Porch #59 * Leaning Forward

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Hello, I'm so glad you're keeping me company again this weekend.  

If you're like me you like to keep your inbox next-to-empty, so I always hope that PORCH's weekly arrival will be of some value to you.  If you leave here a bit calmer, refreshed, or somehow strengthened, praise be to the One who specializes in joining our hearts closer to each other ... and to Himself.

Lean forward into your life.  

Begin each day as it were on purpose.

- Radmacher -

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I don't know about you, but I've been through lots of transitions that I never want to experience again.  But autumn's gentle rhythm, its compelling rhyme, its steadying cadence, its awaiting invitations?

There are the transitions that breathe fresh life, that kick off brand-new routines, that open doors to long dreamed of opportunities that wait around the next corner.  These are the graces that let you know that the earth keeps spinning, that life goes on, that all will be well.

We're experiencing it here, now.  It starts when we awake.  Instead of throwing off the covers, we reach to pull them up closer and linger in the cozy overnight cocoon we've created for ourselves ... even as we vow to dig those gently fraying flannel sheets out of the back of the closet and get them tucked over and on to the awaiting mattress.

We start our days by donning the worn, warm robe and wonderfully fleecy socks instead of a tee-shirt and shorts.  And when we stumble to the kitchen, we grab a favorite mug and brew a 'hot cuppa,' rather than reach for a glass to fill with icy cold juice.

As we prepare for the day, we hear the engines of school buses passing by instead of the fan's endless whirring or the air conditioner's incessant hum.  We leave the oven door open after pulling the golden blueberry muffins out, just to get a bit more warm air in the room.  And when we head out the door, we grab a scarf or a sweatshirt, just in case.

We dig out the crockpot instead of lighting up the grill.  Candlelight emerges once again, starting at suppertime and soothing us with its warm glow and gentle fragrance as the coolness of evening descends and another day comes to a close.

And as we chat back and forth, catching up with the day's details, we realize that our nightcaps have morphed from ice cream sundaes into steaming mugs of hot cocoa with whipped cream on top ... as we hunker under an old quilt or two.  

I'm leaning right into it all.

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Who We Follow
Erin Loechner
'Your college mentor is in a red bikini on the coast of Santorini. Your hairdresser’s kids are at the baseball diamond. Your friend’s daughter is at a party with a Solo cup ...'

Healing Traumas of Omission
Brian Morykon
'if there is insecurity, unworthiness, or shame welling up inside, a little boy crying out to be safe and known and loved, this is not something that needs to be killed but needs to be healed ...' 

5 Ways I'm Choosing To Embrace Fall (In Spite of Myself)
Andrea Debbink
'I’ve always lived in a land of long winters. I know that after pumpkin-flavored-everything time, it will get cold and dark. It’s hard to be wistful about “sweater weather” when it lasts for seven months ...'

click here to peruse three new-to-me Study Bibles from Zondervan ... at crazy low prices

life as a low energy person - not leaving my cottage for a week
an exquisite video 

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1. Oh, how sweet to walk
   in this pilgrim way,
2. Leaning on the everlasting arms;
   
   
   Oh, how bright the path
   grows from day to day,
   
   Leaning on the everlasting arms.
   - Elisha Hoffman -
   1887

From my heart to yours ~
Linda

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