The Seasons in September

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 268: Today, I am grateful for the seasons in September.

We joke in the Midwest that "if you do not like the weather, wait ten minutes." That is extreme, but we really can have three seasons in a day or two. It tends to be when we see tornadoes and other severe weather. 

It happened a couple of times this past 12 months and it will happen again. From unseasonable highs to unseasonable lows, the earth prepares for the change one day at a time. 

"We know that in September, we will wander through the warm winds of summer's wreckage. We will welcome summer's ghost." -Henry Rollins

Everyone seems to be digging out the lightweight fall colors from the closet. Earthy tones with a kiss of bright colors coming from the same oranges, reds, and yellows that color the trees. I noticed an elm on the way home that was green on the bottom with flaming yellow leaves as a crown. It was stunning. My friends Don and Stephanie would call noticing the tree "joy spotting." It certainly brought me joy. 

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth. King Solomon wrote these words in Ecclesiastes 3:2-8

A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

Seasons come and they go. Savor the good. Make time to spot the joy. Look for the colors around you. Be prepared for whatever the day brings. Lovely September is nearly spent. 

Today, I am grateful for the seasons in September.

Children's Books

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 267: Today, I am grateful for children's books. 

Children's literature has always been a favorite of mine. I knew as a young adult that "The Velveteen Rabbit" was special. It wrapped up love, hope, loss, loyalty, grief, and healing in a way that adult fiction could not without being depressing. 

"There are some themes, some subjects. too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book." Philip Pullman

Perhaps it is because children do not tiptoe around the hard stuff. They dive right in. They cry the tears. They feel the pain. They get mad and sad, but they press on until they get to a better ending. They celebrate the little things, too. 

Winnie the Pooh has not been in a gratitude post for a while, but it may be time to revisit some of my favorite quotes. That bear of "very little brain" had much wisdom about living life well with an eclectic group of characters surrounding him. 

Even in our Sunday School lessons, we pull out the scriptures with powerful stories of God's willingness to not give up on humans. Some of my favorites are of the ones who endured hard situations and trusted His heart. From a mother putting her baby in a basket to be found by an Egyptian princess in order to save his life to three young men who faced a fiery furnace before they would bow to an idol, the Bible passages made into children's stories deal with some hard stuff. Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers and David, the shepherd boy who would be king, taught us about God's presence in the good times, the hard times, and in the details of our daily lives.  

Jesus used stories when he wanted people to understand hard concepts. 

"Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable." -Matthew 13:34

As young parents, the book "I Love You, Forever" could barely be read without choking up and Chase asked for it over and over one trip to Michigan (before Walker was born). Even in our twenties, we had seen enough of the circle of life to be impacted by the story. 

Feel free to add your favorite children's books in the comments. 

Today, I am grateful for children's books. 

Your Best is Enough

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 266: Today, I am grateful for gentle reminders that your best is enough. 

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood?" -old tongue twister

Some have never heard the tongue twister. It is essential to understanding the humor in this image. A woodchuck is a groundhog. It is the largest of the ground squirrels and is in the squirrel family. 

"You are holding tension here in your neck. Just let it go. Nobody really cares how much wood you would chuck, even if you did chuck wood..."

When I saw this I giggled. Sometimes we all need to be reminded to relax. Not every day needs to be a contest or a race to the finish line. Do what you can. Do your best. Then, let the rest wait for a new day. Find joy in the daily doing. Be content with the "enough." 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” -Colossians 3:23

I love this reminder to do our best and for His glory... not our own accolades. He delights in His children, with all of our quirks and imperfections. We are planted in places with work to do. When we do it with all of our hearts we can know it pleases our Lord. 

Today, I am grateful for gentle reminders that your best is enough. 

Homeless Books

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 265: Today, I am grateful to collect "homeless" books. 

There are only 100 days left in 2026. The years move swiftly by. I've been trying to get as much reading in as possible (yes, I read with audiobooks) because it is a great way to relax and unwind. If I read with a book in hand, I fall asleep. Audio books allow me the freedom to multi-task. 

I have never seen this quote:

"Second hand books are wild books,  homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack." -Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

I love second hand book stores as much as new ones. I have certain books I always look for Og Mandino books to buy so I can give them away. You never know what you will find. 

I just finished the book "The Frozen River," a historical mystery novel by Ariel Lawhon. It is fiction but it is based on the life of Martha Ballard, an 18th century midwife and her part in the trial of Judge Joseph North. Her husband, Ephraim, would buy her second hand books as a gift along with leather bound blank journals for her to write about her days. He had taught her to read and write after their marriage on December 19, 1754. Both were treasured in those days, because such things were not plentiful. 

A second hand book with all of the pages was a true treasure. I can barely imagine life without easy access to books. The book is part fiction as the author clearly states, but it gives a deep insight into what life was like in those days. Second hand books were woven into the story. On one instance, "she wondered how Ephraim had found such a copy, with no pages missing."  

We take a book with no missing pages as an expectation, even in second-hand book stores. I love Woolf's visual of second hand books as wild and homeless. It is a beautiful flip on what some consider "an old, used book." I am with Woolf and Martha Ballard.

Shout out to Stephanie Brown for this book recommendation. It was a spectacular journey from start to finish. 

As I sought out a passage, this one reminded me that the early disciples of the Gospel are just like us. 

"When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments." -2 Timothy 4:13

Today, I am grateful to collect "homeless" books. 

Low Bowing Branches

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 264: Today, I am grateful for low bowing branches.

"The branch that bears the most fruit bows the lowest."

What is the story behind the branch that bears the most fruit? For most, there was some kind of pruning in the process. It has not been neglected and left on its own. It receives care. It gets cut back at the right time to result in new strength and more fruit at the end of the season.   

The branch that bears the most fruit has been tended by the gardener or farmer. It has been watered and pruned. Water is life giving and life sustaining. Pruning is painful, but it forces the plant to become resilient. Pruning makes it stronger. It results in more fruit, but for season it can look sad as it builds a stronger branch.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." -John 15:5

"Remain in me and I in you." Attached to the vine, we grow stronger. We are sustained in every season. Painful pruning is not punishment, but care. It keeps us closer to the vine. "No pain - no gain" is an exercise motto that encourages athletes to push through the hard days. Press on.

The stronger the branch, the more fruit it can bear. When a branch is loaded with fruit, it bows the lowest which makes it assessible to those who need it the most. The season of pruning in the painful part of the story, but it is what makes the harvest rich and reachable. Loaded low bowing branches feed the hungry. 

Today, I am grateful for low bowing branches.

Good Directions

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 263: Today, I am grateful for good directions.

Good directions make a difference. This day of GPS assistance has us quite spoiled. It builds our courage to go places we have never been. Good direction gives us courage. 

He is either the Lord of our lives, or He isn’t. Sometimes we wrestle with His will. Other times, it flows naturally. There is an element of practice in submission to His will. It might be compared to any exercise, sport, or task that has been practiced until there is  a sense of “muscle memory.” 

We can feel when we are walking in His will, and when we are not. Our human nature fights against it. The battle for control can cheat us of  the peace and contentment that He desires to bestow on His children. 

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” 

-Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Good instruction and good directions make all the difference in our days. 

Today, I am grateful for good directions.

Choose What We Water

 

Daily Gratitude Year 14-Day 262: Today, I am grateful we can choose which thoughts we water. 

"It's the thoughts we water each day that become the garden we live in." 

The summer is slipping into fall. The flowers we have enjoyed all summer are being replaced by more cold weather hardy plants. They all need water to survive. Water makes the difference in what lives and flourishes. 

Our thoughts can act as "water," so we must... at times... guard the thoughts that flow from our heart.  

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." -Proverbs 4:23 

Today, I am grateful we can choose which thoughts we water.