Autumn Inspirations

Although there's still a few more weeks of Autumn left, it doesn't feel that way. All the dew-covered leaves in the photos above have been blown away in the cold, wet, winter-y weather we've had for the last few days. I guess, if the old leaves are never lost new ones can never regrow... But, I seem to be waxing poetic here, so without further ado, here are a few things I've been enjoying this autumn:

Psalm 34. There are so many promises in this psalm. The whole thing is good, but here are a few of the verses that stood out to me:

O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. Psalm 34:9-10

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. Psalm 34:19 

The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate. Psalm 34:22

This paragraph from Tuesdays With Morrie (page 159):“It is 1979, a basketball game in the Brandeis gym. The team is doing well, and the student section begins a chant, “We're number one! We're number one!” Morrie is sitting nearby. He is puzzled by the cheer. At one point, in the midst of, “We're number one!” he rises and yells, “What's wrong with being number two?” (By the way that whole book is full of good stuff, little wisdoms on life and death, and the living in between.)

This proverb that appeared on my sister's perpetual calendar: “No man has ever injured his eyesight by looking on the bright side of things.” 

These bookish photos. I really like books, as is obvious, and seeing them stacked up in these photos is just really good. Especially because so many of them have old or unique covers. 

This post. I only recently discovered this blog, but this post got me. It's so true, and it was a definite reminder not to use those letters to keep us from the work God has out there for us.

I came across this 'thing' called newspaper blackout. It seems it was invented by Austin Kleon, an author who has several interesting bestselling books out (most of which are on my to-read list). I guess it's a form of poetry, and I really like it - the idea and the results, both visually and because of the words. (I'm terrible at explaining how things work, so just check it out on the website.) We happened to have a newspaper laying around, so I tried it. It was somewhat easier than I thought, and it was definitely fun to take a bunch of boring meaningless words and turn them into something entirely different.

Well, postcrossing. Have you ever heard of it? It's only new to me, or rather I'm only new to it - I've been a member for six days. :D What it's all about from their website:"The goal of this project is to allow people to receive postcards from all over the world, for free. Well, almost free! The main idea is that: if you send a postcard, you will receive one back from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world. Why? Because, like the founder, there are lots of people who like to receive real mail. The element of surprise of receiving postcards from different places in the world (many of which you probably have never heard of) can turn your mailbox into a box of surprises - and who wouldn't like that?" It is a fairly big thing, as since its beginning in 2005, over twenty-nine million postcards have been received.

I've sent one postcard so far, and I'm looking forward to sending many more, as well as receiving some. For me, it's not only about getting new and exciting mail from all over the world, I also see it as a witnessing opportunity, a chance to make this world a better place. It is somewhat limited, as the recipients of the postcards are many and have varied beliefs, and I don't want to offend anyone, but I'm still hoping to use it as a tool to tell others that they matter, and life is worth living because of Jesus.

 And I guess that's about it! Seems there should be a song listed above, but I don't have a current favourite song at the moment... So, what has inspired you this Autumn?