It feels like autumn has really begun, what with the bright sunny days and the cooler nights. I lit my first fire this week and it was lovely to sit with the warmth, flames and smell of burning wood, plus a couple of furry cats also enjoying the heat.
However someone at work has already started the count-down to Christmas and they regularly announce the number of weeks left (it’s just 10 weeks this weekend)! Some of the papers are apparently saying that we are going to get weeks of snow and the coldest winter in years, I recall hearing that last year as well and it didn’t materialise. However if it is true that could mean weeks of driving hell, wrapping up in many layers just to go out and hibernating at home to avoid the bad weather.
A long cold winter often means hibernating away for me, getting up when it’s dark and leaving work when it is dark and just wanting to be snuggled up in a nice warm house before coming back out in the spring as the days once again get longer and warmer.
But autumn has not really got going yet. The trees in my garden haven’t started to drop their leaves yet. I’ve not yet noticed other trees starting to change colour nor taken a walk through a park kicking the fallen leaves around or looking for conkers to play with. Bonfire night still feels a long way off and it’s still warm enough to take a walk on the beach, and at times it even feels warm enough to drive with the roof down on my car!
So why am I thinking about being huddled away under a blanket, in front of a lovely fire, watching trash TV or the 6 nation’s rugby? Mainly because these are the parts of winter I really enjoy and so it is good to think of the good times that will come my way in the coming months.
I am also aware that often I can become quite a recluse in the winter and this leads me to something I’ve been thinking and hearing about frequently over the past few weeks, how we are a community and how important it is to build that community so that we are there to support one another as well as having fun together.
As a community we are all important parts because “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” so if there is a part missing then there is a weakness present, a hole in the picture, a missing link in the chain. So if we hibernate away then the community at Northern Lights, or wherever else we are “in” community will not be the same.
This month there are a few opportunities to be part of that community, from our All Age and Harvest service on 16th October to the Retreat on 29 th October, as well as opportunities you make to meet with a few others outside the “official” meetings.
So let’s strengthen our community by bringing who we are to be the Fabulous and Beautiful people we are together.
God bless,
Charlotte W.
However someone at work has already started the count-down to Christmas and they regularly announce the number of weeks left (it’s just 10 weeks this weekend)! Some of the papers are apparently saying that we are going to get weeks of snow and the coldest winter in years, I recall hearing that last year as well and it didn’t materialise. However if it is true that could mean weeks of driving hell, wrapping up in many layers just to go out and hibernating at home to avoid the bad weather.
A long cold winter often means hibernating away for me, getting up when it’s dark and leaving work when it is dark and just wanting to be snuggled up in a nice warm house before coming back out in the spring as the days once again get longer and warmer.
But autumn has not really got going yet. The trees in my garden haven’t started to drop their leaves yet. I’ve not yet noticed other trees starting to change colour nor taken a walk through a park kicking the fallen leaves around or looking for conkers to play with. Bonfire night still feels a long way off and it’s still warm enough to take a walk on the beach, and at times it even feels warm enough to drive with the roof down on my car!
So why am I thinking about being huddled away under a blanket, in front of a lovely fire, watching trash TV or the 6 nation’s rugby? Mainly because these are the parts of winter I really enjoy and so it is good to think of the good times that will come my way in the coming months.
I am also aware that often I can become quite a recluse in the winter and this leads me to something I’ve been thinking and hearing about frequently over the past few weeks, how we are a community and how important it is to build that community so that we are there to support one another as well as having fun together.
As a community we are all important parts because “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” so if there is a part missing then there is a weakness present, a hole in the picture, a missing link in the chain. So if we hibernate away then the community at Northern Lights, or wherever else we are “in” community will not be the same.
This month there are a few opportunities to be part of that community, from our All Age and Harvest service on 16th October to the Retreat on 29 th October, as well as opportunities you make to meet with a few others outside the “official” meetings.
So let’s strengthen our community by bringing who we are to be the Fabulous and Beautiful people we are together.
God bless,
Charlotte W.
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