Fall is leading into winter. Today there was a skiff of ice on a pot which has filled up with water on the porch outside the bedroom and the ground had a layer of white. It snowed on and off yesterday most of the day mixed with hail. We have a fire in the woodstove every day now or are uncomfortable. We let the chickens out to peck around in the woods and the garden this week one day and watched the ducks waddle around the yard and then down to the creek which they were really excited about.
The landscape now is mostly grey and brown. The leaves are down and I find myself noticing how interesting the shapes of the trees are and trying to imagine the view when it turns all white and everything I can see now is coated and covered. It's time to gather up the remains of fall and summer and stash them. Song and I have been doing some cleaning and hubby brought in some furniture from the shop which happens to be white and will make the house brighter during the darker days of winter.
I'm getting to the end of my enthusiasm for canning and freezing and have been thinking about how to make room for venison in the freezer. Although it has been so busy which leaves not much time for deer hunting and quotas are low and rules are strict about what you can get and where and how so we are wondering if we will have any venison for the freezer this year besides the one we are currently enjoying. We might get a pig instead! As soon as the young hens start to lay I plan to butcher some chickens and I'll probably can that meat.
It feels amazing to me that the two grandbabies are born and have settled into their families quite well now. My father in law is still in critical care and is inching his way towards recovery so we are still getting and giving daily reports on his up and down health. I talked to a friend this week who poured out his story of his own mother who is a diabetic and has been in and out of hospitals for his whole life. He talked about watching her have a medical crisis when he was six years old and how that has flavored his life. I found myself thinking that it can be a bridge between people when they share something like a family member who is weathering storm after storm after storm. God uses these kinds of things which we would not ask Him for in many many ways. I can see a little of how He works them together to make a good fabric.
I'm reading a book about the Bible's Psalm 23 written by Max Lucado. I like it a bunch as I have most other things I've read that he has written.One of the best parts in it so far is his description of how people make their lives more difficult than they need to be by changing God into a geni you pull out and demand things of when you want something, a sleepy Grandpa who is not much use to you because he's usually asleep but he doesn't make anything hard or painful either becasue he's asleelp and hard to wake up for much besides a period hug or two or into a very busy executive Dad who is mostly at the office, on the way to the office and only has a little time for us on Sunday when he takes a few hours off from his hectic schedule of running the world and will listen to us for a few minutes. It both made me chuckle and made me sad. I see people all around me who have those concepts of God and who live less of life than they would if they could push those ideas aside and see a loving powerful personal God who is not baffled by yesterday, today or tomorrow because He's already there and has infinite understanding but still loves each of us and has what is best for us in mind all the time.
Max also talks about all the baggage we insist on taking through life that we don't need at all. It reminds me of a passage from one of Corrie Ten Boom's books. He says we need very little but we take along an immense amount of things like fear, shame, pride, lust, sorrow because we don't trust God enough to hand those things to him and let Him give us what he wants us to carry and concetrate on. Good writing and good stuf to ponder. So that's what I'm doing. It's making me rather absent minded but that's a good balance for the task oriented mind set I've been in of late. Time to get ready for winter and in some ways it's already here.
Comments (4)
I'm ready for getting ready for something new. Summer this year although in many ways good was also exhausting for me and something I'm quite ready to let go of. I'm ready for the nestle down, cuddle up time of year. I forget how much you like Max Lucado. I have started letting Reuben watch one of his videos for kids occasionally...the ones with the caterpillar that is featured on the backpack you gave him a while back.
Your last paragraph really hits home for me. It's hard to give our baggage up to God but we feel better when we do. It's something that takes practice to be able to do.
Good stuff, i've been thinking about those kinds of ideas myself lately but not reading anything just pondering life and such things.
@botanyhead - Oh how cool that you are having Reu see a video that ties in with that backpack!! Myself, I'm not ready for the change but God doesn't wait for us to be ready does He? Yes I do think I really like Max Lucado. I keep reading another and another of his books. He is a really good writer!@TheCheshireGrins - Oh it is sooooo hard and I so often take it back!@cutepickles1 - It's good to fill our minds with thoughts that help us to grow and change for the better. I'm glad to hear you are working at that task!