Thank you, God, for the beauty of fall...and thank you for our cabin!

Last weekend we were up at the cabin, and the weather was fabulous. The leaves were almost at the peak of color - especially the oaks and maples.

The cabin is our most favorite place to be in any season. It is the place where we can rest, refresh and reconnect. We rest our bodies and our minds from the cares and stress of work. We refresh our spirits as we enjoy all of God's creation, and spend time reading His Word and praying. We reconnect with each other, with friends and family, and with God. The peace and quiet, and the beauty gives us renewed strength and joy.

We have found a church up there that we love to go to each Sunday. The people there have welcomed us. Each Sunday someone stops to say hi, to introduce themselves, and to spend a few minutes getting to know us. They have learned our names. And they have invited us to Sunday School and church activities. When we see them in town they always say hi and want to know how we are doing.

One of my favorite parts of the service is prayer time. Before we go to prayer the pastor asks if there are praises or prayer requests and people begin to share what God is doing in their lives. They also share their needs and are confident that God does answer prayer.

The pastor has been preaching from the book of James, and each week I leave with something to think about, something that challenges me. Church is definitely a highlight of the weekend.

Two weeks ago Craig said he wanted to start having some crockpot meals. So for the last two weekends at the cabin we've eaten great meals from the crockpot. I bought a chicken (all ready cut up) and put that in the pot the first night, along with potatoes, onion, carrots, celery and garlic. The next day I made chili in the crockpot. This past weekend we used the crockpot to make a variation of a New England boiled dinner - we put in red cabbage, red potatoes, carrots, onion and ham. We just love cooking with the crockpot - the food simmering fils the cabin with good smells, and the food always turns out so moist and delicious. I think next week we'll have pot roast from the crockpot!

The cabin is a work in progress. We still have interior walls, ceilings and floors to finish. We want to add built-in book

shelves, and a couple of window seats. We need to add a wood stove, and I'd like a center island in the kitchen. We want to add a four season porch with a hot tub. We enjoy talking about the things we'd like to do, and we love working together on the cabin.

While we love being at the cabin together just us two, we also love having family and friends there. We have such a great time playing card games like cribbage, hearts, and Skipbo. In the summertime we enjoy ladder golf and bean bags, as well as swimming and fishing. The meals we share aound the big table are always better when we share with family and friends.

The cabin is a great place to share stories around the campfire, or just to sit quietly and read a book. We watch the red squirrel and the chipmunk playing, and keep our eyes open for a glimpse of an eagle or a hummingbird. We listen for the call of the loon, and praise and thank the Creator, the most high God, for the privilege of enjoying a cabin.