As soon as the children left for school yesterday, and I had a good start on the household chores, I looked outside and thought, “What a gorgeous fall morning.”

I decided to go out in it and sit with the hens to have my Bible study time.  As soon as I opened my Bible, my favorite chicken hopped up on my knee to join me.  You might notice that I thought it was October 6th at first.  “This all seems familiar,” I thought, and then realized it was now the 7th.  Already!

Hi Chicken!

I had a notebook with me and a pencil stuck in my ponytail.  The pencil didn’t stay there long, because very soon there were good things to scribble down to save and think about.  The air was fresh and cool, the sounds of contented hens charming.

I want and long to read the Bible every day.  I have found that for me, the best way to do this is to use a  “One Year Bible”.  (click here to see the one I use) In this Bible, there is a reading for each day of the year.  I’ve used it for several years now.  There are times when I miss a few days, maybe even a week or more, but I have found that if I try to catch up I get overwhelmed.  So, I always skip those days because very soon (next year) I WILL get to those verses again.  There is a portion of Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs.  Even though it is a structured, assigned portion of reading, there are ALWAYS words and truths that my heart and soul needed to hear again and again–never boring or dry.  I usually keep paper nearby so that I can write down the verses that spoke to me that day.  You see, the Bible is ALIVE for those who believe and love it.  The words within it are useful in so many ways, and for Christians, it is like medicine for the soul.  It’s like a food-craving you might get for, say, chocolate.  You find yourself thinking about the Word during the day and wanting it.  And when you get it, you are filled and satisfied.

Yesterday, I wrote these things down in my notebook (verses in quotes, my thoughts *not* in quotes)

~”An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.”

Always be honest in your questions and answers.  Don’t “play games”, don’t pretend.  Be sincere.  It’s a beautiful way to live–so beautiful that your honest, truthful ways are just like friendship’s kisses.

~”This is what the Lord says:  Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches.  But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone:  that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth and that I delight in these things.  I, the Lord, have spoken.” 

~”Your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”

~”Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshipping the things of this world.”

Teach the children about greed.

Greed-intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food.  A selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed.

~”Christ is all that matters and He lives in all of us.”
~”Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.  Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all in perfect harmony.  And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.  For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.  And always be thankful.  Let the message about Christ, in all richness, fill your lives.”

This is a wonderful set of verses to apply to my FAMILY.

~”Despite God’s wonders, they refused to trust Him.”  —The next time you have some difficulty trusting God, think of as many of His wonders as you possibly can.

*****

I had no idea there was an app on my iPhone that shows all the steps I take in one day.  I make sure I have it in my pocket now when I take my walks….it’s fun to see just how much I walk in a day as I go about my business.  My mom does the same thing with her phone, and she is the one who taught me about the app.  It came already installed on my phone and dummy me never knew it until last weekend.

I had it in my pocket when I went for a walk yesterday all alone because my children all go to school now (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I find myself  MAKING REMARKS TO MYSELF OUT LOUD.  I really need to stop because it’s starting to happen at the grocery store, too.

The birds are quite active at this time of year.  This morning when I let out the dog I saw a cardinal and a blue jay right outside my house in the bushes.  They were busy eating berries in the early morning sunshine.  A blue jay scolded me yesterday from the treetops and I got this fun picture of it stretching to reach some food.

The colors of autumn dazzle the eye.

Adorable mushroom.  I want to draw it.  I like to imagine them slowly growing up through the sweet smelling leaves and eventually poking their heads up to the day.

Dappled sunlight in the woods.

Hickory nuts are dropping off the trees and oh how I wish I could get to them!!  I want to climb and gather!  But the tree is so very tall.  I have an old schoolbook primer that has a story in it about a nutting party.  (this blog post is similar) The neighborhood people would go gather nuts together.  Why did that stop happening??  My mom and her family used to get nuts in the fall on their farm land. I need to ask her to tell me the stories again.  I know of two hickory trees nearby.  One is by the stream and one is up the road just a little ways on the right and it’s nuts drop on the edge of the street.

I walked toward the stream…..a golfball caught my eye so I went to pick it up and saw this sight-

“What in the world are they doing?”, I asked myself (out loud) and when I realized what was happening, I blushed deeply and hid my eyes.

A worm saw them and wriggled away fast.

Or was it me he was squirming from?  Regardless, I once again spoke out loud, “That was a BIG worm!” I said.

I think I miss my children.  I’m not used to having no one near.

It didn’t help that there were signs of them down by the stream.

I also found a sock.

This is not the sky, but a reflection of it in a still pool of water in the stream.

*****

Well, eventually the children DID come back home.  I went for another little walk with David and Sarah.  We collected acorns and more hickory nuts (just a couple).  I wanted them all (greedy again?) David told me that HE could climb the tree.  Humph.

I did all the talking I wanted to without feeling weird.

Soon it was time for Caleb and Seth to go to football practice.  Grace had a variety show at the High School so we made an outing of it.  Ethan, David, and Sarah came along as I dropped off the boys at the field.  We had extra time so Ethan suggested the coffee shop downtown.  Sarah had an apple juice and a bag of chips that she didn’t like (they had pepper on them.)  David had a diet soda, Ethan and I had coffee.  Ethan snap-chatted his friend who is a girl.  (um)

We looked out the window and saw that in the park across the street a band was setting up.  The concert was to start in 15 minutes and we still had time so Sarah and I went over to enjoy some great jazz music…

Is this quaint or what??  I loved every moment…there were people all around us, and more gathered in as time went on.  I would love to go again with Rich.  People had their lawn chairs, picnic foods, sweaters and blankets to keep warm, and a musical spirit…toe tapping, a little dancing, smiles on the faces…it was great.

The boys played down by the water and railroad tracks and could still hear all the songs.

We may not have nutting parties but we do have outdoor concerts!

After a quick trip to the library we headed to the HS.  Grace was in the color guard Flag routine (she’s on the far left on the floor).  She’s been twirling the flag for just a few months and did very well.  It was fun to see all the kids do their various routines…dance, music, and what have you.  Sarah ate two chocolate candy bars while she watched and we didn’t get home until 9:00pm.

It was a wonderful night being filled up with my children again after a lonesome-like afternoon.

Tonight Rich comes home.  He’s been gone since Monday.  It’s a long weekend for the kids–no school tomorrow or Monday!