There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die… 

(Eccl. 3:1-2a (NIV)

Hello, God!

So good to see You

In the colors all around—

Foliage decked in fall’s most brilliant finery.

Late blooming flowers, bedazzled in oranges, golds, and greens.

And the sunset, earth’s daytime orb slipping behind scenery marked with seasonal jewels—

Harvest bales,

Gourds and pumpkins in their patch, 

Evergreens with limbs held in worship. 

How good You are, Father.

Thank You, thank You, for autumn!

Hello, God!

So good to hear You

In the sounds which surround us—

The crunch, crunch of crisp leaves scattered on the ground.

The call of Canada geese flying southward, 

Holding one another accountable.

And the melody of songbirds who stay, waiting for winter’s turn—

Their lyric simple,

Preparing a pageant

To welcome a Babe.

How precious You are, Jesus.

Thank You, thank You, for autumn.

Hello, God!

So good to feel you

In sensations which envelope us—

The hug from that favorite homemade sweater.

The warmth of spiced latte held between hands.

The heat from fire crackling before us—

Burning ‘til only embers

Flicker life, then gone,

And death.

How sweet You are, Holy Spirit.

Thank you, thank You, for autumn—

Which soon becomes winter,

Then awakens to spring,

And will again arise summer—

As time and seasons turn.

Amen.

Heavenly Father, thank You for autumn—truly a time to see You, hear You, feel You. Indeed, You’re all around, evident in the created world. Please use this season—use each season—to prepare us for all the future holds. Our times are in Your hands. So be it.

Bio—Maureen Miller (Word Weavers Maggie Valley) is an award-winning author who writes for her local newspaper, has contributed to numerous  collaboratives, and is a featured blogger for several online devotional websites. She loves life in all its forms, enjoying it with her husband of 34 years on Selah Farm, their hobby homestead in western North Carolina. She blogs at www.penningpansies.com, sharing God’s extraordinary character in the ordinary things of life, and she’s finishing her first novel.

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

Psalms 91:4 (NIV)

The temperatures are lowering. A brisk wind reaches down and gathers gold, orange, and brown leaves from the ground. Those leaves dance in the air until finding a new spot on the rooftops of homes and cars. Some land on the browning grass. Autumn is arriving.

The sounds are different in autumn. School bus engines alert neighborhoods to the beginning and end of the school day. Plastic pools are put away for next summer. Sweaters and jackets have been retrieved from bins in closets. Daylight is growing shorter. Autumn is changing the world.

We wake to cooler mornings and reach to find covers on the bed. We rise to search for bedroom slippers or socks to warm cold feet. We look for warm clothing to cover chilly bodies. Autumn brings new choices and opportunities.

As we find ways to cover family, friends, strangers, and ourselves with warmth, there is peace and comfort found in knowing God’s love covers every season. Through simple and profound moments, God is speaking. When we pause and listen for His message, we can rest in the love of God and His promises.

How have you experienced the covers of God’s love?

Dear God, thank You for covering us with Your love and mercy. In autumn and always, we give thanks to You. Amen.

Award-winning author Melissa Henderson writes inspirational messages sometimes laced with a bit of humor. Melissa is the author of “Licky the Lizard” and “Grumpy the Gator” and many stories, devotions, and articles. 

Her passions are helping in the community and church. Melissa is an Elder, Deacon and Stephen Minister. Follow Melissa on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, Bookbub, Youtube, Linkedin, and at http://www.melissaghenderson.com 
 

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! 

Psalm 34:8 ESV

Even though the current age has coined the phrase “fast food,” feeding the body has always been lots of work. It doesn’t just happen. My father grew wheat, barley, and canola on a large farm in Alberta, Canada. These grains are all represented at my favorite fast-food restaurant, yet the growing of these grains is anything but fast. In order for me to enjoy a hamburger, fries, and a chocolate malt, there has to be a farmer somewhere who is spending his life growing the raw materials. He prepares the land, plants, fertilizes, cuts, harvests, stores, and sells the grain, all the while depending on God’s provision of sunshine and rain. Then the wheat becomes flour, the barley becomes malt, and the canola becomes oil . . .  everything I need for a hamburger, malt, and French fries. 

The point is, “fast food” is not fast nor are the ingredients easily obtained. It takes work to make a meal. God, in his wisdom, knew that civilization would be stabilized by the pairing of food and work. The need for food would give us purpose; the eating of food would give us community. 

Is it any wonder, then, that God uses our need for nourishment and our need for work to help us understand the gospel? We are hungry; taste Jesus. We are thirsty; drink Jesus. The real kicker, however, is that we don’t work for this food. We are simply invited to, “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” We are invited to sup at the sacramental table, recognizing that God, through Jesus, did all the work needed to supply this banquet of love. Jesus came, eating and drinking, knowing that he himself was the fulfillment of our hunger and thirst. 

Was there ever a more gracious invitation given? We, whose souls are insatiably hungry and thirsty and cannot find nourishment from the food the world has to offer, are invited to taste  Jesus—to dine gratis on his goodness. His food, given to us lavishly, hospitably, and willingly is savory, sweet, and bountiful. We are invited to feel pleasure, to be satisfied, to be FULL! 

And for all of this we say, “Dear Jesus, thank you for this food and for the hands that have prepared it. Bless it to the nourishment of our bodies. Amen.”

Norma Jean Bennett serves Word Weavers as the Word Weavers Ventura County (California) president.