*breathe ~ hammock thoughts on a Tuesday afternoon

blue skies

white wisps of cloud

and endless sunshine

*breathe 

the yard is surrounded by brilliant colours

each day more yellow

more orange

and more red

oh Autumn

you have a way of coming quickly once you decide the time is right

and somehow

we are never quite ready

to embrace you with both arms are we?

*breathe

honking of geese

twittering of birds 

as they feast at the bird feeders

airplanes passing overhead

(where are people off to these days anyhow?)

the sound of motorcycles on the highway

people enjoying a "sunday drive" on a Tuesday

*breathe

today's temperature

reminiscient of many days not too long ago

and it feels so good on our skin 

and the thoughts of having to get our winter clothes out of storage

seems to fade to the background of our minds again

*breathe

with the soft sound of wind chimes

the song of the crickets

the rustle of the leaves

the hammock becomes a good place to be

a place to retreat to

to curl up in

*breathe

there is a gentle breeze 

and the hammock swings in a gentle lulling

while a sermon plays on youtube

for these moments

cares and anxieties disappear

and it feels like nothing matters

except for this time

on this Tuesday

*breathe

God .. you are here

in this place, which is made sacred by your Presence

it's you and me LORD

you

&

me

*breathe

have I told you how much I love you?

love,

j

Simple things ...

The line from a song just entered my mind -  "Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy ..."

I will be honest, I am not a person who has really been into identifying songs and artists etc.  Growing up I knew which songs I liked on the radio - which songs I hear now that characterized a period of my life (like the early 70's) and when this line came across my thoughts, I could hear John Denver's mellow voice singing it.  

It makes sense that today I hear this line from the old melody - as I am sitting in my corner chair, facing the outside.  The sound of the lawnmower in the cemetery just beside us.  The green of the grass, the gentle swaying of the bullrushes.  The call of the birds who currently are taking a break from the feeding frenzy that is so characteristic of the birds this time of year.  The day is beautiful and sunny.  The trees are only beginning to turn colours and are still predominately green around our house.  But we know that isn't going to last long as the hues of yellow have begun ...

This season we all know can bring anything. It can be everything from summer like temperatures to the bone chilling cold that comes before winter.   It can bring the heavy frost that we have already experienced (the creeping vine displays the affects) and it can bring the sight of geese and the sound of gun shots along with them.  And we know that the rain of autumn can quickly turn into the ice of winter.  

This season is one where life comes to an end and everything goes into hibernation mode.  Even we feel like just hunkering down for a long winters nap at times!!

The brilliant colours that are beginning, and bring such joy and wonder to our eyes - results in piles of leaves that become crisp under our feet when we walk.  This season has always been a mixture of happy-sad for me.  It was the season that I took off on my stress leave when I was a daycare director and found myself in depression.  It was also the season that I spent with my dad in meaningful time together and conversation during the two months before God suddenly took him home.  I will never forget the last time we sat together in my car as I drove him back from our house in Anola, to his house in Winnipeg.  Or the very last time he sat around my table at Thanksgiving, and then, just over two weeks later, my dad was in heaven. Somehow just writing that down, floods my heart with memories.  It feels like yesterday, but it was almost 23 years ago.  How can that be.

As I love the season of new life and bright greens in Spring - I also love the season of fall with its sights and smells and sounds.  September is a wonderful season for weddings - both Alvin and I, and our daughter and son-in-law felt September was a good month to get married.  HOWEVER the season is not without some melancholy on my part.  (apparently as I am learning, melancholy is a part of my type on the enneagram).   My memory bank also holds some hard things that happened within this season we are almost officially in.  And I have come to see that our internal clocks do not forget things that happened in our lives.  

These days seems to be going by too quickly ... days to weeks and to months - we pass through the seasons one after another and next thing we know we are into another year.  I am not trying to rush this, I am just speaking the obvious.  We all know that we can not slow down time - but we need to make the most out of each and every moment we are given.  

For me, the passing of time seems to be measured in how my grandchildren are growing.  It seems week to week they change.  And while their parents may sometimes dream about when the kids will grow up, I - on the other side of the timeline, know that at some point they too will say where did the time go.  

How is it that at one time I thought 62 was so old, and yet now I am feeling that it is not old at all!  Did my mom and dad seem old because of their life style?  My mom would have never been caught dead in leggings ... but then again, leggings were not even a thing then.  I feel like I am different than my mom in many ways and yet very similar.  I am coming to understand my mom more and more and more with the passing of each year.  I think we are a lot alike.  I just wish I could sit and talk with her over a cup of coffee one afternoon.  She loved coffee <3

Sometimes I wonder how it is that my parents have passed away, there is so much I wish I had asked them - I wish I had asked them which season they loved the most.  Sometimes I wonder if my mom used to sit outside with her face tilted up like I sometimes do, soaking in the sunshine on it.  Sometimes I wonder if my mom felt the passing of time as strong as I do.   Sometimes I wonder if my mom had lines from songs cross her mind, and if she hummed along with them, in agreement. Did she experience sunshine on her shoulders?

What is it about experiencing that?  Feeling sunshine on our faces, or our shoulders as Denver wrote? Why is it that everything seems right with the world when the sun is shining?  

When I looked it up to see what Denver was thinking, I found this from the above link:  "Denver wrote this song on an early spring day in Minnesota when the rain was gently falling.  He found himself looking forward to spending more time outdoors and enjoying the sunshine.  He said of the song, "On one level it was about the virtues of love.  On another, more deeply felt level, it reach for something the whole world could embrace."  It went on to say that" the song first appeared on his 1971 album called Poems, Prayers and Promises and that he found an audience with his heartwarming, spiritual songs that dealt with finding pleasure in the simple things."  https://www.songfacts.com/facts/john-denver/sunshine-on-my-shoulders

Hmmm.... finding pleasure in the simple things.  Hey John, I think I can relate. 

 In this time of change that we have experienced over the past six months, I believe it has been the simple things that have been part of the sustaining of this gal!  Simple things like family meals on Wednesdays and Sundays, where there is noise, and laughter, and each person at times trying to be heard over the din of it all. For a small tribe of 10, we can make alot of noise.  Simple things like the hugs of my grandchildren, and children.  The prayers said at meal times especially when they are said by one of the grandchildren.  The smell of freshly brewed coffee and the conversation that follows.  

Simple things like camp fires and bicycle rides and memories of the latest beach day.  Simple things like leaves flying in the wind and geese flying in v's.  Simple things like seeing the kids running and playing, shouting and laughing.  Simple things like pumpkins on doorsteps and autumn wreaths on doors.  Simple things like smelling burning stubble and seeing dust from combines as they work in the fields.  Simple things like car rides, good conversation, quiet reflection and journal entries , hearing good sermons and fellowshipping with friends. 

Simple things like sunshine on my shoulders!

God has been speaking about some things to me during these last few months.  He has been talking to me about his fullness ... and what that means for me.  One of my favorite verses is where Jesus says that he has come to bring life to the full ...

Often I have sat and thought of that - Jesus - I want to experience the full life you have for me... every day - every season.  To experience not only the love of the Father, and the gift of everlasting life Jesus gave me, and the presence of the Holy Spirit - but to experience all of that TO THE FULL!.  And in my thinking and asking and listening, I believe he has said over and over that it is not about any striving on my part, but of just living with Him as the centre of my life, from which all aspects flow.  I believe that it is not complicated - but it is actually quite simple.  To love him with all my heart and soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbour as myself.  I believe it is about enjoying the simple things in life that He gives to me, and to live with a grateful heart.   In this season of Autumn, we can be tempted to be so worried about the cold bleak season that will come after autumn, and to miss the beauty, the wonder and the fullness that He blesses us with in this season of our lives.  

I for one, do not want to miss out on any moment of this time.  Because the thing is, we will never get this time back.  I want to live in recognition of the ONE who gives me life and breath and eternal life when this life is done here on earth.  I want to savour this time ... to not hurry to the next thing but to just b-r-e-a-t-h-e in and thank God for the simple things in life He has given me as gifts for each day.

I am so thankful!

Enjoy life my friends!  Savour it! 

With a thankful heart to my LORD and Saviour Jesus,

j

She sighs ...

She stares as the sun rises

Brilliant in all its glory

Waking up the earth with its radiance

She knows that people take myriads of pictures

Trying to capture the rays, the colours, the splendour of the morning

Knowing the sun is rising later with each new morning

And setting earlier with each evening

Although also brilliant, and with a splendour all of its own

The sun shows off the Creator’s creation

Neither sunrise or sunset is better than the other

But equally breathtaking and awe-inspiring

She sighs …

She looks around

At creation doing its thing around her

Geese flying in v formations

Taking turns at leading

Take offs and landings are all equally noisy

The honking never gets old to those who watch …

With awe in the spring as they arrive

And with a sense of foreboding when they are leaving this province for the promise of warmer weather

She sighs ..

She shuts her eyes and breathes in the smell of autumn

Overturned fields ready for their rest during the long cold spells of winter

She smells stubble burning and remembers the time the burn got a little too close for comfort

And yet the smell brings a nostalgia all of its own.

She shuts her eyes and hears the croaking of frogs and crickets

Knowing that they too will look for places as the weather gets colder.

Where do grasshoppers and crickets live for the freeze of the prairies

She sighs…

She keeps her eyes shut

And lets the sun shine on her

Warming up the places that were cold after the early frost of September 

Remembering days when she was young and the sun felt like it was helping her grow

Strong and sturdy

She sighs…

She looks up at the clouds that have gathered on the west and are blowing closer to home

Knowing that perhaps some rain will fall

But the rain drops feel good as they fall on her

Just a few that quickly turn into an autumn downpour

She nods,

Knowing that the rain is good for all of nature as it anticipates its hibernation

She smiles at the day 

Wondering what it will hold during the hours that are bookended by sunrise and sunset

Watching creation around her gathering and storing pinecones, and acorns

And laughs as they climb the feeders on the deck and empty the peanuts the Jays have not yet taken

Surprise on them!

Raucous bad boy of the bird world

You make so much noise but still,  you are simply lovely

Beautiful in all your splendour

Blues whites and black intermixed in all your glory

Do you really know where you are taking those peanuts?

Will you find them when the snow falls and the days are cold?

She feels laughter coming up from the bottom of her, to the top and it billows out in sounds that only the Creator hears

She sighs…

With a sigh that is not one of sadness or despair, 

But a sigh acknowledging what is to come

“For every thing there is a season”

That is how the creator has designed our life to be

Goodness, even the grass knows that it has its time - 

It is here and then withered..

Flowers are here today and gone ..

And all the seeds of the garden are now either dead or dying

Knowing that the season is upon them, and unless they die, they can not live again

All of Creation is an object lesson for the world to see

All of creation is in a season of continual praise to the LORD GOD 

To whom all praise is given, and from whom all blessings flow!

She takes a long look at herself, after studying creation around her

She stands tall and sturdy  and acknowledges her roots

Deep roots

Sturdy roots

Nourished by the water that they drink up

She has often taken her roots for granted 

But knows without them, she would not be standing

After the many storms and winds she has weathered in her lifetime.

She knows she is admired by many

Through each season of her life she shows off without even thinking

And she too becomes the object of many pictures taken and posted on instagram and facebook

She has a different splendour than the sunrise and sun set

But none the less - she is a prime example of the Creator’s workmanship

And she is captured in photos -  differently with every single season.

She catches her breath, as she hears it

(Even the girl walking in the yard stops,

Turns her face heavenward, eyes shut, and takes it all in)

And quickly joins in the symphony of praise .

She hears the sound of creation praising

Let all that has breath praise the LORD!!

Everything has joined in 

Even the trees are clapping their hands around her

The rustling is overwhelming as leaves blow in a song

She looks

And lets the wind blow her arms

Imagining the dance she is doing for the Creator

And the rustle that accompanies the dance is like praise

She looks and sees that seemingly overnight, she has gone from brilliant green to hues of orange and red and rust and yellow

She sighs knowing that the colours are a necessary part of her season too

And while she will be aflame in colour

It will be short lived, especially if a wind comes and shakes the life out of her

Shaking the colours off of her and onto the ground below

She sighs because she knows this season is the last hurrah before a season of rest …

It is necessary

It is part of her life

Living and dying 

Colour turns to a dull brown and grey that becomes bleak in its appearance

And as she hunkers down for a long winter’s nap

You can hear her sighing quietly …

But it sounds like a prayer ~ 

Of thanksgiving

and a prayer of acknowledging that life without seasons of rest ~ Is exhausting

Even to a mighty Oak.

And as the rain turns to ice and snow

As the squirrels have burrowed

And the geese have flown south

She shuts her eyes and thanks her Creator for the gift of this season, 

Knowing it is just for a time 

…. And her sighing stops as she rests.

Happy Autumn,

love 

j

Heart full to overflowing - complete with tears

Yesterday my heart tank was full and overflowing.  It was Sunday and we had been looking forward to the day for a long time.  It was no longer about zoom church, or online video church, or live feed church but it was about gathering in a space together as the church used to do pre-Covid-19.  One thing for us, and a pretty major thing at that, was that we decided to leave the church we were at as members, and join the body of believers at Kilcona Park Alliance Church.  Lest it sounded easy - it wasn't.  Let me back up a bit.... well maybe more than a bit.... stick with me ...

I grew up at Arlington Street Gospel Chapel and at the age of 20 I left to join Alvin at his church.  He grew up at North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church and then when it birthed McIvor M.B. Church, he and his family moved there.  He got baptized there at 18, and at 20 - we got married.  I joined him there and we were there for 32 years.  NEVER HAD I EVER THOUGHT WE WOULD LEAVE A CHURCH!  Leaving "A Street" was for marriage reasons.  But I did not think we would ever leave a church again. We got involved, raised our kids while still being involved, and the last 7.5 years I was a pastor there.  I did not think there was any good reason to miss a Sunday! That was how I was raised!  SO when we left McIvor, it was hard.  We left the "family" that helped us grow in our faith.  We loved the body there and it was one of the hardest decisions we have had to make.  

We did not "church shop" as many do.  (that is no secret to pastors either, even if you think you come and just sit in the back) Instead we decided to just settle into life at Eastview Community Church.  It was just a mile closer and it was still within the M.B. Conference of churches ... and remember Alvin is a dyed in the wool M.B'er.    Once again, we became members, and got involved pretty much right away.  

Our children and grandchildren had all settled at Kilcona Park Alliance Church and we would go whenever there was an event that our grandchildren or children were a part of,  or a Men's event, or when Josh preached, or children were dedicated, or the Worship Arts Cafe or the Christmas Production.  We loved going.  We also recognized people from McIvor who had transitioned there.  Going to Kilcona felt warm and inviting and our hearts always were filled when we went.  

A couple of years ago however, something changed in my heart.  It was a simple comment made by Josh during a time when we were all at the lake and the kids (who are all also involved in Kids Ministry) were talking about the need for people to help out, and Ash had said that Maverick had no teacher.  Josh said, "Well you know Mom and Dad, if you came to Kilcona you could help teach."  My heart knew that this was where I wanted to be.  I had stepped off of Leadership Board and also Women's ministry and was feeling very detached.  Ministry life had gotten full and I was not able to be in church much on Sundays.  To be honest, I was feeling very alone and lonely at times.  When Josh said that, I knew that I would transition in a heart beat - but I also believed that God would have to make it very clear to Alvin as I did not want him to go just because of me!  So, I prayed about it.  It was hard to be patient as I just felt it was so clear we needed to leave ECC for KPA ... and when Alvin reengaged into a committee a year ago, I will admit I felt like my heart sank a little.  But I still remained relatively silent about it all.  I did have a couple friends who were praying about it tho.  Within months, Alvin knew that he needed to finish up his duties there, and resign from the committee which he did in May.  We then let our pastors at ECC know in June that we were leaving, and then we also connected with the pastor at KPA to let him know we were coming.  God had moved Alvin's heart, and we both knew it was the right time.  I also want to say that we had done some processing with our kids as well, and had their blessing to join them.  (For us, this was a very necessary thing as we did not want to impose ourselves on our kids in their place of worship no matter how much we wanted to, we needed their blessing to do so) 

Let me just say this for the record.  Moving churches within COVID-19 times - is a weird and hard thing to do.  How do you get to know people?  Fortunately we already knew some besides our kids. I have enjoyed a couple coffee times with different women already.  This did my heart well.  Last week we had coffee with Pastor Bruce and Nancy and they welcomed us to Kilcona from a pastoral point of view.  We all know that changing churches is hard on many levels and no church wants to "steal sheep" as the saying goes.  But to change because you want to worship with your family, and to witness your children and children's children be nurtured in the faith as well - that is priceless and a good reason for changing churches I think.  For my husband, he is chomping at the bit to just DO something .... even stacking chairs at church brings joy as he is a hands on - get to meet you type of guy.   ANYHOW ... the preliminaries were all done - and we have even taken in our first "church meeting" and one "watch" meeting on a Sunday morning.  But we were waiting for the kick-off.   

Yesterday we took our lawn chairs and headed to the parking lot of Kilcona Park Alliance Church.  There were two options - you could sit in your car and tune into the churches station on the radio and watch and listen in the warmth of your vehicle ... OR you could bring your lawn chairs and sit social distanced at the front.  So that was what we and our kids and grandkids opted for.  It was chilly - windy but oh so good.  But I was glad we brought blankets.

The worship was great.  The fellowship conversations were great.  And sitting with our kids within our wingspan was wonderful.  My heart was full.  And then the song at the end made it overflow, and as it overflowed, so did my tears...   

The night before,  the church had hosted their Drive-In Movie:  TOY STORY 4 and Pastor Bruce's sermon was called GOD STORY and he used some similarities from the movie.  It was a great sermon! He talked about 3 things that he thinks God may be wanting to teach us through this strange time of Covid ... 1) that discipling of children starts at home 2) that God knows the plans He has for us and 3) that he believed God was using Covid-19 to "shake up the Church and remind us that Church is something we ARE vs something we go to.  And that it is not about watching but of PARTICIPATING with others and to BE THE CHURCH.   WE ARE THE "CHURCH" ...      YES!!  My heart resonated with his words to this flock in the parking lot!!

And then in closing,  Chris the Worship Pastor brought 19 monarchs that were all ready be released, and she shared how these ones will fly south and Monarch butterflies may take as many as 4-5 generations before they return back to where they were born here in Manitoba.  She talked about the beauty of generations - and it was so cool for her family, there were 4 generations in the same church.  There for Alvin and I, were three generations. (all of our parents are in heaven)  She however also talked about perhaps someone was there who were first generation, but the impact of each of us on the generations to come ... just like the Monarch visual.  

Chris then talked about the song they were going to sing in closing .  The song "THE BLESSING" by Kari Jobe and her husband Codie Carnes came out pre Covid and was a song that brought goose bumps the first time I heard it (and since). It is based on the priestly blessing from Numbers 6: 24-26  - the same blessing I often spoke over our congregation if I was wrapping up a Sunday service at McIvor, or the one I often prayed over our life group, or our women's bible study, and almost always without fail would choke up as I spoke it over the family of God.... 

“The Lord bless you

    and keep you;

25 

the Lord make his face shine on you

    and be gracious to you;

26 

the Lord turn his face toward you

    and give you peace.

Chris shared how people asked her "Are you going to sing this one with us at Kilcona?" and she knew one day she would, but only when it was time.  And she said that it was that time to do it.   So they sang and played and people joined in.  

With one arm raised towards Josh and Leah sitting just in front of us,  (with the sun shining from behind, I noticed that my arm extended brought the shadow right to them - a visual for me) and the other arm around my daughter and stretched towards the rest of the family ... and with tears rolling down my cheeks - I sang and felt like it WAS the right time .. for changing churches, for this beautiful song to be sung and to be able to sing it while sitting in our little cohort of 10, worshipping together at the same church.  

My heart was overflowing and ran out and over in the form of tears.  It was such a very very tangible God-moment for me, and Alvin both.  We talked about it as we drove in the car - and knew that it was also a blessing on what we decided to do, and have done.  Our hearts are so full of thanks and praise to the ONE who is our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ!  HE has blessed us more than we can speak - and it is up to me as my kids mom and grandchildren's Granny to recall HIS faithfulness to my generations after me. We are so very thankful!  

to encourage you...

Perhaps you are a first generation Christ-follower - praise God!  He has a plan for you!   Perhaps you are not married, or you are but don't have children - YOU still have an impact on young and old around you! Not having children - doesn't make you exempt!  Perhaps you are a mom or dad with a wayward child - don't give up!  Your prayers for your child are never wasted!  Neither are your tears <3

This is my post, and my story HOWEVER God is writing YOUR story ... stop, reflect, praise, thank and recall.  

He is not done with you yet friend!!

love,

j

PS Here is the song - hope you can listen 

https://youtu.be/Zp6aygmvzM4

Saying Hello to September While Glancing in the Rear-view Mirror at it

to begin: Sometimes in life, we welcome in something new, but we also take a good long look in the rearview mirror - reflecting backwards at the beauty (or harshness) of something - 

These things make up our lives.  The good and great, the bad and the ugly is all woven into the threads of our lives - each and every one of us.  September always makes me stop to remember as it is in recalling the past that we see so much about who we are, where we have come from, and what we need to be thankful to God for!!  This blog post is about all that!!

The sky is grey today and the winds are cool

The weeds in the garden are fewer and growing slower

And some leaves have begun to change their green for yellow

The flip of a calendar page reminds me that this is September

The month of fall

And today as I snuggled under a quilt with a heating pad

I was reminded that this is the month of temperature change

I love Autumn

But I also feel sad at times

It really is the opposite of Spring which I love as well - and likely just as equally as Autumn

Spring is where new life bursts open before our eyes

While Autumn or Fall is really a symphony of praise to the creator!

As creation turns the most brilliant colours before our eyes

But then ... the leaves fall, and die.

There are a few things that I love about fall ...

Our wedding in 1978

Memories of my daughter Ashley & Michael's wedding <3 font="">

Combines on fields late into the evening

Big round hay bales

Colors of every hue

Flying leaves

Huge squirrels carrying pinecones to their homes for winter (just witnessed this)

Acorns

Geese returning from the north to the south - their honking and flying "v's"

The sound of crunching leaves

The small of leaves that have piled and are beginning to decay

The coolness of the days that makes us put on sweaters

Pumpkins

Corn Mazes

Thanksgiving

Woodstoves, Campfires and Fireplaces get used more

The smell of the house when the heat is turned on for the first time (is that dust?)

AND .... the smell of burning stubble.

I realize that for many, the stubble burning in the fall isn't easy.

I am asthmatic too, and yet this smell doesn't bother me 

It takes me back many many years ...

When our house in Beausejour was being built, and we were living in our cabin at Sandy Bay.

The cabin - simply built on lake front property.

Sufficient 2 bedroom cottage,  NONwinterized cabin (this is a key point).  It had two bedrooms, a roll away cot for Tim, and with a breakfast nook that was built, and became a bed at night.  

That was where I slept.

Thing is - we had no running water unless someone physically ran to my Auntie Dot's to get it in a container.

That was before the time of water coolers, and water jug delivery!

We also did not have an indoor washroom ... instead it was about a 50 step walk to the outhouse that was nestled by some trees.  I was very used to outhouses as I grew up on Elk Island, with 4 seater outhouses (which really is a very gross idea when I think of it, but it was practical - killing 4 birds with one stone so to speak lol)

Camp finished for the season.  The big barge that took the campers over was moored for the season.

And we, the Gerald Thomas Family hunkered down in the cottage on the edge of Lake Winnipeg.

We would be there for at least a three months.  Housing was hard to find in Beausejour for the "in between" until our house was finished (which would not be till the next spring). 

I was in Grade 4 and my brother Tim was in kindergarten. Brian had not yet joined our family through adoption yet.  Dad and Mary-Ann worked full time at Polaris, and Heather was attending the Senior High (now named Edward Schreyer School).  Mom stayed home and kept "cottage" and had our lunches ready for us, and supper when we got home.  Funny, I still remember my lunch bag that was purchased for my grade 4 year!!  The things you remember!!

I realize now that my mom must have had a combo of hard living with the primitive accommodations but also, she must have enjoyed some sweet time with the LORD in the silence of the country while we were all away in Beausejour.  I am starting to understand my mom more and more as I age, and figure I am much like her in that I enjoy the silence and solitude .

I remember those early mornings of climbing into the car.  Sometimes if Dad was away on business or had to go early, Nelson came and picked up in his (what I thought to be) sporty red car, since he was dating Mary-Ann he also got to drive us some days!!

I guess that experience in fall of 67 at the age of 9, it really was an adventure.  

Let me tell you, when the season turned into Fall ... we woke up and could barely walk across the ice cold floors.  I dont think my dad built the cottage with the intent of EVER being in it into the winter months ...

Like I said ... no running water .... no toilet .... 

Yet those things added to the adventure - and running over to my auntie Dot and uncle Tom's for a bath was part of that too.  I loved Auntie Dot so much!  Her and my dad were pretty close, and having her as neighbour meant a short run through the bush and we were at her house.  There was always laughter there!!

And on top of every thing else ...  there was smoke from burning stubble!!  We would drive highway 59 to the turn off at Gull Lake, and then go right into Beausejour .  About an hour from door to door (Polaris) and then off to school.  (Sometimes I think we may have been dropped off right at school).   Thing is, while driving to Beausejour, we drove through many miles of fields and the farmers were burning their stubble.  Sometimes the smoke was thick across the road.  Other times, it was just beginning the burn, or ending, and the smoke was drifting upward in a mesmerizing dance of smoke.  The smell .... even as I type this, it is as if I can smell it. It is one of those comfort memories. 

So the other day, when Alvin and I were driving and I smelled that, it whipped me back down memory lane - over half a century ago!! (yikes) .... 53 years to some of the best memories ever!  And I once again told my husband everything that he hears yearly during the season of Autumn.

(He never says "you told me that before" )

September:  You seem to have snuck up on us although you have come in with a very cold breeze! Seems to me it is time to pull out the sweatpants again!  Turn on the fireplace and make a good cup of coffee!

What do you hold September of 2020?  No doubt you will show off the Creator's handiwork once again.  It has already begun - as I see some yellow on the bush outside my window.  Autumn is a time of unspeakable indescribable beauty.  One of the reasons we loved Henderson Hwy (where we built) was because of the beauty of the trees and we often took fall drives out here when we lived in Anola. 

But September, what else will you hold?  In this year that began with such gusto and turned into a muddle mess of COVID-19 ... nothing is "normal" any more ... but September, I have a feeling that you will bring beauty into this hard year!  We know that September will bring with it a much anxiety laden return to school for my grandchildren. And dance class, preschool, hockey and soccer, as well as (the best part) a return to church IN THE BUILDING!   It is hard not to be anxious during this time. TBT I AM ANXIOUS ... But I have to continue to trust that GODS GOT THIS as well.  

In all of this, the past 6 months, COVID-19 has put us into a very different, slow life.  Let's face it - it has been hard.  But I believe it would have been harder without GOD in it.  So for September I am going to choose to embrace the beauty in each day - even if it seems not to have any.  I am going to choose to breathe deeply of the goodness of God.  I am going to choose to embrace the in between time where we remember the "old normal" and try to find the "new normal" although really, someone once said, "Normal is only a setting on a dryer!"  ...  I think she was onto something.

Life is to be lived FULLY.  Jesus said that He had come to bring life, and life to the full!

What does HIS fullness look like to me?  

In living fully, we need to take today, thank God for it, and see where we see HIM all over our day.  Even in the toughest days that may come ... we still need to look for HIM.

In living fully, we need to look at ourselves and see where God is at work in us - because if we let Him - guaranteed He is at work.

So September - I say a big HELLO to you ... yep, I wonder what you will hold, and I have a feeling there will be some surprises along the way!  I also know that you will show off and praise the Creator through your splendour!  I am looking forward to that ...

And the sadness that also comes with my Septembers ... I am okay with that too, because I have come to understand that as well.

You've Got this God - I know it!

Hello sweet September!

with love

j

PS:  Now, if you have read this - feel free to comment below - what does SEPTEMBER mean to you?  Let me know!  Enjoy this month.... and grab a sweater!