I’m just gonna go on record and state that it did NOT feel in any way like fall today. I’m no meteorologist, but I’m certain that I wouldn’t be sweating so much if it were truly fall temperatures.

I know it says on the calendar that summer’s over, but someone forgot to tell the weather. It was hot and muggy today and in no way was I inclined to wear any kind of scarves or flannel or jackets.

PS If you wear a jacket or a sweater in 90+ degree weather, that’s weird. Just sayin’. God loves you, but that’s unnatural.

But anyhoo. I’m ready for fall, but I’m more ready for summer to finally end. It’s like that houseguest who just won’t leave. Or like one of those infamous Southern goodbyes that last for 4 hours.

Summer, you were great. You were fun. But it’s time to let fall have a turn.

Go home, summer. You’re drunk. And you smell like pumpkin spice.

Congratulations! You now have that Hokey Pokey song stuck in your head. Oh, and you’re welcome.

Yes, it’s Friday Eve, which means that tomorrow is officially and legitimately Friday. And I am officially and legitimately ready for it because I am officially and legitimately exhausted.

I’m ready for that rare sleep-in day with no nasty alarms to rudely awaken my sweet dreams and no heading off to work in the pre-dawn hours.

In the mean time, one more day. Make it a good one. Make it a God one.

Work at everything you do as if you’re reporting directly to God as your supervisor (because really you are). Do it with enthusiasm and joy. Let your work ethic be your witness.

That’s me preaching to myself again. This past week was less than joy-filled because I didn’t intentionally seek joy. This week, worry and anxiety won out.

But tomorrow’s a new day with new mercies and fresh grace.

And it’s also Friday. Win.

“To be grateful for an unanswered prayer, to give thanks in a state of interior desolation, to trust in the love of God in the face of the marvels, cruel circumstances, obscenities, and commonplaces of life is to whisper a doxology in darkness” (Brennan Manning).

If you’ve ever gone through seasons of uncertainty and anxiety, you know what a doxology in the dark looks and feels like.

It feels a lot like the desperate father with his ailing son crying out to Jesus, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”

It looks a lot like putting one foot in front of the other, one moment at a time, one day at a time, feeling hopeful and frightened at the same time.

It’s trusting without knowing answers because you know that you are in the good, safe hands of Jesus.

It feels a lot like those prayerless nights when all you have are sighs and groans that somehow find their way to God’s ears.

It’s Job’s words of “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

It’s a tune that everyone will sing at some point in their lives. Jesus didn’t say if you suffer but when. He never promised a way out of hardships but a way through.

Keep singing that doxology until the day breaks.

All of the following comes from Chris Brooks’ sermon from Kairos tonight dealing with the Gospel, Gender, and Trans-Gender.

The key to how we deal with people and culture is that we need both grace (kindness) and truth (conviction).

With all kindness and no conviction, you end up enabling instead of loving. With no kindness and all conviction, you might win the argument but you lose the person.

Jesus had both grace and truth, kindness and conviction. He told the woman caught in adultery that He didn’t condemn her but also to go and sin no more.

The Gospel is not “I’m okay, you’re okay– let’s try to be nicer to each other,” nor is it, “God hates you because you’re such a terrible sinner.”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God loved the world– and you– so much that He gave Jesus so that no one need perish apart from God but find full and abundant eternal life in Jesus.

Happy 1st day of fall!

What does that mean for those of us who live in the great state of Tennessee? Absolutely nothing.

It’s still forecasted to be hot and sticky and very unsuitable for flannel and scarves and such.

Yes, there is pumpkin spice everything, but it’s not quite the same when the temperature is above 85.

But I’m still happy. My favorite season has landed and that means that sooner than later the real deal will arrive with crisp weather and brisk winds, complete with flannel-suited days and bonfire nights.

Hopefully, the leaves will change into a myriad of colors, but for me the best part is that at last the worst part of summer is over and the beginning of the best time of the year is here.

I posted this.

The is the same me who loves my sleep. Heck, I even took a nap today. It was a beautiful, glorious nap.

But I don’t need more sleep as much as I need to get out of myself and my little routines.

I need to see the world. I need to see the world around me where I live, work, and play.

I need to see that my life is the greatest adventure.

I need to see that every moment of my life is grace and if I had eyes to see, I’d see God around me everywhere at every moment.

Yes, tomorrow is that dreaded Monday, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be any magic or mystery or adventure.

Here’s to life. May we live it well.

Nerd post alert! If you’re not into things like Doctor Who and sci-fi and old British television, you might not want to read on.

You little rebel. I like you.

Yes, I have started back at the beginning of Doctor Who, way back in 1963 with the first Doctor, William Hartnell. It’s an interesting bit of trivia that the very first episode was set to broadcast on the very day that President John F. Kennedy was assasinated on November 22, 1963.

If you’re into the new Doctor Who, the old episodes take some getting used to. The special effects and sets aren’t quite as polished, but they give the old series a quaintness (at least in my opinion). Plus the old episodes are story-driven rather than special effects-driven anyway.

I love that first Tardis team of the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara. They made a great team that worked well together.

I still think it’s a shame that so many of the early episodes have been lost to history, but I’ll take what I can get.

Back to your regularly scheduled blog posts tomorrow.

“The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life” (Oswald Chambers, from My Utmost for His Highest).

Let that sink in for a moment.

I’m thankful that it’s Friday Eve. That means of course that tomorrow is Friday. That means that I have nearly survived yet another week of life.

I’m tired. Coming back to a five day work week after a week of vacation and a four-day work week before that is tough. Especially when you have fresh memories of the beach and the faintest scent of ocean still lingering in your nose.

But tomorrow’s Friday. And Monday? That’s the official first day of fall (although I imagine it won’t feel much like fall with all the hot humidity still hanging around). But the day on the calendar means that cooler weather isn’t far behind.

I say TGIF, but I really mean TGFED, which stands for Thank God for Every Day. That’s how I feel more and more these days. Thank God for every day I get in this life.