“There’s a fire softly burning, suppers on the stove…” John Denver’s words in “Back Home Again” are a comfort. The images in the lyrics are all things that represent home. I’ve always known that home is more than a structure because I’ve felt at home in a tent, at a camp, on a road trip, on a trail, with my horse, in a house, and in many more places. What does home mean to you?

For me, home is where I’m safe. I’m loved. I’m accepted. I’m challenged. I’m blessed. I’m held accountable. I count.

I share many of the images of home in John Denver’s song, but I do have others as well:

Hot chocolate smothered in marshmallows, and even sometimes the blue and white Frozenones, and this on a cold and snowy late afternoon around dusk in the winter, or around a camp stove high up in the mountains on a pack trip or hunting trip.

Days so bright with sun and blue skies that I can see forever into the distance and be reminded of the Creator who brings warmth after such dark and cold.

Awaking in the night, safely entwined with the one I love, while thunder and lightning create such a show out the windows.

Taking long rides down country roads or on mountain trails with a PB/J and some Cheez-Its in the saddle bags, broken cookies, and the good company of friends with dreams and plans to change the world.

Early morning runs and pouring out my prayers to the one who painted the sky with stars and knowing that I am made from that same dust that twinkles far above me and will shine still when I am gone.