There is a nip in the air this morning....mornings are cooler...the leaves in S.W. Pennsylvania are starting to change...there is the smell of fall in the air.Last night, I was blessed to attend our local homeschool support meeting, where the fellowship was wonderful...and I could really see how very important homeschooling moms supporting each other really was. My oldest daughter, Meghan, went with me...and she enjoyed the meeting as much as I did....one of the things that stood out to her is how everyone prayed for each other...ministering to each other's needs....even just the simple need of someone to listen and give a hug to.
After listening to everyone last night, this seems to be more and more a 'transition' year for many families that I know. Many families are transitioning with job changes (as are we), budget cuts, illnesses and also extended family commitments. I suppose the older we are getting, our families are also and many of my homeschooling dear friends and I were saying what a blessing it is to be able to homeschool anywhere...and minister & share Jesus love with our parents and extended family. It truly is a blessing! My older girls remember homeschooling in the van and at the personal care home that my Gram was in for the last 2 years of her life....how her friends loved seeing my little girls come in! They got such a valuable education in respecting the elderly and serving that they would not have gotten otherwise. My little ones are now learning that people come first...that relationships have eternal value and to show Jesus love and care is much more important than their schoolwork....so they drop everything when Dad comes home for lunch just to be with him.....they drop everything when a grandparent comes over to spend time with them...or if we need to go to help someone else....we either take our work with us....or know that it will get done eventually. What a blessing it is to serve the Lord and love His people!
All of this to say that our "one small change" for September...actually for all of fall is to look for opportunities to serve others....it is soup and stew season....so stretching these and making them go farther is easy....along with hot, fresh, homemade bread and a simple salad....that is comfort food to people in a hurting world. A card in the mail...a phone call or email letting them know we love them and were thinking of them. Visiting the elderly....these are the things that we are focusing on.
Of course, we're still preserving the harvest....making plum jam today, dehydrated a ton of peaches the other day....more tomatoes...then pears and apples will be starting.
We're also 'nesting'...switching sizes and seasons for my little ones...pulling out the sweaters...finishing up some knitting and crochet projects. My son & husband are working on plans for a small wood shed and organizing our kindling. Our garden is still producing...and we are blessed by a wonderful farmer's market close by.
Off to finish my last load of laundry! (ok...for today!) and to get Anna's room all ready for the cold season. Visiting a brand new baby this evening and welcoming this precious, sweet little Rebekah Diane into her new family and into our lives as well. A new generation....a continuation of multi-generational faithfulness. So many, many of our friends are first generation christians and homeschooler just as we are and it is humbling and awe-inspiring to me to see this strong faith and vision for families being carried on in my children and their precious friends.
May you all be abundantly blessed! What is one small change you all are doing this fall? Click on over to this link for more ideas. Have a blessed day! ~Sue~ http://www.1smallchangeblog.blogspot.com/
