Rainy, dreary Mondays in fall...

...call for baking spicy, sweet confections.

Like Autumn Spice Dark Chocolate Brownies.

I'd been swooning over them for the better part of two weeks before finally making them this morning.

So though the rain and wind beat against my window,
it's feeling incredibly cozy inside. 
I'm nursing along my mug of coffee with hazelnut creamer.
My autumn candle is flickering.
The washing machine is whirring away.
Piles of folded laundry are stacked on my couch.
My youngest student is reading his science.
Little by little, I'm working my way through my long Monday "to-do" list and the piles that accumulate on the weekends.
I'm contemplating my guys' return home, seeking to
fill them up before sending them out again.
I'm praying for them,
for friends near and far,
for wisdom and balance and grace.
Oh, how I need it!
I'm counting blessings,
choosing joy,
choosing to trust;
rejoicing in the God who has
revealed Himself to me
and beckons me to know Him.

Rainy days and Mondays.
I think I like them.