The Ultimate Snow Day

Everyone looks forward to a "snow day" now and then when schools and jobs implore you to stay home and be safe from the frigid weather. We had one again this week, and I must say it was a welcome but brief reprieve from our daily routine. As we tend to linger in bed a bit longer in the morning, we have mental images of lounging by a warm fire and sipping on hot chocolate all day.

However, I found myself rescheduling appointments and finding out when the next meeting that was cancelled might reconvene. And most annoying was that the same caregiving tasks needed to be done, leaving me little time to even make that hot chocolate, let alone sip on it.

I'm sure even schoolchildren were disappointed to discover that their school assignments were not overlooked that day, but squeezed tightly into their already heavy schedules.

This has left me with a new appreciation of heaven. When the Lord declares a "snow day" up there (and I have a hunch it might be about every seventh day--Isaiah 66:23), we will truly have a rest and a reprieve from all the normal, but pleasant, duties that await us in our new home. Praise to God for designing and declaring the ultimate "snow day".

Spinning Tires

As always, with the first, fresh snow on our streets, I joined the many cars today who found themselves spinning their tires and not getting enough traction to make it out into the intersection after stopping. At least not with the first try. One is forced to rock back and forth, going from drive to reverse, turning the front tires different directions, in embarrassing attempts to grab onto something that allows you to move forward with the traffic.

That's kind of how my whole week has felt. The challenges of Dean's medicines, their side effects versus their benefits, getting his lift chair approved, searching the internet, playing phone tag with doctors, nurses, the pharmacist, the medical supply store, and not really getting anywhere. I feel like I just can't get any traction and get myself out of this slippery slide of caregiving.

But thankfully, tonight is the beginning of the Sabbath. A whole day designed to help me get some traction and move on with my life with a renewed sense of purpose and gratitude. When the Sabbath is done, I'll feel a sense of relief once again. Just like it felt when I finally got into the intersection today and started moving toward my destination. And it especially feels good when your destination is heaven.

Snow in the Morning

My life has slowed down considerably, as far as outside-the-home activities, since Dean's recent weight, sleep, and drug issues. To compound our isolated status, a blizzard is in the forecast for tonight. Everyone is making their final trips to the store, gearing up for the snow we've all been waiting for and dreading at the same time. The beauty of seeing new snow on the ground in the morning will make staying home worth it for awhile at least.

I look forward to another beautiful sight too. Seeing my loved ones on Resurrection Morning. Today, half out of boredom, I moved a bookcase from the living room into my bedroom. On it were pictures and mementos of my dear, departed parents. The caregiving for them was also marked with boredom and isolation--that time in their hospital room.

I'm tired of being isolated from loved ones, but especially from my Jesus. That will be the sweetest sight of all on Resurrection Morning. Jesus coming in the clouds to bring us all home with Him. And what a glorious, heavenly home that will be.

Minnie at her watchdog post--foot of my bed! She's such good company too!

Holding On

Winter is over, with its icy streets and sidewalks. A real threat to some individuals prone to the worst effects of a fall. How odd that my fall recently had nothing to do with slippery snow and ice; and numerous friends lately have succumbed to the same embarrassing, ungraceful stumbles and tumbles, resulting in various injuries and complaints.

We go all winter without incident, then spring awakens the plant world with temperatures soaring, and next thing we know our feet go soaring. Right out from under us.

Sin has a way of catching us off guard too. Just when we think we are out of the danger of falling, of partaking of some harmful indulgence we have tried to put behind us, we find ourselves flat on our face again. Looking up into the face of God and asking Him "Why me, Lord?"

Most of us have learned that one way to prevent falls in the winter is to wear shoes with some tread and to hold onto something or someone when possible. Can we not prevent some of our spiritual falls by fortifying our minds with some Bible and prayer "tread" and hanging onto Jesus and our good Christian friends like our lives depended on it? And I suppose, as a matter of fact, they do.

The Day After

How nice of the sun to shine so brightly on the freshly-fallen snow from yesterday. The wind even stopped its cold distraction, so we could focus on the glistening white landscape. Along with the brightness of the sun was a warmth that melted away all the bad feelings in the wake of yesterday's snowstorm.

Once again people took to their vehicles and invaded the stores for supplies they forgot to get just two days previous, before the storm hit. But this time the shoppers were wearing their happy faces, instead of their woe-is-me-how-much-snow-will-we-get faces.

When storms threaten to impact our lives, we should try to envision the day after the storm. What a different world it will be for us, when the storm passes. God will help us live for "the day after".

Don't Mess with Mother Nature

We've had a beautiful, snow-covered wonderland to look at all day from our living room windows. Snow is so gorgeous the first day or two, before we humans start leaving our footprint and tire track signatures everywhere. We'll soon witness the pure, white landscape transformed into a dirty, messy muck wherever mankind leaves his mark.

Being Sabbath, I was thinking about how our Creator God made us in His image. We love to create too. But left to our own devices and without His help, we have a knack for messing up what God has created. Environmentalists, at least those who believe in God, would agree with this. We have done a lot to ruin our environment over the years.

And what have we done with the delicious menu God gave to Adam and Eve? Our tired, old world still has a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains to entice our appetites. But we insist on creating our own dishes with a combination of foods and spices that don't provide the nutrition we were meant to have. Often with unhealthy results.

We only have to look at a crowd of people to see our paltry attempts to create beauty on our bodies too. We forget that the kind of beauty that counts is on the inside. To me, an extreme form of altering God's creation is when we allow our bodies to be tattooed and/or pierced. What message does this send to God? "You didn't create me beautiful enough. I need to improve on the body you gave me. Let me be a human billboard of man's art. And while I'm at it, I really need to put holes in my body to hang rocks. Why didn't you provide that, God?" ...You get the idea.

Share a Jesus "Cookie"

Why, oh why, did I try to do all my errands in one day? They just seemed to fall out of the sky from nowhere. After all week hibernating pretty close to home, today I was barely home long enough to grab a banana for lunch.

I was particularly intrigued with all the grocery shoppers getting in their pre-snowstorm purchases before the storm hits tomorrow. This was more than the normal Friday-before-the-weekend rush. People were waiting in line so long that one of the employees came around passing out cookies to shoppers and apologizing for the long wait. Most everyone took a cookie with a smile. It did seem to sweeten up the atmosphere.

That employee reminded me of the duty of every Christian. Our Christian duty is to share a Jesus "cookie" with those waiting for the big event of His Second Coming. There were so many people packed in that store today, waiting in the checkout lines, but it only took the effort of one employee to lighten up the mood of almost everyone there. We Christians may be small in number, but our influence, when sweetened by the lovely Lord Jesus, can make all the difference to a dying world.

The Cold

We are experiencing our first bout with snow in Nebraska this year. Even though it's pretty to look at,  you don't want to stay long outside. As a matter of fact, I thought our little dog would be having less requests to go out because of the cold. There seems to be just as many, but her visits are of a shorter duration.

Looking back over my life experiences, I find many cold, wintry times, when I needed to be out there doing my "business." But fortunately, I too have a Master at the door welcoming me back into a warm home. He knows just how long I can stand it out there.

I look forward to an eternal Spring. When we won't have to deal with harsh winter days any more. But right now, I'd settle for a temporary spring...bbbrrrrrrr! CLOSE THAT DOOR!

Waiting for Snow

Today is a first- snow "teaser" day. The sky looks right, the temperatures are about right, and there is definitely some precipitation in the air. But whether the raindrops will morph into some flaky stuff is up for grabs. Some are waiting with anticipation and others with dread.

Isn't that how it will be when our Lord Jesus comes? Some will rejoice and cry out, "This is our God and we have waited for Him and He will save us!" Isaiah 25:9 And others will cry for the rocks  to fall on them and hide them from His presence. Revelation 6:16

Which side will you be on, my friend? The waiters or the hiders?