For me, it’s not truly fall without Oktoberfest. This year turned out to be rainy and short-lived, but I still got to experience it in all its German glory.

I miss the old location with all the old houses you could walk in and out of and all the historic charm. I’m also not the biggest fan of all the condos going up everywhere.

That aside, I got my German food and walked around a bit in the rain and a good time was had by all.

Hopefully next year it will be back to the regular sunny weather.

It’s all about perspective. It seems to me that the default setting for most of us is to focus on the negative. Comparison really is the thief of joy, making us envious and anxious instead of peaceful and content.

But if you’re reading these words and you have a roof over your head, clothes on your back, money in your wallet, a car to drive, and people who love you and whom you love, you are more blessed than you know.

I’m trying to start a new habit: when anyone asks me how I am, instead of saying “Fine” or “Good,” I say “I’m better than I deserve,” because it’s true. I don’t deserve to be so blessed, but God saw fit to bless me anyway. I’m sure the same applies for you.

Choose to count your blessings and realize that if you have God, you really have all you need. May we all (me included) learn to give thanks more and complain and worry less.

“Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come” (Henri Nouwen).

Lately, the main topic at my church has been gospel conversations, which are how you can gently broach the subject of Jesus and salvation in such a way that doesn’t come across as preachy or condemning.

That’s been on my mind a lot lately.

I confess I’m not very good at these gospel conversations. Most of the time, I chicken out. I either don’t say anything or I make small talk.

I think most of us feel inadequate when it comes to initiating spiritual conversations.

Maybe the way to get started is with random acts of kindness. Perhaps it will be peace or a smile. Maybe it will be forgiving when you have every right to hold a grudge.

Kindness can open a door for gospel conversations and give you the right to be heard but it can’t ever replace the actual conversations. The Apostle Paul says that salvation comes through hearing and not just seeing. The words matter.

But the good news is that God has promised to give you the right words in the right moment when you need them most. He will guide your conversation if you enter into it prayerfully, humbly, and sincerely. He will also prompt you when the time is right.

May all believers have the courage to not only act with kindness but also to speak words of lovingkindness that those around us desperately need to hear.

I’m just gonna leave this right here. I think it says everything about how much I love fall and all the things that go with it.

According to the calendar, it’s been fall for two weeks, but anyone in the great state of Tennessee could tell you that it has felt like anything but fall. Those annoyingly humid and hot temperatures were lingering and it felt like they would never go away.

Yep, fall didn’t feel much like fall.

Until today.

In my opinion, this was the real first day of fall. That coolish temperature and those crisp autumn breezes gave me all the feels. Hot-tober is now finally October. I can drink my pumpkin spice beverages in seasonally appropriate weather again.

I hope fall stays awhile this time.

I hope the leaves don’t just fall off but turn into a riot of colors before they let go and fall to the earth.

I hope that I’ll take time to experience this autumn with all five senses, breathing in the fall air, feeling the brisk winds against my face, smelling the sweet decay of dying leaves.

I hope there will be lots of warm beverages, bonfires, s’mores, and possibly a hayride or two.

I’m ready.

I’m still in the midst of my nerdy quest to rewatch all the classic episodes of Doctor. And by nerdy, I mean cool, because nerdy = cool, right?

I finally made it to Patrick Troughton’s Doctor, who gamely took over when the first Doctor, William Hartnell, became too ill to continue in the role.

Thus, the idea of regeneration was born out of necessity to keep the show going in the face of the original actor’s failing health.

I love all the old, black and white episodes with all their cheesy special effects and (sometimes) overacting. There’s a magical quality to those old shows, I think.

Currently, the two companions are Michael Cruze as Ben and the lovely Anneke Wills as Polly, trying to keep that old doctor in line and sometimes just trying to keep up.

I’m thankful to Amazon Prime and Britbox for making these old episodes available again for nerds– I mean cool people *wink, wink*– like me.

“‘I must keep praying’ ‘I feel like just giving up!’ How often has this thought passed through our minds (both yours and mine) in recent months? If I am honest, then I must admit it’s been quite often. I find myself so often in hopeless situations where I know full well that only God can deliver me but God doesn’t seem to have the same urgency as I do. Impatience and unbelief are at least a root o…(tharr be more)f all my problems, and pride isn’t far behind, along with frustration (the fruit of my sin). Deep down I know that the Lord is working in my life and that I would be better off if I waited patiently for His time and His way of deliverance, but there seems to be a constant conflict between wanting to honour my God by doing His will and at the same time worrying myself sick over things which may never happen” (Apples of Gold).

That’s the story of my life.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worried myself sick over things that never happened, yet I know I’ll do it again tomorrow. Or possibly the next day.

It’s human nature to worry. It’s almost like anxiety is the default setting for our brains when stressful circumstances occur.

But it’s God’s nature to deliver. That’s what He does best for His children. He delights in glorifying His own name and that often means rescuing His own out of impossible odds or bleak circumstances.

The choice is either to fret over what is beyond your control (and worry is simply imagining your future while omitting God from it) or to rest in the God who has the whole world — and your future– in His most capable hands.

I know what I choose.

“For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me” (Matthew 18:3, The Message).

“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself” (Tecumseh).

Every day that you wake up, you can find a reason to give thanks.

If you can’t find one, the fault lies with you.

Most often, you won’t find what you’re not looking for. If you’re not seeking the good, you won’t find it. If you have no reason to give thanks, it’s because you’re probably focusing on the wrong things.

Whenever I give into despair and entitlement, it’s because I quit looking for joy and gratitude in the every day. I forgot to count my blessings and give thanks for each one.

Again, if you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.

If you look with the eyes of grace, you will find more than enough reason.

I heard something once that I’ve carried with me since. Basically, it states that Jesus’ first recorded words were “I must be about my Father’s business” and His last words on the cross were “It is finished.”

In between those two statements Jesus had the most single-minded vision and purpose of anyone who has lived or ever will live on this planet.

His purpose was to say and do exactly what the Father wanted to say and do. His purpose from a cradle in Bethlehem was a cross in Jerusalem.

I’m thankful that Jesus was 100% about His Father’s business because that business included the likes of me and you.

That business included seeking and saving the lost.

That business was inviting all who are weary and burdened to find rest for their souls.

That business was God sending His one and only Son that if anyone believes in Him, they will not perish or be lost forever but have eternal and abundant life to the fullest.