Look Around, Leaves are Brown, and the Sky is a Hazy Shade of Winter

The summer manifesto was really awesome. It kept me from frittering away my summer months and spending them in an idle, selfish wasteland. The fall manifesto, however, might have proven to be too ambitious. Working full-time, maintaining my home, and involvement with ministry pretty much guarantee that I won’t be frittering my time away.

That being said, here’s a review of my fail, I mean fall, manifesto…

Prepare more food at home, eat out less. Invite friends over for dinner instead of meeting in restaurants.

I fared miserably on this one. I can think of two occasions when I prepared a meal and had friends over to eat it. In contrast, I can’t count how many times I ate in a restaurant. On one occasion when I had a friend over for dinner, I found myself being so distracted by the requirements of serving a meal that I couldn’t engage her in conversation as I would like. As I tried to talk to her while cleaning dishes and dashing out the door for my next meeting, it occurred to me that there’s much to be said for the convenience of a restaurant.

Use the farmer’s market regularly.

Despite the convenience of the grocery store, I have purposefully driven to the farmer’s market on weekends to stock up on produce for the weekend. Laura introduced me to the curb market, which is smaller and more crowded than the outdoor farmer’s market, but I dug its downtown vibe.


Catch up with Debbie.

This was on the list to keep me accountable for getting together with this dear friend. We squeezed in a conversation right at the fall/winter wire; sandwiched in between holiday parties, swim practices and a Christmas concert.

Keep reading—do not let books pile up on nightstand.

I’ve done a lot of reading, but there is still a pile on the nightstand! This fall I was introduced to Anne Shirley as I read the first three books in the Anne of Green Gables series.
I put Anne on hold to reconnect with another beloved classic, Little Women, which we tackled in our fall book club meeting. Through Librivox, I was able to listen to the novel with different volunteers reading each chapter. From the Australian guy to the 10-pack-a-day English lady, the readers each put their own spin on Jo and the girls.
Recently, I picked up Twilight for a second reading. I’m hoping to remember what I liked about these books before Robert Pattinson’s constant media presence made me forget.

Attend a Gaelic Storm concert somewhere in North Carolina.

One happy Friday night, Beth, Laura and I headed to Winston for an evening of blarney and rumpus. It was great craic!

Be a light in my work place.

Most days, it takes all my strength not to be overcome by the darkness at my job, let alone to be a light for others. I try to avoid the gossip and the grumbling, which often means not leaving my room. My friend Tonya started a Bible study for our co-workers, which was awesome, but our workplace is a battlefield—guess I’d better go and get my armor.

Have conversations about women’s ministry.

I don’t know that I’ve had many deliberate conversations about women’s ministry, which is what I meant when writing this in August. I wanted to get a sense of what was important to and for women so that when the church plant opens its doors, I will be able to hit the ground running. Instead, my fall has been filled with doing ministry and talking about the church plant in bigger and broader terms. I’m trusting that, when the time comes, God will show me what to do for the women of this fledgling congregation.


Attend a Flyers game, completing a Philadelphia sports trifecta (Phillies on August 14, Eagles on September 13. Sadly, there is no Flyers game on October 12.)

The Flyers will be in Raleigh one week from tonight. Perhaps I will see them there. Before abandoning the subject of Philadelphia sports, I must express my delight with the Fightin’ Phils who gave me October baseball for another year. This crusty, cynical Philadelphia sports fan has learned to hope because of these guys. I can hardly wait for Spring Training…