the hunt for the perfect apple

so off to afton apple orchard i went today with my friend sara and a couple of her friends from her church. it was an amazing day out; a day made for hunting for the perfect apple. i love the colors that fall brings and the smell of the air. this picture does not bring the colors i sow today to justice. we spent an hour or so picking apples, eating apples, and on occasion throwing an apple or two at each other. and than we spent a little over 1/2 hour in line waiting to pay for the apples. it was very busy at the orchard- i guess everyone wanted to get out and enjoy the 81 degree weather and pick some apples. in my adventure i did find the perfect apple. it was a perfectly round and the perfect color all the way around. i of course picked it and than ate it. it tasted as good as it looks. but after about 3 apples....i was done! you can only eat so many. our adventure ended playing on the 'horse' tire swings for a spell...yes, young kids were waiting for the old kids to get off the swings so they could have fun. come on...we are still kids at heart! i included some other pictures of our afternoon at the orchard.

on a complete different note i was very challenged at church this morning. pastor keith (not the normal pastor) talked about how to gain peace...he had 4 steps that as christians we need to put into practice.
#1- to slow down. which is so hard to do. i am so busy all the time. the challenge was to just slow down your daily routine. drive the speed limit, take time to drink your coffee at the kitchen table, walk slower than normal...you get the idea. i am very challenged with that step.
#2 - listen. taking time to actually listen to what God is saying is tough. i am constently surrounded by noise and i always need to be doing something. listening to God requires you to be silent and still.
#3 - so confess sin. again, i feel like i am not to good at this. i confess sin to God and am willing to take that step. but true peace may require you to confess out loud- to others...or to the one you sinned against. i am not good at that. i feel like my pride gets in the way a lot.
#4 - to memorize and meditate on the word of God. this i am horrible at. i can memorize songs, basketball stats, phone numbers...so way am i so bad at memorizing the word of God. it's an excuse- one that i am no longer willing to put up with. i am hoping to start putting ephesians ch 4 and 5 to memory. you all can keep me accountable. so that was my challenge from church this morning! a good one and one that may take awhile before i accomplish.