I can sit on my living room couch and see this gorgeousness out my window. Ah, happiness! The people who built our house were not terribly imaginative when it came to planting trees. All three of our trees have ugly brown leaves and are rather boring when it comes to leaf beauty. So I’m extra thankful that our neighbors have beautiful trees!
I have been soaking up fall so much this year. I think it’s almost outranked summer as my favorite season now. We had some unseasonably warm days last week (as in, I was picking raspberries in short sleeves + bare feet), and now it’s back to brisk mornings and chilly evenings. My heart feels full of varied good experiences this autumn. Such as:
- One Sunday morning we visited a church about 3 miles down the road. We drive by it all the time and it’s always piqued both our curiosity so we decided to go, just for fun.ย Right before we left, I told Jonathan that for some reason I felt SO nervous about going. He made the comment that it’s probably because we don’t know how the people in the church are going to treat us. Will they be friendly or will we feel out of place?ย We concluded that it’s no wonder unchurched people don’t go to church anymore. If WE feel this way (with Christianity as a common denominator), how much more uncomfortable do they feel? It makes me even more convicted to treat people with kindness, no matter what. Back to our visit to the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church– well, it actually ended up being a Russian church. (And apparently, Baptists in Russia are nothing like Baptists in America.) The whole service was in Russian — singing, speaking, and preaching, so a young man interpreted for us. (Which worked out great, except for the wiggly baby who was constantly trying to pull my earphones out) I never would’ve dreamed that we’d have to have an interpreter in a church three miles from our house!! It was interesting to be there and observe and understand people with a different cultural background. There were all originally from Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, and a few other countries in that region of Europe. (And if you ever want to hear beautiful singing… wow, can they ever SING.)
- We hosted our annual newlywed fall party a couple weeks ago. The last couple years we just had a small party with around 3-4 couples. This year we decided to make it a little bigger, and it ended up suiting 6 couples to come, including friends from Philly and the Bald Eagle/Lockhaven, PA area. The group didn’t all know each other at the beginning of the evening, but we made sure they did by the end. ๐ We started out with soup, salad + garlic bread, and then played several ice breaker games. Everyone did so well at the first game, that we had to keep doing tiebreakers! I still giggle to myself at some of the antics we made everyone go through. Heh! (They secretly enjoyed themselves, I hope ๐ ) By the end of the evening, it was decided that we should have game nights/parties more often.
And a Few Fall Finds for you to check out. (You’re welcome.)
A Slice With Joy. Such a pretty, inspiring food blog with YUM looking photos The White Chicken Chili was delicious, and I’m eyeing the Gingerbread Crepes., Charlene’s Healthy Waffles, and the Creamy Sausage/Spinach Soup. Really, it all looks so good.
Wocket in My Pocket. I’ve read this blog off and on before, and enjoy her sense of humor and writing style. She addressed the subject of refugees + how we respond to the brokenness around us so well: We Have to Look.ย
Good Reads. Come to find out, two bookish friends of mine have been using this site for years. (Yup, I’m often late to the party ๐ ) A fun site for finding new book recommendations, shelving your own reads, or books you’re currently reading. There are all sorts of reviews and it’s a fun place to browse. ๐
Anything fun new finds you’ve discovered lately and would like to share with me?