October and the Inner Grizzly Bear

Yep -- October, that magical month that brings with it all of the usual autumnal fare: hot soups, homemade breads, baked squash, pots full of chili, hot cider -- you get my drift.

And it seems to be causing quite a problem.

You see, I've been trying to get my weight under control (stop laughing!). The problem is (with a nod of shame to my at work fitness guru) at this time of year I tend to be like a grizzly bear storing up calories for the long, hard winter ahead.

The scent of pinecone decorations and cinnamon sticks and freshly picked apples and homemade oatmeal cookies hot from the oven and wood burning in the fire pit on the patio and the dust and smells of the harvest all combine to make an all out assault on my inner bear.

Not to say I haven't been giving it a hearty try (wait a minute -- isn't hearty a word that usually goes along with beef stew, potato soup, chicken and sausage gumbo, and the like?).

I've eaten lots of salads lately, I've eaten a lot of lean meat and chicken grilled or baked. I have limited my intake of hot homemade wheat bread dripping with sweet cream butter to about half of what I used to eat per setting (and no -- I will not tell you how much that is -- a man has to have a few secrets when it comes to his culinary habits), and I've even taken to eating hot dogs without the buns.

I've increased my exercise levels, walking more and riding a stationary bike nearly every day. And I've lost a bit of weight. Not nearly enough, but a few pounds here and there.

But now it's October.

It's as if October rolls (... mmmmmm ...) around and my appetite hits a high level and just waits there for me to catch up. Cooler weather and shorter days just flat out make me hungry!

All of this set me to thinking ... It's too bad more of us don't have that kind of hunger for the Word of God. You know, an insatiable appetite for the Word and for time spent in His presence. We might just find that His Word is sustenance for us; that it is the one thing that can fill the void -- not in our stomachs, but in our spirits.