Forget Not His Benefits

The rest of this week I am dog/house sitting for my parents. The weather here in Black River is absolutely perfect (a high of 73 today) so I took the dogs for a walk on the land. With Jackson beside me I seem to notice every little detail of beauty down to the motivated woodpecker flying from tree to tree. Every time we heard it Jackson stopped in his tracks until he figured out where it was. 

Coming home, I'm always amazed by how blessed I was to grow up here and to call it home. Prayer Acres is a name my parents gave the 10 acres of land when they bought it several years ago and i think it is a fitting name. I can't NOT recognize God's prompting to lay my burdens at his feet when I walk through and enjoy his beauty. 

Here are some photos of Prayer Acres in beautiful fall.

"Praise the Lord Oh my Soul; all my inmost being praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord Oh my Soul and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all yours sins

and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the Eagles." Psalm 103:1-5

John and I truly feel renewed by the benefits of our  Lord and continuously grateful. Let us not forget...

"Seasons"

Seasons (from a mid-western perspective)  are altogether a beautiful illustration of life, aren't they? I find myself fascinated with each seasonal transition. 

In the spring, everything is young, new, fresh and messy. We're over zealous about everything just because it's spring and things are NEW and pointing to the warmth of summer. We are ready, for something-- anything to get us out of the indoors. Spring is like a breath of fresh air that gives life to a wintered soul. 

Summer is like the adolescent years. There are days of perfect temperatures and there are days of extreme temperatures. Some days it rains, some days it storms, and some days we get perfectly clear skies and a storm. You never quite know what you're in for, but you live it up because it's the mid-west in it's prime. 

Fall...ah fall. Like a fresh perspective it comes. Like the end of a season is the season itself. The green life matures and before it dies becomes a shade more beautiful and more complimentary to it's surroundings than any art I've seen. Some days it rains, as if mourning it's youth. Good things we've waited for all summer are now in full bloom-- ripe, mature, and ready for harvest. As the days go on, the temperatures becomes less and less like that of summer, more and more resembling winter. The leaves fall and all that is left are frames of what once held a perfect picture.

Winter I tend to look at two ways. The first, I think is fairly obvious, for those that enjoy warm weather as much as I. To me it figures death. It is the end of the plant life we experience all around during Spring, Summer and Fall. With it comes a covering of all we once could see. Colors fade and the mid-west becomes  a black and white photo. Yet it is , to me, still beautiful.  While it seems to be the end, it is not-- only a fresh start to another beginning. It bleeds into the new life represented in spring with it's white covering that embodies a fresh start. It is altogether lovely.

So many pictures you can pull from the seasons and add to them your thoughts, as well as spiritualistic elements to be sure. 

I'll leave it open to you're own conclusion. 


Dedicated to our beautiful horse with whom I enjoyed many seasons of riding as he basically watched me grow up. The new season of life without a pet causes me to ponder and mourn what has been lost, and to thank God for what he gave and for what he will continue to bless us with. 


"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1 

Kemo Sabe with my brother Garrett <3 

Copyright Autumn R. Anderson: 2011

"You Never let Go" David Crowder Band

Ever heard a song and thought, "did i write that in my sleep last night?" or "did that artist hack into my journal??" That's how I felt when I heard the first song  on my mix. Enjoy the truth of David Crowder's song, "You Never Let Go."

New found love

i can't stop. i love drawing. no, i'm not the best...at all. but i love it, and i can't stop. it' s just one more very necessary way to feed my artistic side...and it's fun!

"someone lovely"
Copyright Autumn R. Anderson: 2011

"favorite spot"
Copyright Autumn R. Anderson:2011

"someone blue"

Copyright Autumn R. Anderson 2011

"Becky Home-ec-y"

Well i'm pleased to say that yesturday I made up not one, not two, but three recipes and they all turned out to be new favorite things!

The first (and I can't share the exact recipe with you because it's a secret and I'm going to be annoying and keep the secret this time:

Tuna Salad

This was an easy and quick little meal. It tastes delightful on a sandwich with fresh garden tomato slice and a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese. John loved it! I also added some dill pickles into the mix this time instead of celery, and to make it a bit more on the healthy side used ranch instead of mayo-so much better. Maybe someday I'll share the complete recipe... if i remember to write it down! I'm more of a taste as i go kind of person!

The Second: Since I'd used nearly all the pickles for the salad, I thought I'd better replace them. We have cucumbers a plenty in the garden so I used just a few to try a recipe I saw on the net: it became my own recipe because i didn't have but 2 of the ingredients.  Here  is a pickle recipe that I will try next time and below is the finished product:

YUM! Just a bit on the salty side. Practice makes perfect.

Third [and current favorite]:

Homemade raw salsa. Love. I'm munching on it right now with these.

Depends on how much you want to make, but I used

6 fresh tomatoes
1/2 onion
1/2 tsp. cilantro ( or basil if you're impatient to try it!)
salt (to taste)
 1/2 tsp. sriracha chili sauce (but you may want to add less if you don' t like *spicy*

It was/is great and super easy! I think the fresh tomatoes really are the secret.

The Dog Days of Summer

I love to cook =] Thought I'd share with you what was on the menu tonight...

 <----That, is one of the many reasons I love the farmers market and lucky for me there are quite a few random family run markets sprinkled throughout Black River Falls. The man who sold me these beauties was Amish and his name was Ben.







                           And this----------------------->
is the finished product. Probably one of my favorite summer meals of sauteed veggies-with lots of color. (Ben was fresh out of red peppers except for that one which I strategically placed on top for the sake of this picture, but you get the idea.

There was also delectable  chicken (it's not braggin' if it's true) marinated in a tomato basil cream sauce, along with a modified  fettuccine sauce on vegetable  noodles. There is no picture because the picture didn't show it justice and I didn't want to show you an icky food picture. Icky food pictures are the worst...

I love food, and icky food pictures just ruin food for me...like the time I saw a picture of a "well-balanced meal" in my health book that was obvoiusly taken in the 70's....I couldn't eat carrots, broccali, or turkey sandwiches for a month. Gross.

But back to nice things and good food...we had a perfect sunday afternoon with two of our friends last weekend. A picnic in  the yard with chicken wings of multiple seasonings, boiled cheesy  garlic potatoes, yummy fruit, green salad (complete with avocado -my current obsession) and s'mores by the fire- after a visit to the swimming hole during which Jackson (my adored dog) created many an awkward yet memorable moment. We found out he loves kids so that's good...he also thinks that anyone running is inviting him on an adventure, thinks it's fun to check babies diapers (cutest thing :P) and loves the water...so, so much.

When we first arrived there, I relished the various compliments  of  how well behaved he was. I may have taken a little pride in that since he's kind of my project right now. In previous visits this swimming hole was kind of a secret, or so we thought. It's a kayak landing nestled into the trees on the river, so I was rather  surprised to see a group of people camped out along the bank of "my swimming hole."  But upon Jackson proving his love for water and his distain of leaving it even for the sake of re-leaving himself, that problem was quickly solved... =/ How embarrassing. There was an audible groan followed by parents grabbing their children and...really it was just a horrible occurrence... Please don't judge me for my dog's behavior...also please believe that was truly horrified, but I couldn't help but laugh...a little..ok a lot. It's just that this kind of thing usually only happens to me and I find the luck (or lack there of) in my life just humorous. After 23 years of living this way- one makes due.

Hoping this is not a sign of my parenting skills. If there is any question please note: my parents are the proud legal owners of Jackson, the dog who *flunked  leader dogs school.

*Jackson actually did not flunk. He's very intelligent and actually passed all of his tests. The only problem was that he didn't bond with the person he was supposed to be paired up with to lead. We certainly didn't mind getting him back =]

Autumn's New Blog

Hello all!

It's been awhile, hasn't it? The A-Team has undergone a lot of transitions within the last few months, the main one being our big faith step of moving! Many of you have been so sweet to ask for updates and to continue in prayer for us,  and I'm sorry but at this time, while there are many things we are praying over, there is not just one main leading as of yet.We feel it's best that instead of telling you each step along the way, we simply ask you to pray for God's leading in our lives, as you've been doing. It's such a blessing to have soo many of our dear friends and family praying for us! We promise to update you when we know!

Right now we are safely tucked away on what feels like a little sabbatical to us. My parents, graciously offered for us to stay here in Black River rent free while we wait on God. I cannot tell you what a blessing it has been to not feel hurried into a making a decision. Ministry jobs are not the kind of jobs you want to take without careful consideration and much prayer!

Friends, we've been just blessed by God in more ways than I can tell you through this summer. Almost as soon as we came here, God provided work for John with Davis furniture ( a company two miles from our house) to build church pews, stadium seating, etc. and install it. He is learning so much about wood working and LOVES it.
Remember the bed he build me for our wedding?

He's hardly been able to do wood working since, and has had such a desire to grow in his knowledge of this hobby.

 I would venture to say that other than the long hours and coming home a bit dirtier than he did from the office, to him,  it hardly feels like work!

The past month I had the opportunity to work with my brother at the water park in our home town (as an 8 yr. vet, i might add ;-). It was fun to be back and to have the opportunity to work with and see my brother, who made a great boss/ head lifeguard.

Me and Garrett

I also had the chance to help a friend at Parkview with the drama section of vacation bible school this month. It was a western themed week and we had SO much fun doing it. It was a great script broken into 5 days, and on Sunday, we put them all together and did the drama for both services.

This is a photo of our set.

and this....

...is an epic photo of my mom being lassoed by my friend, Paul.  

In other news, I wanted to let you know that while I may not be  updating our "family" blog as often right now, I  am working on my creative writing, and started an additional blog in April entitled Undignified. I created this blog in an effort to practice my creative writing style, stretch myself theologically, and to encourage other worship leaders, ministry leaders and brother's and sister's in Christ to be raw and real without letting go of their doctrine and theology. I'm currently writing a series on the Emergent church fad called "I'm Just Being Real." I'd love for you to check it out and totally appreciate constructive feedback.

That's life with the A-Team (sorry, i'm the cheddery-est of cheeses with that title, but i love it.)

Have a wonderful day and thanks for praying with us!