It’s the week of Thanksgiving! You may or may not be celebrating; we will be feasting on Saturday, enjoying good food and the company of friends and family. Although we face challenges, which is not uncommon in this life, we have much to give thanks for. May our hearts overflow with gratitude for all of the goodness we experience.
As the trees once again become bare, the sky sometimes flashes into a panorama of color and we glimpse a stark beauty. We have a momentary reprieve from a grey, overcast sky that bears down on us. Our spirit soars as we gasp in wonder and thanks.
May you experience wonder today.
In this painting, it’s a drab winter day in Minneapolis. It’s a bit of a drab day here in London too, so I thought it fitting to share this painting today, especially as Minnesotans have received some snow and are shivering in the cold.
What do you do to brighten the clouds that descend in your life, whether physical or metaphorical?
Recently at the Our Daily Bread writers’ and editors’ conference, I got to lead the prayer sessions. For one of them, while praying we asked God for our words to be “apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11, ESV). My dad kindly painted these golden apples for us to ponder. What does this image speak to you?
More broadly, what does it mean for your words to be like apples of gold in settings of silver?
So much of life comes through imitation. A child learns to speak over many months of listening and eventually responding. Those of us who are writers learn to write by copying our favorite authors at first. Eventually, through enough words on the page, we find our own voice.
So too, I believe but do not know from experience, with other forms of art. My dad produced this painting for one of the classes that he teaches at a senior living center. It’s his take on someone else’s art, but beautiful in its own right. I love the layers of learning that it represents.
What are you learning, or imitating, just now?
I can’t seem to get warm today; it’s definitely autumnal weather here in London this week, with the lashings of rain and cooler temperatures. I noticed on social media how a friend in Suffolk was delighted that she could now turn on the heat, for she loves autumn. I used to, but now I sigh and wonder ifI will freeze in this lovely spacious (and drafty) vicarage all winter.
Still, autumn has its beauty, including the wonder of the trees losing their green and giving way to vibrant yellows, oranges, and red.
What is capturing your attention this week? Is it autumn where you are?
Saturday was the last day of summer in London. Bright sunshine warmed us, and I savored it as much as I could. With the new week on Sunday came the autumnal weather – rain, dreariness, and a definite change in the air. I do mourn the loss of summer as I gear up for more layers and the everpresent scarf around my neck.
So in the meantime, let’s think about autumn/fall with the beauty it can bring. I love this painting of my father’s, which depicts Minneapolis, a city of lakes, in the fall. I feel like I could step right into this picture and inhale deeply, soaking in the sunshine as I gaze over the water.
What does this season mean to you?
I’m still holding onto the last days of summer, with the wonderfully unseasonably warm weather we had yesterday in London. I nearly got burned while working outside! And so for today’s Watercolor Wednesday I give you this delightful painting that my dad created from a photograph I took while on a walk in Southampton (below). It says summer to me.
This is the ancient bridge at Mansbridge, which for centuries was the only road across the River Itchen. We don’t know exactly how old it is, but it’s mentioned as early as 932 AD.
Are you holding onto summer? Longing to see an ancient bridge? Longing for a bridge from where you are to where you want to go? I pray that you’ll find sunshine and warmth and that you’ll be walking the path that brings you life and light.
Eighteen years ago, my husband and I were on holiday in Florida. I hadn’t realized that September was hurricane season, so I was channel surfing inside, watching reruns of ER. As I flipped a channel, I saw what seemed to be out of a horror film – one of the World Trade Centers crashing to the ground. The day was September 11, 2001, a day that will forever be lodged in my mind and heart – and in the minds and hearts of others.
Where were you? How do you remember?
We arrived home today from a wonderful time in Minnesota, seeing family and friends. And I went to the Minnesota State Fair a record three times! Somehow I managed not to eat too much fried food on a stick, but did indulge in the olives with cream cheese, battered and deep fried with a ranch dipping sauce!
The Fair had record attendance this year, and I’m not surprised as the weather was amazing – sunny and not too hot. The kids love this very American expression of the end of summer, with its agricultural beginnings.
I bought a postcard at the Fair with a design similar to the one above. I gave it to my dad and asked if he could recreate it in his own style, which he did and gave to me as an early Christmas present after just two days! I think it’s grand and look forward to finding some wall space for it.
Do you like the experience of a state or county fair? Or an English fayre?