This July at The IN SEASON Lifestyle Community was so typical of the usual summer time slow-downs; you know what I mean; those times when you are feeling content and well-loved and happy.
Everything just slid into that slow-motion mode of summer at our place. The main subject was definitely “fun in the sun.”
JULY HAS WAVED GOODBYE
The grandkids were the main focus at our house in July. July 4th was a big blast with them! We have shared and re-shared a lot of our activities together; hoping it might spark some good suggestions and ideas for our readers.
There have been visits to the zoo and McWane Center which we featured. in articles that can be reviewed here: VISITING THE BIRMINGHAM ZOO – SUMMER FUN FOR KIDS SERIES – OH THE PLACES WE SHOULD GO VISITING MCWANE CENTER – SUMMER FUN FOR KIDS SERIES – OH THE PLACES WE SHOULD GO We hope you enjoyed sharing our adventures!
There were also those mid-summer trips to the Alabama Outdoor Markets which we shared with you too; ENJOYING THE ALABAMA OUTDOOR MARKETS – OH THE PLACES WE SHOULD GO and I expressed myself a bit by explaining to you why “seasons” are so important to us; SEASONS – WHY PLACE SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON SEASONS?
At one point during July our house took on a “beach” vibe; and it came out and spilled over in an article or two. BRINGING THE BEACH INSIDE – THE HOUSE DOCTOR – SETTING SEASONAL STYLES IN DECORATING (FROM A SERIES OF BEACH-HOUSE DECOR)
I would love to hear from all of you about this, THE HOUSE DOCTOR, article to find out if you were actually inspired to give your home a summer, beachy decor; OR if you were just inspired to leave all the decorating and head straight for the beach! Either way would make me feel successful in the “inspirational” article category!
The “vacation” mood continued on in our OH THE PLACES WE SHOULD GO section with our article about Wilmington and its beaches. VISITING WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA .
Looking back at all of the July fun; we watched fireworks, had picnics in the sun, went swimming, played in the yard, enjoyed some camping experiences and made ice cream. Even with all of this fun; I have to say our worship time was the most amazing of all.
God is so good to us.
I love the things He is showing us in the COME AS A CHILD THURSDAY BIBLE STUDIES. The subjects (we follow the path of the scriptures one after another, verse by verse) appeared on the surface so boring; but when we begin to dig deeper the gold appeared in every lesson.
If you missed any of those lessons; you can catch up by clicking here: WHEN LEPERS ARE HEALED – COME AS A CHILD – LESSON 220 DISOBEDIENCE; THE REAL PROBLEM OF MOLD – COME AS A CHILD – LESSON 2 21 FROM UGLY MOLD TO BEAUTIFUL SCARS – COME AS A CHILD – LESSON 220 , HOW GOD TREATS SKIN DISEASES – COME AS A CHILD – LESSON 219
Much of the time in July was spent just hanging out with friends; I even wrote an article in our AN APPLE A DAY section that included a great interview with one old friend who is most admired for her healthy attitude in life. Thank you again; Suzie Blair for your wise insights into good health for all of us who are over age 50! You were an inspiration to all of us. THE ART OF LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AFTER AGE 50.
We even threw in a few lines of nostalgic poetry from the PEN ART section of the blog: EARLY MORNING MOMENTS OF LIFE – A POEM BY SHEILA GAIL LANDGRAF I hope you enjoyed it!
There is a possibility of another book review coming up in the PEN ART section of the blog in August. I’ll keep you guessing about the title; but I think I might have found a book I totally disagree with. This could lead into a philosophical discussion instead of a book review. The title is amazing; and I thought there would be so much there; so far though – nothing to brag about. I hesitate to give negative reviews; but sometimes it happens.
I stumbled upon this read when I was pondering the connections between mind, body and spirit; which we have studied and we actually published an article on this subject in our AN APPLE A DAY blog section already – but there could be a lot more said on the subject and I am fascinated with the research on this subject in relation to ageing and health. I’m hoping to offer some insightful alternatives to this book that I didn’t agree with. I’ll also explain why I feel the way I do. First I must finish the reading; and I confess it is a hard task! I’m debating whether to finish the book in the first place; but I probably will – since I’m not a quitter. You MAY hear more. Pray for God to guide on this one.
Maybe you saw a few products that we offered in July which you forgot to order. No worries; they are summarized right here for you in our The IN SEASON Lifestyle Community Store for July: Just click the magic blue words;
Happy Shopping!
Final summary of July 2018; it was just plain wonderful!
AUGUST HAS JUST ARRIVED!
Now The IN SEASON Lifestyle is just beginning to focus on August. This is one of my favorite months because there are no obvious seasonal activities; meaning more down-time and relaxation.
What a needed break in the scheduling of life! I often think of August as a Sabbath rest among the other months.
In August we come to the time of Elul on the Hebraic calendar. I love having the extra moments of time to meditate on life during this season. In August you can anticipate a few new articles on the subject of Elul and the “turning” during the days leading up to the Fall Holy Days. We will also talk more about The Days of Awe and God’s Fall Holy Days that are getting closer and closer on the sacred calendar.
August is that “in-between month” which has us trying to squeeze in that last little bit of summer, yet keeps us looking forward to the beginnings of Fall. We still have a lot of summer to talk about!
This month is a lot about being still as we actually slow down enough to get to spend hours just dreaming about Fall and as we spend time making special plans for the soon-coming future events-of-life. We take our time in our planning; and we can still bask in the summer sun.
How is your fall planning shaping up? We love to hear about what is going on with our readers. Feel free to send and share your stories and your photos with our community.
We will soon begin to notice that people are getting ready for school again. There may be a few August articles in relation to that topic. My daughter is going to begin homeschooling; and I am excited about that for our little granddaughter. We may include a few new articles that give the pros and cons of homeschooling for those of you who are still on the fence. There will also be articles about back-to-school in general.
Here at The IN SEASON Lifestyle Community, we are also very busy making plans for our family excursion to The Feast of Tabernacles in September of this year. This is our year to go to the beach! Long ago our family decided we would alternate between the beach one year and the mountains the next. Last year the mountains were beyond wonderful, and I anticipate that our trip to Holden Beach, N.C. for this year will be just as amazing.
The Feast of Tabernacles is always the height of the year for us and this time of planning and preparing really matters.
In the month of August we begin to firm up those plans. I’m sharing information on The Feast of Tabernacles for any who have never participated. Just for the record; we are not affiliated with any specific organization or church when it comes to making our feast plans; so they could be slightly different from your typical church-planned agendas. Unlike many who follow organized guidelines from their local congregations; this is just our family’s way of keeping to God’s schedule of sacred time. We try to follow the scriptures instead of an organization. We trust God to lead us.
Our home is our first and main Sanctuary (that will never change.) Maybe you could call where we are in this present moment “a seasonal sabbatical” from “organized religion.” If that doesn’t roll off your tongue without hesitation; try “honest, sincere, home-based worship.” I want to explore this fact a bit more with some of our articles in the future.
Please don’t misunderstand; we DO attend many of the public services at several of our local church congregations (we hold to no specific denomination but believe the Church is made up of all Holy Spirit filled believers and followers of Jesus Christ.) We join in with local congregations often and we DO enjoy corporate worship very much; though we haven’t pledged our allegiance to any certain local church congregation since my husband retired from the non-denominational pastoral ministry of his last congregation several years ago.
Don’t think we are against public, corporate worship because that would NOT be accurate or true. God encouraged this aspect of life and we know there is a reason for it. We are simply in a sabbatical season of time in our worship experience.
To be frank and honest; being organized by others isn’t our main focus in worship right now. That HAS been the case (by default) for most of our adult lives as we have been very submissive to God’s lead and have shared our servant’s hearts with others in many different types of ministries; but now that we are getting older and approaching retirement years, we feel a deeper need to hone in specifically on the destiny and purposes that God has shown and made plain to us instead of participating in “other-people’s ideas” for directing our spiritual gifts. To make that statement simpler still; we have matured enough in our walk to know exactly where God is leading us and what He wants us to do with the time we have left on this earth. We have zoned in on those opportunities and are more defined and focused with them in our worship.
My husband is constantly witnessing and ministering in prayer to people that he encounters in the pathways of every day life; and I have found that God has called me mostly to use my gift of writing as a teaching tool for the concepts found in the scriptures. To be caught up in a big-ministry-machine right now would actually pull us both away from that focus and distract us from accomplishing those things we think God has chosen for us to do as we grow into old age.
I guess this new process for us during this season of our lives has actually evolved into more of a home-based missionary journey; and it has been very fulfilling and rewarding to us. It is also very unpredictable and ever-changing; like all the other aspects of life with God on planet earth. I can surely say not one day is ever boring.
After many wonderful years of full-time Spirit-filled ministry; God seemed to be leading us to focus more on our own family for a while, and it seems to be the correct priority for this season. We have found ourselves more and more conducting a less formal type of worship at home with the family. That is where we keep a weekly Sabbath and enjoy daily bible study and prayer.
It is our goal at the same time to stay focused on what we see God doing in our community and the world and to step up and participate when we know that is happening. In all of this process of daily life; we have intentions to prayerfully direct our energy and funds into the places where we see God at work. It actually feels a lot more like the days of the early church to us; and we know God is directing us and keeping us anchored.
All of the above may be a bit too free-spirited for some to swallow and if so, that is okay; but I’m here to tell you that God is a God of freedom and if your worship doesn’t start in the sanctuary of your home; it isn’t going to go very far, which finally brings me to my point of being so very open with our own story. That is another thing I wish to write more about in August; how God wants our homes to become our sanctuaries.
Have you been trying to decide how to begin this process of bringing God’s holiness into your own living spaces and family events? I plan to expand our articles on this subject in August. Warning; there may be challenges offered.
Even with Elul, The Days of Awe, Feast Planning and the end of summer events going on; there is even more planning underway during the month of August. After our time at the beach for the Feast of Tabernacles in September, we are also planning a family reunion at a nice little park not too far from our home with the members of my father’s side of our family. If this goes well; we will try it with my Mother’s side of the family too next year. It seems to me that the younger generation of our children do not know each other very well. I’m working on changing that!
An up-coming August blog-post in our SEASONS column is going to offer a few good suggestions for pulling off your own family reunion. Family is so important and this is a way to gather those that don’t often get the opportunity to visit with one another. Younger people need to be forming closer relationships and older people need to be renewing past relationships.
I know this is hard to pull off in some circumstances. Do you have family that you would like to gather annually; but they don’t all get along so well? We may come up with some logical solutions and offer some new ways to help you pull this off. Keep reading!
Our OH THE PLACES WE SHOULD GO column in August will give you a few ideas to help plan for your up-coming Labor Day travels too. We think you will love some of our picks for this year.
August will be SO MUCH about getting ready!
THE HOUSE DOCTOR column of the blog may let you take a peak into how we have been remodeling a tired old half-bath on a very tight budget. We MIGHT give you a peak into this little project; depending on how much of the project gets finished before the end of August.
We are also still in that mood of loving Tuscany-styled decor and may have more of those types of articles in August too.
Our Thursday Bible Study in COME AS A CHILD is going to be exciting! We are getting into a very “meaty” section of Leviticus.
August is the perfect month for pondering God’s best ways to live and the Book of Leviticus where we are currently studying certainly has a lot to say about that subject.
Expect some eye-opening teachings that you might not hear anywhere else. We are still following our Father with the heart of a child.
So get ready for a fun and exciting August that will be full of rest and anticipation for the upcoming Fall festivities.
Thank you so very much for staying with us and being a part of our 2 Timothy 4:2 community!
We love your company and always welcome your input into The IN SEASON Lifestyle.
Blessings!
GAIL LANDGRAF (Editor)/The IN SEASON Lifestyle Blog/3685 Pine Lane, Birmingham, AL 35242/205-532-9893/wordcastlepublications@gmail.com