Fall is in full effect here in Illinois, and we're loving it!
Even when it means spending hours raking leaves because before putting them in leaf bags, they provided HOURS of entertainment!
Curtis Orchard Pumpkin Patch!
Cole had a day off of school the other day, and so I took all 4 kids to the pumpkin patch a few minutes from our house :)
I couldn't figure out which picture I liked better, so I included both :)
When we arrived at the orchard, there we bus loads of kids there on field trips, so I thought it'd be pretty crowded, but as we made the trek up the hill through the apple trees to the pumpkin patch, we noticed we were the only ones there! We had the whole pumpkin patch to ourselves :) It was a dream for my boys especially. They ran for 20 minutes straight, all over the pumpkin patch, exploring every inch of the ground :) Cora stayed close to me, holding my hand as we walked and talked about pumpkins, flowers and bees that buzzed around us. Here's a video of my girl. I ran out of battery before getting much of the boys but had to share the part I did capture!
We went on a walk the other night, well, I walked, the girls rode in the stroller and the boys rode their bikes. While cruising along, we were pointing out our favorite trees since their leaves were all changing and this one was our favorite (though the picture doesn't due it justice!)
It struck me that the leaves at the top of the tree, closest to the sun, changed first, while the leaves hidden from the sun at the bottom remained green and unchanged. How this true this is for us as well! The more of our life we live in Jesus, God's Son, the more we will be changed to be more like Him. Lately, I've been feeling more like myself than like one whose been changed by the Son of God. This feeling is completely reflective of the amount of time I've spent lately out of the Word and in my own strength and thinking. It hasn't been on purpose, but the business of this season of life we are in can take my time captive and I am reminded that anything I hold on to (thoughts, concerns, dreams, desires) and don't give to the Lord to transform, remains in me unchanged. I don't know about you, but I know myself well, and I certainly know that I need all the changing I can get! To be left to operate out of my own strength and wisdom would be the most tragic way to spend my life.
2 Corinthians 3:4-6 says,
"4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
You see! Our strength comes from God and He makes us competent! Anyone else need a little competency to fulfill the calling He's given you today? I know I do...and I praise Him that He's says that where He calls, He will equip with His life-giving Spirit...you see, the life we so desperately desire comes from HIS Spirit...not our efforts. You can try and try and try all you want to gain the life you desire but without giving yourself completely to the One from whom life comes, you will feel an increasing deadness inside that cannot be shaken no matter how hard you try.
When we bathe in the SON, He promises to change us...like the leaves on the trees changing all around me this fall, I am reminded of the promise in His Word in
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 to transform all who come to Him...
"16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
Our only hope for freedom today is to spend time with the Lord with unveiled faces and hearts before Him. When we are honest before Him, we will be transformed...changed, just like the incredible fall leaves around us this season...the more transformation they undergo, the more beautifully they display the glory of God to all who see them. I began this post over a week ago when the leaves were just starting to change. Now that a little time has past, we spend time walking through a neighborhood of trees completely changed. There are no longer traces of green to be seen. My prayer for us this Fall, is that we would live so close to our transforming God that we would live as those who have been changed, bringing glory to the One who gives us strength to work out the calling He's placed on each of our lives!
Lord, may YOU receive glory this Fall...the trees certainly display your beauty during these times, may our lives reflect you all the more beautiful as well and we bask in the SON you so freely gave. We praise you for the chance to be transformed...
Hi Danice!
Thank you so much for yuor encouraging posts. I can definitely relate to not having much time to spend with the Lord but being consumed with this stage of life. I need this gentle reminder to keep pursuing Him! Thanks, friend!