roses and pumpkins

Anyone else having trouble letting go? Do you see something wrong with this picture?

Fall has always been my favorite season but for some reason I am having a difficult time letting go of summer.

Summer has been good this year. Cooler than normal temperatures. Good balance of rain and sunshine. An abundance of beautiful, healthy flowers. New places explored. Deeper friendships developed. Travels made to happy, familiar places. Visits from dear friends and family. Memories made in our new home.

However, fall is being ushered in, whether I want it to or not. The leaves are slowly changing and the weather is turning colder. One sure sign that can always be counted on to let us know that fall is knocking on the door is Brad and I begin our annual arguing over the thermostat. ha!

I am slowly giving in, but as long as my roses are willing to hang in there, I will continue to squeeze out as much summer as possible!

choosing life

This video is just too powerful not to share. There isn't even much that I can add in way of words other than our Sovereign and Holy Lord is glorified through the testimony of this couple. May our Blessed Savior lavish this family with blessings beyond measure for their courageous and obedient faith.

guest blogger

I wanted to share with you a thought that the Lord gave to my sweet friend. Ponder on the following from my guest blogger and sister in Christ; Amy Domidion.

Too Wonderful
by Amy Domidion

A friend of mine the other day was telling me about a surprise that she had for her daughter. Someone had given her tickets at a discount price for an upcoming concert of her daughter’s favorite boy band. The mom hadn’t even known they were coming to town. But her daughter did. She got them the first part of the week and the concert wasn’t until that weekend. It was killing her to keep the secret from her daughter. So in the middle of the week, she told her daughter that she had a surprise for her. Her daughter, knowing her mother well, asked if she could guess the secret. Her mom, thinking she would never guess this, agreed. She told her she could have three guesses. Her first guess was small and came and went. Her second guess, a little bigger, but not big enough. For her last guess, she covered her face. Her mother said, “What is wrong? What is your third guess?” Her daughter uncovered her face. Her head was hanging low. She said to her mother, “I am afraid to ask. It is too big. Too wonderful.” Her mother knew that she knew. She told her to go ahead. She waited. The daughter raised her head and said, “Is it about a concert?” Her mother nodded. The girl was, of course, speechless. She couldn’t believe that it could be true. As happy as she was, her mother was happier. It delighted her to see her child full of excitement and hope. She couldn’t wait to share that experience with the one she loved.

I got to thinking about this and I realized that our heavenly Father feels the same way about us. He has so many blessings in store for us. We are just too afraid to ask. We go into our prayers with our heads held low and just say to Him, “We are afraid it's too big.” Nothing is too big. He is waiting for us to ask. He wants to share in our excitement and hope. He delights in us. He wants to share some wonderful experience with us because He loves us. Just ask Him. He already knows the desires of your heart. He just wants you to put your fears aside and rest in His arms. His plans for you are perfect. They are just what your heart always wanted.

“He is able to do much more than we can ever ask for or think of, by His power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

holiness

While vacationing at the beach a couple of weeks ago, I came across this from a study by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It moved me in such a way that I just had to share it with you.

Lord God Almighty

Holy is thy wisdom, power, mercy, ways, works.

How can I stand before thee
with my numberless and aggravated offences?

I have often loved darkness,
observed lying vanities,
forsaken thy given mercies,
trampled underfoot thy beloved Son,
mocked thy providences,
flattered thee with my lips,
broken thy covenant.

It is of thy compassion that I am not consumed.

Lead me to repentance, and save me from despair;
Let me come to thee renouncing, condemning,
loathing myself,
but hoping in the grace that flows
even to the chief of sinners.

At the cross may I contemplate the evil of sin,
and abhor it,
look on him whom I pierced,
as one slain for me, and by me....

Thus may my soul rest in thee, O immortal
and transcendent one,
revealed as thou art in the Person and work
of they Son,
the Friend of sinners.

-From The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

*Abbie took the photo while at the beach