Happy Second Day of Fall, Ya’ll!
Oops! Yesterday, September 23rd, was the official start of the Fall season! How could I miss it? It’s my favorite season. I’m already craving pumpkin spice coffee, harvest smells and big smiles that come from saying “good-bye” to those 100+ temperatures we have weathered this summer. I just read that next week’s highs will be in the upper 80s! Thanks be to God!
I helped Fall out in my meager way! I brought out my Fall décor and moved my Fall clothes to my closet! I’m zoning into the upcoming color changes, the sights, sounds and smiles that accompany the changes. More than anything, I want to be empowered by a heart of gratitude this new season — charged up by expressions of joy. I choose thanks-giving and thanks-living!
Thanks to Mr. Google, I read that Autumn officially started at 1:50 a.m. for us in the Central time zone yesterday morning. That’s when the Autumn Equinox occurred and the sun moved directly over the Earth’s equator. The same amount of daylight and darkness occurred (about 12 hours each).
Apparently, the Earth’s tilt and the sun’s position must be responsible for me bringing out my Fall décor on Friday. It makes us welcome football, pumpkins, scarecrows, pumpkin patches, and then, my favorite – Thanksgiving and shorter days and cooler temperatures.
And while we are embracing the changes, let’s take the opportunity to be noticers this new season — to notice others. Maybe the reason I slipped up on the date, was because of the urgency I sensed about this being National Suicide Prevention Month and our need to do something about it. Like when someone is a loner and needs a positive word spoken to them and we answer the call! Or we invite them to our table to share a meal with us.
As noticers, we can be thankful we can breathe without devices to help us. We can walk, and those who can’t, can cheer on the walkers. We can hear the sounds around us.
I am thankful that the sounds of construction of the Texas Children’s Hospital next door to us have ceased. No noise – just a beautiful, almost completed structure and a gorgeous, well-laid out place of beautiful trees and plants. We’ll soon be able to have a wonderful place to walk while praying for those that will go there for healing and wholeness.
I am thankful that the most noise we encounter around here are some of our residents’ dogs barking at each other. Aw, but that little noise means I can hear!
I read that in just a few days on September 29th at 5:58 a.m., we can look up at the sky and see the gorgeous Full Harvest/Corn Moon. How wonder-full is that? We can see!
Gratitude — that’s the best part of this season. We can conjure up all kinds of reasons to be thankful. Gratitude includes thanking God for the season He has us in – right now. I’m talking about our personal season of life.
Every day is a gift, and whether that day includes joy, happiness, peace, and comfort or whether it’s stress-filled and challenging, we know it’s a part of this season that God has us in — and in this season God is working ALL the seasons for our good.
THE ONE who controls the seasons, is THE ONE who will carry us through each one. So, let’s turn up the volume on gratitude. Let’s wake up our hearts of gratitude and let’s amp up our bodies, souls and spirits to the goodness of God!
“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” 2 Chronicles 16:34