Make it.....

Now we are in the blessed days of October, days of warm, days of cool, days of softer sunshine, gentle rains, misty, foggy enchanting days, quiet reflection,  memory melancholy, drowsy, afternoon naps, (for the animal kingdom anyway,) changeable weather patterns like this...

in which the family has taken great advantage of last days of fishing.

From lake to table, fresh, crisp, pan-fried trout! & to the left, the last of our garden tomatoes. We also had fried potatoes & onions, (the aroma always takes me back to the days of my Mother's cooking. A meal of fried potatoes & onions, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, YUMmmie!!) the last of the garden green beans, & also the last of the Jonathan apples for an apple pie! Whoa. Exquisite dinner fare! & as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't get any better than this!! 🍎😋🍎

El Perfecto with a little caramel drizzled on top!!

I did a little cheating in the pie department too & made a pumpkin pie. It just sounded so good! 

& now 'tis the season of bubbling soups, stews & chowders.
The above is my husbands white chili which is absolutely mouthwatering-ly scrumptious! We never have any leftovers  when we have a dinner party. It's a very satisfying comfort food on a cold, rainy or snowy day. Mmmmm.
🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲
Another treat is homemade caramel corn!

Muffins anyone with pumpkin spice tea??

But the first picture can go from that to this....

overnight. Two feet!! 

That's Sadie to give you an idea of how deep the snow was. We couldn't even open the back door!

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

☃☃☃☃☃☃☃☃☃☃☃☃

Someone once said, 

"I have learned that if I want magic, I must make it myself."

This is how I 'make magic'. By seasonally transforming my home through fun, beautiful & whimsical decor. Or special foods that I cook only for certain celebrations & serve them for my family & friends, all so they can have a little dusting of enchantment. I love to simply light a lightly scented candle with only twinkle lights in the background & the accompaniment of uplifting, beautiful music, a good book, a cup of tea & a specially prepared dessert. Even sitting under a night sky to watch the fireflies, or the falling stars, listening to the 'whoof' of the deer who are on sentry duty to ward off intruders, or the love calls between courting owls. Sometimes you make your own magic. Sometimes you have to seek it, even run after it. But the seekers will find it. Which puts me on a similar train of thought, only in the realm of faith. If I want faith in my life, I have to make it myself, build it myself, go after it myself. & this is not for the fainthearted. The Lord takes us through many journeys in this earthly 'race' of 'winning the prize' that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 9. By accepting the 'baton' in this race, I am building my faith, fighting the good fight of faith, by which I am trusting Jesus more & more & being 'transformed into His image'. & GET THIS...

"& this is the victory that overcomes the world...OUR FAITH."!!!

( 1 John 5:4) 

So, if you are a 'faith chaser', you are also an overcomer! Whatever you are encountering this day. 

God will give us grace & help & hope as we pursue faith. But He will not do our job for us. We have to trust, to believe, to discipline ourselves to get up & keep going  when we are knocked down, or suffocating from the 'unexpecteds', or nothing makes any sense, or it looks like we've been abandoned or forsaken, (we haven't!!)

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" is written above the gates of hell in the poem entitled, "Inferno" by Dante.

Not so for those of us who belong to Jesus. Because of faith, we have hope. & it comes full circle.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for..."

The Lord will take us on these faith to faith journeys all of our lives, because through these, He's teaching us how to have abundant life. Soooo...

Put on your 'He A-rose' colored glasses, which is another word for faith, & keep running after, keep pursuing faith until you have made it your own. 

Need a little magic? Make it.

Need a little faith? or a lot? or a whole lot??

Make it.

Raintree Perk of the Day:

"My brethren, (& sistern, 😉) count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect & complete, lacking nothing."

James 1: 2-4

Now that's worth going for the gold medal! 🥇