I love Autumn!

Happy Autumn! Living in Michigan, we enjoy a beautiful autumn here and I am looking forward to seeing the leaves turn brilliant in color! Raking them is a pain, but I bought a small leaf blower at a garage sale this summer, so that'll help. I still like to press the most interesting ones and sometimes frame them.

We put in our last day as paper carriers last Thursday. Getting up at 3am was rather disruptive to a "normal" home schooling schedule, so we gave The Sentinel one month notice and we are officially 'done'. The route managers know that I'm open to subbing routes when they might need it and they promised to give me the weekend off before they started calling me to sub. (Ha Ha!) Well, the call came this morning at 5am. The person who took over our old route suddenly quit - after one weekend. So we are running the wholesale route for the next couple of days.... but this time we're getting paid double what we used to. Ahhh.. the pay of a last-minute sub!

Chris has accepted a full time position at 1st Jenison CRC, near Grand Rapids and he begins in October, which is also when his gig at the Dutch Village comes to an end. God is perfect in His timing. The position at Jenison is Music/Evangelism/Youth. As far as I can determine, the three part-time jobs were combined and came just short of full time status, but things were arranged in order to create a full time position with medical benefits. This all is only guaranteed through this December... the congregation will have to vote on a permanent position in November.

So we are appreciative of the full time job with medical, but we can only count on it through December. Of course, in the big picture, we can ALWAYS count on God supplying our every need.

We have not yet found a housing solution and are currently looking for that. (Thanks for praying!)

Home schooling is going well, and I am enjoying my work as a Private Duty Care Giver and Resident Aide at Royal Atrium Assisted Living - part time, evenings and some nights.

I withdrew from the Holland Chorale after only a couple of weeks. After I passed the audition and was extended membership, I felt that perhaps I should not do it - probably the Holy Spirit's nudging. I let the conductor talk me into joining the group and during the first rehearsal-camp-weekend, I knew it was not the right place for me. It's a fine organization with some very talented musicians... but the room seemed to 'drip' with 'ego' - close to eighty musicians - and it all felt like music for performance sake, rather than existing to honor God. It's just not right for me at this point in my life. I've been there, done that 'performance' thing and nothing fulfills me like giving myself to psalms, hymns and spiritual songs that honor the Lord Jesus and put HIM in the spotlight. So, I'm no longer a member of the Holland Chorale and it feels like my priorities are in line with what God would have me do right now.

This past weekend, we picked our first apples of the season at our favorite orchard. Just a half bushel for eating... we'll pick some for applesauce and more for eating (Fujis!) later in October. But it's an autumn thing... apple picking. The boys were thrilled when I made the first carmel apples of the season.

So as the leaves get ready to turn and this season of 'change' has begun, so is our life entering another season of change. With God, it's all good!