It's moments like these that are completely priceless...

I'm wondering why is God so gracious to me.

Grace.
Finds beauty in everything.
She carries the world on her hips.

Although I love the summer and should have been born in Hawaii or some other tropical isle, this is always my favorite time of year. In Ecclesiastes chapter three, Solomon expresses but first wrestled with the character revealing principle, (that is, God’s character):
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

Ah yes, every activity under heaven, even those of the less spiritual nature. God must have known about this special season when football would be well under way, hockey season would just be starting, the game of basketball would be in hibernation and the World Series would be on the foreground of our hearts. There are lots of good memories of baseball seasons gone by, some good and, well, some not so good for many devoted fans. What I mean is this: who could ever forget Bill Buckner’s flub of a ground ball in 6th game of the series to keep the “curse of the Bambino” alive for the “Red Sox’s? Or remember the 1969 New York Mets? They were the team that was dubbed the “Amazing Mets.”

The 1969 season in baseball opened as a year of change with 4 new teams entering the league. This led to splitting the NL and AL into two divisions. To add more confusion, Mickey Mantle was retiring. In the midst of this mayhem one thing was a constant, the Mets. Since entering the league in 1962, they never finished higher than 9th in the NL. As the season progressed, the mind set of the fans were “same old same old.” Or “we’ve been here before, nothing will ever change”.

Finally however, mid-September cooked up a new recipe and something new happened. The Mets rallied together, ignored the stale thoughts of hopeless viewers, got their game-plan on, and found themselves standing front in line! After their tremendous win against the Atlanta Braves who were led by the legends Hank Aaron and Phil Neikro, they soared into the World Series. The Mets’ “Cinderella” season did not end in vain or at the stroke of twelve in rags at the side of the road. Victory was withstanding as The Mets overtook the Baltimore Orioles in five games to capture the Major League title and to be distinguished as the “Amazing Mets.”

Well, enough of walking down memory lane. But just as with the “69” Mets in which only rabid New York fans can name names, so it is in the kingdom of heaven. Our talent is nothing, even unremarkable until we are faced with God's perfect timing. When we have “our minds set on things above,” it does not take an extravagant gift for God to use it in an extravagant way.

This takes me to the real reason why this is my favorite time of year...it is the season of multicolored surroundings, brisk fall air, and awesome starry nights. Yes, it is that time of year again, a time when the leaves cover the ground rather than up in the branches above, their job becomes protector, the ground from frost, and then as it decomposes it becomes provider, as fertilization for the soil...the contemplative take these things to heart...

and it is a time to search the heart of Our Protector and Provider.

Is it possible that your year will turn around as it did for the Mets; that somehow you will conquer every foe as David did over Goliath? I don't know. But hopefully the story of the Mets will encourage each one of us to “only let us live up to what we have already attained,” (Philippians 3:16). Knowing that to live is Christ. By setting our minds on things above we learn to live in unity and are encouraged by fellowship with one another. We are not living in self-ambition but are being joyful in hope by having a singleness of purpose to see Christ glorified in our own life, a divine overflowing into our family and church.

Be encouraged us to keep “pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.” That prize is walking in maturity, having an understanding heart, and to have a fulfilling relationship with our God.

-Poppa C & Co.

Hobbes has the right idea.
Is it good...
or scary when life becomes clearer through a comic strip?

GOING ORGANIC

...why???

1. Tastes better.

2. Better for your body and family
-less pesticides, chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, health hazards, etc. and
-actually MORE vitamins, minerals and health benefits!

3. Promotes farming practices that encourage ecological harmony and environmental responsibility.

http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/healthy101.htm