With the price of gas at an all time high, many of us will make the decision to enjoy a “staycation” this summer—a getaway close to home.

 

Think creatively and check out the options around you in a new light. If you were a visitor to your local area, what area attractions would interest you? Just as you would with a getaway vacation, set a time and date to begin the exploration of your surroundings. Learn to appreciate the beauty and wonder of your world.

 

Families with small children may want to pitch a tent in the backyard and tell funny stories around a campfire. If you aren't the outdoors type, try staying in an area hotel, relaxing with a good book. The possibilities are endless, so whatever the choice you make for your summer plans, remember to do so with a fresh approach to a whole new world.

 

As you prepare for the summer, we invite you to read a blessing for your home written by Unity poet James Dillet Freeman.

 

By James Dillet Freeman

Lord, bless this house and bless us all

In care and pleasure, great or small;

Blest be the door friends enter by

And windows that let in the sky

And roof above and walls about

That shut the world and weather out!

Lord, make my house a mansion of

Abiding loveliness and love,

A friendly, comfortable place.

Let pleasant talk like firelight grace

These rooms, and may friends linger long

To join in laughter or a song.

Blest be these rooms for work or play!

Oh, let my house be sometimes gay

And sometimes still as candlelight.

Be with us, Lord, both day and night;

Blest be our labor and our rest;

Our waking and our sleep be blest.

In care and pleasure, great or small,

Lord, bless this house and bless us all!