Happy November. Make a joyful noise--Lenora Worth

I can't believe it's November already. On the one hand, I'm so ready for next week to pass. I don't want to get into politics, but I'm ready to focus on being thankful for what's right in the world instead of hearing everyone bickering about what's wrong.

But enough about that. I'm here to celebrate some of the beauty of fall and find out what's happening with the rest of you. If you visited the Love Inspired Harvest Festival on the Harlequin website a few weeks ago, you probably heard some of this there. Fall is a great time to regroup and settle down and snuggle up. Hot chocolate and s'mores, football and falling leaves, good books and crisp breezes in the air. Taking a long walk on a pretty path. Thanking God for the bounty of the earth.

Since I just finished a book ahead of deadline, I'm in a cooking mood. Gumbo, French bread, maybe some pumpkin bread and other yummy fall foods. Red velvet brownies, maybe?

And my favorite--pie:

What are your plans for fall?

Do you find you read a different type of book as the season changes?

What are some of your favorite fall foods?

I hope you have a great fall. As we go into the holiday season, I hope we cling to these verses from Psalms 95:

"Oh, come let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!"

Thanksgiving and songs of praise. Joy. I pray we always find the JOY!

Ask Elnora--About Starting Over? Lenora Worth

Hello, lovely end-of-the-year friends. Elnora doesn't make New Year's Resolutions. Elnora is resolved on a lot of things already. But I do so believe in starting over. I think the hip term these days is a "do-over." Sometimes, it's the only way to make things right, right?? For example, Elnora loves pie. Chocolate pie, coconut pie, pecan pie, and sweet potato pie. In fact, I've had sweet potato pie for breakfast all week long (and yes, I know it's off the charts on Weight Watchers points.) But ... there is something so comforting about a piece of pie and a good cup of coffee. Comfort food--it wraps us in memories like an old quilt. With each bite I take, I remember my mother making home-made pies. She'd stand at an actual pie safe (does anyone else know what one of those is??) and roll out the pie dough on the big enamel counter. The smell of a home-made sweet potato pie is like nectar from heaven. So I kind of feel that with each bite of that sweet pie, I get a nice do-over of some good childhood memories. Now, Elnora trying to bake her own--that might turn into a nightmare. I attempted gingerbread cookies last week, as some might recall. I have a big container of them sitting on my counter. They turned out pretty good, except one must dip the little brats in coffee in order to soften them for proper eating. I call them my biscotti gingerbread cookies. Not bad with a latte, let me tell you. I might need a do-over on how to bake cookies, too. But I digress. On to the new year and fresh, new perspectives. There is something enchanting and enticing about a blank calendar. There are no mistakes to white out. We have a whole new twelve months to get things right or discover something new and challenging. We'll have plenty of time to explore all the possibilities that stretch over months and months of pure white just begging us to pencil something in. Some people pick a new word for each new year. Some people decide they will finally do that one thing they've secretly wanted to do and oh, joy, they have a whole year to follow their bliss. A new year offers everyone a second chance or a first adventure. So let's discuss. What will you do with the next twelve months? I hope we can all fill that white space with lots of notes and exclamation points so when those twelve months are up, we can look back and nod and say "That was a good day" or "I'm so glad I tried that and succeeded." Are you ready for new beginnings and a few do-overs? After all, it should be as easy as pie, right?