An autumn walk

Greg and I packed a lunch and grabbed the T to Harvard Square late Saturday morning. We walked along the Charles River, grabbed coffee in Kendall, and then headed over the bridge into Boston to stroll Charles Street, grab slices from the Upper Crust, and walk around the Public Garden. It was such an amazing fall day. The sun wasn't out much, but we were still able to take some decent pictures. (Click on the pictures to see a larger size. The colors look much more spectacular in the bigger pictures!)

Winter is looming

I couldn't help but mention that the footbridge I cross every day walking to and from work had a thin layer of frost/ice on it today. Greg and I pulled out our heating blanket last night, and I even wore my ear muffs to work today. Yikes! Can I really deal with another New England winter? In all honesty, all of these changes made me quite excited as I really do love the onset of new seasons!

(A disclaimer: if you look at our weather right now you would think I am a complete wimp. And it is true that I am, BUT the temperature this morning at 8:15 when I left the house was just below freezing, so don't judge me by our high today!)

Clam Chowder anyone?

I experienced my first Clam Chowder Festival today.  I grabbed the train up to Ipswich to meet Jessie, and we headed over to the festivities with Eliot and Chris.  (Sadly, Greg missed it all because of a class.)  You would all be proud of me.  I decided that even though the smell of Greg's canned clam chowder usually makes me want to throw up, I would give it a try today and see if I could at least stomach a bowl or two.  (You may wonder WHY I went to this festival being a non-clam chowder gal; it was all for the company.)  Well, I made it through all of the entries, and I even liked a couple!  In fact, I might would even order clam chowder at a restaurant after my experience today.  (Key word: might)

Beautiful Piles of Leaves

Walking home from work today, I tried to rustle through every pile of leaves near my path. I couldn't help myself! The crisp crunch under my shoes, the scent of the dry golden and crimson floating about me - I tried to capture the moment in my mind to recall on those oh-so-bitter days just around the corner.

Today was one of refreshment for me despite a drowsy beginning. For the first day in many I actually felt mostly well. My heart is greatly encouraged, this due to an evening of meaningful fellowship with our community group last night, a much needed lunch date with my husband, and the promise of more sweet fellowship with a friend tomorrow. My Savior knows my needs, and He is abundant to meet and exceed them. I am thankful.

Our church and our community groups are studying prayer together. I am so encouraged by this, though all the more I wish I could devote my life to prayer, as I was able to do quite freely while in Istanbul. I wonder how I could adjust my life to recapture even a portion of what I had there. I do not know how to do it while working as I am. How do you devote your thoughts to prayer while also diligently turning your mind to producing excellence while at work? After having experienced these being one in the same for a couple years, this has been my constant struggle and reason for discontentment and frustration since returning to the States. If only my vocation could be to intercede on behalf of others! I could not think of a greater delight...

I do wonder though, how I might make changes in my life currently to open up time for more prayer. The question I have is - am I willing to make the sacrifices? Am I able?

"...And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David." When He entered the house, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." And their eyes were opened..." Matthew 9:27-30

Post October 3rd

Friday, October 3rd has finally passed, and though I am more relieved than anything else, I think I'm also experiencing a little post-event sadness. Last Friday was my office's biggest annual event - our fall career fair. This year we had just over 100 organizations registered (a few less than last year), and we beat our past student attendance record by over 100 students -- 845 students checked in during the three and a half hour period! For an undergraduate student population under 5,000, that's doing really well!

While employers are setting up, before the students arrive

Some action at Honda's booth

I really enjoyed planning the event this year. I had participated quite a bit in helping plan the last two years, but this year it was mine to run and change and improve. We upped our marketing quite a bit, created a logo to use for branding which we plastered everywhere -- we even made coffee sleeves with the logo for the campus cafes to use! (Though we actually found that to be the least productive of all of our marketing pushes.) I had a great team working with me, and I've been even more thankful for them this past week as they've taken over the follow-up while I've been sick.

Did I mention that I've been sick? Ugh! I actually caught the cold four days before the fair and -- thanks to Carrie's wonderful advice and our sovereign God's grace in answering my pleas -- I was able to ward off the inevitable sickness just long enough to make it through the fair. But come Sunday night I was out sick.
If you've been following this blog long enough, you realize that I get sick frequently. And it's depressing to me. I try to do everything right to avoid sickness, but it's always right there knocking on my door. It's amazing how sickness upsets everything in life -- can't get work done, can't take care of things at home (finances, groceries & meals, laundry, cleaning....all go undone), can't spend time with people, can't even keep up with my Bible study!  Greg said to me the other day as I was frustrated about all of this, "Kim, this is something you cannot control. You just need to give your body time to heal." Ouch. Something I cannot control. There's the rub.

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17