As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.




Friday, October 11, 2013

CeLeBRaTe!! {Day 11 ~ Celebrate Autumn!}


The seasons are something to celebrate! 



When the flood waters receded, and Noah and his family left the ark for the first time in over a year, Noah built an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings. The Lord smelled that sweet savor and declared:

I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.


"While the earth remains," there will be seasons. 

The dependable changing of the seasons is a testimony to God's faithfulness. 

When winter days are gray and cold, I can look ahead to the green and lively days of spring. And when I am enduring the heat and humidity of a Mid-Atlantic summer, I can be certain that there will be autumn. 

Autumn. It is the best season in my book, and when it arrives, I celebrate! 

Some ideas for celebrating this glorious season...

  • Buy a pumpkin (or two...or eight) and a few colorful mums.
  • Indulge in a pumpkin beverage, or drink some apple cider or some spicy tea.
  • Take an autumn walk and gather some treasures from nature.
  • Bring a little autumn inside.
  • Make an apple pie or a loaf of pumpkin bread. (Or buy an apple pie or loaf of pumpkin bread.)
  • Burn a spicy candle.











On the first cool autumn day, I make pumpkin bread. There is something about the aroma of pumpkin and spices permeating the farmhouse that heralds fall's arrival to me.

This recipe was published in our local paper many years ago, and although I have tried several pumpkin bread recipes over the years, I always come back to this one. I usually double the recipe and make two loaves, one with chocolate chips (for the girls and me), and one with pecans (for Ron).





Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:
  1. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and beat well.
  2. Blend in pumpkin puree.
  3. Sift dry ingredients together; add to pumpkin mixture.
  4. Stir in chocolate chips.
  5. Pour into a 9x5 loaf pan which has been coated with cooking spray, and bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes.

Note: You can substitute 3/4 cup chopped pecans for the chocolate chips.


How do you celebrate autumn?


This is Day 11 in the series CeLeBRaTe!!  Click ~here~ to see more.


9 comments:

  1. I made pumpkin pancakes this morning. So good. I am going to try your pumpkin bread recipe - I'm bored with mine, and we like chocolate chips in ours as well!

    We, as you know, are big celebrators here! Autumn is a wonderful season to celebrate!

    Deanna

    ReplyDelete
  2. Autumn is my favorite season, too, Cheryl! Your ideas for celebrating this special season are great, I must bake the pumpkin bread, thanks for sharing the recipe! Photos are spectacular.
    Enjoy your day.
    Blessings,
    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had a baked apple for breakfast! That was a celebration for sure. Hmmm...the pumpkin bread with pecans is calling my name...

    ReplyDelete
  4. So much goodness this time of year! The pics you used are lovely-I really enjoyed scrolling through them. ~Pamelyn

    ReplyDelete
  5. Autumn is my favorite season as well. I made a couple loaves of pumpkin bread this week--we like raisins in ours. I like to keep one loaf in the freezer for easy thawing when friends or family drop in. My husband and I both have October birthdays as well as our anniversary so there is much to celebrate! Love your photos! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love~love~love. No other words necessary. I could happily check off each thing on that list!! xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Back to say that I made the bread today - two loaves in fact, and it is delicious!

    Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    Deanna

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fall food is the best! I have a stack of pumpkin recipes to try this fall. My pumpkin bread recipe was given to me by Ann and I love it so much, it's the only one I've ever tried.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is one crazy pumpkin stem in that first photo! Love it!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...