Fall in Love with Fall

I realize it is only mid-August. I know we are still in the heat of summer. On really humid days, when I am melting into a puddle of sweat, it can still seem like the seventh circle of Hell.

I remind myself that in only a little over a month it will be FALL. Fall is my favorite season of the year. I love candles and cozy. Sweaters and pumpkin spice. Leaves and a chill in the air. The home decor YouTube bloggers are already starting their “Fall Hauls” after shopping at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, and Target. I expect the Fall home tours to be beginning shortly. Pinterest is exploding with Autumn bucket lists, and how to make your home cozy. Y’all, I live for this stuff.

The other day I bought two new Fall colored blankets, orange and yellow. They will look so warm and cozy on our brown leather furniture. I also bought an Autumn leaf wreath. I am not sure where I will put the wreath, but I am confident I will figure out the perfect spot.

“For cryin’ out loud”, you are probably thinking. This woman is crazy. She is obviously suffering from heat stroke. She thinks it is October. Someone, quick! Throw her in the pool. Give her an iced tea to sip. Snap out of it!

I admit, I have Fall fever. I am counting down the days until September when I can decorate for Autumn and people won’t think I have a problem.

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?

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

Peace and Quiet

Smudgy gray clouds lay low across the sky. The temperature is not to rise above the mid-50’s, with rain on the way. By most people’s standards, a typical October day in the Mid-west. The leaves on the trees that line the street are picture-worthy. Bright orange and yellow flames against the gray sky, but with the rain and wind, I don’t know if the leaves will still be on the trees by tomorrow morning. We might just have a blanket of gold on the ground, after it is all said and done.

I find myself pulling my sweater around me, as I walk into the chilly autumn air. The drop in temperature does not yet call for a winter coat, but I must admit the sweater feels really good! I am on my way to the local library to tutor a student. As I sit down at a large wooden table to wait, I am reminded how comforting the library is to me. Quiet. Calming. Yes, I can hear the hum of computers running, and occasionally hear voices….but, overall, it feels insulated from the outside world. I like quiet. I always have. Far too often in my world, life is noisy and stressful and I guess I think of the library as a retreat from all the noise that attempts to steal my attention.

Being alone, allows me to think my own thoughts without being rushed or pushed into the next urgent thing. I hope libraries are around for a long time. Yes, I have a Kindle and a computer. I can download books from the comfort of my own home. That is true, and I enjoy that perk. Yet, there is something to be said for walking up and down aisles of books at the library, or sitting at a table and working in peace and quiet.

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

True Thanks Giving

It snowed last night, and most of the morning. The local schools were cancelled due to the weather, and I find myself sitting here at the kitchen table, staring out the window, enjoying the snowy  weather. Yes, it is not even winter, and yet it looks like the middle of January. There are several inches of snow and a nice stiff breeze to go with it!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and to be honest, I can hardly believe it. Do you feel the same? The months seem to rush, while I am left trying to hold tightly to the sands of time. I need time….time to slow down and give thanks, because there is much to be thankful for.

It seems as if Thanksgiving often times get overlooked, as a less important holiday, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Without taking time to give thanks for all that we have, we forget. We forget all the things in this life that God gifts us with, from the small daily joys to the larger life changing miracles. We need to stop. Stop and recall. When we recall all the ways He loves us, we can understand true thanks giving.

Psalm 69:30  I will praise the name of God with song, And shall magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Take A Seat At The Table

This is the question my husband and I are passionate about….. “How do we, the Gen X’ers, and the Boomers reach the younger generation?” The Millennials are roughly between the ages of 14 and 34 years. This generation has known the benefits and the pit falls of technology for most of their lives, they tend to be more cynical about formal “institutions”, they long for real and lasting relationships beyond social media, and they need to know they can truly trust someone before they will believe a word that is said. This group is the future, and yet so many of them do not appear interested in “going to church”. Even those that have grown up in the church community are leaving. Church, the way it has been traditionally done, is no longer a valid option.

My family and I have had long and hard discussions about the “old church” and the “new church” and what makes individuals want to join the community? And if the Millennials are leaving…where will we, as a church body, be a decade from now? There are some tough, even painful, questions to ask ourselves. Quite frankly, if current church members aren’t willing to take a seat at the table and talk, and even make some real changes…..well then, we are already dead in the water.

Do not misunderstand. I am not talking about changing the message. The message of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, never needs to be changed. It is just as awe inspiring, and life changing as it was the first time that Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) or “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” ( John 3:16 NET Bible)

But, I do believe that the way we, as church members, deliver that message, most definitely can change….and should. We do not need to stay stuck in traditions that aren’t even scriptural. “We’ve always done it this way” is nothing but a hollow excuse. Is it worth it to cling to old traditions and in essence then slam the door on the faces of those who desperately need to know that they are loved, by the God who gave His own son to take their place? No. My answer is definitely, no.

I am willing to change. I am willing to do whatever it takes. These young people matter to me that much.

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