s vacation here on Holiday Island, Arkansas. I really haven’t spent much time in this part of the USA, so it has been a very pleasant surprise to discover how beautiful it is!

We are situated in a cozy cabin nestled next to the Table Rock River which meanders around and around, beginning in NW Arkansas and ending north of Branson, Missouri! It is gorgeous, lined with trees and hills with plenty of wildlife showing up routinely and unexpectedly. It has been refreshing just sitting by the water, soaking in the bounty of nature. Each day my heart has grown with wonder.

I have been inspired to ponder life, nature, God, and the beauty around me, and I have only allowed myself to think on lovely things as we are admonished my scripture… “… whatsoever things are true, noble, lovely, excellent praiseworthy… ” It has been therapeutic!

I can’t think on these things–I can’t consume them without giving Him praise and thanksgiving for His amazing creation. So I have begun a ten-day wonder adventure, posting a poem every few days about something lovely that has caused me to wonder.

I’m inviting you to wonder with me… After all, things of wonder are meant to be shared!

You will find the first two poems of wonder here and here. Today I offer the third.

Ten Things of Wonder: Poem III

Drink the Whole Thing

Joy comes fresh, hand-squeezed

in gallon-sized jugs. When it

arrives at the door of your

heart, drink the whole thing if you want

to grow strong. Don’t save it for later or

finish just half.  There’s more. The Wells of

Salvation Bottling Company

never bottles just a drop or a trickle,

because it flows in silver rivers from deep

deep cisterns. You’ll want the full dose.

And don’t fill guilty for it’s deep, abiding

satisfaction. The world is full of sadness,

injustice, suffering, and travesty. Yes. And yet joy

has been prepared for you—to make your face shine,

to offer hope for the thirsty, to make you stand out in the crowd.

Bonnie Saul Wilks

Holiday Island, Arkansas

February 21, 2012