I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
Isaiah 41:16 NIV
Have you ever been around chickens—I mean more than just at dinner time? We had chickens while I was growing up and my parents still keep chickens today which makes things a little more difficult when they go on vacation. This summer they took an extended vacation which meant they needed their one and only daughter—their favorite daughter—to come to their house several times a week to gather eggs, and to feed and water the chickens.
Chickens are rather silly creatures. If you have never spent time around them you probably don’t think they can provide much entertainment, but that is where you would be wrong. I opened the gate to their coop and 13 hens and a large rooster came barreling out, flapping their wings, and making their little chicken noises. The chickens tend to stay in a large group until something scares them—a leaf, a shadow, a loud noise—then they take off running, none of them know where to, just away from whatever startled them. Since they are pretty skittish, the hens generally give you a wide berth, and this particular rooster generally leaves you alone unless he feels you are threatening “his” hens.
When it came time to feed them, all of the chickens would pause and warily eye me as I walked over to the large metal trash can that houses their food. Hearing their food bag crinkle, they would come trotting over and I would toss them a handful of food. That is when the rooster acts like he is the boss. Seeing the food fall to the ground, he would start a gurgling clucking sound, alerting the hens to the fact that there was food available. If they were not close by, the hens come running. I laughed at the rooster; there I was giving them the food and he acted like he’s the one who found the food—claiming all the glory for himself!
Everything was all well and good until I started to walk over to get the garden hose to refill the water. I noticed the rooster looking at me in that suspicious way roosters do before they decide you are a threat: part in nonchalance—head turned looking out of the corner of their eye, the other part so focused you know they are watching your every move. I was not between him and the hens so I didn’t think he should feel threatened but I gave him a wider berth anyway. It didn’t matter. He came running at me with his neck feathers raised and he kicked me!
You may not be aware that rather than pecking you, roosters typically kick their attacker. They jump, flapping their wings, and lifting their feet they kick and dig their claws into you. At the very least, they can deliver a nice welt and a bruise. I backed away and yet he still came at me. I was stuck; if I ran he would chase me and, as he was not allowing me to put space in between us, I decided to do the only other thing I could—catch him when he jumped at me! He jumped and I stuck my arms out to grab him. He ended up hitting my hands and bouncing back from me but it was enough—he left me alone! I then escaped to the house to call my parents to tell mom that her “nice” rooster had just kicked me!
Thinking about the chickens though made me realize once again how much the animal and natural world reflect the spiritual world. How often do we act towards God the way that rooster acted towards me? God showers us with blessings and just like the rooster with the food, we act like it was all our doing—as if we had total control bringing the good event to fruition.
Like the rooster kicking me when I was trying to get the hose to give them life-giving water, we eye God suspiciously when He is doing something new in our lives. We know He has taken care of us and yet when something new comes our way, when we hear Him calling us to do something we don’t want to do, we act like the rooster. We kick, we fight, we throw a tantrum. We get in the way of Him giving us the very thing we need. Just as the chickens don’t know that water is contained in that big, scary, green, garden hose; we don’t know what is on the other side of our comfort zone.
The rooster ended up behaving after that incident. He didn’t try to kick me again, and he was generally well behaved for the rest of the time I was housesitting. It didn’t take his little pea brain long to figure out that I was on the same side with him and the hens. Do we learn that quickly with God? Do we show even less faith and trust than a chicken?
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I love summer but fall is just about here and the fun of fall decorating does lessen the sting of summer’s passing! There is such cute, fun decor out there this year. Honestly though, I love every season. I love fall. I love the colors in nature. I love the crisp evenings; they are perfect for having campfires. And most of all, I love the coziness associated with this season—give me a cup of hot Chai tea, pass the blanket and let me curl up with my book!
Here are decor trends that are hot this season!
· Colors: Greens, blues, creams, and rusts are all popular colors this season, especially sage and emerald greens. Also popular this year are navy, deep teal, and sky blue, along with rust, dusty rose, and dark peach.
· Neutrals: Tans, creams, whites, as well as sage greens and deep navy pumpkins are trending this fall.
· Greenery: Bring in the colors I mentioned above with dried or fresh eucalyptus or other greens. Drape them along mantles, in baskets, to fill out vignettes, or use greenery in your centerpieces.
· Texture: Lots and lots of texture! Wheat, braided jute pumpkins, concrete pumpkins—you name it, it is in!
· Golds: Gold, rose gold, brass and rust. These are the tones we will be seeing pop up over and over again this fall season!
Try Making a Fall Vignette
I just mentioned some popular decor items and hopefully that got your wheels turning thinking of how you could play with some fun fall décor, but in case you’re stuck—try making a vignette!
You can make a vignette for the centerpiece on your dining room table, squeeze a pumpkin into your kitchen decor, or create a vignette on an entryway table. Don’t forget to add some fall touches to your mantle, and if you have a piano, to your piano too!
Fall Flowers
We usually start to get a few frosts here in Pennsylvania by the time October rolls around. In my mind, that means it’s safe to get rid of any flowers I’ve had in pots on my porch or patio. To help things not feel as stark, I like to get a few mums or pumpkins. I especially love using dried flowers for my indoor decorating at this time of year. If you don’t want to invest annually, a cute fall sign can help to warm up an empty entryway or porch. Speaking of warming things up, try incorporating an outdoor throw blanket into your porch decor!
Candles
The first thing I think of when I think of fall is cozy, warm lighting; fires in the fireplaces; candles … candles in lanterns, and, of course, jack-o-lanterns! I personally love a big lantern. I think they look great almost anywhere—beside a fireplace, next to an accent chair, a medium-sized lantern as a focal point in a vignette, and they are very welcoming outside a front door, or on an outdoor coffee table. If you already have a lantern, try adding some leaves, or a sprig or two of artificial flowers to add an additional fall touch.
Scents
Speaking of candles—the scents of fall cannot be beat! There are delicious sweet smells: pumpkin latte, apple tart, and cinnamon roll. If you are not someone who likes sweet smells filling your home (no judgement!), there are candles and essential oils that invoke scents of campfires and falling leaves.
One of my favorite candle companies is the Chestnut Hill Candle Co. They have a variety of scents—all of them delicious—and the scent really permeates your home. I dislike when a candle smells good burning but can only be smelled if you are within six inches of it. Some of our favorite candle scents for fall from this company are: White Pumpkin, Farmstead, and Coffee.
Cozy Up!
Time to pull out the softer throws—flannel, knit, or even some plush blankets! This is also one of my favorite ways to work some fall color into my decor. There are really cute fall plaids in a variety of color combinations. Just adding colors in a plaid, even if they aren’t traditional fall colors, is enough to add a touch of fall.
The other comfy, cozy touch is to switch out decorative pillows, for cute fall pillows! If you don’t want to store a bunch of bulky pillows you can get pillow covers (look on Etsy or Overstock), and that way you just have a slim cover to pack away instead of a pillow.
Music
At Christmas time we play Christmas music to get us in the mood. In the summer I hear a lot more country being played. So why not play fall music for fall? This is very subjective, I like some Michael Buble, or Sinatra, but other people like banjo or bluegrass music. Regardless of what kind of music you like, I would like to challenge you to find something that feels special to you, and to the season, and embrace it as your own special playlist to get you in the fall spirit!
Lights
Little twinkle lights are often saved for Christmas but as the days shorten I like to add a little additional brightness to my life. You can sometimes find these lights with orange bulbs. I’ll insert a strip of lights in my fall centerpiece, intertwine a strand with fall twine woven throughout my mantle or the top of my piano. Many of these have a timer setting that will come on automatically every day. I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I come home after dark and, having forgot to leave any lights on, see my little lights lighting my way. It feels like my house is welcoming me home!
Create A Cozy Nook
Do you think of curling up with some hot apple cider and a good book in the fall? Make a spot specifically dedicated to relaxing. So often we spend time creating these beautiful homes and then never make time to use them. Change that this year! Create a spot that’s so inviting you just can’t wait to curl up with your favorite things and enjoy the season. Add pillows, throws, a cute sign, or whatever else speaks comfort to you and try to take a little time for yourself to relax and enjoy the beautiful home you’ve created this autumn.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
I Corinthians 13:1-2 NIV
I hate technology. I may be the only millennial to have ever uttered those words but it is true. I do not get along with it. I am not constantly tied to my phone and I probably would not even have a Facebook page if my friend had not made me one years ago so we could easily group chat about her upcoming wedding. Why we couldn’t have had a text message group rather than a Facebook group is still an area of consternation to me but I digress…
I frequently wondered where this dislike of technology come from—my parents were fairly easy adapters to computers and such so why was I so resistant? Then one day I remembered my first interaction with a computer that to this day affects my attitude towards them.
I was about 5 years old when my daycare/pre-K got a few computers for us to play on in an effort to familiarize us with the then-new technology. We were in the playroom where the computers were along with the scooters, blocks, finger paints, and, in general, all of the fun stuff. As there were many of us, we had to be divided into groups to play with all the various toys. The teacher told us to raise our hands when she said one of the activities, however, she did not tell us beforehand what our choices were going to be. The first activity she mentioned was the computer, that sounded like fun so I raised my hand. Three of us were picked to play on the computer first. She next asked who wanted to ride the scooters, which sounded like more fun so I raised my hand again in an effort to switch my vote. The teacher said I had already raised my hand to play on the computer. I was upset—I loved the scooters and we weren’t always allowed to play on them! If I had known they were an option I would have chosen them and not the computer!
Over to the computer I went, but I kept looking at the kids on the scooters—they were riding around laughing and having much more fun than I was having. When I looked back at my computer screen there was a message box displayed. I couldn’t read very well and the teacher seemed busy so I clicked on it and it went away … like, totally away—the box, the computer game, everything. Confused, I called out to my teacher and when she came over she took one look and in an annoyed voice said, “Oh you broke it.”
She told to get out of my chair so she could try to figure out what went wrong. I remember just sitting there staring at my teacher’s back. She was at the computer a long time and I had no idea if she would be able to fix it or not. I don’t remember if there was anything else to do at the table or not; I was too upset. I had just broken one of the brand new computers and that was the first time I had ever touched a computer!
This teacher was not a particularly harsh individual. I don’t remember much about her, I don’t even remember her name, but I do remember the harsh words she spoke to me that day. Unbeknownst to her, those words colored many of my future interactions with technology. Our words have power.
I mention this not to paralyze us so that we are afraid to speak but to remind us that the Bible tells us to let all we do be done in love (I Corinthians 16:14). I Corinthians 13:1-2 says: If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
I do endeavor to speak gently and with love to those that I interact with but this is not necessarily my strong suit! (See my post about gentleness here!) I am sure that teacher had no idea that some 20 years later I would still remember the words she spoke to me—and I cannot even remember her name! Likewise, I remember compliments and other things that people have said to me in a much brighter light. A heartfelt compliment can bring a smile to the person that compliment was paid years later. Given the choice between the two, the second is the legacy I want to leave.
People will remember different things about us. Some will remember the good, some will remember the bad, most will remember a mix, the kind and unkind things we have said. Just like my teacher, we cannot control what people will remember about us. Despite our fumbling words, and despite when we say things that come out all wrong, we can pray that God will use our fumblings to still reach through us to the people that we were put on this earth to minister to. We cannot control how people perceive our words, but we can control the attitude and tone in which we speak. We can ask God to help cover everything we say and do in love because our words have the power to change a life.
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I realized that I have read a lot of historical fiction books this year- but I haven’t talked about all of them! Some were 5 star reads, some didn’t quite make that cut. Some of the titles were old, and some brand new; regardless I enjoyed all of them and wanted to share them with you so here is my end of summer historical fiction round up of 2021! Check them out and let me know what you think!
Hour of The Witch by Chris Bohjalian
I have read my fair share of novels about the Salem Witch Trials but this story reaches back even further in time to 1662 And tells the story of Mary Deerfield who is trying to divorce her abusive husband- in an era when divorce meant estrangement from one’s community. A woman trying for divorce is not to be believed easily and the tables quickly turn on Mary as her case for divorce turn into her needing to prove her innocence of not being a witch- a crime punishable by death. This story held my interest and was a compelling, if not overly cheerful read. If you are looking for well done historical fiction, based on North America’s first divorce case for domestic violence, with a serious tone then give this book a try!
My Name Is Mary Sutter by Robin Olivera
This is a book about 25 year old Mary Sutter, who desperately wants to become a surgeon. She has been applying, and getting rejected, from various medical colleges, when the civil war breaks out. This is a great opportunity for Mary, the chance to insert herself into the medical field when there is such a desperate need for doctors that she won’t be turned down- or will she? Mary has to fight her own battles while the civil war rages. Mary must persevere through much pain and heartbreak to achieve her dreams- will she be able to withstand everything coming her way?
Caroline by Sarah Miller
If you were a fan of the Little House on The Prairie books as a child you will like this one. If you were like me, and never quite got into the Little House books when you were you- you still might like this book. I sure did! Caroline is the retelling of the Little House on The Prairie told from the Mama’s (Caroline’s) point of view. I have always thought that the people who traveled out west were very strong people to be able to leave behind everything they ever knew and brave the frontier in an effort to make a better life for themselves. Caroline depicts the struggles that these people faced by retelling the events from Little House not the Prairie from an adult point of view. So good!!
That Churchill Woman by Stephanie Barron
Jenny Churchill was not a woman who conformed to societies’ norms. We hear so much about her son, Winston Churchill, but what about the woman who gave birth to him? It is never easy to be an American who marries into High Society in England, especially at the turn of the 19th century. Oh the games Jenny had to play in order to have her cake and eat it too… I was hesitant to pick up this book as Jenny was known for her philandering ways, however the book did not go into any great detail in any of her escapades; instead Stephanie Barron portrays the tough road Jenny Churchill had to pave in order to give her sons a bright future.
The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
This is Ms Cleeton’s latest novel, about the Cuban War for Independence in the 1890s and Spanish American War, shortly thereafter. This story rotates between Evangelina Cisneros,the daughter of a revolutionary who is imprisoned and mistreated by the Spanish, who possesses a face that could become the poster child for America’s intervention in Cuba, some might even call her the most beautiful girl in Cuba… Then there is Grace Harrington, who desperately wants to be a reporter in an era when women were not taken seriously as journalists, and who is walking a tightrope between the two warring newspaper companies in New York City. Lastly we meet Marina Perez, who gave up everything her wealthy family had to offer to marry her childhood friend and love of a lower class, together they throw everything they have, including their lives, into fighting for the cause of Cuba’s independence from Spain. The stories of these 3 women intertwine during the course of life changing events. This story is based on the true story of Evangelina Cisneros, who was declared the most beautiful woman in Cuba by newspapers in the US during the Spanish-Cuban war in the 1890s.
The Gown by Jennifer Robson
This story alternates between 3 women about the making of Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown. It is just after World War 2 and life is still very hard in England. Life is dark and dreary and there just seems like there is no bright spot…until the wedding announcement is made that Princess Elizabeth is getting married! Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin(a Jewish survivor from France) are head embroiderers for one of England’s most prestigious fashion houses- will they get to be a part of history being made?
Fast forward to the present day and Heather is a young woman just starting her career when her grandmother dies, leaving more mysteries and links to the past than Heather ever expected. These 3 women’s stories intertwine in unexpected ways weaving a vibrant tale of hidden hardships, unexpected friendships, and resilience.
If you are in the market for a book to read I hope you will find this list helpful! Remember you can follow me on Pinterest by tapping the Pinterest link on this website and then tapping the follow button on the profile page of my Pinterest- that way you can easily keep track of all the books I talk about and refer back to them in the future!
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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
I love going to thrift shops, flea markets, and yard sales. I enjoy seeing things from previous eras, things that were owned by others—relics from other lives. When I see an item from a bygone era, I always wonder what all it has seen. It is so strange to me that in many cases these inanimate objects will spend more time on this earth than I. Is this item in its original condition? Has it been remade into something new?
I love thrifting but I can’t say I always come up with a winner. Often I’ll find a few little things that I had my eyes open for, but rarely do I find a really nice piece for a price that I’m willing to pay, that I can just bring home and plop down in its spot. No. What usually happens is I find something that seems like it’s in good condition, but is … a little ugly. It might be painted an ugly color, or have a stain so thick you can’t even tell what kind of wood it is. In such cases I have to look at the pieces with an imaginative eye. What would it look like if I painted it? What if I refinished it or switched out the hardware?
This happened with a little end table that I received from a relative. The end table was skinny, which was what I needed for the room I had in mind. It had collapsible leaves that could turn into a card table if extra space was needed; but this little end table had one drawback—it was homely. It had the kind of thick lacquered stain that was popular in the ‘80s; its hardware was dated and tarnished, and I just did not harbor very high hopes that this end table would be anything besides homely. Still, I figured, it would do until something else came along.
My husband and I brought it home and I started thinking about ways I could improve its looks. I could paint it, but what color? I like most of my furniture to be neutral but I just couldn’t picture this table in black, white or gray. Suddenly, I got an idea! I would paint it the same color as my front door—a deep teal-hued navy! I liked the idea even more when I found a beautiful cream and gray drawer-pull for the drawer on the front of the end table. I went to work, sanding, wiping, painting and reinstalling hardware. Finally it was finished. I stepped back and looked at it and I couldn’t believe it—I loved it!
I still have that end table and it’s one of the favorite pieces in my house. I still can’t believe what a coat of paint did for it! I am so happy with it. Thinking over its transformation made me think of what God does for us. He takes us, if we allow Him to, and sets to work on us. He sands our rough spots, removes old traits that don’t reflect well on Him or His kingdom, He swaps out old habits for new ones, and over the course of a lifetime, He turns us into something more beautiful than we ever could have imagined. Sometimes He does have to strip us down to the barebones before He can begin His work. Sometimes.
Overtime He remakes each of us into a new creation if we allow Him. He watches as we transform from something ugly into something beautiful right before His eyes. How He must feel when He looks back at a life once doomed and headed for total depravity and destruction who yielded their life to Him and allowed Him to work His divine magic into something beautiful! It must be very gratifying to see us as we transform into the person He created us to be. How awesome it is that He can make all things new, even us!
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