fall feels

Hello Lovelies,

How is fall shaping up for you so far? I hope your weather is becoming crisp and the smell of apples and hay is blowing your way. We are not quite there yet here in Tenn. but I feel it coming. One of my favorite parts of the transition to fall is opening the windows and it is happening! That smell of a fall afternoon breeze blowing in as the afternoons grow shorter remind me of elementary school and the living room windows open.

It was my birthday August 29, so good times celebrating with cake and pink decorations! My cake did not exactly turn out how I had hope but it still tasted great! The little party in the kitchen was good enough!

I have finished writing 13 weeks of curriculum for Bible Studies for Life, the preteen study from LifeWay. I had fun writing it and getting to know the baristas and clients at my local coffee shop since I frequented their establishment several times a week over the past few months. It has been challenging to balance it with homeschool, six kids, counseling, ballet, laundry, meals, groceries, and all of that, but such a privilege. I pray the leaders find it easy to read, teach, and the activities and games make a difference in the lives of preteens. If you have a preteen or work with preteens, investigate this for yourself. The writers on this team are amazing and every lesson is fun and engaging while sharing the Truth in colorful, active ways. Love this. I use some with my own kids at home.

I love the old pencil and paper, so here is a before and after!

The Priscilla Schirer Going Beyond simulcast was this Saturday, so I planned for the girls and I to catch a little of her teaching. We made French Onion soup for lunch, which felt perfect since the weather was a bit overcast and cool enough to open the windows.

The girls have The Nutcracker rehearsal every weekend, so it was broken up by bun-fixing and rehearsals, but we caught a few minutes.

Don’t let the pictures fool you, though. I find myself wondering why my life does not look the perfect pictures I see on social media so I must retrain my brain to understand that sometimes I am jealous of life that is not even real. So, it was not was idyllic as I had pictured. Deacon did ask for his Bible, but Knew was crawling everywhere trying to get to the pens and markers on the floor. Raegan is four and had her Bible out, but of course, that last about four seconds before she moved on to something else. I was getting a little frustrated because I wanted to hear the teaching and I had my Bible out but did not even know what book she was in when I finally had a second to listen. I am a planner and I do not like for my plans to be thwarted. I realized though, that God can still speak to me and the hearts of my children despite arguing over whose marker is who and whether someone can borrow the pen, and a crawler all over the place, and wallowing all over the floor. He is perfectly capable of speaking louder than the noise of life. There is my lesson for myself. God’s plans are never thwarted.

I know you can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

Job 42:2

In the midst of your own beautiful mess, step outside, face the sunshine, breathe in the fresh air, step barefoot in the grass, and remember that the best days end in dirt.

Love,

Charis

Pic(k) of the week:

I spared the details of this horror for the photo, but while I was trying to help the girls get lunch out, Deacon was doing his business in the bathroom. When I went back to check after only a “moment” IT was everywhere - and you know what I mean. I brought out the big guns - bleach - and had a party. This is the face of the culprit. Real life.

What We're Loving:

If you love relatable Bible studies based on age, check out Bible Studies for Life for babies, kids, preteens, teens, and adults. You can find more info here.

Chilly weather is coming and with it comes dry hands and lips! The lip balm that has worked so well over the past few years is from Bare Minerals and can be found here. It has been a great item to keep around all season!