Fall is Around the Corner

I could feel it this morning when I woke up. It was so foggy I couldn’t see Pikes Peak. I know when it clears out later today there will be snow up there. Walking earlier this week I noticed that the tips of the trees are turning. My favorite time of the year is just around the corner.

I don’t know why but there is something about this time of year that makes me yearn for James Taylor music, breakout my Smart Wool socks and watch You’ve Got Mail. When we first moved to Colorado for the first few years I felt I got cheated every autumn. The season doesn’t last nearly as long here as it does out east, and there is one color for the leaves to turn.  The biggest difference is that you can find yourself shoveling snow anytime after October 1st.

But over the years I have learned to love this time of year in Colorado. The aspens and their gold coin-like leaves are stunning. The sun against a clear blue sky is magnificent. And while it doesn’t last long, it makes you appreciate the last few warm days of the year even more.

This year our family is wrapped up in our son’s first year of junior high football. Football has always been a part of our family’s fall rituals, but now in a much more participatory role. We not only will be watching college and pro football all weekend with our Institute students and friends, but we will be going to games to cheer Jacob and the TCA Titans on as well.

I have so many good memories of this time of year when I was a kid. I think that is why I love it so much. What about you? What are some of your favorite fall season memories? I know you have them too…

Land of the Living

Over the last few weeks I have not been able to get the words of David in Psalms 27:13-14 out of my head.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

I love the thought of seeing the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. That is here and now! I don’t have to wait for some future event. I can see it today, right now — just living the life he has for me now. These verses give me insight into true joy. The joy of contentment. The joy that only the Lord provides.

What encouragement this has been to me. Also the fact that I can wait. I don’t have to make things happen all of the time. Sometimes it is OK just to wait. Meditate on this and let me know what you think about this Psalm. It has been water for my soul recently.

Faith Walk

Faith, what is it? Biblically speaking in Hebrews 11:1 it is described as being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. Confession time — as far as Christians go I really stink where faith is concerned. I just haven’t had to exercise this spiritual discipline a whole lot in my twenty years of walking with God. Let me explain.

I have never been in a situation really where I have had to be completely dependent on God. I have always been in a state where I knew where things were coming from. This has been true through every area of my life.

Good Grief

This morning I ran to the beat of The King. Elvis was alive and well in my ipod. I love Elvis. I know this is strange. Not many of my friends are into him. My mother’s favorite singer on the planet was Elvis. I have held onto an Elvis Christmas bulb that I stole from my parents’ house about five years ago. Every year I hang it on the back side of our family’s tree.  It isn’t even one of those modern Hallmark ornaments with him shaking his hips. It is a “Fat Elvis” bulb shrink-wrapped with his sweaty image around it.

Jeff Turns 40!

I can’t believe my wonderful hubs turns 40 today! For the last 18 years of our dating and married lives he has made me the happiest woman in the world. I can’t imagine life without him. Happy Birthday Jeff and thank you for being such a Godly husband and father. You are the best! I love you.

Loving Summer

I wanted to post some pictures for you of our family’s recent trip to Estes Park. Some of you have asked for them in light of the “heavy” post yesterday. So I hope they don’t disappoint. I love this place!

Love this one…And this one…And this is why we keep going back…

Sobering Article on the State of Marriage

Today I came across this article on Is There Hope for The American Marriage? in Time Magazine. It hit me hard because I have been wrestling with this topic as I work closely with single parent families, and the harsh reality of what divorce looks like in our country. I share it because it needs to be read.

As a Christian, it called me to pray for those who are struggling, and to work even harder to love my husband well. I have come across too many struggling marriages recently, too many fatherless children, and too many men and women who instead of treating their spouses like lovers, treat them as subjects. God, please heal our land of this epidemic.

World’s Best Hot Dog Chili Recipe

So I missed Friday Favorites yesterday, but this is certainly a Summer favorite. I wanted to share with everyone a family recipe that will knock your socks off. My mother-in-law gave this to me when my husband and I first got married. I am convinced it is one of the best hot-dog chili recipes in the world.

Looking Forward and Looking Back

I’m a futuristic person. I have taken the Strengths Finder 2.0 test and it says so.  But I have always known this about myself. It is why I love to plan out every last detail of future events. It is why I love the story of Joseph in the Bible. Have you ever noticed how futuristic Joseph’s thinking was? It is also why almost every job I have ever been in has required me to plan and strategize for the future.

I Want to Blog, Really I Do

I just haven’t had much to say lately. Well, let me correct that — I always have SOMETHING to say. But lately I have been so busy with my work, and family that my blog has been seriously neglected. So I do feel obligated to write a little something about what has been going on in my life.