Beauty that only the Lord can Produce!

There are signs that summer is slowly coming to an end. Covers are beginning to be placed on pools, yellow school buses have began slowing the morning commute, the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting some what cooler, the 100 plus day temperatures are a thing of the past, and the trees are starting to flourish into brilliantly bright colors. Autumn is one of the best times in Texas! It's so awesome to wake up early and see the dew glistening and feel cooler morning temperatures after a long, hot and VERY, VERY DRY summer. The beautiful red, yellow and golden leaves are beginning to show and the colors of the flowers are turning deeper and brighter. It is a good time to enjoy a cup of coffee outdoors and watch the birds and wildlife wake up, groom and look for breakfast. It's a time for Texas FOOTBALL, Dove Hunting, Fall gardening, and the onset of the HOLIDAYS!!!

Autumn is a unique time of year, when nature becomes sort of playful and sweet. It’s also the time for celebrating Halloween, of childhood memories of hayrides and bonfires, pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns, leaf-covered streets,scarecrows, candy corn, and yes, tombstones, skeletons, haunted houses, ghosts and monster movies.

It should be noted that Halloween is a Catholic holiday. Many years ago Pope Gregory IV made it the universal practice in the Roman Catholic Church to celebrate All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1. All Souls' Day follows the next day as the commemoration of all of the faithful who have departed.

“All Hallows’ Eve” as the evening before All Hallows’ Day — All Saints’ Day – eventually became shortened to Halloween. Hallow, as in “hallowed be thy name” in the Lord’s Prayer, is an older form of the word “holy.”

No doubt my washing machine will fall victim yet again to washing gathered acorns, pine cone pieces, and pecan shells that my son has forgotten to remove from his trousers after a long day of exploring. We will carve pumpkins, make scarecrows,and smell up our house with cider potpourri. But AGAIN, yes, I will again use my FAVORITE WORD....We will HARVEST our BLESSINGS!!! We will harvest happiness. We will fill our soul with pure joy. I hope to grab a hold of every little, simple blessing that the day offers me. May the harvest leave me thankful, and make me full.

May you also have a bountiful harvest of happiness this fall, may it leave you with a SMILE!!!