Falling for Fall: Day 3

Fall is the time for family fun...this past weekend my family and I cooked out and had a bonfire at my mom's friends house. Lots of laughs, smores, and hey there was even some singing. Grams belted out a couple little tunes. hahaha.

Falling for Fall: Day 2

Tis the season of the County Fairs...we have been surrounded by the Apple Fest, the Renaissance Festival, Autumn Days of Davison, ect. and all this means; rides, cotton candy, and carmel apples. The weather these last few weeks has been perfect for all outdoor festivities. I think after a certain age, festivals lose their appeal but when you go with a child it all comes back to life :)
I can't wait for the corn mazes and pumpkin picking...not to mention the fresh donuts and hot apple cider. There is so much to look forward to. I love this season!

Falling for Fall

Today my friend Tab told me that she started doing posts for 30days of Fall and it made me think that I would like to start something like that. I really want to start taking pictures again, my camera use to be an extension of my arm but since getting busy with everyday stuff I've lost that. I want it back. So here is the beginning again for me, fall being my favorite season I don't know a better place to start.
I am surrounded by farms and fields...the changing of the colors in the fields always comes before the changing of the leaves, so today the fields tomorrow something new to discover in this beautiful season of change.

25 and Counting

(they made me a hat out of aluminum foil...at mongolian barbeque)

So a couple days ago I turned 25...I've lived a Quarter of a Century. I think it is always my first reaction when it comes to birthdays to reflect on the previous year, all the adventures I went on, all the trials I over came, all the questions that are still unanswered, all the people that have come and gone in my life. Being that this was a 'big' birthday, in the sense that next year i will be closer to 30 than 20, I found myself not only reflecting on the past year but on my life as a whole. I could write pages and pages about the things that I learned throughout the years, about people, about myself but that isn't the point...my point is that thinking back over my life to date I've been extremely lucky. I've experienced far-off lands and explored my own backyard, i've experienced a sense of worth in a world filled with no sense of self, I've experienced love and loss, I've gone out on my own and I've been welcomed home, I've fallen and gotten back up again, I've stood up for what I wanted and I gave when it wasn't asked of me...looking back over the last 25yrs I saw someone that conquered fears, that stepped out of her comfort zone, that wanted to see the world and made it happen...I saw someone that has really lived each day full.
Although I've made many mistakes in my life, I've learned and grown because of each of them. As much as I question where I am at this specific moment I know that my life on a scale of 1 - 10 has surpassed all boundaries. I've truly been blessed.


Here are a couple quotes that I really liked from one of the books I read this weekend:

"If you change the choices you made in your past...of course the consequences would be different, but then so would you. Everything you do in life, whether it's good or bad, makes you who you are. Don't 'maybe' your decisions to death because you can't change them...If you are going to think about your past, rather than dwell on the reasons you shouldn't have done something, remember the reasons you did."
"If you are going to remember anything from your past, than do so fondly because you can't change a thing about it...Life is filled with pain and beauty. It's a journey, a learning experience."
-20 Times the Lady

This is a quote I found on the authors blog that I really loved:

"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief... and unspeakable love."
- Washington Irving

because i said so...

I've always been fascinated with the life of a farming family, my entire childhood was spent dreaming that one day I could be one of them. I don't think I knew then, the amount of work they take upon themselves daily. All I knew was they worked as a family, they played as a family, and they got to play with animals all the time. I was an animal fanatic growing up...didn't matter what kind, I was obsessed. The fact that I was surrounded by sheep farms, cow farms, and horse farms only encouraged my imagination when it came to being a farmer. I took every opportunity to help with the sheep, the hay,cleaning the barns...I wanted to be part of it. My grandma grew up on a farm and she had all these amazing stories of adventure so I was determine to have some of my own.
I was passing by the farms this summer on my way home and I just had to stop. Sitting there watching the sheep I noticed how the mothers were directing the babies. Whether it was to the water or the food...or even the shade...they each were receiving direction. That is one thing that I've always thought was cool and probably one of the reasons I loved animals, they are similar to us in that aspect, they want nothing but to prepare their young for the world and at the same time their kids are just like us they want to discover things on their own.
I sat there watching them for awhile...laughing about my childhood desires and about the similarities between us and them. Obviously there are a lot of differences but I know when I hear "because I said so" it means the same thing as when they hear it :)

It all depends on who is saying it....

"i'm just a sinner, saved by grace"
I've heard this saying mentioned a couple times in the last few days. I was very familiar with it while in Virginia because it was a hymn that we would sing at church every once in a while. In any case, both times this saying was mentioned they were using it as a negative thing. Saying that instead of recognizing the sin we came from we should recognize the righteousness we were born-again into.
My question is: why can't we recognize what filth the Lord has rescued us from, I don't believe our testimonies are meant to be sugar coated-the Lord persued each one of us in the midst of our sin, He sacrificed knowing that we were going to turn around and hurt Him over and over again...it is because of His Grace that we can stand forgiven and cleansed of all our unrighteousness. His grace lead to His sacrifice, His love for us was while we were yet sinners.
I don't think that the above statement is threatening our righteousness or even our confession. I think that if anything it can remind us of how deep our God's love really is.
I know that some people can hide behind the words, or that it can become a crutch to some but that doesn't mean that the root of it is wrong. We are making it out that whenever anyone uses this saying, no matter the person, no matter the heart that they are missing out on the truth/freedom of their relationship with God. I can't say that I agree, it is one thing if a person is allowing their past sins to determine their future but it is something completely different to recognize the Grace of God. I just don't think that a saying like the above can be bad, I just think that it is the heart of whoever is saying it that needs to be in check and ultimately are we called to judge the heart? Just some thoughts...
This is the hymn that the above saying comes from...to me this comes from the perspective of someone sharing their journey with someone that may not know God, it is a person getting to such a vulnerable state that they are recognizing that they didn't deserve the love showered upon them but they know it will forever be with them and for that they are nothing but thankful.

"If you could see what I once was
If you could go with me
Back to where I started from
Then I know you would see
A miracle of love that took me in its sweet embrace
And made me what I am today
Just an old sinner saved by grace.

I'm just a sinner saved by grace
When I stood condemned to death
He took my place
Now I live and breathe in freedom with each breath of life I take
Loved and forgiven
Back with the living
I'm just a sinner saved by grace

How could I boast of anything I've ever seen or done?
How could I dare to claim as mine the vict'ries God has won?
Where would I be had God not brought me gently to this place?
I'm here to say I'm nothing but a sinner saved by grace

I'm just a sinner saved by grace
When I stood condemned to death
He took my place
Now I live and breathe in freedom with each breath of life I take
Loved and forgiven
Back with the living
I'm just a sinner saved by grace"


We are all but sinners saved by grace, born in to the righteousness of God and standing on the promise that we will never fall from His hand. No matter what mistakes we made before our days with Him, or even those we make after...His grace, His sacrifice, His love is more than enough. May the Lord use my past, present, and future trials to bring Him glory.