Fall is my favorite time of the year.

We went to Corn Dodgers in celebration of this lovely time.

 

There were giant hay bales :

 

 

A huge slide that everyone slid down....

 

...though some enjoyed it less than others :

 

There were also large jumpy things...like a trampoline, but better.

And there was a corn bed, like a sandbox, but better.

We then took a trip through the maze. With the five year old leading us. ...



... we almost didn't make it out...

;)

 Proof that I was actually there --->

 

 

The End.

 



These are my siblings, whom I adore. :)

 

 

Sophie, the youngest girl. Right now her dream is to be a belly dancer. I am praying that will change...but I'm also enjoying the childishness while it lasts. She is sassy, and squeaky, and beautiful, and growing up too fast.

 

This is Wyatt, the youngest boy. He holds almost all of my heart in those blue eyes of his. He says the cutest, most sincere things. He has a very big future ahead of him, and I both cant wait and dread watching him grow up.

 

This is Garrett, the gawky teen. His voice is cracking, and there are tiny hairs growing on the sides of his mouth. He is turning into a wonderful man of God, and I'm extremely proud of the integrity and compassion I see in his heart.

 

These are my siblings, whom I adore. :)

 

Went to the botanical gardens today! :)

 

 

 

Sophie found this sweet jem hiding in the flowers.

 

Sometimes a pre-dinner family walk is just a pre-dinner family walk. Sometimes it's a photoshoot...

 

Also: Mom finished my senior portraits. :)

 

 I think she did a pretty great job. :)

 

So, no wise or deep words for this post... haha just wanted to get these pictures up for those of you with no facebook. I will say though, posting my senior pictures at the same time as posting some family 'candid's is a little hard. Just knowing that, even if I stick around the house for a year, in May I'm no longer a kid. I have to grow up and get a job, and I might not just be around for the spontaneous family walk. It's scary. And weird. And, to a certain extent, exciting.

 

 

Returning to my first love today, nature photography. :)

 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully there will be more night sky ones to come. :))

 

A beautiful mess. That is what most Christians can be described as, if we are being honest. A mess because of the sin that we return to time after time. Yet beautiful because of the grace we find time and time again, when we return instead to the throne of God.

 

But is this how it has to be?? Of course not. Christ has given us victory over sin. We always have the option to walk away.  1 Corinthians 15:57 - "But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." So why, then, do God's chosen children, His royal priesthood, continually return to the filth? How ridiculous is it that we (having experienced true joy and fulfillment), of all people, go again to sin? As if it is going to satisfy us. Maybe this time. Just this one thing. My guilty pleasure.

 

I was thinking about all of this as I stood watching these two butterflies. They were beautiful, blue and orange. Flitting about.

 

 

 

But, as you can see, they are also in the middle of a pile of dog crap. Not the ideal place for such beautiful creatures.

 

 

This picture reminds me of most Christians. Myself included. We have such a beautiful, wonderful story of grace. We can share Christ's love and beauty, and make others smile. We can lead unbelievers to Christ. But instead, we chose to confuse them. We chose the pile of crap. Fleeting pleasure. Contradictory to everything a true son or daughter of Christ should chose.

 

Despite this obvious truth, thanks be to God we also know that, "All have sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standard." Romans 3:23. So we are not alone. And there is always grace, if only we will confess our sins and turn away from them. "People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy." Proverbs 28:13 

 

So this week, as I go about my day to day life, I hope to be reminded of these beautiful creatures, playing around in filth. To be reminded that the pile of crap is no longer my identity. My identity is in Christ. His characteristics mine. And I pray that I flitter to the flower instead, to make someone smile instead of confusing them.

 

 

"So to grace, how great a debtor,
Daily I'm constrained to be.
And let Thy goodness like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it.
Seal it for Thy courts above."