September - It's Time to Go on a Date

A Cup of Tea with Carol
Written By Carol McLeod

September … even the sound of the word conjures up a bittersweet longing for the delight of the summer just passed.

Summer has disappeared in a delightful frenzy of popsicles and sidewalk chalk … of brightly bedecked gardens and overly ambitious weeds … of brilliant fireworks and flags bravely flying in the breeze … of beads of glistening sweat after a morning walk and the inexpressible joy of flip-flops!

Oh summer! How I have loved thee!

“And all at once, September collapsed into fall.” - Wilde

September … even the name of this delicious month is said with a cooler timber.

September.

I have often had to remind myself that September is a month worth celebrating … worth cherishing … and worth enjoying. I am such a “summer-aholic” that I have been known to dread anything at all that smacks of summer’s demise.

I’ll admit … often … as the trees have turned red, yellow and orange … my soul has turned a mournful blue. Is it wrong to desire to live in a perpetual season of summer time and all that it embodies?

Tell me now … is it a sin to long for sprinklers, bumblebees and watermelon dripping down your chin?

Is it a crime to wish for 90-degree afternoons and sweet trips to the custard stand?

Is it a violation of all that is good and pure to prefer sandals over boots … picnics over snowmen … and suntans over the pasty white skin of winter?

There is no offense in having a preference when it comes to seasons or a particular weather forecast, however, it is a serious error to refuse to splash in the season that has come knocking at the door of your heart.

September! It’s time for you and me to go on a date … to enjoy one another’s company … to get to know each other again!

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower!” – Albert Camus

And so, this year, I have determined to enjoy all 30 days of this month of beauty and grandeur known as “September”.

I have decided to fall in love with September all over again and to give my whole heart to this month of crisp apples, of hayrides and of gently falling leaves.

Will you join me in this romance with September? Will you dive into its glory and its charm?

This September I will …

  • Drink pumpkin-spice tea …
  • Cheer for my favorite football team …
  • Go apple-picking …
  • Buy a cinnamon candle …
  • Go for a walk and crunch the autumn leaves beneath my feet …
  • Bake pumpkin bread …
  • Sip apple cider …
  • Make pancakes on a Saturday morning …
  • Inhale the crisp fall air …
  • Buy a new sweatshirt …
  • Decorate my front porch with mums and pumpkins …
  • Bake pumpkin cookies …
  • Listen for the geese as they travel from north to south …
  • Make a yummy new soup recipe …
  • Jump into a pile of leaves …
  • Read by the fire …
  • Go on a hayride …
  • Host a chili cook-off …
  • Eat pumpkin anything and everything!

Rather than dread the end of something that I dearly love, I have determined to re-acquaint myself with this stranger known as “September”. I will listen to the whisper that comes only from September’s wind and I will fill an empty and aching place in my soul with the splendor and perfection that is found in an ordinary September day.

September has a song; the song of September is a rhapsody that embodies rich harmonies, rare melodies and a glorious, “Amen!”

“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.” – Bryant

As I linger in the gracious beauty of September, I am reminded of the sacred responsibility that has been given to me. I have been given the gift of life … a rare and valuable treasure, indeed! And hidden within each 24-hour parcel of time, whether it is bestowed in winter, spring, autumn or summer, lies a deposit of songs to be sung, hugs to be given, laughter to explode and hearts to be encouraged.

I have been commissioned by the God of the universe to wring the joy out of an ordinary and uneventful day! How dare I be so short-sighted and so self-centered to believe that it must be a certain temperature or a particular calendar month in order to revel in this unmatched rapture of simply breathing?!

I have been dispatched with the assignment of loving people, of knowing God, of encouraging the lonely and of giving the gift of joy! 

And so this day, I choose to embrace the autumn wind that is wrapping itself around my life like a well-loved comforter.

I can say with genuine excitement and grand anticipation, “Good-bye Summer! Hello September! I have been waiting for you!”

“You have crowned the year with Your bounty;

and Your paths drip with fatness.

The pastures of the wilderness drip,

And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing.

The meadows are clothed with flocks

And the valleys are covered with grain;

They shout for joy, yes, they sing.” – Psalm 65:11-13

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Carol McLeod
Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!
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