Tuesday, July 16, 2013

HOME PAGE - IN SEASON BLOG GETS A FACE-LIFT


Welcome to the blog I've called "IN SEASON."   If you ever lose this link and want to look it up again just go to your search engine and type in dancinginseason@blogspot.com.  I'm easy to find.  

I'm so glad to have you here!  I hope you like the new "face-lift" I just gave the blog.  Real life should be that easy - LOL.   I value your input and hope we can share life's journey a bit on these pages.  Think of my blog like a big magazine that is full of articles about the life of a Christian woman living in the South.  Southern women have many interests and this blog is full of many different subjects that they are interested in.  Don't worry though, lots of men read this blog, so come on in guys.  Also, you don't have to be a southerner, I just wanted to share a bit of my heritage.   Just click on the LABEL category of my page and hover your mouse over a any interesting photo, the pic will flip to give you the subject behind it.  Find anything your interested in, click, and start reading.  I'd love your feedback!  Also, some of these articles are a bit old and need editing, so please excuse a mistake here and there.  I'm working on it!

I've been blogging for awhile, but I haven't seriously studied the design and organization of my blog until
recently.  The whole idea for me is to share and have fun writing.   Life is great fun every day, but blogs are like houses, eventually you have to get around to cleaning your room and doing laundry.  I'm sort of in that process at the moment, but I'm trying to be creative so it isn't really boring.  I love the results too, so I'm staying encouraged!   I'm just now getting around to updating my layouts, so bear with me.  I can be a lot more creative with much of this, and hope to do just that.  I'm sorting through and updating articles that I've jotted down almost like a diary of daily thoughts about the seasons of life on this earth over the last two years.  Most all of these articles are simply about a journey through the seasons of life in the South as a Christian and a member of an ever evolving group of family and friends.  The articles are such a hodge-podge of different subjects that I'm now trying to organize the different subjects into more recognizable pages.  I haven't done this before, so please bear with me.  It may take awhile!

To sum it all up; this little site is all about how daily life and God mix and mingle for the Christian believer seeking to honor God through each season that He gives to them with their home, marriage, family life, church, career and social life.  There are serious articles on thoughts about the scriptures and there are other times of just plain silliness.  I'm a firm believer in the fact that God has a great sense of humor.   I also believe in and get excited about keeping the Holy Days God spelled out to us in The Book of Leviticus; so I love to write down my thoughts on these sacred moments and spaces in time, especially as I enjoy the ebb and flow of the seasons lived out in the church.  I am a pastor's wife, so I'm trying to tab many such articles as these under THE PASTOR'S WIFE SPEAKS section of the blog.  Click into these if you are looking to find such subjects.  I welcome your comments.

I have also written and participated in a bible study called COME AS A CHILD.  I have lessons that I
teach groups with simple childish toys that illustrate how God wants us to simply be His children and come to Him with the heart of a child.  I've written articles about the results of these studies that are on-going and they are found under a page called COME AS A CHILD.  Just click on that title if you are interested in reading any of these.

There are also a bunch of informational articles about fun places to go visit in the South, as well as family friendly fun things to do in the South  (many of them can be done just about anywhere.)   These are all in interesting places to stop and relax and play as we go through our journey through the seasons..  I'm trying to organize them into pages called FUN UNDER THE SUN.  You may wish to look for these titles.



If you love the subject of friendship, you might enjoy my page called THREE GIRLS OUT ON THE TOWN.  Here I speak of the adventures shared with two lifelong friends that I meet with once a month.  We've done this for years now, and we always choose a local restaurant to gather in each time.  No cooking/no husbands, usually no kids.  We've known each other since elementary school and it is just an uninterrupted time to play catch up with each other and to take a break from our over-busy lives and chill out.  If your into the night-life scene, don't refer to us for your main source of information.  LOL.  We are older and quite settled married ladies just enjoying the benefits of a long and sure friendship.  I've jotted down restaurant reviews along the way, and I've mostly just written about the wonderful gift of friendships that never end.  I call it THREE GIRLS OUT ON THE TOWN.  We are happy for you to join in on the fun of these pages.  Sometimes I combine the months together just to save time.  Believe me, I don't even begin to reveal our private conversations!  Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall?

Like a lot of other southern women, cooking and entertaining are like breathing for me.  I constantly need them in my life. 
I have tried to be creative and fun with my ideas, and I like to keep family traditions going in a big way.  I share these things on a page called:  FOOD ART AND FAMILY TRADITIONS if you are interested in such things. 


My favorite pass-time is the art of the written word.  I love to read great writing and I love to write myself.  I have aspirations of becoming a great writer one day, but I know I have a long way to go to reach that lofty goal.  This blog is my "practice" field.  I practice for at least one hour every day.  I'll be happy if people are even reading the words from my pen long after I leave this earth.  It would make me feel I left a legacy behind.  I've included short stories and poems throughout this blog, whenever the inspiration seems appropriate.  I welcome comments and critique on these.   Some are mine, and sometimes I share the poems and stories of friends and special discoveries I've cherished and found interesting along the way.  I have written a novel and am slowly beginning work on two more novel ideas; but I'll not share those here.  Pray that I find a good publisher!  I'm calling these pages of my blog:  PEN ART.

 Occasionally I will have to throw in some other art forms; music, painting, sketching, dance, etc., just for good measure. 

I LOVE the seasons of the church, the country of America, and the daily life as a citizen in America.  I am a true Patriot, and I hold the values that this country was founded on dear to my heart.  Often my heart breaks for the changes I see taking place all around America.  I sometimes write these thoughts down into words, or poems, and they can be found under a few pages here called SEASONS.
  It is my hope that I can encourage others to keep the seasonal traditions of my God and my country that I hold so dear.  It would make me happy if I could be of use to teach young people the values long neglected of our forefathers.

Decorating and remodeling are another hobby that I have enjoyed for years.  I love to assist others with home improvement plans, and my present home has been a 21 year old evolution.  My theme song here is that a house should always be a HOME.  It should reflect the heart and soul of the person or people dwelling under it's roof. No homes should ever be the same.  Each should have their own personality.  I live under the philosophy that a cardboard box can be charming if it reflects it's owners personality.   I have a page called THE HOUSE DOCTOR where I share my own experiences of making and remodeling a home and write down new ideas and suggestions that anyone can apply to their own remodeling plan for a better way to live.    


So you see, there are SO MANY things I want to share here in this blog, and they are varied and come in assorted shapes, colors and sizes.  So don't let just one article throw you off.  There is a lot to discover, but you must dig into the blog to find it.    I know there will be even more categories and subjects as I continue to blog in the years to come. Bear with me as I add one article after another.  Feel free to express your opinion!  

Thank you so much for visiting with me here.  I cherish your comments!  I long to have more followers - the more the merrier!  Please join me in walking through the seasonal roads of life.

God bless you and keep you always!

Gail Landgraf




dancinginseason.blogspot.com