Break Is Over.

Break is over.  Today is back-to-school day here in the Upstate.  My unintended blogging break is over as well.

I didn't really intend to take a break.  It just happened.

Last week one of our grandsons was here visiting from North Carolina for the last week of his summer break.  We had a great time hanging out together before he starts his 5th grade year this week.

Spending all my time with AJ meant that I didn't do any writing.  That's how summers are.  Regular routines aren't always followed.  Regular schedules don't hold up.  Things are done differently in summer.  Especially when there's a grandson around.

Today begins a new week.  And a new season.  Summer break is over and back-to-school season is here.  Even for those of us who don't have children to send to the bus stop this morning, it's a new season. 

In many ways I look forward to this time every year.  It's been quite a number of years since I was taking first-day-of-school photos or buying school supplies, but this is still a season of getting back to routines. 

Although the school year starts later in other parts of the country, here in the south the school year often begins very near my birthday.  Birthdays and back-to-school are both a time for a fresh start.  A time to set new goals and look forward to what will be accomplished in the coming year.  Today I plan to spend some time thinking about that.

Here in the South, in this back-to-school season, life is beginning to shift gears as we move toward fall.  Toward changing leaves and apples and all things pumpkin.  Because it's also the time of year when I have celebrated being another year older, it's the time of year I think about what I will do with the rest of my life.  It's the time of year when Pursue the Intentional Life by Jean Fleming often makes it off the bookshelf and back onto my reading table.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is this:  "I long to see Christ's life formed in me, to live my highest until the Lord calls me home.  I want to become the person God had in mind when He created me.  I yearn to touch the world for God's glory and advance His kingdom.  [It is] my earnest desire to 'number my days that I may gain a heart of wisdom'. (Psalm 90:12)"

Having another birthday reminds me that I am no longer a young woman.  How shall I spend the remaining days allotted to me?  Shall I just sit and wait for life to be over?  Shall I just waste my days away?  I think not.  So I ponder how to remain useful in this last third of my life.  That's something I'll be thinking about today as I get back to the regular routines of my life.  As I'm doing laundry and decluttering and then [hopefully]doing some reading, I'll be thinking about those things.

Because break is over!



"O God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still declare Your wondrous deeds.  and even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come."  (Psalm 71:17-18 NASB)