November Evening

The waning light filtered through the frosted glass. With the time change it got dark early, so she wanted to get all her outside chores completed before it was too dark to see what she was doing. The cold wasn’t bad, she actually enjoyed the cold, brisk air, but the wind did not do any favors. It cut right through her no matter how many layers she was wearing. 

Staring out the window into the fading light while stirring dinner on the stove, she pondered over the seasonal switch that seemed to have taken place. September had still been summer-like hot, the first half of October was unseasonably warm, a couple weeks of autumn chill, and then snow on November ninth and ice on the fifteenth. She wondered what this would mean for the winter months ahead? 

The mug of hot coffee felt nice against her hands. Her cozy, Scandinavian patterned socks kept her feet warm and her footsteps soft as she padded across the dining room and into the living room. She pulled her sweater tight around her and threw a soft blanket over her legs as she settled down on the couch. This was definitely the beginning of cuddly weather. 

She prayed everyone was warm and safe on this cold November evening.  

Falling In Love With Fall

I know that Fall isn’t official for another couple of weeks, but since it is after Labor Day it is close enough to begin the celebration. Here in northwest Ohio, we are still seeing days in the 70’s, but the nights have become cooler. There is the explosion of pumpkin spice in everything known to man, I actually wore a sweater a couple of mornings this week, and Friday night football is back in session. What is there not to love?

Life Still Isn’t Slow…

I am still reading Chasing Slow. The book isn’t a massive volume and I very much enjoy reading it, but finding the time to slow down, on most days, can be daunting. How apropos that I would need to slow down to read about slowing down. Go figure.

I, probably like most people, have lived a life that has taken many unexpected twists and turns. I often ponder the fact that when I was in high school I didn’t think I’d go to college five hundred miles away, in Tennessee. When I was was in college I never expected to stay in Tennessee after graduation, but to go back to my home state of Maryland to teach. The summer after I graduated from college, I never expected one of my professors to contact me about a special education job in a school in rural Tennessee. I didn’t expect to stay in Tennesse for the next twenty years. I didn’t know when I married at twenty-four that I’d be widowed and a single parent just a short eight years later. I didn’t know if I’d get remarried, especially to a man that lived in Texas. Yep. I married that guy. After a few years we decided to move to Ohio, and build our own house in the middle of what used to be a farm field. All these things, events, this life I call my own, none of this was part of my master plan. When I was a teenager I thought I’d live in a Cape Cod style house, in one of the New England states. I’d enjoy leaf peeping during the Autumn months, hikes through the mountains, and spend time reading books of poetry by Robert Frost. Alas, the Master Planner, had other plans for me. Better plans. Special plans. Surprising plans.

Those of you that know me, know I am not a laid back kind of person…and yes, the world needs people like me! I am the one with the to-do list and the daytimer planner. I like things organized, alphabetized, and accessorized. I love a good surprise if it is a fun birthday gift or a Christmas present, but not so much anything else. If I start something I want to finish it. I don’t like loose ends. Yet, here I am in rural Ohio, surrounded by corn fields, and occasionally the neighbor’s rogue llamas.

Life still isn’t slow….but, I am working on it.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

This Is October In Ohio

The colors of the late October leaves are muted against the smudged, gray sky. The air is moist, and the wind blows cold as I make my way across the front yard, on my way to the barn, where Jazz anxiously awaits her breakfast. I look up to see geese moving across the sky in formation, their honks reminding me of their arrival.  I glance across the field to where our back fence posts share the property line with our neighbors. The fields are now brown, combine machines having worked diligently to harvest in the two weeks previous. The wind causes the stubble that remains, to rustle in the chilly air.  This is Autumn in Ohio.

It’s Fall, Y’all!

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”……. okay, so that line from a song is the wrong season, whatever. I am so happy that it is Fall. The other night I watched geese fly overhead in their typical V formation. The soybean fields surrounding my house are turning yellow. (Yes, soybean plants are beautiful in the Fall—unlike corn stalks, which get brown and dry before harvest.) The leaves here, are just barely starting to fade from their summer glory. The nights are cooler. Speaking of weather, I am not pleased that today, the first day of Fall, is supposed to be 87 degrees. What is with that? I am unable to wear all my super cozy sweaters when it is that warm! I still have a box fan going in the house—even with all my Fall decorations now in place, around the house. I am ready to burn my apple/pumpkin/cinnamon candles. Being the weather geek that I am, I watch my local meteorologist every night, live on Facebook, who is kind enough to give all us weather geeks the details. He said Ohio is going to remain in the 80’s well into October. Noooooooooo!!! That just isn’t right, people.

Here is a post from my archives……enjoy it while you sip some hot coffee (or if you are in the same overly warm circumstance as I am….iced coffee).

Fall Montage

This is what I love… My favorite season of the year…

This is what I’m looking forward to seeing, I can’t wait!

This is a visual montage of what Fall means to me…

I love Autumn- Yes, I do!

I love Autumn-How ’bout you?

 

 

There Will Never Be Another Quite Like It

As October comes to an end, and November is a mere few hours away, I thought I’d repost a blog entry from a few years ago. My words came back to me, reminding me that time slips by so quickly.

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

This afternoon the gray sky is moist. I feel the drops on my face as I rush to unload the groceries.

The wind is biting, and my thick sweater is not enough to protect against the late Fall temperatures.

I hurry to get inside to the warmth. The kitchen lights leave puddles on the counter top, as I quickly put groceries away.

Life is a blur, but I want to slow it down.

It’s Friday. November 22nd. 2013. This day will soon be gone, and there will never be another just like it……

Oh, how I wish I could live each day remembering this fact.

When the merry-go-round goes wild and the moments make me dizzy….

Slow down.

Yesterday, while making dinner I watched Ann Voskamp and Liz Curtis Higgs, “Christmas at the Farm”. (If you too,would like to see the Webcast, go here. ) These two ladies are inspiring. They gave me a gift. They took my hand, frazzled and worn, and led me to the Savior. Towards the end of the visit, Liz spoke of Luke 1:37. “Nothing is impossible with God.” That happens to be my very favorite Bible verse and I just knew she was talking to me personally.

Nothing. Not anything. Nothing big. Nothing small. N-O-T-H-I-N-G is impossible with God.

How many of us need to hear that today? At this very moment? Every day, a reminder?

The darkness is creeping around the edges of the late afternoon sky. 4:30 seems much later….almost time to start dinner.

But, even as the darkness descends, and the temperature plummets, I know this…

My moments are here and now, and God sees them and feels them all.

I can rest in the knowledge that there is no such thing as impossible with Him.

For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:37  KJV

October, How I Love Thee…

Oh, October! How I love thee. Let me count the ways…

1. A cool morning breeze, that begs me to wear a sweater.

2. Low hanging gray clouds, allowing only a peek of blue underneath.

3. Pumpkins at the grocery store, pumpkins at roadside stands, pumpkins at the Farmer’s Market.

4. Spiced coffee and pumpkin flavored muffins.

5. Cozy blankets to snuggle in.

6. Warm candles in apple, pumpkin, and cinnamon scents.

7. Sweaters and fluffy socks, and boots.

8. Fall festivals and harvest time and corn shocks and drives on the country back roads.

9. Brilliant colors of yellow, orange and red.

10. And football.

Allow The Beauty To Shine Through

Over the next month, the vibrant greens of summer will begin to fade. The evenings will take on an early, almost- autumn chill, and the leaves on the trees will turn. I enjoy this time of year. This time of anticipation that leads up to full blown Fall in all its glorious splendor.

How many of us feel we are in the late summer of our lives? Youth has faded, and the days take on a different hue. Some people mourn the passing of time, and long for the fresh days of Spring…..but, not me. I am living in anticipation for what is about to come. Life in autumn, that is ablaze with color, with the warmth of family and friends, and filled with thanksgiving.

The older I get, the more I have learned to appreciate the gifts each day offers. This mysterious truth: When I am thankful for all things in this life, at all stages, the more beautiful life becomes.

Thanksgiving in big and small ways, allows the beauty to shine through.

I am thankful: For a fresh mowed yard and a daughter who actually enjoys the job. Morning glories winding their way over the porch banister. A fluffy puppy who loves to play fetch and head butts me until I play too. The smell of the home made vanilla bean lotion that I picked up at the Farmer’s Market last weekend. Fresh, ice cold water that satisfies my thirst. New exciting ideas for my new business. A supportive husband who has faith in me. Rides in the car with my adult children and our conversations that make me laugh out loud. Slow sunsets that melt into the horizon. Standing out in the yard at night, with my family, watching as the space station flies overhead. Marveling at the wonder of it all. My faith in Jesus Christ, the Name above all others….who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.

Life is good.

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 106:1

All Of My Days

Time has a way of sneaking up on a person. Do you, too, feel the sands of time slipping through your fingers?  The other day a friend mentioned that she could not believe how in a few short years she will be celebrating her fiftieth birthday. I can relate. I have young adult children—young ADULT, for cryin’ out loud! Next month my son will be going back to college for his sophomore year. I was starting my sophomore year of college in 1987. Weren’t the ’80’s, just the other day? Sigh…….I’m feeling a little old today.

The months slip by and the seasons come and go. Today, on my way back from the mailbox, I looked up at the gray sky, felt the unseasonably cool temperatures, and realized just a mere three months from today we will be smack dab in the middle of Fall! You know, brightly colored leaves, pumpkin flavored everything, and football games. From there, it is a short and fast trip to Christmas. Then the year is over.

Holding on to the moments, by letting go of time……..appreciating the memories and not worrying about the future. Resting in the One who already knows all of my days.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16

I Love Early Morning

I love early morning.

I love it more than extra sleep.

I love the quiet stillness.

The dawning of fresh opportunities….

as the sun is breaking over the horizon.

I am silent witness to God’s creative beauty and power.

Calmness washes over me in those first moments of another day.

Thank you, Lord, for this day. These moments. This life.

…22The LORD’S loving kindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. 23They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”… Lamentations 3: 22-24