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:
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.
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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:
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,