Winning the Race

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:   

II Timothy 4:7

Last week on our trip to see the leaves we went to the Pumpkin Festival in Franklin, NC. Children and adults brought pumpkins of all sizes and shapes to run a course set up down a looooonnngg hill. Folks lined the streets to see whose pumpkin would win the race. 

Never having seen a pumpkin race before, our guess was the largest pumpkins would go the farthest because the weight would carry them farther. 

It was amazing to see how the pumpkins went to one side or the other. Some jumped ditches and platforms only to get back on course and keep rolling. Others crashed and splattered almost before they got started. And who won? The very smallest ones, who could keep on or get back on the narrow mid-section of the road. 

We all laughed and cheered as literally hundreds of pumpkins rolled down a hill. In the middle of all the fun, it occurred to me how we are so much like the pumpkins. We start out running well for the Lord. We go to church and add in Sunday School. The kids want to go to their activities on Wednesday night. We start a daily devotion time with the family, and a personal Bible Study. We're doing pretty good. Then something knocks us off track. It can be anything, a work-shift change, sickness, even vacation and we all tend to jump the track. Often times we get back on course in a few days or weeks as things settle down. Then sometimes we veer way off, only to find ourselves bogged down in a ditch.

The ditches are full of Christians who have gone off course. Some will return, others will never be back in the race. I remember a little song we used to sing as kids, "Oh be careful little feet where you go..." You probably sang it too. 

Stay the course, finish well,

Blessings,

Gail

 

I know the text needs to wrap around the videos, but this lady just hasn't quite got all that yet, so bear with me please. 

Hey Kids:

This season has lots of pumpkins and apples to enjoy.

What activities are you planning? 

Can you use these activities to share God's love and plan with others?

Here are a few ideas that might get your creative juices flowing.

Carve a pumpkin - Think of how the yucky stuff has to come out before the light can go in to shine through a face that you chose. You have  to choose to let Jesus change your life, forgiving and removing your sins and letting His light shine through the new you. 

Can you think of some ways to witness through apple bobbing?  or making candy apples?

Are there pumpkin cookies or apple pies in your future? 

Give some thought as to how the fruits have to change to make them enjoyable.

How has Jesus changed your life to make it purposeful and enjoyable?

I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes Unto the Hillls

Psalms 121:1-3 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

This weekend we spent time enjoying God's glorious creation in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The leaves were just beginning to change until the chill of last night brought colors to view this morning. I intended to write about the trip and the things it meant to me, but before I got home there was news of the loss of a family member. I needed to tend to family first, so I thought I would just share pictures with you this week and hope you might vicariously enjoy relaxing in the mountains, finding strength and hope in God when you lift your eyes to the Creator of all things good and beautiful. 

Blessings for your week,

Gail

Hidden Treasures

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15 

Amazing what a little investment will produce! Last spring I found purple sweet potato slips at the farmers' market. They were three dollars for twelve plants. 

I brought them home, dug a trench, placed the slips, watered them and that was pretty much all I did. The vines spread everywhere. By the time the bush beans were finished the sweet potatoes were taking over their spot. They were climbing into the rose trellis and creeping into the squash vines. Finally, in September, they began to bloom pretty purple and white morning glory type blooms. 

Yesterday was my only free Saturday left in October to harvest the potatoes. Wow, was I surprised! Under the first hill were huge potatoes that more than paid for the investment. As I dug the hills, I was rewarded with lots more. I wonder how many more I would have found if the ground had been softer or if I had taken the tiller to the area and turned the soil with the turn plow. 

Digging all these potatoes got me to thinking, as it always does. Just a little effort in God's word will turn up some "hidden treasures" if we only invest a few minutes of our time. 

I was saved as a teenager. From that time I began to invest a few minutes each day in reading my Bible. I would only read one chapter each day when I came in from school before I started my homework. 

I started with the New Testament and in the next 5 years, I read the New Testament 4 times and the Old Testament 3 times. There were some dry years I didn't read, but for pretty much all my life, a chapter a day has been my reading plan. 

Though I have read the Bible many times, each time turns up something new and interesting that I missed before. I often wonder why I never saw that before. God gives us what we need when we need it and if we are willing to invest a little time and do a little digging. 

Hey Kids:

My grandkids love digging root crops! It's like finding hidden treasure. 

Carrots, sweet potatoes, and other root crops also hold hidden treasures for our health. The carotenoids in these vegetables help keep our vision strong. 

God's word has it's hidden treasures as well. It will take a little digging to find them, but it will improve out spiritual vision.  Reading is like eating. Eating the best foods makes us strong. Reading the Bible makes us spiritually strong. 

Digging root crops won't do us any good unless we eat the vegetables.

Reading the Bible won't do us any good unless we think about and then do whatever it says.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22

Sharing God's word is like sharing your garden crops. It helps everyone, good food and good fellowship. This week, find a friend who will be a spiritual treasure hunter with you.

Blessings,

Gail

An Autumn Rainbow

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. Psalms 134:2

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has over 9 million visitors each year. I think all 9 million of us must choose the same weekend to visit. The views are amazing and no picture can ever capture the feeling of actually being there. The sound of the last cicada trying to whir, the crickets in the leafy sides, the caw of the crows, all added to the peace and drama of the real scene. Yes, there are oodles of people, but for the most part, quiet people releasing the things of this world and absorbing the beauty of God's creation. 

In autumn the true beauty of a leaf shines forth. All the green of spring and summer cover up the real color of a leaf as it tries to create the food necessary to maintain the life of the tree. Green is the color of chlorophyll. As a leaf finishes its job, the chlorophyll no longer controls the leaf and the true color is the beauty we see in fall. 

I got to thinking, people are a lot like leaves. We put on a front while we date or at our jobs or wherever we think it will benefit our lifestyles, but our true colors will eventually shine through. Most of the pictures were taken as we caught our breath on our way up Clingman's Dome. As we rested again at the base of the tower, a young father came up and addressed my husband who was wearing a Christian t-shirt. The father said, " I like your shirt. You must know the Lord." My husband and I affirmed his assumption. "We are to lift His name on high. We're high!" the father said as we shook hands and began our assent up the tower. 

We often feel alone in our walk with the Lord, but when, like the leaves, we let our true colors show, we find there are lots of others around us who want to join us in lifting the name of the Lord on high. The cool autumn air, the quiet of the forest, and the meeting of a brother and his family, felt really good after a long hard week of work. 

Friday night as we sat out on our balcony, a falling star graced the sky. 

Great and marvelous are Your works,

Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints! 

Revelations 15:3b NKJV

May you find rest in His marvelous works this week. 

Gail

Hey Kids!

Have you tried nature art?

As the leaves change, have you noticed what a rainbow of color you can find?

My kids began picking up leaves on the playground and arranging them by color. It was not my idea, but kids in play came up with an amazing piece of nature art. They chose:

• Maples for red
• Poplar for yellow
• Sassafras for orange
• Pine for green
• Blue spruce for blue
• Maple again for purple

What types of trees are showing their colors in your neighborhood? 

I wish I had taken a picture of the leaf rainbow my kids made.

Perhaps you could share a picture of your nature art.

What are your thoughts of God's amazing creation? Perhaps you would like to  share those with your pictures.

Teaching Diligently

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Deuteronomy 6:7

School has begun and my wonderful and concerned parents say, "I can't get him to be still and learn." School just "ain't"  what it used to be - for the better!!

Several years ago, in celebration of Johnny Appleseed's birthday, our class planted two apple trees on the hill behind the playground. We've enjoyed a few spring blossoms, but this year we finally have fall apples.

So, how did we learn without sitting still this week?

• singing apple songs
• picking apples
• tasting a variety of apples

Yes, I read non-fiction books to them, but they didn't find books all that interesting before we visited our apple trees and not before 

• making our housekeeping area into an apple stand 
• learning to use a cash register
• dividing apples into little bags and cups
• making the science center into a place to weigh apples with heavy blocks
• pouring and measuring cider
• making price tags
• passing out pennies to buy apples and cider 
• inviting others to come to the apple stand
• dressing up like Johnny Appleseed 
• making playdough apples
• using an apple peeler
• cooking real applesauce
• smelling cinnamon
• eating our own cooking

Then after we'd finally exhausted our week, children began to sit, or rather kneel to investigate the pictures and words they had already experienced.

All of this to say, sitting with your child for daily family devotions is a wonderful thing, but unless we give them experiences throughout the day, not much meaningful learning will come from even the best devotions.

The Bible tells us to talk to our families while we walk, sit and when you get up. It's an experiential day of seeing God in all we think, and say, and DO!

What better time of the year than the cool fall days to get out and walk and talk and experience the mighty works of God?

What experiences have you had this week?

Hey Kids:

Have you climbed a tree this week? What could you see?

Have you thought about Zacchaeus? He finally got high enough to see above the crowd. Remember who he saw? Luke 19:2-9

Did you meet an old turtle crossing the road? Did you get a chance to examine his shell? Turtle shell patterns can be amazing. Could it be because God cared enough to make each one special? Psalms 139:13-15

Have a skipped a rock across a pond or splashed a really big one in the stream? God told Joshua to pick up rocks out of the river. Do you know what he did with them? Joshua 4

Discovering God's plan in His creation my help you discover God's plan for you!

Here's a few books you might want to meander through when you begin to experience God's wonderful creation.

  

Blessings,

Gail