Autumn's Going Strong--and GIVEAWAY!

Do you love the fall? What's your favorite season?

We've lived in Ohio for 19 years. For most of those years I've looked forward to September since it was always my favorite month, weather-wise. 

I now realize that October in Ohio equals September on Long Island. (It only took me a decade and a half to get it!) But now I know. My favorite month, weather-wise, is  OCTOBER. 

How about you?  Leave a comment telling me your favorite season or month and why, and I'll enter you in a drawing for a free DVD, "Becoming Jane." (Christmas season doesn't count--we're talking weather-wise--unless that season's weather is your favorite.) For a bonus entry, send a friend to the blog! When she/he mentions you, you'll get another entry. 

DRAWING ENDS NOVEMBER 9

"Becoming Jane" stars Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy, and I found it delightful. I don't necessarily like it when filmmakers play with Jane Austen's life, but this flick works. It's both intelligent and joyful. 

Unlike "Miss Austen Regrets"--another film supposedly about Jane's life--this script did well at capturing Jane's sense of fun as well as her sharp wit. "Miss Austen Regrets" missed the mark, showing Jane as a bitter spinster, when in fact, her letters and even her books do not convey a sense of personal bitterness. 

Admittedly, there are letters we've never seen, as Jane's sister destroyed many of them. But Jane was writing until only a few months before her death, and I just don't get a sense of bitterness in what she left us. 

This is a great DVD to have in one's collection of period flicks!  

  But first, enjoy another Autumn poem.

 Bits and Pieces

By Joan Leotta

Cool, crisp air and its brilliant

fire hues

are hard to find where

heat simmers until well

into December.

Here, long still-hot

days of October and November

allow early darkness to eat

out the green,

leaving mottled brown

arrayed on branches until

storms wash them

down onto my lawn.

Yet, now and again,

bits and pieces of

autumn glory appear—

a vine, a baby tree hiding

in my palmetto grass,

burst into red

or bright yellow,

defying heat,

                                                                    proclaiming, 

“Fall is here.”

Joan Leotta is an award-winning writer and spoken word performer who lives on the North Carolina coast. Her chapbook, Languid Lusciousness with Lemon is available on Amazon. Please check out her blog, What Editors Want You to Know at www,JoanLeotta.wordpress.com

"Bits and Pieces" originally published in RPG Digest; used by courtesy of E.B.(Gene) Alston, and the author. 

Don't forget to leave a comment to enter the drawing! 

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Please note: Due to mailing costs, giveaway is for US residents only, sorry. International commenters can win an ebook, choosing from any of my books.  

True Autumn Glory

Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. 

Psalm 125:5-6

This is a timely verse for Autumn, a time of reaping what has been sown, of farm-stands dotted with orange pumpkins and squash and corn. 

  "Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow"--the image is of farmers who  carry onerous bags of seed across their fields, laboriously sowing row after row. Their work is so hard, the seed so heavy, they weep.   

"Will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them." But then they reap the bounty of harvest. The sheaves of wheat or other grain, are their reward. They have armfuls of them to show for their labor. Food for home and families.

   But I urge you to look past the agricultural image and see the deeper spiritual meaning. 

The "seed to sow" represents our prayers. We carry them to the Lord in what often feels like a burden, a labor.  

I don't know about you, but I can rarely come before God without shedding tears over the "seeds" I carry. The heartfelt pleas for lost loved ones, for needs and requests that, apart from grace, could weigh me down. 

I "plant" my seeds into the LORD's loving hands. And I know the joy will come. Answered prayer. Miracles. Intervention where none could be seen coming; help where none was expected; healing where there was hurt; saved souls where there was darkness and hopelessness. Sometimes the answer is "no," or "wait"--but plant the seed of prayer and joy is on the way.  

This is true Autumn glory--God's assurance that when we sow in tears, we will reap in joy. 

Weeping may tarry for the night,

    but joy comes with the morning. 
Psalm 30:5

A free book on Amazon this week may help you find determination to spend more time in prayer. The Lost Art of Intercession. I haven't read it yet but share it in the hope that it's well written and encouraging.  

Till next time,blessings and grace,Linore

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Autumn Wonders

View  on our property

Don't you love Autumn?

Here in Ohio, we've had 85 degree weather for the last week--not very autumnal--but today it dropped to 55. A thirty degree change overnight--that's Ohio! But I welcome it, for I love the chill in the air, the turning of the leaves, the crisp footfalls through leaves as I hike, and the deep blue sky.

While storms are rocking other parts of the country (our family prays for those affected), here is most definitely a beautiful pumpkin-harvest fall. Over the next few weeks, I'll post images from my area, and other things that delight me at this time of year--beginning with a fall poem.

I'll be posting more autumnal beauty, poetry, recipes and quotes--so stay tuned. :)
Enjoy!

 Autumn

 By Gerald E. Greene

                                           The heat of summer slowly dissipates.

Long days grow shorter and the weather cools,

as Autumn equinox delineates,

when children move from beaches back to schools,

and leaves begin to dry as sap recedes,

preparing for their colorful array.

When frost arrives with glistening silver beads,

Fall’s arbor shines in glorious display,

while pumpkins ripen in the farmer’s field.

Thanksgiving overflows from grateful breast,

with larders full of generous summer yield,

and nature slows for winter’s frozen rest.

Bright leaves fall, leaving twigs and branches bare,

as forest floors acclaim autumnal flare.

Gerald E. Greene is the author of Kaleidoscope - A Poetry Collection

"Harvest Time" by Alfred A. Glendening

Writing Update:
My time-travel regency is with my agent. I'll keep you posted on its progress and publishing plans! 

Happy Autumn! See you soon,

Linore 

The Country House Courtship
PRINT EDITION NOW AVAILABLE! (click here)

[Amazon really messed up the book description--it's one big jumbled mess, despite my efforts and emails--click the ebook version to read it the way it SHOULD look. Amazon has recently decided to become a printer of books instead of just a seller of them. Sadly, they have a long way to go in terms of quality control.]