Jane Austen's got nothin' on my small town.

3:42 PM

We have been having the most gorgeous, foggy mornings lately. 

   I'd love to say that we get outside to play every day, but I would be 68% lying.  Sometimes it's a matter of all the to-dos begging to get done that are all inside things.  Sometimes it's just not nice out.  Sometimes I'm just lazy.  But sometimes it's a bit of all three, and I'm wondering......how in the world do you moms make sure your kids get enough time outside when there's  always a million things to do inside?  Laundry, cooking, cleaning etc...these things all take place indoors so at times it's very difficult to find time for the Great Outdoors.  But when we do, I'm always glad that we did.

   It's straight out of a Jane Austen novel, and serves to make me moody and contemplative.  Sometimes it burns off in time for a sunny, beautiful afternoon, but other days, like today, it hangs around all day, shrouding the valley in a cold, damp, misty wistfulness. 

   I am both a summer child and secret lover of the city, and so life in the rainy Willamette Valley has had its challenges for me. 

   But this......oh this, is where it's at.  Cool, crisp, haunting walks through the countryside.  This is the stuff writers dream of.  The perfect setting for almost any story.  If they could somehow bottle it up only to let it loose in their office, car, taxi or elevator...then every moment would be a moment of inspiration.  Every commute, one of contemplation.  Every lunch break, a chance for character development and plot twists.  This is the last straw.  If I can't write a book in this type of setting, well then I probably never will. 





   Our Beth Moore Bible study this morning was so dead on.  I could not take notes FAST enough.  I covered the pages up one side and down the other, scribbled underlines and waved my highlighter like I was a charismatic at a praise service. 

   I have neither the time or emotional energy to go into it all, but some of the points she made were these:
  •    If pride is the graveyard of effective believers, than insecurity is the psych ward.  
  •    The devil defeats us ALL if he can get us focused on competition and jealousy.
  •    All insecurity and jealousy is rooted in pride.
  •    But you CAN defeat it.
  •    Because this culture has us so focused on competing with one another, comparing ourselves and feeling jealous.....if you are not fighting it, you are doing it.

   There were 100 other things, but I just don't have time for those today.  They deserve their own blog post, really. 

    Oh and how cool is it to live in a place so small that the mail lady recognizes you walking and hands you a package out the window of her car??   Pretty cool I'd say.  And about that package....well I will be reviewing its lovely contents on the blog tomorrow!  So check back for that. 

And just remember.......

you are loved by the King.




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11 comments

  1. Ohh, I love those top photos! So moody and solemn!

    The Bible study... wow, I like what little you wrote so post away. Oh the problems I can create with those issues.

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  2. so lovely! thanks for sharing the pictures and the thoughts from your bible study...sounds so rich!

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  3. BeaUtiful autumn day that you captured!! And I'm with you on how hard it is to get outside with everyone, but so rewarding when I just do it!

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  4. Shelley!! That quote about jealously and competition!?!? Ahh! SO so true.

    And this all looks so gorgeous that I need to come visit to experience it myself. ;)

    XO

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  5. Williamette Valley fog would make me moody and contemplative too. And probably downright sad sometimes-- if the sun didn't show its face for too long. But ooooh it is lovely there!! The words from your Bible study are SO pertinent to me. How did you know that? Nice to "meet" you, Shelley!

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  6. Hello! I am Julie. I have enjoyed getting to "meet" you through your blog.

    I LOVE Beth Moore! Which study are you doing?

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  7. Those pictures you posted do something deep the soul! I don't know how I'd survive without seeing the sun for so long (and having moved to the deep south, the sun shows its beaming face pretty much EVERY single day), but then, neither do we have that intense beauty either, that nearly makes me WEEP to look at it! WOW.

    Your Bible Study sounds SO good. I'd love to hear more ~ I've been thinking so much along those lines lately.

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  8. Shelley, thanks for sharing your notes from bible study!! I wanted to take more notes because there were SOOOO many good points! I want to remember them all, but taking notes becomes difficult when you're holding a little one :). The point about jealousy and insecurity being rooted in pride?!? Ouch. That one hit home for me. I had never thought of it as pride before.

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  9. lovely read!

    my SIL lives in OR. :) it's so pretty there.

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  10. I have officially lived in the city too long, it took me a while to realize that the normal looking car in the picture was the mail lady! All our mailmen have those little minivan mail trucks.

    Love that last quote from Beth, ouch!
    Jewel

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  11. Funny that you mentioned Jane Austen in this post. I've been looking out over the fields by our house on these foggy days, with the distant trees purple and barely visible through the mist, and thinking that one of my single adult daughters really needs to wrap herself in a shawl and go on a walk across the meadow/ryegrass field in the hazy morning light.

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