Leaves...and other stuff

I love autumn...it is by far my favorite season...the cooler air is invigorating...Halloween, my favorite holiday, is in autumn...the scent and the visual display of the changing leaves is one of my most favoritest things ever...football season is in full-swing which, for a Browns fan, should be a depressing thing, but it still makes me happy...I love autumn...

But as much as I love the changing leaves, one thing I don't like is the fact that they actually fall from the tree, forcing me to remove them from my yard...this involves much raking, especially since our yard is longish...fortunately, on Monday, when I started raking, my 93 year-old next door neighbor popped his head out his door and asked me if I wanted to use his leaf-blower...I knew I liked Harley...

As I raked and blew the leaves, I started thinking about how so many people like spring as their favorite season...a good number of them seem to like that spring represents new life, starting over...but what about fall?...is it only about death and dying?...and if so, is that such a bad thing?...Jesus told us that we need to die to ourselves and to our desires...in order to receive the new life he offers, we need to die to our selfishness, and our greed, and our lust, and our idolatry, and our (fill in your vice here)...we need to let go of those leaves on a daily basis before we can hope to have new life and godly desires take their places...and maybe the coolest part is that we don't have to rake them up - it's taken care of...I love autumn...

A couple of other notes:

• We're having a boy...just thought you'd like to know
• What better way to screw up a kid for life than how UNICEF recently chose to advertise fundraising efforts for ex-child soldiers in Africa
• I still think Bud Selig is a horrible Commissioner of Major League Baseball and that my cousin's husband Stephan is the perfect choice to replace him, but I like what Selig got done on the issue of steroids: 50 games for a first offense, 100 for the second, and lifetime ban for a third
• Can't wait for this weekend...I am going to Nashville for the Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Convention...I'll get to hear great speakers and check out lots of seminars, I'll get to hear David Crowder and Chris Tomlin, and I'll get to hang out with my cousin Scott and lots of friends
• How in the HECK did Arrested Development get cancelled?!?...sign this petition if you're ticked off like me...now, if Prison Break goes anywhere, I might just get rid of my TV...not really
  
• Go Lebron James!