Happy New Year! I know the year begins in January. But doesn’t September feel like a fresh start? School has begun – complete with that new backpack and first-day outfit the search for which drove everyone crazy. Soccer season, Bible studies, football, dance classes are all under way. 

Anyone who knows me knows that fall is my very favorite time of year (Pumpkins are coming!!), and part of that appeal for me is the plethora of possibility. A blank page on the calendar to fill. New things to consider.

In the movie You’ve Got Mail (a good movie to watch in the fall), the Tom Hanks character Joe Fox emails “Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies… I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” My daughter and I have decided that the smell of a freshly sharpened Ticonderoga pencil is a distinctly back-to-school scent. And yes it has to be a Ticonderoga. Nothing else will do.

That said, it is remarkably easy to fill the calendar with too many worthy choices. We can easily overwhelm ourselves and our families. I remember driving frantically from dance recital rehearsal to AWANA award night. My daughters had to change clothes in the car and choke down fast-food on the way. There were times when I had to be three places at once. Crazy.

So, before you dive into fall and the hustle and bustle of new activity, I invite you to take a deep breath of fresh fall air and think. 

• How can you keep from overwhelming everyone?
• What activities can be set aside? What traditions must be observed? 
•  Have you left time in your schedule for dinner? For play? For quiet?

It is tempting to do all the fun things. I know how parents can get guilted into signing up their kids for every enrichment opportunity. But really, sometimes it is best to play with blocks or roll in the grass (even if you are an adult).

Cease striving and know that I am God;

Psalm 46:10

God knows the importance of being still, of listening, of meditating on His word. 

What we begin now — or choose not to begin — will make all the difference this year.