Tag: autumn

Autumn Blessings in Photos

I put my little five speed Jeep in reverse, checked that all was clear and pushed down on the gas pedal quickly to back away from the curb after finishing a recent counseling session.

If any staff at the architecture business located next door have ever watched me pull in or out of the hillside parking space each week they’re probably relieved I’m seeking therapy because my skills with driving this Jeep are about as unreliable as my emotions sometimes.

Boy it’s been a year! I started counseling back in January after realizing my childhood trauma had some explaining to do, what I didn’t know was that it actually had A LOT of explanation into the thoughts and choices I’ve made throughout my entire life.

In faith, through Jesus, I might be brave enough to finally say that I’m (really, actually) in the process of truly overcoming!! It’s the most scrutinizing process I’ve ever endured, but my counselor is amazing and God is using her to the fullest. My husband has been a solid encourager, along with my momma. I am so blessed and I can feel God’s presence at work. (Bare with me though as my blog posts may continue to be hit and miss for a while.)

Leaving Monday’s therapy session, I felt a spurring for some guilt-free me-time so I set out to purposely photograph the changing of the fall leaf colors. It felt refreshing to experience awareness in nature’s surroundings. My little iPhone has continued to help capture this week’s beauty, filling an abundance of thankfulness within my heart all the while.

Nebraska may not offer the warm, playful amber hues of the aspens in Colorado during this time of year, but nevertheless, we definitely have some reminders of our own kind of gratifying autumn…

Enjoy the upcoming weekend! Sweet blessings!❤️

-Alicia

DIY Reusable Outdoor Pumpkins

Happy Fall y’all!! I know I’ve mentioned a time or twenty that I LOVE the Autumn season — not just because I like how that word sounds (because I REALLY do) but because it’s so darn beautiful. The golden tones crowning the tops of trees, cooler evenings, and the wisping and whirling of leaves as they gracefully fall to the ground in a collection of warm colors. It’s a beauty that quickly comes and goes so it’s a sweet reminder of the truth that we must not take time for granted.

Along with Autumn I also love to penny pinch so today we’re going to jump right into this month’s DIY — decorative wood pumpkins!!

That’s right..wood pumpkins! And I will tell you that for the past two years I have yet to purchase a pumpkin because of these charming little gems. Don’t get me wrong if there was a pumpkin patch in the area where I live I’d be all over the Fall stereotype of selecting the perfect pumpkin to take home and adorn my front step but Walmart hardly counts so alas I’m choosing to use wood pumpkins instead…year after year after year…

If you’re interested, let’s get started!

Supplies needed:

4×4 cut at various lengths (4” to 10” pieces recommended) **garden timbers work well also

Drill

Acrylic paint or outdoor paint and brush

Stick for the stems (about 2”)

Fabric (thin burlap rope) to tie around the stem (cut to approximately 1” by 7”)

Outdoor clear spray sealer (for added durability)

Directions:

First you will cut your pumpkins to your desired length.

Then drill a hole at the top (in the center) for the stem about a half inch deep; be sure it is drilled to the size of the stick’s circumference that you are using. It’s also time to paint the pumpkin (or you can leave it the natural wood color).

Once the paint is dry glue the stem into the hole at the top and then tie your fabric piece around the stem to finish it off.

**For added protection from weathering you can spray a coat of outdoor clear sealer over your pumpkins before placing them outdoors for the Fall season each year.

That’s it folks!! Easy breezy!

And now I’m off to enjoy a weekend away with a bestie so I’m gonna keep this post real short and sweet!!

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

September’s DIY: Acorns & Pumpkins

Well I about jumped the gun in August to share this DIY but with self-control decided an Autumn-inspired post should hold off until at least September and now here we are nearly half way through the month so I need to get this out!! …If y’all haven’t noticed time management is not my strong suit!!

Today we’ll walk through the steps to making plump fabric pumpkins and charming little acorns. Both of these are to be used indoors and next month I’ll feature a post creating DIY outdoor pumpkins.

My favorite part of these crafts is the fact that they’re inexpensive, easy to create, reusable, and customizable.

We’ll start on pumpkins first:

You’ll need—

Fabric (your choice, one color for the pumpkin and a suitable color(s) to use for a leaf or two.

Scissors

Dry beans

Pillow stuffing

Needle

Embroidery thread (required so it’s durable)

A stick for the stem

Craft glue

First you’ll want to trace a circle, at least the size of a 7 inch plate or larger, and then cut it out.

Next you will cut about a 20 inch piece of embroidery thread (depending on the size of your circle) — tie a double or triple knot at the end of the thread and then weave it in and out of the outer edge of the circle. See photo below.

**If your thread seems to short for your circle simply cinch up your threaded circle (as you work your way all the way around) to allow for more thread to work with. Place beans in the bottom once you’ve made it this far.

Fill it generously with pillow stuffing and now you’ll tie off your thread and knot it a few times.

Once it’s knotted that long string can be cut close (but not too close to the knot) …apparently I didn’t get a pic of that!!

You will take a long piece of the thread at this point, knot the end and push the needle and thread through the top of the pumpkin then pull it through the middle of the underneath side. See steps in photos below.

Now you’re going to create the lines that a real pumpkin has so we will evenly space the thread to create those lines and you will basically loop the thread from the underneath of the pumpkin, over the side of it and back through the top..repeating until you have the desired amount of lines that you think looks right. I think I can best explain through photos. Follow along below.

You can tie your thread off at the bottom and push the needle up through the bottom of the pumpkin and out the side and then cut that thread to hide it inside of your pumpkin. A few examples below:

To finish we’ll add a stem and some leaves using glue.

ALL DONE…now if you want to add cute little acorns for some extra Fall flair follow the instructions below!

Acorn supplies:

Fabric

Scissors

Acorn tops (great time to send the kids on a scavenger hunt!)

Wooden ball with hollowed out center (about the size of a quarter)

First trace a circle at 3 1/2 inches across and cut out.

Next center the wooden ball in the center of the fabric and pull up the fabric to cover the ball. You will then poke the fabric through the hole at one end of the wooden ball, working the fabric into the holes in sections helps give a clean look. I used a screw driver to push the fabric in. See photos below:

Now we quickly finish up by beading glue around the inside edge of the acorn top and then lightly pushing it overtop of the tucked in fabric.

That’s it!! Super easy and pairs up great with the fabric pumpkins!

Of course some scripture needs to “fall” into place somewhere in this post so in keeping with the approaching season I want to share a scripture that’s one of my favorites and one of the first ones I memorized.

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” —Luke 10:2

…notice the rhyming there, that’s what makes it an easier one to memorize!

Love this verse because it’s a reminder that those who are believers have work to do…the “harvest” represents unbelievers and the “workers” are Christians which God has called to share His gospel message, His care, and His love with those who don’t know Him for His purpose!!

Are you making a conscious effort to further His kingdom and glorify Him?

How can we as Christians continue to work in the harvesting?

Autumn Updates 2019

Whew! It’s been a while!

After that last (deep-thought) post I wrote I’ve honestly just had to take a break and continue to work on myself—my mental health, my heart—and I can honestly say I feel sooooo amazingly good. I’m in a good place right now—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I’ll share more on this in a future post but right now I just want to share (with y’all) some other fun updates happening in our household currently.

Nate and I had our 15 year anniversary/fall party last month and had over sixty of our family and friends show up! It was a ton of fun! We probably should’ve had it catered because I felt like Nathan and I were so busy with food prep, etc. that it was hard to visit with everyone. I had a lot of people tell me in the days following that they had such a good time and that fellowship happened — regardless of how unorganized I felt like it was; I guess I was the only one who noticed.❤️

Continue reading “Autumn Updates 2019”

Celebrations & Ramblings

Just a little update-post while I have some extra time today!

First the milestones:

  • Warren (my son) started going to public school this year, 4th grade…and he loves it! His teacher is amazing so that’s a huge bonus!
  • The beginning of September, WordPress notified me that For His Purpose blog has been a go for two years now!! When I first decided to start a blog I honestly didn’t think I had much more than two or three deep thoughts to share, so to think that I’ve now written over 80 posts in the past two years with 280 followers, blows my mind.
  • Had an awesome time at women’s weekend with maybe 45 minutes of sleep.
  • Nathan and I celebrated our 15 year wedding anniversary last month…with…insert drumroll please…a trip to Subway! They have gluten-free bread! (Side note: always have it toasted, it helps kill the rubbery texture) Continue reading “Celebrations & Ramblings”

Autumn Blessings

It’s 3 A.M. as I write…or type this…so I’m sorry ahead of time for any misspelled words or confusing lingo. I shouldn’t proofread before hitting publish just as a way to make it extraordinarily entertaining to go back and read later.

I can’t sleep very well lately and I think it’s because we’ve been going to bed at 9 lately instead of 10…either way I have two Yorkies cuddled up way too close on each side of me, an inconsistent snoring husband on his half of the bed, and I believe a charming little Warren boy curled up at the foot of my bed…plus I can hear our rooster crowing from the chicken coop. I’m not sure what that’s all about but he must be exceptionally confused and hopefully isn’t causing our neighbors any sleep deprivation.

Throw all those odds in against me and it’s no wonder I lie awake….(lie or lay…anyone else have trouble knowing which of those two are correct?)

Anyways on with the purpose of this post—which was inevitably going to come about…regardless of 3 A.M. sleepless nights.

Autumn. I just love that word. You don’t hear it very often. People lean more to using the word fall, myself included, and I’m not sure why, but I’m hoping it’s not another sign of laziness. Continue reading “Autumn Blessings”

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