Snow is falling

Today is the type of day Shakin' Stevens lives for.

It is cold and miserable and slushy and cold and slow and cold. Did I mention cold?  Despite all this I still love the snow. 

The thing that makes snow so very wonderful is that it makes everything so pretty. All things are white (apart from a little yellow spot near each lamp post - thanks Rocky) and that beautifies them.  It takes away all their impurities, it covers up all the blemishes, it makes everything clean and fresh.

If only the stains on our character and on our hearts caused by the dye of sin could be covered over and made clean in this way, if only we could be made as white as snow.  Oh wait...

Come now, let us settle the matter,”
   says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
   they shall be as white as snow"

Isaiah 1:18

Beautiful.

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You see Bing, dreams can come true.

Snowed under

You may have not have noticed but there's a bit of snow about.

It's not too bad here in Rathcoole but in parts of Armagh, Ireland and Britain it appears to be quite rough. Roads are blocked airports are at a standstill and schools are closed.

As a result a lot of people can't get into work, instead they work from home.

Many think 'working from home' is just a euphemism for enjoying a bit of a skive.  Sending a few emails and then spending a couple of hours watching Bargain Hunt or Jeremy Kyle with a toasted bagel and a cup of coffee.  But is it really like that.

Given the chance would you skive of work and never let on?

As someone who is based at home I know the temptation only too well.  I need to set myself rules like 'no TV during the day' and try to get a routine together.  For me being busy is liberating because the fight against procrastination is won by the necessity to get things done.  It's the days when I need to do preparation in the 'study' or come up with new ideas etc that are the danger days.  I'd appreciate your prayers for my concentration on those days.

To be able to work when no-one is looking is a measure of character.  To be diligent with tasks with no deadlines, to do what you should not just what you are required to.  If you had a snow-day how would you spend it, would you waste it or would you fill it with something useful?  How much of a day off would you spend on facebook for example compared to how long you might spend in prayer?

This is a challenge to me, maybe it is for you too.

Lazy hands make for poverty, 

but diligent hands bring wealth.

Proverbs 10:4

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One thing you could do on a free day read that day's portion of the 90 day bible reading challenge.  Yesterday's (day one) was very enjoyable and didn't take too long in the end. Of course it's easier to break a habit than make one so we've got to keep at it.

Let it snow

There's nothing quite like the first morning of the season when you pull back the curtains to see a blanket of snow over the land. That's what it was like this morning is beautiful Rathcoole. 

There was a light hazy glow hovering over the fresh crisp morning.  All was calm and bright, the world seemed as delicate and intricate as the snowflakes covering it.  It's no surprise that mornings like this are what children dream of.  to put on hats and gloves, go outside and have fun flinging the soft snow at each other.  Oh the joy of seeing their rosy cheeks as they come back into the warmth smiling and laughing at the fun they've had.

We were keen to let little Rocky outside as is his routine.  We wanted to see him frolic in the wintry weather, maybe flick up little puffs of snow as he investigated this strange new world.  We wondered how he would react.

We opened the door.  He ran outside, barked at the snow, did a pee and ran inside again. Disappointing.

What we saw as fascinating and fun he though of as different, weird, and it frightened him.  Just like humans when he encountered something different from the norm he reacted against it.  Change is wrong, new is uncomfortable, unknown is suspicious.

So often in life we do not give new ideas or new ways of doing things a chance.  We resist change at every level.  Only when it is instigated by ourselves do we really embrace it. Only when it's in our favour do we say 'a change as good as a rest'.

But things change regardless.  People are born and people die.  Stuff happens, people move on, nothing stays the same for ever.  Our world is completely different than it was 150 years ago, we hark back to the good old days but does anyone really want to go back there?

There is only one unchangeable, one constant - God.  That does not mean that he is being left behind or becoming out of date but instead he is not dependant on culture or fashion to find relevance.  Where-ever there is creation, whether it is mountains or angels or suns or people, God is not just in tune with it but sets the tune.

God understands the hip-hop culture because He enabled the people who thought of it to think in the first place.  God was not surprised by wi-fi or mobile phones or deep-fried Mars Bars. He isn't shocked by Call of Duty or Saw VI.  He understands 'street' as much as he understands any language.  God never changes -He always knows and understands what is going on with you in your life.  In fact he gets it more than you do.

God is everywhere, intimately involved in everything, and that never changes.

“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
   your years go on through all generations.
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
   and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain;
   they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
   and they will be discarded.
But you remain the same,
   and your years will never end.

Psalm 102:24-27

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

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Exciting news! Tomorrows post will be written by the fabulous Caroline Moore.  She is my first ever 'guest poster' and I'm ver much looking forward to what she has to say.