Thousand Word Project - The End of Autumn

The last bright colors are here,
Lending a bit of cheer
To the darkest days of the year.

MES

A Blessed Thanksgiving 2024

Wishing a blessed Thanksgiving to all the believers who are taking this day to remember God's great lovingkindness and many benefits.

Psalm 103:1-2 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 

Texas Memories - November Brights

Crepe Myrtle

Tennessee Memories - Bradford Brights

 Psalm 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name;
worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Bradford pear tree.

The Thousand Word Project - My Roses Red

Soft lay the autumn sun

Upon my roses red,

And lights my heart in praise

To God. My soul is fed.
MES

Some Autumn Photos from Western Michigan

Please go take a look at these photos from autumn last year in western Michigan. That is my old stomping ground as I have lived there several different times in my life. :-) There are parts of the U.S. where autumn is far beyond what most people can imagine for glorious color. Michigan is one of them, at least many years.

I put a small story about my Gramma in the comments, if you are interested. Please also leave the blogger some friendly feedback, if you feel so inclined. :-)

Fall 2023 Michigan

Photo property of Plants Amaze Me.

Tennessee Memories - Against an Autumn Sky

Genesis 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest,
and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Tennessee Memories - Mrs. Alexander's Autumn Garden Part 2

The chrysanthemums were popular.

Tennessee Memories - Mrs. Alexander's Autumn Garden Part 1

 

When you grow flowers you give to others far more than you will ever know.
- Anonymous -

Chrysanthemums

Mrs. Alexander and her husband were sweet neighbors of my family when we lived in Tennessee. She is with the Lord now, but it was a blessing and privilege to be have been able to know them.

October, 2005

The Thousand Word Project - Autumn Fireworks

Firebush

The Thousand Word Project - The Remains

 

The Thousand Word Project - Down Here

The Thousand Word Project - Underneath

Crepe Myrtle

Pecan

Hackberry?

The Thousand Word Project - An Autumn Bouquet

Psalm 90:12-17 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. 

Texas Memories - Autumn Garden Gems

Dianthus

Red Star

Basil

Firebush

The Thousand Word Project - Comes the Autumn Colors

The Thousand Word Project - In the Evening...

 

The Gray Days of November - A Poem by Annie Johnson Flint

Here is an interesting and honest comparison of November of the year with November of life. As we age let us hope for and strive towards that riper wisdom and steadier mindset that our honorable aged folks in the faith so often attain. I am not an expert by any stretch, but I think that in order to attain this attitude, we have to want it and seek it at the feet of Jesus, hearing His word.

The Gray Days of November

The gray days of November

No plaint from me shall win;

I shut the fog and mist all out,

And shut the fire-shine in;

I draw my chair the closer

To where its warm glow cheers,

And, dreaming in the firelight,

Dream back across the years.

No happier days, no better,

My lost youth gave to me,

With flowers in every meadow

And songs from every tree;

That was the time of growing;

This is the time of rest;

Bloom falls, but fruiting follows,

And each in turn is best.

God giveth of His glory

An ever-changing view;

The old things pass forever;

He maketh all things new;

Life knoweth here no beauty

That shall not fade away;

Some better things He sendeth,

And these are mine today.

Mine is the riper wisdom

That comes with graying hair;

Mine is the fuller knowledge

Of God's great love and care;

Mine is the clearer vision;

Mine is the wider view;

And mine the hoarded memories

Of friendships kind and true.

Mine is the steadier patience

To bear the ills of life;

Mine is the sturdier courage

To meet the daily strife;

Mine is the faith serener

Than ever youth could know

To walk the way appointed

Through sunshine or through snow.

The gray days lead to white days

Of peace and silence deep,

A stiller hush of resting

When Earth and I shall sleep;

And then - a glorious waking

When broken ties all mend.

Through gray days of November

I wait the long year's end.

By Annie Johnson Flint

Psalm 92:13-15 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish
in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age;
they shall be fat and flourishing; To shew that the LORD is upright:
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Hebrews 13:7 Remember them which have the rule over you,
who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow,
considering the end of their conversation. 

Memories of Great Meals - One Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 107:1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 103:1-5 A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. 

FREE Scripture Printable for Thanksgiving - Paper Crafts

I realize this is a little bit late, but I wanted to share these graphics with you for use in paper crafting or card making. They are autumn themed and would be good for Thanksgiving greetings or name place cards or autumn décor or for other greeting cards. These graphics are all made with my original photography and my graphic design.

The sheet of graphics to download from my graphics site is a little smaller than 8x10 inches so that you should be able to print it with a program that offers 8x10 as an option. My program printed it just fine, although I did have to try more than one program to get the coloring to turn out the way I wanted it. You may have to tinker with the settings on yours to get good color.

Download the printable size graphic here.

Click the download icon on the left. It is the arrow pointing down.

Here are a couple examples of cards I made with two of the images. 

The background of this card was stamped with a bubble envelope and a foam leaf sticker. I placed the scripture graphic on a blue background and added a leaf sticker with some gold highlights to give it a little sparkle. 

The photo is crooked, but also, no, my lines are not perfectly straight. Because this is an imperfect world and I don't cut straighter with my paper cutter than I do with scissors in some situations, so I let things be what they are. I learned this quote from a YouTube crafter: "Don't be too hard on yourself." Yup. That is good advice in many situations where perfection isn't likely to happen - from paper crafting to cleaning up the kitchen. ;-) 

This card also has a background made with the bubble envelope (I'll try to put up another post about that soon - I hope.) I used some glitter paper behind the scripture graphic and some leaf stickers. It was really quite simple.

The glitter paper is more red in real life than in the photos. I usually would use it more sparingly as I tend to try to stretch my more expensive stuff, but I've had this awhile and I just decided to go with it. :-)