October Artistry

It's got to be one of the prettiest months of the year.

October.

The colors are a seriously amazing kaleidoscope of gold, red, yellow, orange that change day by day and when the sun shines on it all it's pretty close to paradise.  The picture above was taken late this afternoon just before the sun set.  October 31st and the roses are blooming!

The drive to and from school is totally a gift and I want to stop so often to take pictures of the orchards that have turned a glorious orange or yellow, or to capture the low lying clouds over the mountains.

The apples are thick on the trees and soon the pickers are busy, stripping the branches clean,
filling the giant bins that stand at the end of the rows.

So much beauty.

AND this month holds the date of my precious son's birth.

Along with Thanksgiving...

So very much to celebrate.  I peek out the front door and am blown away by the early morning light filtering through the bronze oak leaves...

Harvest, Life, Seasons,
Drives through the countryside just to feast our eyes on God's unbelievable goodness.
Divine Artist displaying His graces for our pure joy.

Mom and Elsie and I took a drive to Oyama and had so much fun with little Pupcake as we enjoyed a snack by the lake while we watched these men fishing in their little boat. 

And then on Thanksgiving Weekend our little household of girls went on a hike up to the trestles with the Gagnon's and our herd of dogs.  It was absolutely WONDERFUL to be out in the fresh air enjoying the outrageously beautiful outdoors!

A delightful evening to benefit a homeless shelter was enjoyed by Daniel and Patrice and I at the little stone church downtown.  Good music for a really good cause.  

What's not to love about October??!!  Even if I got one of the hardest letters I've received in a very, very long time and am feeling a mixture of fear and faith and anger and am wrestling to forgive.  And to forgive again.  And again...  I can rest in His GREAT LOVE and care for me. 

I can enjoy the beauty, I can swing my thoughts back to the King and His plans for me.  Which are goodness and mercy and righteousness.  

So glad I am able to pray.  Commanded to pray. Trust.  Worship.  

THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE AND I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!!  

Applied & Accepted

I don't know if I've mentioned here that I have applied for a school in Hawaii this winter.
For reals...
With fear and trepidation and excitement.

So, before I did so I made the rounds of making sure it was ok with people.
Like my Mom, and my brother.
And work.
That one was a big hurdle.
They didn't like it last winter when I took off for 12 days!!

So, for the number of hours a week I work and for how much I'm paid I was willing to go back to volunteering this year to be able to provide myself with an open door.
However, the Lord provided it for me, through my superior, Leah who went all out for me.
And I'm still on payroll.
She makes me feel so loved and cared for there at the school.
God just keeps me covered in so many ways.
He is seriously on my side.

At first I was hoping Patrice would come along and do some volunteering there, but she's staying home and I think I'm already missing her.

I've never done anything this big on my own since going away to Bible School when I was 18.
Especially since I'm so much more paralyzed when I travel.
I'm full of alot of questions and apprehensions.
But this is what faith looks like for me right now.

So I'm holding this all with loose hands.
Don't wanna go if I'm not supposed to be there.

However, on the other hand, I feel like I'm fulfilling a dream which has been waiting in my heart for many years.
Going to scout out the land in a sense and the Lord has provided a friend who is not afraid to ask questions on my behalf and figure things out with me.

So I'm not completely alone, I just won't have family with me which feels really odd.
I've been accepted to a school called Word by Heart which will involve a TON OF MEMORIZING.
Which takes a ton of faith.  Hah!

Anyways, I've read somewhere that anything is possible for those who believe!
So, I BELIEVE!

And if it works out this winter... if we can get the logistics sorted out and there is a place for me there... maybe I can go again someday.  And again...

Cause winter and wheelchairs and cold and my body don't all really get along that well.
Three months in a warm place during the winter would be outrageously wonderful.
I'm thinking, and hoping.
And praying and waiting.
(And dreaming...)

That Loneliness

It was a gentle, slow Saturday.
I knew there was a ladies retreat happening nearby this weekend,
But there was no pull.
I was happy to be home.
Lazing in bed,
Reading the Word, visiting on the phone
Enjoying the fall colors outside my big window,
Highlighted by the beautiful sunshine.

Showering, laundry,
Making a smoothie
and cleaning the kitchen.

Catching up on bookkeeping
Satisfied when the numbers balanced
Hit the backup and I'm good for another month.

Saturday evening was small but sweet.
Good friends,
Good food.
Comfort.

A loneliness settling onto me when the house is empty and all is quiet.
And I want to busy myself with something...
But
He calls gently to my spirit.
This divine loneliness is not new to me,

I don't want to waste it, although it's easily done.
There is a sad discomfort that I have to push through.
The curtains that veil my Lover, my Friend.

The silence.
The waiting.
The trusting.

All for love, for Him.
For something unearthly
and Golden...

Nudges

This morning I was checking Facebook before heading off to school.
I noticed the birthday of an acquaintance and I felt to ignore it, as sometimes it all feels a little silly to be writing Birthday Greetings to people you hardly know...

But there was a nudge and I thought it would matter to this precious soul.
So I typed something kind of fun and I dug a little deeper to add some meaningful.

I have ignored plenty of nudges in my life, but I pray that I will get more and more obedient.  Because the extra minute that it took for me to type some love into the little box made a difference.

This dear lady doesn't have the easiest life as far as I can see.
We've had a few interactions over the years, but somehow they always really seem to matter to her.  And her sweetness always touches me.

So when I next checked my computer this was the reply:

"Thanks, you're so special to me too.  This made me cry."

So, as small as many of my "contributions of kindness" in a day can feel, all that matters is obedience and faith expressing itself in love.

I can do that.

Because it really matters to feel loved.  To all of us, all of the time.

And I have been given much...

Like a Good Movie

Sometimes when I'm laying here in my bed,
as I do much of every day,
I stop and think how amazing my life is.
How blessed I am to have three beautiful young women (and two very special doggies) living their lives around and with me.
I hear their laughter in the kitchen as they discuss foods or their day or any other number of fascinating things.
Usually it's a far off mumble and I don't know exactly what is being said, but I just love the hum of voices and laughter that makes it's way back to my room.

I kind of feel like I'm in a movie when I realize how amazing all of this is.
How great these gals are, even if we all do life a little bit (or a lot) differently.

We're enough the same that we enjoy each other and share this place we all call home rather well. And we're different enough to add flavour and fun and some healthy stretching.

The morning greetings as one is leaving for work and one is emerging sleepily from their nest downstairs...
The delicious smells created as cooking and creativity collide in the kitchen.
The ever busy Vitamix blending some kind of very healthy drink.
The shared television shows or movies.
(Three of us just had a Pride & Prejudice marathon the other day because one was home sick and it was one of those cloudy, cool, fall movie days)

The constant enjoyment of and love for Moose and Ladybug that we all talk about pretty much all the time.

It's just really lovely and I"m so very grateful for all of us "little women" dwelling in this house wher God is welcome and helps us to get along.

Tonight three of us are off to a concert in town so the movie will have a cool sound track ...