Fall has come upon us. I think that fall slips in the quietest of all the seasons. It may not seem that way at first because of the brightly colored leaves and the cool, crisp air but these usually don’t occur until well into the season.

Think about it; winter brings the excitement of Christmas and the new year. By spring, we are ready to get out of the cold and look forward to making things fresh and new again with spring cleaning. Then we embrace summer, ready for summer breaks and vacation. But, fall eases its way in little by little and not always by the date on the calendar

While we are waiting for the leaves to change and sweater weather to come and stay, let’s think of some ways that we can acknowledge fall. Do you have projects that you’ve started but can’t seem to get finished? I think we all do. For some of us, especially writers, they may be just an idea or a list in a notebook. Let’s use this fall to follow though and get some things done that have been pushed to the back burner.

Stop and take inventory and see what’s working in our lives and what’s not. If we are not getting the desired results, we may need to find an alternate way of going about the task. We may need to alter, our spiritual life too if we feel ourselves slipping into a rut. Do you run out of steam before you get to your Bible study? Maybe you could try doing it at lunch instead of waiting until night. Do you have that card on your desk that you meant to send but never got around to it? Try setting aside a few minutes on Monday morning to send cards and write those encouraging notes.

Now, let’s work on lightening our load. Let’s decide those things we are never going to get around to doing and let ourselves off the hook. Is there something that finds its way on your to-do list over and over again but never gets done? Unless it is something that God has told you to do or something that will adversely affect others than just mark it off of your list altogether. If you have the supplies or half- finished project pass it on to someone that needs or wants it. Come up with a list of things that would make your life more efficient and invest the time to do them. Get a basket for those supplies you can never seem to find when you need them. Take time to sort your documents into file folders on your computer. A little time now could save you a lot of time in the long run.

Finally, let’s lessen our stress this fall. I can think of no better way to do that than prayer. Tell God the things you are worried about. You know those things that nag at you that you haven’t really prayed about because you think that God’s got bigger things to handle. Just know that you are his priority, and he wants to help. Give him your schedule and let him order your steps and ask him to let you have time to enjoy this beautiful season.

So, we can remember, let’s sum it up like this.

F-Follow through with projects.

A-Alter what is not working.

L-Lighten the load.

L-Lessen the stress.

 “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15) (NIV)