Welcoming Fall With Thanksgiving

For many of us, the fall is a time of learning and setting new intentions for the new season or year. It is a time of re-setting habits, and re-centering our daily lives on the values and priorities that are truly the most important to us. It is a time to sweep away the the leaves of summer, and let go of everything that no longer brings us closer to the love of our Creator. As you read this newsletter, I want to encourage you to reflect on the practices you want to bring with you into this new season, and the practices you want to leave in the past, falling away like the changing autumn leaves.

As for me, I am excited to adopt a more intentional practice of gratitude and meditation this fall. I truly believe that there is power in expressing thankfulness for what we have, and writing down or verbalizing the ways that we have experienced God's love and light. I pray that this gratitude empowers me to share abundance with those in my community - both locally and globally. As autumn routines pick up in pace, I pray for the shedding of worry and rush, instead allowing space for practices of spiritual formation. I encourage you to reflect as well, on the ways in which you can center gratitude and thanksgiving in your own practices of spiritual formation.

Amidst the change of seasons and uncertainty so present in the world right now, the loving kindness of God is constant. This love can be revealed to us in our relationships and our communities, and expressing gratitude for this love is such a wonderful way to remind ourselves that even though life is so strange and uncertain, we are loved, and we get to share that love with others.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
     his steadfast love endures forever!

Let Israel say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 118:1-2