Tucking In

Maybe it's the weather forecast; cooler with a chance of rain or even snow this week. Maybe it's because I wore myself out on Saturday raking leaves and cleaning out the veggie and flowerbeds. Maybe it's because I just stocked up on hot cocoa, chai tea and Good Earth Sweet and Spicy Herbal Tea. (Yum!) Oh, and chocolate, of course. And maybe it's because our daughters' families rival teams, the Vikings and the Packers, are getting ready to play tonight. Most likely, it's all of the above.

(photo; scripture added)

Time to tuck in as the sun sets a little earlier every day.

Time to slow down and savor the times with friends and family or alone with a good book.

Time to hunt for new fall recipes and stock up on apples, pumpkin and the comfort foods from childhood.

Time to cuddle with our grands and to gather up a few warm hats, mittens and sweaters to have

about the house for them to wear when visiting.

I recently had a time off from blogging so that I could spend more time sitting at the feet of God. How assuring it is that there is no particular season for being with Him, for He is near always. My time has been good, and I am finding a better balance in my time with Him and my time doing other things, such as blogging. I might blog a little less or I might schedule my time better, but I do know that I so enjoy visiting your blogs and gleaning from you as you share your lives.

I know I have posted this song before, but it was playing in my mind today and I want to share it again.

 I hope you have a good week and that you are enjoying this season of your life.

The More I Seek You

The more I seek you,

the more I find you

The more I find you, the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet

drink from the cup in your hand.

Lay back against you and breath, here your heart beat

This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand.

I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming

Time for The One and Only

It's time. My heart tells me it is time to take a blog break, at least from posting new posts for awhile. It is time for me to read and not write, time for me to listen and not speak, time for me to pray and not be anxious about anything. It is time for me to spend time in God's Word more than I read other books and more than I spend blogging. I'll stop by your blogs from time to time, because He has given me a sisterhood with many of you that blesses me so much. I am looking forward to the break in that it means more time with Jesus.

In her book, My Heart's Cry by Anne Graham Lotz, she writes:

As I have poured over the Scriptures, my heart has cried out for more than

just enough...

to escape a fiery hell.

to be saved from God's wrath.

to call myself a Christian.

to manage my guilt.

to get a ticket to heaven.

to squeak through heaven's gate.

I long for more than just the bare minimum God has to offer.

I long for more that what the average Christian seems to settle for.

I long for everything God wants to give me.

I long for more than enough...

to bend my will!

to awaken my conscience!

to break my heart!

to transform my mind!

to overcome my prejudices!

to soar my spirit!

to conform me into His glorious image!

to give me an abundant entrance into heaven!

I long to be saturated in Jesus!

So please, dear God,

just give me MORE...

(My Heart's Cry by Anne Graham Lotz, 2002)

I can seldom read John 1 without tears or a tenderness in my heart, especially when I read verse 14:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,

who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The One and Only...it is time.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made;

without Him nothing was made that has been made.

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it...

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,

who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-5,14

Oh, Those Irresistible Leaf Piles!

We have had beautiful fall weather this week,and I was able to catch Maya and Eli as they had fun jumping

 in a couple of leaf piles in our yard and around the neighborhood.

(Leaf Pile song)

It was actually rainy and cool today, so I was glad we could enjoy time outdoors earlier in the week. 

Lauren made a pot of chili today and I made a few cinnamon raisin biscuits,and it was nice to have a somewhat lazy Saturday.Jack and Eli spent the night last night and we enjoyed a movie and macaroni and cheese.We all woke up early when the "Eli alarm" went off at 4:45 AM, although we managedto get him to doze a few more minutes. Then the "boys" were off at 8 AM to meet the boys' parents for Jack's soccer game, ( in the rain, so I wisely stayed home.)

 

I'll leave you with this poem by Elsie N. Brady

 

Leaves

How silently they tumble down

And come to rest upon the ground

To lay a carpet, rich and rare,

Beneath the trees without a care,

Content to sleep, their work well done,

Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly

Until they nearly reach the sky.

Twisting, turning through the air

Till all the trees stand stark and bare.

Exhausted, drop to earth below

To wait, like children, for the snow.

WFW - Joel 2:23

A beautiful fall day today; temperatures in the 60s and the scent

of a gentle rain brings me to the window.

Many years ago, while visiting our daughter in Minnesota at her college,

I picked up a leaf from a sugar maple tree,

framed it and wrote this verse with it.

God's promise's never fail.

photo source

Be glad, O people of Zion,

rejoice in the LORD your God,

for he has given you

the autumn rains in righteousness.

He sends you abundant showers,

both autumn and spring rains, as before.

Joel 2:23

Fill your cup with the Word at the Internet Cafe!

Sofa Love & Nutella

I found this photo of this sofa on Houzz this weekend...

(eclectic living room design by new york showroom Donna Pochaski - houzz)

I think it looks so comfy and cozy and girly and whimsical.

It's perfect for when you have a nasty cold,

and need some tea, chicken noodle soup and

an old, romantic movie, and maybe a piece of this...

(Nutella marble cake  photo by Tennant Lim)

Yes, definitely a piece of this. Yum!

P.S. I found a recipe for this cake by Lauren Chapman. 

P. P. S. I hate the rug.

My Heart - God's House

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)

 

 

 

Hello, October

The calendar says it is October...the thermometer says it is August or

 early September, with temps in the 80s.

I was in the middle of complaining that it is going to be quite warm again today,

as I prefer crisp and cool fall days,

when I stopped...

did a U-turn...

and thanked God that our streets are not slippery from ice and snow,

that I am able to see the beauty of the fall leaves,

that I can hear the crunch of the leaves as someone walks by our house,

that  we had a great time on Sunday as our JEMS picked Jack-Be-Little Pumpkins from our garden,

that our windows are open to the breeze and sunshine,

that I see and hear the squirrels gathering nuts for winter right outside my window,

that it doesn't matter if there are weeds in the gardens anymore,

that October brings...

pumpkin bread,

apples for cider and pie,

cool nights,

soccer,

sweaters,

the leaves true colors,

ducks and geese flying south...

.

.

.

you get the idea.

October is here, and I am so thankful, Lord!

We really did have a good time collecting the pumpkins; Maya is just trying not to smile!

(last 3 photos from My Heart's Home and Garden)