The days are getting shorter.
The furnace is running more.
The fireplace in the basement has been ignited.
Fall has arrived. ♥
Although Mal got on-line last night & announced the 10 day forecast, I obviously was more focused on what today's temperature was going to be rather than how cold it was to get last night... After taking a peek outside upon arising, Kyle told me that it had frosted...hard. Fall has arrived. ♥
Our family loves this time of year...
Baking...
Snuggling under blankets...
Playing lots of card/board games...
Coffee/hot tea/hot chocolate...
Soup...
Brisk walks...
A week or so ago I heard on K-love that crisp fall air is so good for the lungs, for the body, for the mind & for the spirit. As is the scent of apples & pumpkin. We have a big crock bowl full of apples sitting in the middle of the kitchen table & many days while assisting Mal with school, I will catch a whiff of the sweet scent of the fruit before me. ♥ And as I walk Kyle out the door for work, I purpose to linger a moment & breathe deep... To take in the crisp, fresh, fall air... Allowing it to cleanse my lungs, refresh my mind & renew my spirit... I take a look up into the heavens & thank God for the newness of day, the beauty of the midnight sky & the privilege I have of
knowing Him. ♥
As a child Halloween was something my dad was very adamant that we not celebrate or commemorate. We didn't dress up. We didn't hand out candy. We shut the lights off, kept the doors locked & hunkered down when it was trick-or-treat night in the town we lived in. He had very strong convictions against such. I remember being in elementary school & while all of the other kids in grades K-6 would come dressed up & parade around from classroom to classroom, I would remain in my designated homeroom & find something to do at my desk. Ironically, I don't recall it ever really "bothering" me & I am thankful to this day that Dad held strong to the convictions that God so intently laid up on his heart... An integral lesson for me as I grew up & then began raising a family of my own. Even though it may "cost" us something...popularity, acceptance, attention...being obedient to what God had laid upon your heart was of utmost importance. It was He we always aspired to please.
As would be expected, when Kyle & I got married, we began choosing our own way of doing things. He had grown up "doing" Halloween so saw nothing wrong with it & bit-by-bit the influence of the world (workplace, friends, society) began to permeate the convictions of my youth. I jumped in feet first & before you knew it, our home looked something like a "fun" haunted house. Spider webs with plastic spiders attached (I. Hate. Spiders.). Muslin ghosts tied to the ceiling fan blades. Ceramic statues that lit up & blinked. The whole nine yards. And then the first year or two of MaKayla's life we dressed her up in cutesie, tootsie outfits...
And then God reminded me of Whose I was & from Where I came from...
Thankfully my "innocent rebellion" lasted for only a season...
A short season.
Not a proud series of moments for this Christian momma...
Subsequently, we don't celebrate, decorate or commemorate Halloween in our home...at.all.
Our focus is fall...
Thanksgiving...
Gratefulness for the harvest of blessings God has so richly lavished upon us.
We love the scents...
The colors...
The comfort of the season...
We love seeing the combines/tractors in the fields...
Bundling up to go outside...
Realizing that death must come in order for life to return...
We love digging out the sweatshirts...
Pulling out the blue-jeans...
Wrapping ourselves in warmth...
We love remembering the heat of summer...
Anticipating the newness of spring...
Relishing in the current season in which we find ourselves...
Fall has arrived...♥
MaKayla asked a few weeks back if we could purchase some pumpkins & mums to spruce things up so we did some calling, found the most economical prices & have had so much fun adorning the outside of our home. (She had already spent a Saturday beautifying the inside...) Such traditions are ones we greatly enjoy. ♥
She picked up on an idea from Marci & Danielle so...
Kyle did the cutting...
We did the cleaning...
The stuffing...
The placing...
So cute.
So fun.
God is moving us from one season into the next.
His faithfulness in inexplicable...
His joy is unquenchable...
His love is immeasurable...
We give thanks...♥
Fall has arrived...♥
You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:7~8
