God is an artist! 
What an awesome world He made for us! From the towering trees to the smallest flower! But He doesn’t settle for JUST making a wonderful world full of stunning sights, He also needs to redecorate every three months! So once again God has put his artistry to work and is painting the trees with gorgeous golden colors! 
The seasons are such a joy! Personally I don’t like cold weather, but the beauty in each of the seasons is just a wonderful pleasure to see! A man once told me that if he had to chose to loose his sight or his hearing he’d rather loose his sight because he LOVES music! I had to respectfully disagree, I love to see all the beautiful things God made! But even our personal opinions are the artistry of God’s wondrous creativity! 
 
As wonderful as God’s artistry is the seasons can show us so much more! The seasons are a reminder of the changes in our lives. While spring is a symbol of the beginning of our lives and summer the middle, fall is a reminder of our life coming to an end. So every autumn our liturgical year focuses on those who have gone before us. We pray for the souls who are suffering in purgatory and we celebrate those who have made it into the glory of Heaven! 
 
Fall is to remind us that we will not be here in this time and place forever. We are meant to one day be a part of God’s harvest. Just as a farmer goes into his field and harvest his crops, God too will harvest us. But only the finest produce will do. Just as a farmer destroys his poor produce, God, too, throws the bad part of his harvest into the fiery furnace. 
I read this little story about 10 years ago and it’s stuck with me all these years…..

We are like jack-o-lanterns.
God picks us from the pumpkin patch and brings us into his home. He washes off all the dirt on the outside of us. He cuts us open and takes out all the yucky stuff on the inside. He removes our seeds of sinfulness and selfishness. Then He carves us a new smiling face. He puts his light inside of us to shine for all to see.  
 
But for God to fill us with his light we have to be willing to let Him! Our shell has to be soft. God will not cut through our shell if we have hardened it.  The saints were willing to let God do his handy work on them and so we celebrate their holy lives. We should strive to live more like they did before our lives end and God comes to harvest us. 
 
And for those who are asking: What’s winter’s meaning? Well, winter is the season that should remind us of Jesus days in the tomb before He rose from the dead.  Those who have died in God’s Grace will also rise, as Jesus did at the Resurrection! 

For the feast of All Saints Day I made a center piece for our home. I wanted to bring a little of God’s artistry inside so I collected some beautiful colored branches and arranged them in a jar filled with water.
Then my daughter and I hung saint medals on the branches. 
It’s been a beauty for the whole family to see!!
The kids have also enjoyed playing a few games of “I Spy” as they searched through the medals hanging on the branches to find a special saint!
A note to anyone trying this: 
The leaves will live for only a few days. I found oak leaves live a little longer than many others. (But I never tried maple) You could buy artificial leaves, but if you want real long lasting leaves click here to see how to make them.
Click here to see how to make longer lasting fall leaves 
that don’t need replaced or need water!!!!

If you are looking for more fall decoration ideas take a look at these sites too!

Tiffany at Family of the Foot of the Cross has this great Pumpkin decorated with a drawn Rosary! Take a look:
 Erika at Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints has a post with her templates for creating Pro-life Pumpkins!

 
Here is a All Saints Pennant Banner 
from Homeschool Goodies 
saint pennant banner
Or their Paper Saint Parade is cute too!
saints parade
All the cute saint pictures are from:
Paper Dali
 Here is a neat idea I found on Pinterest last year. This All Saints Day idea is from Praying for Grace.  Barbara also used the same ideas for All Souls day using Funeral cards!
Great idea for All Saints
 
Now, do you have something you would like to share?
Join in this month’s Catholic Inspired Link-up!!
The Rules:
  • Please add post about Catholic décor, crafts and activities we can do with our kids, home-school ideas, organization, or any other post that can help Catholic families find a more faith-filled-center in our every day life.
  • Link to me on your blog/post so others can come and join in too!

4 Comments

  1. I would have never even thought of decorating for All Saints Day- what a great idea! I get so annoyed that more and more people say their FAVORITE holiday is Halloween and decorate more for Halloween than even Christmas! Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised in our lost, lost world. This is a great way to counteract the lost meaning behind the holidays. thanks for taking the time to write about and do a linky!

  2. Hi Sarah! I totally agree with you that Halloween is becoming a more favored holiday. It's very sad in deed! Our world is truly lost! But it's so nice to see All Saints Day celebrations taking hold in Catholic parishes. When my husband and I switched to All Saint's Day parties we didn't have a warm reception. Now I see lots of Catholic groups in our area having All Saint's day parties! There is hope I think! 😉 Have a blessed day!

  3. Great post, I love your pumpkin story. Your All Saints decor turned out so pretty. I haven't started to put my prayer table together. Thanks for sharing at my Our Favorite Things Link Party.

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