Somewhere Its Snowing..I Pray

Dear friends, cyber-sisters and family who live somewhere other than the Midwest,

Please stop your complaining about “this awful cold spell we’re having”.

Daddy, I am so sorry it has been too cold for you to play an 18 hole round of golf for the past several days. I know it breaks your 78 year-old, octuple (is that a word?) bi-pass heart. (Yes, folks…you read that right. My father has 8 bi-passes on his heart. One surgery gave him three; another three months later gave him five more. It was implied he’d probably live a year or two with all those short-cuts trying to keep his blood pumping. That was 13 years ago! My God is gracious and my dad is stubborn!)

Next…..

Sweet fearless leader and dear friend Lysa, I am sorry the thermometer on your car says it was 11 degrees in Charlotte, NC the other day. Really, I am. 11 degrees might mean you break out your cute “winter coat”. Perhaps you don a pair of snappy gloves. Our Proverbs 31 Sister Shari will be proud of your winter fashion choices. (And since she lives in Charlotte too will most likely feel your temperature pain. The two of you will probably flit off to Starbucks and sip something hot and delicious to ward off the awful cold)

May I sweetly point out something? Yes, it is cold for your neck of the woods. 11 degrees cold. You do not however, have to shovel 11 degrees; or slip and fall in your high-heels when you are meeting Shari for coffee because of 11 degrees. So, get over it, love. :-)

Yes, you out there who do not reside in any snow belt of the USA (or other country) have nothing to complain about. This is what it looks like this morning outside my back dining room door:

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Oh, and it is only 7 degrees, before factoring in the wind chill.

Okay, enough belly-aching about all the fluffy white stuff. (I actually think it is beautiful and since I have lived in Michigan my entire life, I am used to it.) The fresh blankets of snow we’ve been getting since last Thursday have been a great reminder to me. A reminder of the words to a song I once sang in church. They go like this:

I once read in a poem, when snow covers the earth; it hides the world’s flaws and gives nature new birth.

And they say when a man turns from sin to the Lord, that forgiveness, like snow, covers him evermore.

And somewhere it’s snowing; see the soft coming down, as the snowflakes surrender to the hardening ground.

Like the good grace of Jesus that now covers our sin; in the kingdom of heaven it’s snowing again.

I love the picture that is painted of someone coming to faith in God for the first time and I am reminded of the day that I first placed my trust in Him and the snow of his forgiveness covered me evermore.

May our actions and words as followers of Christ point others to that fresh blanket of forgiveness, whether we are chatting over coffee or giving a formal talk on the subject.

By the way, I’ll be doing just that tomorrow evening at a speaking engagement at my church.

Prayers appreciated.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, for the winner of the organizational giveaway. (A copy of The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized, a Fresh Linen candle and packet of Supreme Hot Cocoa mix) The gal who will get this basket-in-a-box in the mail is:

Julie@comehaveapeace

Timestamp; 5:39 pm on January 8, 2010

Congrats! Send me your mailing address at [email protected] so I can ship your prize out pronto!

For the rest of you who want more motivation, we’ll be tackling more organizational topics the rest of January, so keep checking back!

Well, I’m off. Got a walkway to shovel and some hot cocoa to make before we start school…

Ahhhhh….winter in Michigan ;-)

Snow-covered Blessings,

15 Comments

  1. I just read your article on multi-tasking and it is exactly what I am struggling with right now. You put my life back into perspective and the prayer about not squeezing out the people most important to us. I am reminded that I need to trust God with my schedule, my business, and my life. Thank you and God Bless.

  2. Thank you for your post on multi-tasking. I am always asking my husband why he can’t be a multi-tasker— I guess he’s not wrong about everything… he doesn’t seem as frazzled as I do at the end of the day…. I guess he’s on to something.

    Sue

  3. Karen,

    Loved “A Life that says Welcome” and looking forward to reading this one as well. Getting organized inspires me to
    more productive, but staying organized has been a problem. Maybe help is on the way.

    Blessings to you,

    Pam

  4. Yay! I’m so excited I won the guide, and I promise I’ll share it with the gals in our women’s ministry. Only thing is that I really DO want that snow from your back porch in the package too. ;)

    Thank you so much, Karen! Will send you my mailing info … and maybe a scarf!

  5. LOL…living in Canada I always chuckle when I hear so many in the South complain about the cold. It also amuses me when schools there close…for what? My son is in his final year of High School and never has he missed a day due to school closure. It just doesn’t happen here. Buses might not run, but schools never close. I have pictures where I’m standing at the end of our driveway, and the pile of snow lining the edge of the driveway is taller than I am…and that’s 5’2″.

    Your pics are so pretty…and make me feel at home.
    Stay warm,
    Joy

  6. Karen, you made me laugh. Where I live we had our 15 to 20 inches of snow last month. I can only imagine how pretty everything looks covered in sno. Reading the words to this song made me think about how Jesus makes us white as snow. I remember being able to see the snow when I was groing up. When it would first fall it would be so white and so clean just like Jesus makes us.

  7. Dear Sister Karen – I am a Michigander – transplanted from Ohio when I was 21. My husband taught me and our children that you love it or leave it. So we stock up on the winter gear and go out to enjoy it firsthand. I am praising God for our new furnace – the old one was replaced the week after Christmas. For the last number of years, the old, inefficient furnace (burning oil – so thrifty) worked at times, and at times it did not. I had to know how to thunk it just right to get it going again. But now, we are warm enough with our propane boiler (also thrifty, but where we live there is no natural gas). If God provided the furnace, he’ll keep providing the money to pay for the fuel, too, right? Hugs to you.

  8. Beautiful pictures, Karen. Reminds me of the many years I lived in the midwest and had to trudge back and forth in the snow/ice to everything. I also remember standing at the bus stop in sub zero temperatures. Now my blood has thinned out and I’m quite content to be a complaining southern weinie like the rest of them.

  9. I too have always loved how a blanket of snow makes everything look pristine.

    I do not, however, love shovelling it. Or how reminants of it wind up on the side of the road all grey and dirty. So I moved to the beach – come visit!

    A cold weather wimp ~ Rachel

  10. Oh dearest Karen, if only you could see the WHITE jacket that Lysa wore to LeAnn’s birthday party. Yes indeed. She is trying however, I mean, snow is white, right?

  11. We serve such an artistic and creative God. I love how He paints the world with such imagination and beauty. Thank you for sharing these photos. However, I do not own the right clothing for such beauty. The next time I am in a place where it is below freezing, I need to remember gloves!!! And a hat. And a scarf. And a better jacket. And my electric blanket – with a portable generator for when I am walking down the street – I now understand “wind chill”. (hee, hee) Please come to Phoenix in August to see another type of beauty.

    Love you big!!!

  12. Karen,
    I love your words this morning–LOL I, too, am in the Midwest so I feel your pain. I read in my devotion this morning that what we hide in our heart will reflect in our life. So despite the snow and the frigid temps, I am trying to hide happiness and joy in my heart so that it is reflected in my life.
    I had never heard the song you mentioned but the words were beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
    Have a blessed day.
    Jessica

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