Our autumn days grow shorter with each passing sunset, but whatever these days lose in length they take on in added breadth and depth. Delicious autumn hours, although but a momentary pause between steamy haze just past and chilling frost to come, are served up as the savory desert of the seasons.

The ancient Celts of Ireland and Western Europe understood and appreciated the meaning of November's beginning. October's closing marked the harvest's end. Time to celebrate--for yesterday is forever gone, swept away in a dusty cloud of time, and tomorrow is but hope and dreams hovering beyond the horizon.

Each year, about the time the insect choirs fall silent, white-crowned clouds rise stark against heavenly blue, setting off a kaleidoscope of falling leaves. Scarlets and oranges, brilliant greens and pale yellows merge into an an extravaganza, followed by gold and purple sunsets. Then the opening curtains of night reveal wintry stars assuming command.

So take a moment today and stop and thank the Father for the beauty that surrounds us. "Be still and know that I am God"