Fall Afresh On Me

Fall Decor At Our Tennessee Home

I apologize in advance for this crazy and loaded blog post. I tried blogging about one topic and then it just exploded. So, enjoy!

Fall Afresh? What does that mean? It happens to be the lyric of one of my favorite songs lately. If you haven't heard of Bethel Music or Jeremy Riddle, here's a song that just might bless you. I love the lyrics! "Spirit of the living God, come fall afresh on me, come wake me from my sleep. Burn through the caverns of my soul, pour in me to overflow." That is my prayer!! I grew up singing hymns mostly so I knew this song came from this hymn, just in case you were unaware! I've been thinking a lot about seasons, particularly fall since it's my first fall away from home. This song just so happens to have the word fall in it so I just had to share it with you!

I'm so thankful for the meaningful relationships we had in Tennessee. One special lady even surprised me just yesterday by stopping by my house! This is Miranda and her daughter Lillian...

She came all the way from Tennessee on her way to a cruise! We just hugged and criiiiied! Miranda and I met in the fall of 2006 I believe and we became instant friends! I remember thinking that she was so beautiful, friendly, and energetic! I mean, do you see that beautiful face? She has spoken so much grace and truth into my life and has been there for me through some difficult break ups, tough college papers, and the highs and lows of marriage and parenting! She is a strong, bold, loving, and beautiful woman of God! She knows God's promises and reminds me of them often! What I love most about our friendship is that we always seem to connect on a soul level. That sounds weird but girls, you know what I mean. Connecting over honest conversation where you just enjoy being known. Such a blessing to have that kind of community. I think of all the birthday cakes we've shared, walks around the Murfreesboro square during the most colorful fall seasons, many cups of mostly iced coffee at Starbucks, shopping together, dressing up to go to Nashville and look pretty over spaghetti, making friendship bread, watching the guys play frisbee, pranking the guy's apartment (we weren't too mean), listening to live music over fine food, dressing up for Halloween, and my favorite girl talks. I think that Miranda is the best listener I've ever met! She really cares and desperately wants to connect and share life with such honesty. I am so blessed to have a friend like her! I even remember when she surprised me by coming to hear me sing on Christmas Eve at my church in Knoxville. Oh, the tears are falling! How I wish we lived closer! I can't contain the joy in my heart when I think about her, she's just so special to me!

We are homesick...

You could say there will always be a little piece of my heart in Tennessee! There's nothing like getting out your winter clothes, feeling the cool air across your face, your cheeks turning red, your fingers inside gloves, or the smell of a fire in your fireplace. We haven't seen one fireplace here in Florida; I'm not sure what these people tell their children about Santa! I'm not worried about it because we probably won't talk to Jude about Santa anyways! However, my heart is very torn this fall. I genuinely miss my family and friends and how the seasons bring us together in unique ways. In the fall, you gather around a fire, you snuggle more, you drink hot drinks without getting hot, and you don't know what you have until you no longer have fall weather. I talked to my family on the phone this week and their reports of thirty degree weather, vegetable soup, and snow just made me weeeep! Haha!

But, it's all fading.

Everything on this earth is fading except what we do for the glory of God! Let the walls fall down!

God has been so patient with me lately. He's been breaking down so many walls in my heart this year. Walls that I built myself and walls that I didn't know existed. There were and still are so many things that get in the way of me offering my whole heart to God. Fully trusting him. He even tells us in Jeremiah 29:14 that "You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all of your heart!" All of it! For example, I had to surrender my physical body to him while I was pregnant with Jude. While I was pregnant, I felt the Lord showing me in new ways that my body is not my own! I was very afraid of giving birth, what complications could occur, and losing the dreaded baby weight (it's gone by the way and even some extra pounds, yeaaaah!). I had to sacrifice what I thought was mine and trust that God would take care of me! After all, it's not my body, it's not about me! These verses spoke truth into my worries.

1 Corinthains 6:19-20 reminds us; "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Also, Romans 12:1-3: " I appeal to you brothers in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, by be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may determine what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable, and perfect.

Then, when I lost my job after the death of my boss and his wife, again the Lord was showing me that I have to TRUST HIM with everything! I have to trust him with the money he has given me, with the talents he has give me, and with the time he has given me. We do not know what tomorrow brings but God is always with us!

Isaiah 43 tells us: "But now says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who fomed you, O Israel; do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overcome you. When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

When we had no income, a house to sell, no place to live in Florida, and no jobs in Florida, God showed me that I can not put my hope in anything but HIM. He is all I need. I was putting my hope in routine, business, material possessions, our home, relationships, music, food, exercise, you name it! Even now, as we live in our comfy home that God has provided, more walls are coming down. I'm learning that I can't put my hope in relationships, in seasons like fall, the city I live in, or the type of church I attend. When I seek after God on my own, all those things fade! He is enough! Who cares if the church I go to doesn't have young families with young children yet? It's about proclaiming the name of Christ and what He has done! The community we have as believers is incredible, no matter what ages and nationalities are represented in the room. To be able to belong to a community of believers where we can have dinner together, encourage one another, serve one another, speak the truth in love, bring each other coupons, babysit for each other, and worship together is a little piece of heaven! Thank you Lord for showing me daily how much I need you. How much I need the Gospel. How much I'll never measure up. How you measure up for me!

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

1 Peter 2:1-5 "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

So, I can look at these pictures and even though it is bittersweet to see winter clothes, colorful leaves, and people I want to hug so badly... I have hope. I have hope because I see what God has done and I see His faithfulness through it all! Praise His name!

As I was pondering this strange new fall season that is so different than any other I've experienced before, I wanted to gather some previous festive posts from Tennessee so that I could remember how pleasant this season was. You can find the matching post with each link under the pictures I took.