Abundant Life Coaching from Coast to Coast

I LOVE this time of year!

The leaves are changing from green to brilliant colors of yellow, orange, brown and red, and then drift to blanket the ground below.  Us ladies will pile them up a few times, jump in them, throw them around and have fun.  Fall signifies the end of the hot untamed busy summer, to a new beginning for school and more routine schedules.  The farmers are harvesting their crops here in Tennessee and it takes me back to memories of growing up in Idaho.

When I was a child we'd travel back country roads between Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, Kuna, Marsing, Parma and Fruitland areas, which where all farming communities,  to see family or take a day drive.  The Fall air was always full of onions, fresh hay being cut and sweet mint and I always knew where we were when we'd pass the sugar beet factory or the cheese factory.  Periodically we'd see onions or sugar beets, sometimes even potatos on the sides of the road from falling out of the transport trucks.  We'd always egg dad on to run over the ones left in the road and see how many we could hit.  Sometimes we'd come across wild asparagus that grew along side the road and we'd stop to pick enough for our family.  It's also that time of year for small community rodeos, love those cowboys, trips to the Berry Patch, Corn Mazes, walks along the Green Belt and Boise River, and last minute camping before it gets too cold.   Another favorite thing we'd do this time of year was to stop at the fruit and veggie stand on the way to Marsing by Lake Lowell, or the fruit stand by my great aunts house on the Snake River in Marsing, go to the Bruneau Sand Dunes, or the Owyhee Mountain Range and ride motorcyles. 

I'm often reminded of all the praying I did as a child and the life lessons we were taught as we took those back roads in Idaho.  Many of those opportunities I take to teach my children today and pray they will do the same with their children. 

My beautiful Fall morning's start with the sun just creeping above the roofs and peering through the tree branches as if it's too tired to wake up.   I begin my days usually with a warm drink and the Word of God.  Sometimes it's all I can do to get out of my warm cozy bed to spend time with the Creator, but I also know how important it is and it makes the day go so much smoother when I do. 

I enjoy watching the girls catch the bus and head off to school.  When they're gone and the house is so quiet from the morning's hussle and bussle to get ready,  I find myself enjoying that peace and quiet time.  I actually covet that time now.  It's a great time to pray and find myself praying for their day and opportunities for them to share with others their love for Christ in the public school they attend.   No matter where I go or what I am doing I find myself in prayer.  When I'm decorating our home for the Fall with deep reds, oranges, yellows, golds, and browns, cooking or  baking as our home is enfused with the smell of fresh baked bread or cookies, or when I'm singing and dancing around the house like a teenager, if you could only see me!  I find myself praying for strangers in the grocery store,  the kids crossing the street, the people looking for their lost dog or cat,  when I'm driving and for the people involved in the wreck I just came upon, the ambulance that sped past me, for the person I just accidently cut off,  friends, family, strangers, and some days for God to keep my head above water!  Most days are smooth sailing but there are some days I'd love to just crawl under a rock and disappear!  I'm so thankful that the latter doesn't happen often, but when it does happen, I have some wonderful Godly friends who are there for me.

I'm blessed to be able to be home when the girls get home.  I anticipate the bus's arrival and am anxiously waiting for them and pray their ride home is uneventful.  It's that time of year they bring home TONS of fundraisers, there's football and baseball games, homecoming, dances, and  PTO meetings.  There's lots to do and pray for.  When I think of my life's motto, simplicity, I am reminded that my life is anything but simple.  That is something I will have to work on this year as I clean out all the "stuff" we don't need.  Some of it will be thrown away and some of it we'll give to others that need more than we do.  Simplicity is a lifestyle I look forward to having and am anticipating how God will bring that around!

The Fall country evenings begin with the sun setting sooner and the cool crisp air tends to hug me as I hang out on my back porch and watch the beautiful sunset.  It's a great time to get the firepit lit up and roast marshmellows and make smores!  YUM!!  The stars glow in the pitch black and I just am in awe and wonder at how awesome and majestic our God is.  All of this he created for us!  It's a great time for the girls and I to look for satellites and shooting stars, to talk about God's creation and all he's done for us.  It's time to praise God and thank Him for the plentiful harvest and all He's provided for us.  More than enough!  It's just amazing how the whole day can be spent with God from the time I wake up till I lay my head on my pillow.

This time of year often signifies things coming to an end for most people.  For me, it signifies a new beginning.

May God be apart of all your teaching moments and new beginnings!