Here Comes Fall!

All through the 100+ degree days we had this summer, I longed for fall.  I'm not a big fan of heat (although I was thankful that our heat was not accompanied by humidity), and often remember the cool climate of Laramie in a manner that could be described as wistful.  So every time I stepped out of my front door into a day that felt like an oven, I looked forward to the cooler days of fall.

It seems they have arrived!  As I type, the window near me is open and cool morning air is blowing in to my house.  Sure, I'll still have to shut up all the windows and turn on the air conditioner at some point, but this evening it will be cool enough to take a walk or putter in the garden for a while.

And of course, with fall come all sorts of good things.  We've started on our school year, and the kids seem to be enjoying that.  The garden is producing all sorts of good things to eat and preserve.  And the calendar at Shepherd's Staff is filling up.  We've got some great events planned for this fall (you can visit www.shepherdstaff.org or find Shepherd's Staff, Inc. on FaceBook to check them out).

There's something about this time of year that is energizing to me.  Instead of wishing I could just lie on the floor until the weather gets cooler, I'm excited to go pick zucchini and tomatoes from the garden.  Evenings are filled with lesson plans and design work instead of longing looks at the current novel.

And yes, I am aware that fall doesn't officially start until September 20-somethingth, so maybe this is Indian summer (or just late summer) that I am celebrating, but I don't care.  I'm just glad it's here.

Every Year Is Busier...And The Cracks Get Bigger

I keep remembering the first year we were here.  No one new us yet, we hadn't committed to many activities, and life was quiet.  We had time to invite people over, to head to the pool two or three times a week, and my (Gwen's) office duties didn't seem to present much of a problem.

Two years later, it's a different story.  We've been to the pool a total of four times, haven't done much entertaining at all, and it seems like it is all I can do to get the bare minimum done at the office and still keep our own home from the brink of chaos.

It's always been a family goal to be involved with the community, so we attend many community events.  This year the kids participated in 4-H and the county fair for the first time, and that was quite the experience!  We also now work almost year-round on the Christian Workers Conference, so that's back on our plates.  I'm also going to be teaching piano lessons one evening a week in Colby.

And all of these are good activities...but I've been feeling pretty full lately.  As I look to the beginning of the school year, I keep trying to figure out how to juggle things so that everything will fit.  I know that the "big" things need to be prioritized:  things like school and meaningful time with the kids, and that the smaller things should be fitted in around the big things (instead of letting myself fill up my life with less important things and then trying to figure out how to do the big things)...but how does that really work in a practical manner?

How do we find the balance between family and work, structure and not-so-structured, me-time and family-time?  And what about the things that are sure to fall through the cracks?  Some of those things will have my name on them, and I don't want to be associated with missed deadlines or poor workmanship.  But the truth is, there's too much work here for Tim and me to handle even if we work 24/7.  So how do we figure out which things to let slide and which ones to concentrate on?

So...keep us in your prayers:

• There's a big need for more missionary-supported staff to join the team at Shepherd's Staff.  Pray that God will lead these people to us in His perfect timing.
• Pray for strength, encouragement, endurance.  Pray that we will give our best to whatever we do.
• Pray for wisdom as we strive to make the right choices, give the right things priority.