Dancing in September

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"Say do you remember, dancing in September?" ~ September, song by Earth, Wind & Fire

🍁 I don't know what it is about fall - I feel like dancing every day.  The weather gets a little crispier, it's the onset of boot season (see my trend list at the end of blog), the colors of the grass and leaves are just barely beginning to change to a golden hue, pumpkin spice starts to invade every part of our lives. 

 

Or to quote author Sarah Addison Allen, "It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon."

🍁 I feel sorry for .people that don't like pumpkin spice☕.  It's like they were born with a hole in their soul, and when they don't let pumpkin spice latte fill it because they think they don't like it, it makes them grouchy and irritable.  Then they start complaining that they 'don't want summer to end' and 'next thing you know Christmas stuff is gonna be in the stores'.  JK - you know who you are 😉😉.

 🍁 I've decided it's my house my rules, so I put all my fall stuff up last week.  Maybe it's my age or that I'm retired and don't want anyone bossing me, or the fact that I'm quoting a song by a band I grew up with in 1978 (click here if you want to dance to it).  But it makes me soooo happy.  When there is so much bad news every day in the world, I follow my business mission statement and "find what feeds the soul".  

🍁 Gratitude feeds the soul.  Don't you find it's really hard to be angry, depressed, lonely, discouraged or annoyed if you have just directed your mind to recognize something in your life that you appreciate?  What if, instead of reacting in an ugly way, we could train our mind and tongues to think about what good could come from a relationship that wasn't in sync?  Or to stop for a second and think about what good might come out of a bad event that we are currently going through?  

🍁 In my last blog we talked about discipline- intentionally breaking away from old habits to form new life-giving ones.  I know as women we can simultaneously add a cosmetic habit to our daily routine, delete a carb heavy food item from our menu, not wear a clothes item that makes us feel/look fat, or wear our hair differently every day.   We are amazing!                                                                                                                                                                                                     

So let's train our soul to invite God into our lives every single morning.  If you're a parent, think about your sweet little toddler waking up first thing and being so happy to see you and cuddle.  If you're a dog parent, imagine how happy your dog is to see  you when you come home.  Think about meeting your girlfriends after not seeing them for a long time.  Let's be that kind of welcoming to God each day.  

"Good morning God.  Thank you for meeting with me.  Will you show me what You want me to see and hear today?  Thank you for choosing me. Amen."

"Oh, and also, it just occurred to me that I woke up this morning-... in good health"... in a warm home"... with my family "... with a job"... without a job"... living here"... with a warm cup of coffee"... in this incredible universe You created"... thanks."

🍁 Whatever it is, there is always something.  Whoever it is, there is always something.  

God allows people and circumstances in our lives at the time they are for a reason - His reason.  Many times we don't understand it, most times we don't want it, sometimes we are hesitant about it.  In the case of health issues and death, we hate it and certainly don't comprehend it.  

🍁But don't we, as believers in Jesus as Lord and Savior, believe He died on a cross for the sins I have committed, you have committed, and rose again from the grave so we could have eternal life with Him in heaven? 

If we truly believe in that powerful, loving, and omniscient God, then we must then believe that He won't withhold anything that is good for us.  Psalm 84 says "For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.  He gives us grace and glory.  The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.  O Lord of Heaven's Armies, what joy for those who trust in You."

'Our sun and our shield'-  He placed the sun exactly the distance it needs to be for us to have life on earth, yet He shields us from it by placing it exactly the distance that we don't get burned. He is the God of details.

God knows the best mental health for us - 1 Thess 5:18 "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." A thankful heart is healthy.

As Col 3:17 tells us, we can "do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him", because we believe Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose."   This is a well quoted verse, but think about it - it doesn't say most things, some things, a few things.  It says everything.

"What do You want me to learn from this Lord? How should I respond?"  

"How can I forgive this person that You love so much?"

🍁 There's always a reason for your soul to dance.  

      Also, there's only 101 days til Christmas.    

 

✙ Lord, You are incredible & amazing!  Thinking about how You created the heavens perfectly for us is beyond comprehension.  Help us not to doubt that You have prepared every path for us, with all the bumps and holes, so you could carry us over and through.  Increase our faith and utter dependence on You and give us hearts of gratitude that burst as we meet You each day!  Amen.

Boot Trends*:(I only put the ones I like that look comfortable)   

                       

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