Drifting Leaves: Autumn Tag Challenge

🎵 "La-di-dah-di-dah-di-dum, 'tis autumn!" 🎵

I'm so excited to *ahem* steal this tag from Lizzie at Starlight and Saucepans because who wouldn't want to bask in the glory of autumn in blogger style?! 😊🍁🍂  Here are the rules!

1. Download the cover photo and use it for your post
2. Acknowledge the person who tagged you
3. Tag others and comment on their blog to let them know!
4. Slip into autumn vibes

 Now without further adieu, let's jump into this proverbial pile of leaves that are questions! 

1. If autumn isn't your favourite season, what is? And if autumn is your favourite season, why?

Back in 2017, it was my second favorite season, but I go back and forth between spring and autumn being my #1 favorite.  I love the cooling temperatures, the changing colors, and the anticipation of the holidays that it brings.  Of course there will be Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent, but there are some other feasts such as Christ the King, All Saints, and the octave of All Souls that I dearly love as well.

2. What is your favourite thing that you do each autumn?

My most regular favorite thing I do each autumn would be celebrate Thanksgiving.  I know that's for a later question though.  I look forward to listening to my autumn playlist and possibly adding to it as well!  (You can find it below!)  So many people rush into Christmas music only to wear out the same five songs by mid December, so I love savoring the season with cozy autumnal music.  I also very much enjoy praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory every November when we visit the local cemeteries.

3. What are a couple of your favourite autumn memories?

I have quite a few!  My mom's birthday, which is in October, is a highlight for two different years.  One year, friends of ours threw her a huge surprise party at their house and it was a jolly autumn bash!  Another year, my family took her up to the mountains to enjoy the cooler temperatures, the falling leaves, and a little picnic!  That was a delightful time.

Trips to the nearby orchard also come to mind.  There's not much like getting outdoors, roaming the orchards and fields, harvesting apples or potatoes, and enjoying delicious apple cider donuts.

Of course, times with family and friends at Thanksgiving have to be my all-time favorite autumn memories.

4. What book most reminds you of the autumn? Movie?

The first book that comes to mind is, of course, Anne of Windy Popplars.  This cover is the ideal autumn afternoon for me!  As for a movie, I *love* watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving each year around Thanksgiving.  I recenly discovered The Inheritance, based on the novel by L. M. Alcott.  While this movie is not expressly autumnal, there is something about the colors, characters, and settings that give a very fall-ish feeling.

*swoons*

          

5. What is your favourite drink for the season?

Chai tea is my go-to all year 'round, but at this time of year, I love pumkin chai; not the artificiall kind, but one from little coffee shops that use whole ingredients so that the latte tastes of pumpkin puree and fall goodness!! 

6. What is one new thing you want to do this autumn?

I want to travel to an area that has real fall foliage.  I live in the Southwest of the US, so we don't get much, if any, change in leaves.  We're surrounded mostly by pine and palm trees.  To be in a place that truly requires a fall overcoat, a scarf, and a warm drink in your hand would be lovely!

credit: Getty Images

7. Do you decorate for the autumn? If so, how soon? If not, why?

Why, yes, we do!  Not half as much as they do for fall Hallmark movies (that is next to craziness), but we have a tote or two of autumn decor that we usually bring out sometime in November, especially for Thanksgiving.  It's so nostalgic because we've had a lot of the decorations since I was little.

8. What is your favourite way to celebrate Thanksgiving?

Each year is pretty much the same for my family, and I wouldn't really change it.  I absolutely love spending time with dear family and friends.  It's usually a modest size gathering, not too fancy, but with plenty of charm.  When my sister and I were growing up, we would often make Thanksgiving crafts to decorate, personalize place cards, or even cook up a skit or two to perform between dinner and dessert!  

A couple of years ago, I really loved the way we began cooking the turkey the day before Thanksgiving because you know that smell just makes Thanksgiving official, so it really felt like we had two Thanksgiving days!

9. What colour makes you think most of autumn?

I suppose a warm, almost burt orrange.  But I do have to agree with Lizzie and Olivia @MeanwhileinRivendelle that all the autumn colors of orranges, yellows, reds, and browns together are quintessential autumn.

credit: Pinterest

10. Type up a list of ten words or names that encapsulate the season of autumn for you.

• thankful

• pumpkin

• cozy

• family

• warmth

• crisp

• nourish

• wind down

• recollection

• glory

Wow!  What a fun tag!  Thank you again, Lizzie for letting me steal it from you! 😉 How about you?  What are your autumn favorites?  Feel free to answer the tag questions on your own blog and share your answers with me in the comments below!  I really would like to read them!  

I hope you have a wonderful rest of autumn!

credit: Pinterest

What happened to "Let Every Heart PREPARE Him Room?"

 I will probably get mixed reactions on this.  We are entitled to our own reactions.  I, however, want to address the holiday jumble that is the end of October to the beginning of November.  Even before Halloween arrives, social media, stores, and television are all aglow with the longing for Christmas festivity.  The content creators tell you they just can't wait for the clock to strike midnight on Halloween night because then, "It's CHrIstMAsS!!!" It seems this year, even more than previous years, the push for Christmas is even harder and earlier than it's ever been.  Why is this?  Also, isn't this a good thing?

The reasoning that seems to be growing in intensity this year is that people just need more cheer, some peace on earth, joy, and general goodwill towards men.  Basically, if it makes me happy, can't I just have it and you leave me alone?  Well, there are two glaring problems with this.  The biggest concern is that we are putting our happiness, our own euphoria, above everything else.  Who cares what is normal, proper, or how it affects others?  "My life, my choice."  Sound familiar?  

(credit: Pinterest)

This desire to be fulfilled, happy, and do what brings us pleasure pervades our culture and our lives.  People are constantly on the hunt for pleasure and satisfaction, and the world tries to deliver at every turn, from instant gratification to self-affirmation.  We can pick whatever music or movie we want to fit our mood whenever we want it with streaming services.  We order delivery of whatever we're craving right to our doors without moving a muscle, and now, we want to have holiday cheer on tap to be turned on (and presumably off) when it pleases us.  It's as if Christmas only exists to bring us pleasure. Yet somehow, with all this instant gratification, we still feel so miserably discontented and are usually worn out by the third week of December.

We were not made to be satisfied by the pleasures of this world, even the ones so seemingly innocent as Hallmark movies and hot chocolate.  As Christians, we know this life is a journey, a valley of tears, a battle against sin, a climb to Heaven.  It is not easy, and we can only be satisfied fully by God Himself.  No amount of Christmas carols can cure us completely.  When we look for our next dopamine pacification in the upcoming holiday and its festivities, we can often still feel drained and dissatisfied even in the midst of it.  As humans and God's creatures, we were made for cycles and seasons.  It's not our business to rush these.  If we try to harvest happiness out of season, it will not be ripe.  Instead, it will be bitter and leave us hungry, even if it satisfies for a minute.  Instead, God, as the wonderful Creator that He is, knows what's best for us, and He has designed the seasons and the Church calendar for a purpose.  According to the natural seasons, it is most definitely autumn everywhere in the U.S.  Leaves are continuing to change color and fall, temperatures are finally dipping down, and harvest is in full swing.  We long for the coziness of autumn long enough at the end of summer, but don't seem to enjoy it past October 31st.  

October 31st is a holiday because it is the eve of All Saints.  That means that the feast of All Saints is just beginning on the day everyone says, "It's ChRiiSTmASs!!!"  But what actually happens to Hallowtide and the octave in which we can gain indulgences for the poor souls in Purgatory?  In a month which the Church, in Her wisdom, has set aside to help the holy souls with prayer in sacrifice, we are all too eager to indulge ourselves in winter festivities just because we need some joy in our humdrum lives.  But what about the fulfillment that comes from the rhythms and cycle of the Church year?  We have finished the month of the Holy Rosary and are entering a new devotion.  We have something new to focus on.  It may not be as warm and fuzzy as we'd like it to be, but that's not what we're made for.  Our Lady told St. Bernadette,

"I do not promise you happiness in this life, but in the next."

We need to order our lives after the true happiness of Heaven and do everything we can to get there.  The road is indeed steep and narrow, but God, in His goodness, does give us joys along the way.  It's important not to snatch them out of His hands before He intends to give them to us, though.

But one may object that there is no harm in celebrating Christmas early because it's about the birth of Christ!  That may be true in origin, but binge-listening to Mariah Carrey, and buying all new on-trend holiday decor hardly constitutes celebrating Christ.  Again, people are clamoring for this holiday because they desire the feelings it brings, not because they love their Redeemer so much that they celebrate His birthday a whole two months in advance.  If we really wanted to honor Christ in our homes, we would spend time in prayer, at church, reading about His Incarnation, and following His Church in its celebrations.  We must prepare our sinful hearts to receive Him at Christmas so we can more fully experience the true and lasting joy of His gift.  

All year long, we speak of finding contentedness, living in the moment, being present, until this time when we rush ahead of the season, only to be more tired and drained when it is over.  The world tells you you need Christmas joy now, but don't be afraid to put down the phone, turn off the TV, look around and see the fall colors outside, feel the crisp air, and do what God calls us to do this day.  Christmas will be here before you know it; don't worry.  Holy Mother Chruch gives us a whole season to celebrate it until the feast of the Presentation on February 2nd.  She knows our needs, we just must be Her patient children drawing on the strength She gives us now in the Rosary, the festivities of Hallowtide, and the gratitude of Thanksgiving.  

Don't lose heart.  Soldier on bravely for Christ the King, and soon enough, Christ will be able to find room in your heart when Christmas is truly here to pierce the darkness and freezing cold of winter.

There is so much more I could say in favor of following the seasons of the Church instead of the commercialization, but I want to encourage you to slow down and discover your own traditions for this time of year.  Pray for the holy souls in Purgatory, prepare for Thanksgiving, and enjoy all that autumn has to offer.  Then, dig into Advent, try to really prepare and grow in holiness during that season of waiting when it comes, and in doing so, you'll indeed be preparing Him room.  The joy of Christmas will truly be all the more glorious.

Pierced with the Wounds of Christ

Holy Mother, pierce me through;
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

This verse of the Stabat Mater invokes Mary to renew in us the sufferings of Christ.  On the first Friday of Lent, while praying the Stations, it struck me that this is not just a general plea to remember the sufferings of Christ and to feel some slight pang in our hearts at this remembrance.  No, we are asking for much more.  This is a cry to be pierced by each wound with the pain Our Lord suffered.  These were excruciating pains and we are asking Our Lady to renew them in us throughout our lives.  Singing this verse again is an excellent reminder that every pain and every suffering, physical, mental, as well as spiritual, are graces to unite us to Christ.  We ask for this grace in our prayers and songs, but when the everyday sufferings come, we complain and try our very best to get out of them or at least seek human sympathy.  Instead, let us embrace the cross fully this Lent.  Seek to feel every suffering keenly in union with Our Lord and offer it to Him.  The pain we ask for in the song is not just a little remembrance of His pain once on Calvary but is an invitation for us to join Him in the pain He suffers every day at the hands of sinners.  Let us do this all in love for Our Lord. 

Make me feel as you have felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ our Lord.

The "I Should Have Read That Book" Tag

Rules:

• Thank the person who tagged you and link back to their post.  (Thank you, dear Samantha of Bookshire!)
• Link to the creator’s blog in your post.
• Answer the questions below.
• Tag 10 others to take part.  (Oh boy!  I'm afraid I don't have 10 Blogger friends, *sniff*.)

A book that a certain friend is always telling you to read

Well, she's not always telling me to read the book, but she has recommended the movie multiple times and I did watch it, so we'll say, Under the Greenwood Tree.

A book that’s been on your TBR forever and yet you still haven’t picked it up

What book hasn't been on my TBR list for forever?!  There are regrettably so many!  I'll mention one here that is very popular in the traditional Catholic circles, and that is Saint Magnus: The Last Viking.  I shelved this book as TBR on Goodreads in 2018. 

A book in a series you’ve started, but haven’t gotten 'round to finishing yet

Dies a death of shame.  I call myself an Anne fan.  I regret to say I have not actually finished the series.  I only need to read Rainbow Valley and Rilla, but still!!  Shame! 🙈

A classic you’ve always liked the sound of, but never actually read

I know, I know!  More shame.  And I've watched the adaptations, too!  😭  I do love the story and want to read this so badly.  Maybe this summer?  Seems like a fitting read?

A popular book that it seems everyone but you has read

Are we speaking of the "popular through the ages" kind of book or "trending now"?  Let's go with The Blue Castle because that is both a classic as well as still generally popular.  26 of my Goodreads friends have shelved it and it has a 4.3 star rating.  I almost did a read-along with The Maidens of Green Gables, but my life schedule didn't allow for it at the time.  Maybe there will be another chance some day. 

A book that inspired a film/TV adaptation that you really love, but you just haven’t read it yet

Sense and Sensibility could also count for this one, but let's go with North and South.  Now this title is a chunky read so you'll pardon my negligence, yes?  Thank you.  Someday, if I get married and have oodles of spare time around my own House of Dreams, I may cozy up with this one.  For now, I will enjoy the mini-series. 😊

A book you see all over Instagram but haven’t picked up yet

Ok, I'm not exactly on Bookstagram.  I'm more a part of Knitstagram, or the Teachergram. 😂  Still, I would say The Enchanted Sonata.  That's a Bookstagram book, right?  I've also thought of reading Romanov which has a similar looking cover (it makes me think they're part of the same series, but I haven't found a connection), but I'm on the fence about that one.  It's currently not on my TBR list because of the magic aspect.  If you've read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts below!

Well, that was fun!!  It was so great to complete a tag again.  This one has been in my drafts since 2022.  It was also very humbling as I should have read many of these titles already, I know.  Do you have any recommendations of other titles I can add to my TBR?  Have you read any of these titles?  Which ones are also sitting in your TBR list?  I want to know so please comment below!

Thanks so much for reading along!  If you've made it this far, tag you're it!!  If you complete this on your blog, link your post in the comments below.

In cordibus Jesu et Mariae,