We must always insist that there is nothing we can do of ourselves to merit salvation. Salvation is “by grace…through faith” (Eph. 2:8). But when we accept His gift of salvation by faith we must know what this gift includes. We must know that it includes following Jesus as Lord. Otherwise people will think they have been tricked into accepting a way without being told what that way is. It is the grace of God that enables us to follow this way. It is all of grace. But it is a way in which sin is left behind and a righteous life is taken on. And when people accept that salvation that Christ offers, they must know that this is what they are accepting. Otherwise they would not be putting their faith in the Jesus of the Bible.
Ajith Fernando

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#16-7, Part 1: Autumn & the Seasons of Life

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#1 · October 13, 2013, 3:59 pm

Posted by: virginiaknowles <virginiaknowles@...>

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Hope Chest with Virginia Knowles

#16-7

, Part 1

: Autumn

&

 the Seasons of Life

October 2013

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dear friends,
Welcome to the Autumn edition of the Hope Chest.  

This issue comes out in two parts: this one with the feature articles, and part 2 with for links for Autumn and Thanksgiving.  

Many things have happened in the past few months, some that I had anticipated, and others I had not. 

The last time I sent out a

Hope Chest

 was in July, while I was preparing for my mother's funeral after a long summer of traveling back and forth three times from Florida to Maryland.  The theme of loss and grief and transitions remains with me, as you will see in my Autumn Haiku below and my post

s

 

Love, Loss, and Lake Lily

, 

Sacramental (Big Words)

, and 

A Eulogy is Also a Beginning

.

  At the same time, I seek to walk with confidence and joy, as you will see in my post

 

Pilgrimage and Jubilee, which is the start of my memoir series.

When we finally arrived home

,

I had to scramble to get ready for the new school year, but in a different way than before.  I started teaching in a private Christian hybrid school (Champion Preparatory Academy) three half-days per week in August

.  So I

had to get up to speed on the curriculum and computer system, write my syllabi, and take care of a bunch of other official details like finger printing.  I love being in the classroom teaching an integrated American History and Language Arts class for 6th-7th grade, as well as World Geography for 8th-9th grade. One of my school age children is a student there, while the other four are now in public school, two of them for the very first time.  So there was also a big hectic rush to get immunizations current and go through the registration / orientation process for all of them. I am relieved to say that now that everything has settled down a little bit, things are going as well as I could expect and in some cases better.  I am pretty much home when my kids are home, which works well, and I have two week days at home to get my grading and housework done.  We're dealing with the glitches as they come, which they do, of course.  🙂  It's a different season of life after over 20 years of home schooling. 

Then came my 50th birthday last month, which I knew about ahead of time, of course.  My older daughters made it extra special for me by taking me out to brunch on my actual birthday and then throwing a party for me a week later, inviting several ladies who have been my dear friends for many, many years.  We sure missed one of my daughters, who is still in Australia at the University of Canberra for the semester.  (What an adventure!)  My husband also took me out to dinner a couple of days after my birthday, since he had been out of town helping his sister move.  You can read about my first celebration here: Briarpatch Birthday Brunch and Ten Thousand Villages

 

Most recently, as in last week, I was in the hospital again.  My vision sort of freaked out on Monday (I was seeing double-ish at a distance), my blood pressure went up, my legs were all swollen, and I had chest pains. So I ended up in the emergency room (in the same hospital where one of my daughters is a nurse) and stayed overnight, as you can see by my water bottle still life photo above.  They didn't come up with one definitive diagnosis for all of my symptoms, but if you want to read more about what they did say and how I am responding to it (more transitions, of course!), you can click here: To the Hospital and Home Again
And now for the rest of this issue -- two poems, a parenting article, and a list of my blog links since the last issue.
Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles

Autumn Breeze (Haiku)


Autumn Breeze


Dear Autumn Trees, please


Give me all your gorgeous leaves.


More will grow. Love, Breeze.


Yes, that was haiku.

Learning to let go, 
live with loss, 
embrace the seasons,
and trust that something 

fresh and new will grow...


Moth (A Picture and a Poem)

Moth

We see you resting, wings unfurled

Upon the window of our world

A moth, who flutters free, aloft

All painted gold and ginger, soft.

Your life is brief and ours is long

And you are weak while we are strong

But beauty: fleeting, fragile, small

Is loved by God, who made it all.

Thanks be to Jesus, Savior King

Who cares about the littlest thing:

This little moth, those little seeds

A little child with many needs

A little earth among the stars

A little problem that is ours

Our little lives, our little world

Here may we rest, with hearts unfurled.

I teach in a private
Christian school three days a week.  The other day, as my middle school
students and I walked quietly down the hallway, one of them noticed this moth
on the outside of the window.  We stopped to observe, then went out for a
closer look.  (Just being mindful in the moment!)

We had just been talking
about poetry, and they know I especially like to write about nature, so they
joked that I must write a poem about the moth.  Our principal, passing by,
suggested that they write the poem for English class, but the
only description they offered was that the moth was the color of bacon.  I
happen to think ginger is a bit more poetic.  Yesterday, as we discussed
this again, I told them I would still write a poem.  We were already
talking about prewriting: choosing a topic, a

genre, a purpose, an audience.
 Topic: the moth, of course!  

Genre

: poem, which I had predicted
would be free verse but ended up with rhyme and meter, specifically iambic
tetrameter. Purpose: inspiration.  Audience: these 11 students, and
whoever else wants to read it on my blog

or in my e-magazine. That would be you.  Thanks for showing up. 

Two other recent nature posts:

Hypothetical (Big Words)

Did you ever have one
of Those Shopping Trips?

Your kids bicker in the
van and then decide to continue their Simmering Spat on into the produce aisle
with subtle pinches and scowling looks when your back is turned. You haven't been in the store for
five minutes, and they are quietly yet subversively plotting the Overthrow of
Your Sanity.

So you do the only Peaceable Yet Powerful
thing you know to do.  You leave the bag of peaches in the cart, and walk
out with one child by the hand, trusting the others to follow closely behind.
 They do.  They know you mean business.

You drive them home and leave them in the
care of Another Adult. It's for their own good.  You know that. They
don't.  You are suddenly the Worst Mommy Ever.  


Then you drive back to Walmart, pick up the bag of peaches, and shop the aisles
in peace, trying not to feel Guilty for Enjoying Yourself.  You even buy
yourself an impromptu present, a fuzzy soft blanket with a big bear on it.
 You are Mama Bear, after all, wanting the best for your cubs, ready to
protect them, yet sometimes feeling a little growly yourself and trying not to
roar.

You drive home, cranking up the music.  You are tired, and not looking
forward to Dealing with Cranky Children when you get home.  You pray for
grace.

W

hen you pull into your driveway, the Most
Offending Child comes bounding out to the van, apologizes for being an idiot at
the store, and grabs two bags of groceries to bring inside.  The Other
Offending Child is already fast asleep in bed.  You now believe in
miracles.

So has this ever happened to you?

No?

Me neither!


This was hypothetical,
of course!  Hypothetical.  Really.

Sweet peace and sweet peaches, 

Virginia Knowles

Two other posts in my Big Words series:

And finally, the links to t

he other

 

bl

og

post

s

I have written since the last issue of the Hope Chest. Note: some are listed in more than one category. You can click on the pictures to go to their corresponding posts, too.

Homemaking 

--

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Visit my web site at http://www.VirginiaKnowles.com

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