Rambling Friday: Fallen Leaves and Smoky Skies

I love Autumn!

It's a beautiful season,

but... 

God says...

There's a time for everything.

and a reason.

No matter the season of our lives,

God is in control. 

We trust and believe

that He will work 

everything out according to His will

for our lives. 

Ecclesiastes says in Chapter 3:

To everything, there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Hang on. God's got this! 

Rambling Friday: The Harbinger of Hope

I love this plant. I've forgotten the name of it (so if you know, feel free to tell me!), but it gives me hope and happiness every spring.

It's hardy. I've owned it for years, and it doesn't let the weather stop it. Doesn't seem to grow much or spread, but year after year, it's there.

It's dependable. Right on time, it appears, through the snow, cold, or rain, it blooms. Every year! I look for it, watching to see the first green, the first white blossom.

It's beautiful. Pure white against its green leaves and still unraked, fallen, last year's autumn leaves, it makes me so happy that I run out to the garden every spring and take yet another picture of this first-to-bloom plant in my garden. Yes, it even beats out the daffodils!

Small, humble, small, and could easily be beaten by the showier, more sweet-smelling spring flowers, yet this simple little plant lifts me out of the late winter doldrums and gives me hope that Spring will come again, that God is in control no matter the circumstances.

I love it!

Sunday Sunshine:

To everything there is a season, 

and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

--Ecclesiastes 1: 1

A purpose for living.

A purpose for loving.

A purpose for doing.

A purpose for acting.

A purpose for being alive.

A purpose for sharing.

A purpose for GOD. 

Use this season wisely.

Seasonal blessings!

Monday Morning Gratitudes

Remembering today:

My mama and father, my mama and daddy in law, my other loved ones, and many, many friends.
the veterans
the soldier boys and girls who died for our country and freedom
that God's in heaven, and as much as the evil one wants us to think otherwise, is in control
that God has given me yet another day.
for a beautiful month.


Blessings!

Five Things I Love About Autumn by Jennifer A. Davids

Happy to have fellow author and friend, Jennifer Davids with me today! She's sharing HER Favorite things about Autumn. Be sure to let her know what yours are. AND if you comment, you'll be in her drawing for a FREE kindle copy of her book: BUCKEYE DREAMS!

The Five Things I Love About Autumn by Jennifer A. Davids


Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING – I know, I know, this is a popular one. But, hey, this is the only time of year I can find these babies at my local Wal-Mart. Who, BTW is the only store around here that carries them. My other local stores only carry the huge jugs that need to stay refrigerated. I guess they
think everyone carries around a mini-fridge in their purse. Hmm…I do have a big purse… Anyway, I love these in my coffee but I also love to slip one in my morning oatmeal. Try it. You will love it.


COLOR – How can anyone not love looking at those beautiful trees God paints just for this season? Deep
reds, glowing orange, and yellows that more than stand in for the sun on cloudy days. Every year, my family and I go down to Hocking Hills southeast of Columbus and enjoy all the autumn colors. It’s the perfect way to enjoy God’s creation with the added bonus of walking off the calories we just consumed since we also eat breakfast at Waffle House before heading down.


PERFECT TEMPERATURE – I love that Autumn is cooler. I’m not a fan of summer. If I had it my way, it would be this temperature year-round.  Even where I live in Ohio, it gets hot and the A/C in my house runs for 4-5 months straight. Even though I don’t turn the air down as low as I could, it still sucks a lot of money out of our budget. Autumn gives me the chance to turn off my air conditioner without having to turn on the heat. And later, as fall edges into winter and I do have to turn on the furnace, I love that initial smell of dusty warm air that fills the house.

OHIO STATE FOOTBALL – Oh, come on. I’m a born and bred Ohioan and an Ohio State Alumni. Did you really think this wasn’t going to make the cut? I, and everyone else in Ohio are understandably proud of our National Champions. O-H-I-O!



ACFW – The highlight of my entire year. Except for next year, the American Christian Fiction Writer’s
annual conference is held in September, and I get to see people I only ever see in cyberspace via Facebook or email. I cherish those three and a half days I get to commune with my tribe.



So there are my Five. Is there something else that you love about Autumn that didn’t make my list? Leave a comment and you will automatically be entered to win a copy of my latest book, Buckeye Dreams, in ebook format.



Thanks for joining us, Jen! 
Blesssings!

Friends


People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON.

• It is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
• They have come to assist you through a difficulty,
• to provide you with guidance and support,
• to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
• They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
• They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

• Sometimes they die.
• Sometimes they walk away.
• Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.


Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.

• They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
• They may teach you something you have never done.
• They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.

Believe it; it is real.
But only for a season.


LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to:

• accept the lesson,
• love the person and
• put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.


Quote:
Lord, when I'm wrong, make me willing to change; when I am right, make me easy to live with. So strengthen me that the power of my example will far exceed the authority of my rank. --Pauline H. Peters

Blessings