Tonight we're listening to blue grass music. It's the perfect background music for writing this post.
Yesterday Luke and I went apple picking with our friends, Jordan and Valerie. There are two things that feel like a fresh breath of air to me--friends and being outside. Yesterday I got both. We drove about an hour out into Maryland, which is surprisingly rural and hilly. It was gorgeous. The skies were cloudy, which made the golds of the trees stand out more. And we headed out with some hot cider just in time to drive home in a chilly drizzle. We went back to Jordan and Valerie's apartment to beef stew and made apple salad, apple cake and biscuits with (store bought) apple butter. We watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (our Halloween tradition), The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (their Halloween tradition) and Shaun of the Dead (because we weren't ready to part ways quite yet). It was really a splendid day.
For me, there is nothing more relaxing and comforting to be known by people. To be able to have an afternoon with friends who know me enough so that I don't have to explain myself over and over again. I think that is one thing that I miss about Chapel Hill and my family. I was thinking about 1 Corinthians 13 today and how the end of it always baffles me. But there is this part that says that we are fully known by God. And that is extremely comforting to me now, for some reason. I was reminded this Halloween that last Halloween we were with our dear friends Liz and Amanda from Chapel Hill. This year we were with our friends Jordan and Valerie from DC. Maybe we are growing to be more a part of this place.
As we were carving our pumpkin on Friday night Luke and I were talking about where we were last year and where we are this year. Last year when we were carving our pumpkin we were struggling to figure out how we were going to pay rent, eat and survive. We were frustrated because we hadn't found a church or any resemblance of a community. I was battling nightmares about human trafficking. We had not idea what God had in store. But that week Luke got his job and we found Washington International Church (where we go to church now). This year we're still trying to figure out where God wants us. We got turned down from an apartment where we wanted to live. Our car has had a rough couple of months. And who really knows what's going on with my body. But Luke made the observation that maybe carving a pumpkin for us should be like our rainbow. A reminder that God is good and He knows what He has in store for us, even if we feel confused, lost and broken and a time to reflect on where God has brought us and the promises that He has kept. Because it is pretty incredible to see what He has brought us though, even though sometimes it's easier for that to get clouded by what we're struggling with now.
Anyway, I didn't mean to get all caught up in wandering thoughts. I really just wanted to share some pictures with you from apple picking yesterday!
Happy November, everyone!
Yesterday Luke and I went apple picking with our friends, Jordan and Valerie. There are two things that feel like a fresh breath of air to me--friends and being outside. Yesterday I got both. We drove about an hour out into Maryland, which is surprisingly rural and hilly. It was gorgeous. The skies were cloudy, which made the golds of the trees stand out more. And we headed out with some hot cider just in time to drive home in a chilly drizzle. We went back to Jordan and Valerie's apartment to beef stew and made apple salad, apple cake and biscuits with (store bought) apple butter. We watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (our Halloween tradition), The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (their Halloween tradition) and Shaun of the Dead (because we weren't ready to part ways quite yet). It was really a splendid day.
For me, there is nothing more relaxing and comforting to be known by people. To be able to have an afternoon with friends who know me enough so that I don't have to explain myself over and over again. I think that is one thing that I miss about Chapel Hill and my family. I was thinking about 1 Corinthians 13 today and how the end of it always baffles me. But there is this part that says that we are fully known by God. And that is extremely comforting to me now, for some reason. I was reminded this Halloween that last Halloween we were with our dear friends Liz and Amanda from Chapel Hill. This year we were with our friends Jordan and Valerie from DC. Maybe we are growing to be more a part of this place.
As we were carving our pumpkin on Friday night Luke and I were talking about where we were last year and where we are this year. Last year when we were carving our pumpkin we were struggling to figure out how we were going to pay rent, eat and survive. We were frustrated because we hadn't found a church or any resemblance of a community. I was battling nightmares about human trafficking. We had not idea what God had in store. But that week Luke got his job and we found Washington International Church (where we go to church now). This year we're still trying to figure out where God wants us. We got turned down from an apartment where we wanted to live. Our car has had a rough couple of months. And who really knows what's going on with my body. But Luke made the observation that maybe carving a pumpkin for us should be like our rainbow. A reminder that God is good and He knows what He has in store for us, even if we feel confused, lost and broken and a time to reflect on where God has brought us and the promises that He has kept. Because it is pretty incredible to see what He has brought us though, even though sometimes it's easier for that to get clouded by what we're struggling with now.
Anyway, I didn't mean to get all caught up in wandering thoughts. I really just wanted to share some pictures with you from apple picking yesterday!
Happy November, everyone!
_______________________________
Heading into the orchard.
Pink Lady apples, which were little...more like Pink Girls.
A big ol' Granny Smith apple.
Yum, lots and lots of apples!
And a pumpkin patch!
And we took a hay ride! I love hay rides...
Over the river...
...And through the woods...
....to Betsy Ross we go? They had all of these historical pumpkin people like Betsy Ross, Paul Revere, George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.
Golden leaves and green grass make for a perfect hay ride view.
Getting ready for a picture. I can't remember what we were laughing at here...
I promise, we did not coordinate our colors on purpose...
Luke looking at the goats and remembering where he came from.
They were enjoying this popcorn.
Making apple salad!
The essential tool for making apple-y goodness.
It peels and cores it! Plus the apple comes out looking like an apple-slinky. Could it get any better than an apple-slinky? I'll leave you with that thought.
_______________________________
Heading into the orchard.
Pink Lady apples, which were little...more like Pink Girls.
A big ol' Granny Smith apple.
Yum, lots and lots of apples!
And a pumpkin patch!
And we took a hay ride! I love hay rides...
Over the river...
...And through the woods...
....to Betsy Ross we go? They had all of these historical pumpkin people like Betsy Ross, Paul Revere, George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.
Golden leaves and green grass make for a perfect hay ride view.
Getting ready for a picture. I can't remember what we were laughing at here...
I promise, we did not coordinate our colors on purpose...
Luke looking at the goats and remembering where he came from.
They were enjoying this popcorn.
Making apple salad!
The essential tool for making apple-y goodness.
It peels and cores it! Plus the apple comes out looking like an apple-slinky. Could it get any better than an apple-slinky? I'll leave you with that thought. _______________________________
*PS. The title of this post is written in the style of the movie The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, which is a faux 1950's horror flick. It's wonderful and everyone should watch it.
1 comments:
Honey,
I loved experiencing your day at the orchard! Love, Dad
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