Falling Into the Hodgepodge

 

Thank you to Joyce at From This Side of the Pond for our weekly questions. You can copy and paste into your own blog and answer and connect . . . or you can answer in the comments section.

1. Fall officially rolls into the Northern Hemisphere on Monday (9/22)...what's your favorite thing about fall? 

I can't pick ONE favorite thing. I love fall decorations and Halloween and Thanksgiving! I love walking through crunchy leaves. 🍁 I enjoy SEC football 🏈!!

2. What's one thing on your real or proverbial autumn bucket list? 

I don't have a fall bucket list. (After thinking about this over night, my fall bucket list is simply - make it through all of my classes, have fun on our cruise, spend time with family and friends, buy some pumpkins for our front porch, get out the Halloween decorations, enjoy Thanksgiving!)

3. Apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and cranberries are some of the top fall foods. Which one is your favorite and how do you like it prepared? Any on the list you don't eat? Which one have you had most recently? 

I like all of those foods! We make a butternut squash casserole that is delicious and we actually call it "pumpkin casserole," even though it is butternut squash!

4. 'Fall is proof that change is beautiful' is a popular sentiment. Would you agree or no? Elaborate. 

Change can be beautiful. Life is full of changes. One of the things I had to write about for school this week is "pivot points" in my professional life. Maybe I'll share that with y'all on another day. Pivot points bring change and sometimes it is beautiful.

5. Is there a spot near you where people go to see the leaves change color? Will you try to leaf peep somewhere this fall? Lonely Planet lists the following ten places as the best for leaf peeping...of those listed which would you most like to visit? 

Stowe, Vermont~Shenandoah National Park, Virginia~Columbia River Gorge, Oregon~Zion National Park, Utah~Tennessee/North Carolina border~West Virgina~Northwestern Wyoming~Wisconsin Northwoods~Northern Nevada~Ozark Highlands Scenic Byway, Arkansas

Please book a trip for me to see ALL of those places while the leaves are gorgeous. I love to see trees with leaves of red and gold and orange!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We have to write so much in the classes I’m taking right now. In one class, there’s something due almost every single night. But one of my professors, Dr. G., is just incredible. She actually takes the time to send me emails full of encouragement—like the kind that literally bring me to tears.

Next week I have to travel for work, and of course we have a mid-term in her class. I emailed her to explain and asked if I could get just a small extension. Not only did she say yes—she gave me four extra days and even asked if that would be enough! And then she added more words of encouragement in that same email.

I was telling my boss (he’s our Senior Pastor) about it yesterday, because I’ve just been so humbled by the way Dr. G.  has shown me grace. He reminded me that in my role at the church, I have the chance to extend that same kind of grace to others. He encouraged me to hold on to how this made me feel—because when we offer grace, others feel it just as deeply.