Wednesday, October 7, 2009

God's Own Country

But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.

I remember reading Deuteronomy 11:11-12 as a child. I scrutinized the photos of Israel in my Children's Bible, thinking there must be some mistake. These verses couldn't possibly be referring to the hot, dry, dusty looking place I saw in the pictures. No. The Promised Land must be right here, where I live.

See for yourselves...


Kerry took the boys hiking today with some friends from church.

Hans and little Kai.



Picking late blueberries and throwing snowballs!
Gunnar, Tate, Wyatt, Per, and Luke.




A little bit of fresh snow lingering in the shadows...



Gray Jays, or "Camp Robbers", will happily share your lunch...
sometimes right out of your hand.



Trying to lure them in...



Success!



Lunch with a view.



The whole group -
Rafe, Gunnar, Hans and Per
Stuart, Kai, Luke, Tate and Wylin
Wyatt and Kerry



So, while they were off having a Field Trip (two in one week!) I was busy at home.

At this very moment, (and I'm enjoying it, because it may not last long), I'm sitting in an orderly and presentable office.

And downstairs, in the living room and dining room, I have fall decorations out... pumpkins, gourds, chickens (it works, trust me), Indian corn, fancy lights that look like little lanterns, and pictures. I always put out lots of family-and-friends pictures around Thanksgiving... because I'm thankful for them.

And candles. Oh, I love candles.

So I can sit in my living room, admire the beauty inside and out, smell that rich pumpkin spice candle, and it's good.

I'll try to organize myself to get some pictures, especially now, with the leaves on the dogwood tree looking bright red, right out my dining room window.

6 comments:

Ruby said...

Wow! Those scenes are magnificent!
Mind you, we have hot, dry and dusty and still see the beauty, but green and water is always sooooo refreshing.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Every place has its own beauty, doesn't it Ruby?

I love the pics on your blog - like your old-time houses :0)

Julie

The dB family said...

Julie, that is absolutely beautiful!! What a magnificent area you live in (maybe we should do a house swap. You can admire the flatlands and we'll admire the mountains):o). Regardless, God has put His beauty everywhere!

The description of your decorating for Thanksgiving sounds wonderful too. I love that you put out lots of pictures of friends and family. Our Thankgsgiving is this weekend!! I can hardly believe it! I think ours is always too early and yours is always too late. It should be the end of Oct beginning of Nov.:o).

Blessings!
Deborah

leah said...

What gorgeous pictures. Friends sometimes ask me what I miss the most about California, assuming I will say the beaches or the sun. While I miss those, the thing I miss the most is the mountains. Those sweeping, majestic views and pine trees and the wildlife...

Every place has its beauty, but you definitely live in a gorgeous location!

Cutzi said...

It brings me such joy to see these pictures! Fellowship is good. Love it.

And I want to see pictures of your decorated house! ;-)

Jena Webber said...

I need to figure out where you live so my boys can go hiking with you guys. . and the girls too!

What fun!