Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:4-5
…through all generations …
Grateful!
Our trip to the north shore proved to be a lot more colorful than we were expecting.
We had already started seeing pockets of beautiful fall colors on our drive up, so I started to get a little excited…and then the colors began to pop out everywhere…with wonderful contrasts to the evergreen trees.
The weather also turned out better than I had hoped for, with warmer temperatures and some nice sunshine and blue skies (and one cloudy day). We had packed clothes for colder weather.
We followed our annual routine of balancing cabin time and lake time with hiking and local drives.
We watched the sun rise over the big lake and had a camp fire on the rocks. We stopped in Hinckley and Duluth on the way up, and stopped in Grand Marais one day. It’s all so familiar, yet all so refreshing, relaxing, and restorative… and so much fun!
The colors were breathtaking…everywhere we went. It was spectacular to see and hard to photograph with my iPhone.
But it was enough to witness the colors and breath in the fresh air, smell the different whiffs of pine scents, lake water, decomposing leaves, feel the crisp air and to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8a).
I stand in awe of the Creator of these incredible autumn colors.
And the colors were not only up north…we saw them driving home, and right here in Northfield, and outside our front and back doors!
On my morning walk this morning, along the ponds in my neighborhood, I looked for nature photo ops, and found many signs of fall.
Psalm 23: 1-4
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me
He is risen. He is risen, indeed!
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2: 11-14
God Bless us one and all!
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim His unfailing love in the morning,
His faithfulness in the evening…
Psalm 92:1-2
I’ve posted some short essays from my writing sessions before. I’m amazed where writing prompts lead, and I’m often surprised. For this assignment, the question was: “What object in your home have you been surprised to love more and more over the years?”
It took a little while before something shimmered to the top for me. And then it did. It is a photo of my two boys running through a farm field when they were younger. I had to look up date the photo was taken. It was 1988, and the boys would have been 6 and 4. I framed this photo back then, and have had it hanging in my house since. A few years ago, I went up to St. Olaf’s print center and had another color copy (8”x10”) made of the original because the first picture I had in the frame started to fade over the years.
I have the photo hanging in a hallway and I see it often. To me it represents some of the best years of my life, when my two wonderful young sons were little boys, healthy and happy, and growing and loving. I’m nostalgic for those times, those hugs, those gone-by-too-fast days when we were all together. I’m so thankful for the memories we made together as a family, and for photos I have of those times.
This picture was taken on the family farm in Pennsylvania. The boys are full of energy, runny and healthy, carefree, and so happy together. I think that best describes their childhood.
The photo is precious and makes me smile, time after time, and has become a treasured belonging in my home.
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity. Psalm 133:1 (NASB)
One of my favorite things to do on our annual trek to the north shore is to watch the sunrise over Lake Superior. I set my alarm – just in case – so I don’t miss it.
I love sitting silently, waiting for the sun to come up. It is such a tranquil and quiet time…a beautiful time of enjoying God’s magnificent creation, a wonderful gift. There is a unique sunrise for each unique day…and it can change within minutes.
We don’t see sunsets from the location of our cabin, although sometimes we can see some color in the western skies at sunset, creating silhouettes of the trees and rocky shoreline near-by.
In a previous post I showed photos of the moonrise we sometimes see over the lake. We are grateful for those spectacular views too.
Words cannot describe the feelings evoked witnessing the wonders of the sky.
I’m grateful for the sun that rises faithfully every morning, and to see it rise over Lake Superior is a special treat!
My favorite parenting verse is Isaiah 40:11:
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
My mother had a collection of angel figurines. I kept one from her collection (pictured above) but I didn’t want the others. An idea came to me to give them away at her funeral luncheon, held in the church basement.
I had not seen that done before (12 years ago now) so I asked a few others if it was a good idea to give away the angels at her funeral, and I got a lot of encouragement to do so. Since that time, I have seen collections given away at funerals.
I displayed her angel collection on two tables and made a sign inviting guests to take an angel home with them in remembrance of my mom. All the angels were taken that day, and it was comforting.
Last March (2020) when Covid-19 started infiltrating our world and we began to isolate ourselves, I decided it might be a good time to start knitting a prayer shawl. I didn’t have a specific person in mind as I started knitting. The finished shawl would go to our care pastor at church, to give to someone as needed.
I used yarn a friend had given to me. The yarn created a unique pattern. It made for an interesting prayer shawl that I hope will lift someone’s spirits.
As it turned out, knitting ended up not being something I was inclined to work on a lot during the pandemic. But, after almost a year, I finished the prayer shawl.
Years ago, I knit several prayer shawls…some for specific people, others for the pastor to give out. At that time, when there were several people knitting prayer shawls, a man from our congregation joined in knitting shawls. He happened to be my son’s mentor through a church program, and he gave a prayer shawl he had knitted to my son. It was a special blessing. I also received a prayer shawl when my mother died.
I don’t remember anyone showing me how to knit. I think I learned from a magazine article, when I was a teenager. I believe the magazine was titled Seventeen but I can’t find the magazine’s name (or date) anywhere on the article to confirm this. I still have this article in my knitting bag and sometimes refer to its simplistic instructions for knitting.
The brochure that used to be handed out with a prayer shawl (and maybe still is) begins; “A prayer shawl is intended to be a reminder of God’s ever-present love which is as near to you as your own body is to your sprit. It is a fit for every time and every occasion – joyful or sorrowful, for every season and circumstance of life – chose or unchosen, when you are weeping or when you are celebrating”…
It includes this scripture and a special prayer:
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139
I hope the finished prayer shawl will be a blessing to someone who needs some encouragement these days.