Fall Respite - September 12, 2025

What a perfect day this is…it truly feels like Fall! After such an incredibly hot summer, this cool weather feels like such a gift. The beauty of enduring those unbearable, sweltering days is that it makes us all the more grateful for the refreshing change that follows. I know this cool spell is probably only temporary (but maybe not!) and the heat will return, likely with a vengeance, but for now, I am going to enjoy every moment of this welcome respite. My birds out in the backyard are prolific… even now, my little resident male Downey Woodpecker is eating his fill of peanuts! (Thank you, again, Tom Sisemore, for the photo you allowed me to paint this little guy from!)

I am so thankful to live in a place where we experience the rhythm of the seasons. Each one brings its own unique beauty. Fall, with its vibrant colors, pumpkins on the hearth, cinnamon candles, and the scent of woodsmoke and crisp leaves in the air, is one of my very favorites. Yet truly, each season brings its own special “flavor.”

May we slow down long enough to savor each season and lift our hearts in gratitude to the Lord, Who paints the world with these changes. We take so much for granted, but His wonders are all around us if we’ll only pause to notice. Meanwhile, I am waiting for that chill in the air that is soon to come! Thank You, Lord God, for the beauty I see every day!