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Category: fall

A Lazy, Rainy Day

A Lazy, Rainy Day

Daniel and Anna and I are going up to Pilot Lake for the weekend.
So I made some pies to take with us: a pumpkin, a banana cream, and two apple (with lattice tops).

It snowed 8-10″ there last night. Enough to completely change the prospective schedule!

Today I have been doing laundry and getting caught up on things around the house.
Right now I am listening to the rain through the open window. It is 64 degrees outside, with intermittent showers. When we are between showers, the sky is a brilliant blue, and all the colors of the trees are extremely vivid. I found out that the pears are almost ripe, and a few early ones had fallen. When we get back we will have pears for breakfast!

A Boy & A Longsuffering (& Clowinsh) Cat

A Boy & A Longsuffering (& Clowinsh) Cat




Apparently, yesterday was portrait time for Ben. Mom allowed him to grab the nearest prop he could find, Anna’s Kittie. Some rather humorous pictures were the result!

*note: Kittie actually enjoyed the pictured activity. She was purring the whole time.

tea & roses

tea & roses


I stayed home from church this morning because I have a cold (a miserable one, that I really don’t want to share). Instead, I took a nap. I listened to U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind and the Newsboys Go and Devotion. I enjoyed a cup of tea. And took a picture of it. I read some from The Ragamuffin Gospel. I picked my roses. And relaxed. Was quiet. Even though I feel terrible today, I actually had a wonderful morning.

“When you look at the world
What is it that you see?
People find all kinds of things
That bring them to their knees“
-“When I Look At The World”, U2

“What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things“
-“Grace”, U2

“In essence, there is only one thing God asks of us – that we be men and women of prayer, people who live close to God, people for whom God is everything and for whom God is enough.” The Ragamuffin Gospel, chp II, by Brennan Manning

“That is his call to us – simply to be people who are content to live close to him and to renew the kind of life in which the closeness is felt and experienced.” – Thomas Merton

I wanna start it over
I wanna start again
I want a new a new beginning
One without any end
It’s a voice that whispers my name
It’s a kiss without any shame
Something beautiful
Like a song that stirs in my head
Singing love will take us where
Something’s beautiful
I’ve heard it in the silence
Seen it on a face
I’ve felt it in a long hour
Like a sweet embrace
I know this is true
It’s calling out to me
It’s the child on her wedding day
It’s the daddy that gives her away–Father
Something beautiful
When we laugh so hard we cry
It’s the love between you and I
Something beautiful
–“Something Beautiful”, Newsboys

…I hunger for the daily bread of Your ways
Ah, the bread of Your ways
They glow like blue in a field of black
Illuminating the runway ahead
I love to follow the angel tread of Your ways
Ah, the tread of Your ways
And when I tire, they bring a second wind
A word in season, a gleam in Your eye…
I need Your good word speaking
When there’s nothing to say
I need Your Spirit here
Breathing on me every day
Every night I need Your love’s pure light
And I’ve learned forever to trust
Ever to follow
Ever I’ll praise Your everlasting ways
I love Your ways, Your true, Your perfect ways
I love Your ways, so beautiful to me
Lovely always, and faithful to restore
I love Your ways
–“I Love Your Ways”, Newsboys

favorites

favorites

I love the smell of early mornings when summer is changing to fall. I love the way the air smells before the sun comes up. It is crisp and wet, it invites you to come outside and revel in it.
Mmmmmm!

[Holy] Fear

[Holy] Fear

P1010100, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

Who among you fears the LORD
and obeys the word of his servant?
 Let him who walks in the dark,
 who has no light,
 trust in the name of the LORD
 and rely on his God.
– Isaiah 50:10


Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you …”

“O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? … Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. … We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.

…”This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. … You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’ ”

Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD.

Early in the morning they left for [battle]. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, …! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; …” After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the LORD,
for his love endures forever.”

As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
…
The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace,
for his God had given him rest on every side.

-II Chronicles 20:2-29

All of the above post was from one of the sermons I heard yesterday (I ended up hearing two).
It focused on the idea that prayer is our means of communicating with our God. It involves worship. Humility. Waiting for Him.
The other sermon I heard also talked about prayer. It made prayer sound like it was our ticket to get whatever we wanted from God, treating His power like a gumball machine.
That bugged me.
It is true that God loves us, that He wants to grant our desires. In fact, it is part of Who He is! But He wants us to know Him, for our desire to be Him. He wants us to turn to Him with worship when a situation turns bad, because He is our Light and our Strength, not because we know that He will give us an easy out.

Duchess

Duchess


Anna received her Christmas present today.
Duchess.
She is a 22-month old border collie, and she is very well trained. And she loves to herd us. And guard. And she is much more lively than Happy, our yellow lab . . .

And we got our Christmas tree! Put it up tonight, with lights, and will decorate tomorrow . . .

A few more . . .

A few more . . .





It is late (12:36 am), it is cold (mid 30’s), and it is very quiet. Except for the windmachines. They are running tonight, blowing air over and around the groves in an attempt to keep the oranges from freezing.

Quiet, except for the low hum of the windmachines.