Autumn Exploring

A brisk hike with friends on a crisp fall day . . . a perfect Saturday afternoon! And there were quite a few others who had the same idea! We saw horseback riders, mountain bikers, mountain climbers, lots of people walking their dogs, and a huge number of kayakers! It was some kind of special kayaking event at the state park that weekend.  So very much for us to watch!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So thankful for the great outdoors! :)

Thank You, Lord, For Life

Morning Prayer of a Homemaker

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings, thank You, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf. Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible, thank You, Lord, that I can see. Many are blind. Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising, thank You, Lord, that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden. Even though my children are so loud, thank You, Lord, for my family. There are many who are lonely. Even though our breakfast table never looks like pictures in magazines and the menu is at times not balanced, there are many who are hungry. Even though the routine of my job is often monotonous, thank You, Lord, for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job. Thank You, Lord, for life.

 - Anonymous

(A Cup of Comfort Big Book of Prayer,

edited by Susan B. Townsend)

Psalm 95: 1-7

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the Lord is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

Oh, come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

Thankful for Still Moments

Do you ever just sit still outdoors? Not simply being outdoors, just sitting ... still ... listening to the quiet, with maybe an occasional giggle from children playing?  I'd forgotten how much the simplicity of it energized my soul. Just a few moments with swirling thoughts allowing the Holy Spirit to clear out the cobwebs clouding the pathway forward into the next week, month, year.

The day-to-day can feel so much like going around in circles to me, but I tend to forget that it really is the path forward. The laundry, meals, school lessons, guiding and correcting little ones, and on it goes. The scripture verses Colossians 3:23-24 have impacted me lately, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." 

Not even realizing that I needed these still moments of reflection, I found encouragement from the Holy Spirit regarding my particular path of serving Christ. What an honor it is to serve Him! I didn't expect a trip to the park to yield such a mind-clearing, soul-directing resolve, but that's exactly how the Holy Spirit works sometimes, isn't it?  

We left the park, the boys exhausted from playing with new friends, and me ready to take on and continue on the path forward, excited to be serving Him in the here and now and with whatever is around the bend in the road! Go ahead, take a minute to just sit still! It's great for the soul! :)

...be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, 

knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

I Corinthians 15:58

Warm Days of November?

I don't know about you, but as the weather turns cold, I look forward to cozy sweaters, wool socks, fleece blankets, a warm fire to curl up by, . . . and lots and lots of snow.  However, these milder temps the last few days have been welcomed as the boys were already getting restless. Restless from not being outdoors from breakfast to dinner as they were all summer.  So, the last few warm and sunny afternoons have been spent at the park, bike riding and climbing around playgrounds. It's been so rejuvenating . . . in the middle of November. I am hoping for a white Thanksgiving, though! :)

Apples to Sauce

The work is finished and the eating has begun. My littlest boy giggles his thanks while gobbling down his first bowl of homemade applesauce! I'm afraid there's no going back to that store bought stuff. Now I can see that what I thought was a lot of apples and many jars of sauce will not last long at all in this house.  I may just do this all over again next week. And I'm pretty sure I can do things a little more efficiently.  No, I'm absolutely positive about that. Many of you experienced canners would probably have laughed at my inexperience, but at least the applesauce tastes amazing and one must begin somewhere, right? :) I'm making myself try things I've always wanted to try instead of being afraid of failure, thus never trying. I'm making progress, slowly, and for that I am thankful.

2010 Holiday Collection by Shutterfly

After viewing Shutterfly's fabulous 2010 Holiday Collection the other day, there was no question that I would be ordering Christmas cards from them this year! What an endless selection! Everything from folded greeting cards to flat photo cards with quite the variety of layouts, messages, and designs to choose from! 

You'll find many elegant cards like this personal favorite . . .

and this vintage design that I'm crazy about . . .

but, this classy selection from Shutterfly's assortment of meaningful religious Christmas cards is my top pick this year . . . because of its joyous message  . . .

Also available at Shutterfly are prints, calendars, photobooks, and an array of amazing photo gifts that you will not want to miss out on.

Plus, if you're a blogger, you'll also want to take advantage of Shutterfly's current promotion in order to receive 50 free holiday cards! So, definitely be sure to stop by their website and view the AMAZING selection. You will not be disappointed!

Veteran's Day Reflection

America, the Beautiful

Written by Katharine Lee Bates, 1913

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! 
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev'ry gain divine!

O Beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms.It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." -G.K. Chesterton

  " Freedom is never free."

-Author Unknown

Apples, Anyone?

These are sitting in my kitchen right now and I can't wait to turn them into applesauce tomorrow! I'm a rookie at canning, but the tomato sauce turned out well last month, so I have high hopes for the applesauce.

Doesn't homemade applesauce taste incredible? I remember when I was growing up my Mom always made applesauce, and then she'd freeze it all. Us kids used to pull it right out of the freezer, scrape some off the top and eat a bowlful while it was still icy! Mmmm, so yummy!

I tasted a friend's homemade applesauce last week, and if mine turns out half as good as hers, I'll be satisfied.  She used half MacIntosh and half Cortland, so that's what I bought.  Soooo looking forward to eating homemade applesauce all winter and at a fraction of the cost of store bought. That always makes things taste better, too, don't ya think?  :)  I'll keep you posted on how this all goes tomorrow!

A Little Raking of the Leaves

 

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.

- Stanley Horowitz

 "Autumn begins with a subtle change in the light, with skies a deeper blue, and nights that become suddenly clear and chilled. The season comes full with the first frost, the disappearance of migrant birds, and the harvesting of the season's last crops."

- Glenn Wolff and Jerry Dennis

Thankful for Weekends

"Thank you for the world so sweet.

Thank you for the things we eat.

Thank you for the birds that sing.

Thank you, God, for everything."

-Anonymous

Looking forward to a beautiful, crisp, fall day

spent with friends out in God's world so sweet!

Another Year This November

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

my heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 28:7

Yes, every November I grow a year older, and yesterday I began that special day sipping coffee with a few ladies studying the Word together. Some time spent sharing what we are learning about prayer. Specifically how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with the Father, and how foundational digesting His Words day and night are to our communion with the Father.

Romans 8:26 "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."

John 15:7 "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

"Neglect of the Word makes praying in the Holy Spirit an impossibility." - R.A.Torrey

Psalm 37:4 " Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart."

"What is the desire of the heart of a good man? It is this, to know, and love, and live to God, to please him and to be pleased in him."  - Matthew Henry

"Whom have I in heaven but you? 

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:25-26 (A Prayer of Asaph)

What a great way to begin any day, but a birthday, even better! 

A slight head cold and a zillion errands to run in the November rain slightly dampening my spirits. But a short visit with my mom amidst the errands, many sweet birthday wishes online and in the snail mail box, Chinese take-out, a birthday cake, and presents from my three guys made my heart swell! A day full of reminders of all God's blessings! A great birthday indeed!

Blessings

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his,
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

- Psalm 100:1-5 

We as a family are compiling a basketful of our blessings this November in preparation for a special Thanksgiving eve service with our church family. Garrett and Carson LOVE projects like this, so it's going to be fun filling our basket with pictures of things God has blessed us with. I can't wait to share with you what we put in our basket! What are some of your blessings this November? Just click on the comments link at the end of this post, if you'd like to share. Hearing what others are giving thanks for is SO encouraging, don't ya think?

God bless and have a thankful day!

November is . . .

November is a time for many things, but the obvious thought this month brings is its time devoted to giving thanks. I always look forward to the Thanksgiving season and enjoy reading poetry, scripture passages, quotes and such, the whole month through in order to focus specifically on being thankful.

The following is one of my favorites . . .



For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.
Lord of all to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.



For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light.
Lord of all to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.



For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild.
Lord of all to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

--Folliott S. Pierpoint


I have more favorites to share in all the coming days of November!  :)

Casting My Vote Today!

Lots to do today, of which making the trek around the block to the borough building to cast my vote is right up there near the top of the list.  The boys, for whatever reason, are fascinated with the whole voting thing.  I took them with me to the polls during the last presidential election and they thought it was the coolest thing, to go behind the curtain and make a "secret" choice and help our candidate win the race. :)  (My competitive little guys were VERY disappointed when our presidential choice did NOT win that race!)  What a great opportunity to teach them about how God is in control of who rules the nations and all things work together for His good! I find that many times when I'm explaining these well-known biblical truths to my boys, that my heart is in need of hearing them again! Very convicting teaching your little ones, isn't it?!!

Anyway, they can't wait to accompany me later this morning, and "participate" in the election process again. Plus it doesn't hurt that there's a playground right behind the borough building that we will be making use of after Mommy casts her vote! :)  Hope you plan to vote today, too!

Forgive Me :)

I'm playing around with all the Blogger options again.  It seems that whenever I get "posting block", all I need to do is change a few elements of the blog and the creative juices flow once again. So, new blog posts should be forthcoming.  :)

A Pefect Saturday

The boys just love it when they can spend a lazy Saturday exploring with Daddy in the woods. Last weekend we checked out a park near us and the boys enjoyed climbing around on the rocks, throwing stones in the river, playing on the playground. Ya know, all the things boys enjoy doing! :)


Mommy is perfectly content to follow along taking pictures of her guys enjoying special time together. Simple pleasures!









A little rock climbing.

Daddy is showing them how to skip stones. They can't quite do it, but are very content to spend tons of time trying.

I don't think the boys would ever get tired of the water.

 Carson's little legs needed a break.

Checking out the bridge.

Oh, and here was a bonus! We didn't realize this park had a playground, but we discovered one tucked in the woods along the trail. Playgrounds are how our boys rate a park, so this one got five stars! :)

Another Saturday well spent!