Fall Colors

I am thoroughly enjoying the fall colors this year.  They seem to be never ending.  Over the weekend I turned down streets that I've seen very recently and was pleasantly surprised by the ever-changing colors!  There seemed to be more reds this weekend everywhere I looked. 

Here's a picture I snapped walking into church yesterday.  I think the red leaves are my favorite this year!

All about Fall...

I'm pretty obssessed with everything fall right now.

Here are a few of the things I'm dying to get for my fall wardrobe:

                      I'm in love with sweater dresses this year!

 Loving these riding boots to wear with my sweater dresses

And last, but certainly not least....some awesome leg warmers!

(may have to find a cuter pattern though)



So what're you loving this season?

Fear of the unknown...

     I've been thinking recently about what holds us back from new and exciting things in our lives.  I believe many times the biggest obstacle for me is the fear of the unknown.  It can keep me paralyzed and stagnant, sometimes in places where I don't want to be in my life. 
     This can take many forms, whether it's in a dating relationship, a job, choosing to go back to school, etc.  How many times in those situations do we find ourselves saying "what if...?" 
     Now I'm not saying I've conquered this fear because just the other day I went through all these thoughts again.  But last fall I participated in a Bible study with a group of my friends and we were forced to face the big "what if" questions.
     At the time I was still living at home with my parents.  For years I'd struggled with the fear of someone breaking into our house.  I have no idea where this fear comes from.  Nothing like this has ever happened to me, but it was holding me back from moving out. 
     This bible study leader made us look at the tough situations such as "what if someone breaks into my house?"  Then she had you walk through the worst case scenario by saying "then what?". 

     For instance-

     "If someone breaks into my house, I'd be SO scared!." 

     Ok, then what?

      "Well, I'd try to get out or defend myself."

     Ok, then what?

     "They might try to kill me!"

     Ok, then what?

 "Well, then I'd be in heaven."

     You get the idea...

     After walking through each moment and facing the worst case scenario, I began to see that my fears weren't so unknown anymore.  I'd taken the time to look them in the face and examine what my next step would be.        

    I'm happy to say that I moved into my first apartment in April and am LOVING it!  Those first few nights in my new place I definitely faced some obstacles with my fears.  Even now, months later I inevitably hear myself go "but, what if..." and am reminded to walk through it again. I find that doing this takes the power out of the fear and that's a huge relief!  

     I encourage you to try this if you find yourself crippled by fear.  God may have the biggest and best experience of your life waiting around the corner, but if you're holding onto the "what ifs", you'll never get there. Don't allow the fear of the unknown to keep you from life's joys, like my first apartment! Face the fear and when you do, you may find it's not as scary as you thought it would be.

Sunsets

I don't know many people who would say they don't love a gorgeous sunset to end the day.  It seems like every beach vacation would not be complete without a few pictures of the sun setting into the waves.  

We have some gorgeous sunsets here in the bluegrass state too.  I love driving home at dusk and watching the sun set against the green trees and grass.  

Here are some of my favorites.   
Where have you taken your most memorable sunset pictures?

It's what's on the inside....

Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

1 Peter 3: 3-4

     When does it start? At what age do we begin to be consumed with our outward appearance?   Do you remember the day you became aware of what people thought of you?

      I attended a concert this past Friday for Keep Louisville Symphonic Orchestra at my church.  It was a family event, which meant there were kids everywhere.  It wasn't your typical orchestra concert at the Kentucky Center, but if I could've captured one moment in a picture it would've been this.

      On opposite sides of the auditorium there were two little girls, probably no older than 3 or 4.  The orchestra began their first piece and without a care in the world these girls begin to dance in the aisle. They would run to the wall a few feet away and then turn and leap and twirl.  Their arms were open wide and they were swept away in the music, with no thought of who might be looking at them.

     

     

Several other folks noticed them too.  They'd point and chuckle to themselves.  I'm sure, like me, they loved the sweet innocence of these girls. I also wondered if these adults were trying to remember the last time they were that uninhibited by their surroundings.  I know I was.

As we get older we get so focused on what others think of us and how we look.  I'm so guilty of this.  As a huge fan of accesories- jewelry, scarves, shoes, etc. I love nothing more than when someone affirms that my accesory choices are good ones. 

I read an article recently where the writer came to the conclusion that we're quick to compliment little girl's outfits or how cute they are- all things about their outward appearance and this trains them to look for that approval.  She decided that from now on she was going to make a pointed effort not to compliment the clothes or the looks first, but to have conversations with them where she could comliment how smart they were or how selfless.

 

This was an eye opener for me.  Not to say that we shouldn't still tell girls they're pretty, but just like the verse I started with- God values the beauty within us and finds it so much more precious than our accesories. 

So I'll leave you today with these questions:

When was the last time you truly focused on the

qualities that make up your character?

Which inner quality that you possess do you value the most?

And when was the last time you danced or twirled just for yourself?

Summertime....and the livin's easy...

     That's what the old song says anyway.  I don't know about you, but summer is always busier for me than the routine of fall, winter, and spring.  People always say it's because the kids are out of school, but I can't use that excuse yet as I don't have any kids.
     I, like most, try to take a vacation or two in the summer months and this always seems to make time fly.  Then there are the barbeques, pool parties, hanging out with friends, and the millions of weddings and baby showers to attend.  It's no wonder by summer's end that we're all exhausted and so thankful for the cooler temps and normal routine to reconvene.
    
     But there is one thing I love about summer...  It seems rare anymore, but every once in a while a summer storm will come through and the heat will drop and you're left with a coolness in the air.  These are my favorite days of summer. 
     My car windows are rolled down and the tunes are cranked up.  I love the feel of the warm breeze in my face and the sounds and smells...a hint of rain, freshly cut grass, something cooking on the grill, kids playing outside, lightening bugs- it's magical!
    
     Those are the nights when life slows down and I switch my playlist to the classics. 


     Summertime.....and the livin's easy....



 

A Little American History....

     I've always been fasicinated by American history.  I especially love reading about colonial times.  There's such a sense of adventure when you hear about how our country began.  They lived and died for liberty and religious freedom. 
     Several years ago, my mother began researching our family's geneology.  She found some fasicinating connections from the colonial time period.  On my mother's side, we are related to Elizabeth Kortright (Kortright is my middle name) Monroe- President James Monroe's wife.
     She is most well known for making a courageous visit to Adrienne de Noiolles de Lafayette, the imprisoned wife of the Marquis de Lafayette - the great personal friend of George Washington and many other revolutionary era patriots and France's most prominent supporter of American independence. Because of Elizabeth's visit, Adrienne was released.
 (http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=5)     

     Also on my mother's side, we are related to Gouverneur Morris.  I didn't know much about him and so today I googled his bio.
Here are some of the things I found:

     Gouverneur Morris, who represented Pennsylvania at the Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, was the author of much of the Constitution. The noble phrases of that document's Preamble, "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union", sprang from his gifted mind, and like the finely wrought clauses that followed, clearly mirrored his personal political philosophy. Morris was perhaps the most outspoken nationalist among the Founding Fathers. Although born into a world of wealth and aristocratic values, he had come to champion the concept of a free citizenry united in an independent nation. In an age when most still thought of themselves as citizens of their sovereign and separate states, Morris was able to articulate a clear vision of a new and powerful union. He was, as Theodore Roosevelt later put it, "emphatically an American first."

http://www.history.army.mil/books/revwar/ss/morrisg.htm

     It made me smile to learn that he was somewhat known for speaking his mind clearly, as I have a tendency to do that.  I will say it has gotten me in trouble many a time and I learned that it did for him as well.  I obviously didn't know him personally, but this small similarity made him that much more real to me.

     I also loved the fact that he was a man of such strong conviction when it comes to his political beliefs.  We all need to be reminded to be people of strong conviction about our beliefs.

    

      On this weekend when we celebrate our country's Independence, take a moment to think about the great men and women who risked their lives to make our freedoms and beliefs possible so many years ago.  And also make it a point to appreciate the service men and women who still defend our Indepence today!