Ready to fall

My friends seem excited about autumn. They talk about the leaves changing color, the cooler days and nights, and the excitement of the fall and winter holidays. Bloggers like Martha Stewart, Pinterest, Apartment Therapy, and Houzz are posting "Ideas for Back to School," pumpkin recipes, and how to revamp decor for winter coziness.

I can hardly believe my ears. It is beyond my comprehension how 6+ months of cold, wet, and dark could be appealing, even in technicolor. Yet, here it comes. The days are shorter. It's dark before 8pm, and it's poured rain the last few days.

Seattle sunrise and sundown 2013

In spring, I'm among those thrilled by longer days and warmer weather. In summer, I'm happiest when it's a sunny 80oF (26.6oC) outside. Makes me think God knew what he was doing, calling us to a place where days are in the 80s and nights are in the high 60s.

Can't wait! Only one more Seattle winter to go.

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Read more:
*Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:1-2 ESV

*Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord! Isaiah 2:5 ESV

*Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. Philippians 2:14-15

Moravian Prayer; Good and gracious Lord, when we walk in the darkness you show us the light. Help us to see and allow our light to shine in the world. You give us hope for the future, so let us share that hope with your people. Amen.

Notes to self, approaching autumn

Sipping from my "joy" cup today

Do you love autumn? Relish the changing colors of the trees? Take the kids to romp in the winddrifts of crackling leaves? Welcome the chance to put logs on the fire and snuggle close to the warmth?

I'm a summer person myself. I love the emerging buds and bursts of flowers. I cherish each sunny day as though it were my last, even if it's the 100th in a row and I have to seek shelter from the heat. (Then I sit close to a window and thank God for bright light!) I love waking to early mornings and reading without lights until late evening. I think I love everything about summer. But fall? Since my kids were in their teens, I've dreaded it.

Hello, trusty Merrill shoes. Goodbye, beloved flip-flops
until the next sunny autumn day.

This year I've promised myself a better attitude about fall and winter. While the weather was hot, I got a smack-down from a dear friend about my winter whining. "Stop it!" she said. "That's enough already."

I heard her loud and clear. And, oh yes, I believe that "wounds from a friend CAN be trusted," as the wise sage said. So this year I'm going to thank God for the moments I enjoy, while anticipating spring's end and summer's beginning ... only 8 months away. Smiling already at the thought of all that sun and heat.

A cup of the Irish (AG version)
with Pumpkin Spice in our InginuiTea

The dogs and I had a great walk this morning. The drizzle held off until our driveway. Note to self: "The best weather in this neighborhood is before 8am. Get moving early. It will often be raining by 8:30 or 9."

I tore off a laurel branch that was leaning over the sidewalk and popped it into a vase when I got home. Its black berries look great on the kitchen sill. Note to self: "Prune the branches while they're pretty, since they'll be dripping water on you in a week or less. Enjoy their beauty up close and personal."

Opening the tea cabinet to choose
a fragrance for the day

When we got home, I made a cup of Black Irish tea and dressed it with pumpkin pie spice. Note to self: "Add a bit of sugar. Cloves and cinnamon are bitter without it."

While the tea steeped, I poured water from the hot-water tap over mulling spices in a medium pot. It's simmering on the stove, providing the illusion that someone is baking autumn spice cookies. Note to self: "Fragrance matters."

I like layering clothes when the weather turns on us, from those whitest of European undershirts to the thin merino wool tights that snug under jeans. Note to self: "Choose the nicest, warmest clothing. Don't save beautiful sweaters for appointments or pretty socks for special days. Enjoy every generous gift God gives you. And why not put on 3 interesting bracelets if you want to?"

W cuts out the yellow ceiling and a wall of blue

W repainted my office last week. Instead of three walls of cheery but intense medium blue, I have a brightest-white ceiling and facing walls. The mirror wall remains bluest-blue, and the opposite wall shines deep royal blue. It's an update without a loss of personality. Note to self: "Being at home during the cold season is a wonderful gift. Thanks, hon, for making our house live and breathe!"

 I'm happy this morning. The rain's come. The light's fading and days are short. But God renews his mercies every morning. Great is his faithfulness!

New merino wool socks for this cold morning

Read more:
*I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13 

*Jesus took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” Mark 5:41 

*But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22-26 NIV

Moravian Prayer: Great Physician, you speak to us in many ways, bringing both comfort and challenge. Healing God, comfort us, heal us and encourage us. May we share your blessing with others this day. Amen.

Full to the brim

Ever feel like exploding with possibilities? Or are you dragging your heels?

"Morning by morning, new mercies I see.
All I have needed your hands have provided.


GREAT is your faithfulness, Lord, unto me."

That's the music track in my head this morning after a week of spiritual nourishment and physical rest. My spiritual accountability group spent three days on retreat. Then W and I relaxed for three days with dear friends -- on a boat in the middle of God's creation. This morning, I finished a 4-week "Get Unstuck Bootcamp" designed by Kim Martinez.  (I'll write more on that self-coaching system another day.) Wow. What a time of refreshing! (Thanks be to God, especially as the weather changes to Seattle autumn.)

What makes you feel "full" and ready to engage the world? For me, it's interaction with people that is paced by quiet times alone. Without friends and collaborators, I languish and circle in place. Without time by myself, I become exhausted and irritable, numb to stimulation and new ideas.

How do you refill your tank when you're weary? Here are a few observations:

1. Extroverts gather energy by being around people and introverts gather energy from time alone.

2. What you love to do aligns with at least one of your personal strengths or talents. Pay attention the next time you experience joy.

3. What you hate to do may align with a personal weakness. Do you have more choices about things you dread than you think?

• When possible, delegate the task. For this option, accept someone else's "done-well-enough." Don't micro-manage what you hand off to others.
• If YOU have to do it, emphasize parts that line up with things you love. Dislike driving to work but love to pray? Take the cause of travelers in cars next you to God -- while you sit in traffic. 
• Take a mental vacation while you work. Hate maintenance but have to change the oil on your car? Take a great book along or listen to a podcast while someone else does it. While you work, plan a reward that "rings your bells." Washing floors? Look around to see what you can redecorate or reconfigure in the room. (Decor possibilities were my pleasurable mind-escape this morning while cleaning bathroom floors.) 

4. Look around to see how people with your temperament or job cope. Copy copy copy. "There is nothing new under the sun," said the wise sage. What works for others may work for you, too.

*5. Most importantly, recognize and appreciate that The One Who Made Us is interested in developing our full potential. Whom or what has God already brought near you to help you refuel and kickstart the day or the next season?

Read more: 

*I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints—but let them not return to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Psalm 85:8-9 NIV 

*He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. Psalm 103:7–8

*I am teaching you today—yes, you—so you will trust in the LORD." Proverbs 22:19

*Declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it forth to the end of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!” Isaiah 48:20

*God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by

making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Colossians 1:19-20 (NIV)  

Moravian Prayer: Great and loving God, you bring us redemption and reconciliation and we respond in joy to your great faithfulness. Thousand, thousand thanks to thee, dear Lord. Amen.

31 days of Learning #3: Some people prefer autumn

I'm definitely a summer person. I used to be a spring person, loving the coming-to-life of new leaves and flower buds. However, the older I get, the warmer I like to be. I love the fully-fleshed gardenias and geraniums, the lush green forest behind our house, and the hot evening sun just before it goes down. This was the first summer we've spent in Seattle in years, and when it arrived in August, I was thrilled. I hate to let summer go, now that October rains have come.

Some people love winter, with its cold mono-palate shaded in white, grey, and black. These are probably far and few between. Many of them probably live in the Arctic or Antarctic zones. They must have warm houses to escape into and feel secure in. "Why else would you tolerate freezing cold snow, slush, and ice?" asks this former Winnipeg-ger. Not to mention the mud when it all starts melting!

Most of all, I have learned that fall seems to be the hands-down favorite season among my friends and acquaintances. They love the bright colors of leaves dying, the withering of stalks that permits berries to appear, the hardening off of stems to drop ripe apples and pears onto orchard floors. Even Dr. Oz talks about fall as his favorite time of year.

I don't get it. The whole atrophy process as nature heads for the dead of winter? Doesn't turn my crank one notch. I feel like God kills off the world's beauty so that we truly can appreciate the unfolding of a new season in Spring.

Only 8 months to go. God have mercy! (and I don't say that in jest.) I can't wait, hunkered down at my desk, looking out at a typical autumn sky. Rainy, grey Seattle. Time to wait for new life.

Thank God for central heating, bright electrical lights, a roof overhead, and thickly insulated walls to ward off the cold damp until the deck is habitable again.