Songs of Winter

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 339: Today I am grateful for the songs of winter. 

There are not really that many that come instantly to mind. "Baby It's Cold Outside" comes to mind, but there are others. "Let It Go" is more recent from Disney's movie "Frozen." Here are a few more:

"Oh What a Night-Late December '63"
"Hazy Shade of Winter"
"Cold as Ice"
"Jingle Bells" (Thanksgiving song)
"Let Is Snow"

"Snowbird" 

"Do You Want to Build a Snowman"

I am sure every genre has a few. Music is powerful. It can change our mood and our mindset. I am grateful for any song that helps me embrace the winter days. Again, I am reminded that all seasons come for a reason... including winter. The snow provides the earth with water. A good freeze has its purpose, too. 

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,  and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;" -Isaiah 55:10

A winter playlist is a great way to survive January and February. 

Today I am grateful for the songs of winter. 

A Glimpse of Color

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 338: Today, I am grateful for a glimpse of color in winter.

There has been snow on the ground every day this December. Of course, it is only December 4th, but it feels like a long time since we have had this kind of a start to winter. Eight inches of snow that sticks. 

There is beauty in the blanket of snow. It makes me see the glimpses of color on the landscape better. An artist calls it "white space." In this case, the snow is literally white.  It makes the colors stand out. 

What unexpected glimpse of color do you see out your window? If you live near the beach, it may be sea glass in the sand. If you live in the desert, it might be a cactus in bloom. Nature is full of wonder and color. 

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” – Genesis 1:31

"Let heaven and nature sing." 

Today, I am grateful for a glimpse of color in winter.

Ornament Memories

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 337: Today, I am grateful for ornament memoires. 

One of the sweetest parts of unpacking the Christmas tree ornaments each year are the memories that flood back. When you have nearly 40 years of memories in a box, it is a trip back in time. 

On our crystal tree, we have ornaments we purchased the first year we were married after Christmas at Bergners in Sheridan Village in Peoria. Over the years, a few of the glass icicles have broken, but many remain and are carefully packed away each January. 

On our family tree, the most special ornaments are the ones related to our boys in different seasons of life. The grade school handmade treasures, with school pictures are classics. Precious and priceless! The ornaments from vacations or mile markers in the boys' lives. 

It is not always the prettiest ornaments that capture our hearts, but the ones that remind us that we are loved, treasured, and remembered. 

“What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them." -Luke 12:6

Savor the memories. 

Today, I am grateful for ornament memoires.

The Power of Light

 

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 334: Today, I am grateful for the power of light. 

We have been through power outages. In our home, it is not common, but when it happens... it is a reminder of the blessing of light and power at the flip of a switch. (And the blessing of neighbors who generously share their generator.)

Light changes everything. We were told to go out and be salt and light. "Be the change" means being a change agent. 

In English, the sun and the Son are homophones. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings. Interestingly, they have similar qualities. Ultimately, the Son was present at the creation of the sun. (John 1:1) 

The earth relies on the sun for light and life as our sweet little blue planet makes its orbit around the sun each year. In the same way, we rely on (or reject) the Son who came to be the Light of the Word in a time when much seemed dark and hopeless. Had God's people stopped looking for the Messiah? Is that why they missed him? We have to close our eyes to not see light.  

The number of prophecies fulfilled in Jesus is mathematically mind boggling. Psalm 22 was written long before Jesus carried the cross to Golgotha and soldiers gambled for his robe. It gives me chills to read it even now. (John 19:23-25)

If Christ had arrived in this modern time, would we have recognized the prophecies fulfilled? Would we have believed and received? Would we have ignored the obvious? 

I love light. I rarely pull window shades, even in the summer's heat. I need the light and the Light. Both change my days. 

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." John 1:5 

Today, I am grateful for the power of light. 

A Glass

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 336: Today, I am grateful I have a glass.    

How we choose to view the world is powerful. I saw this image today and had to smile. The age-old question of "is your glass half empty or half full" is used to determine if we are an optimist or a pessimist. 

Annie's song, "The sun will come up tomorrow" is a classic, too. We choose our approach each day. It is a powerful choice. And, tomorrow is only a day away. 

"Hope Floats" is an old movie with Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. was about a woman who had her life fall apart from infidelity exposed on public television. I have always loved the title for the truth it holds. If we can find a little light... a little hope... we can hold on until tomorrow. 

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." -Romans 5:3-5

Today may be tough, but tomorrow is coming and His promises are true. We have life, breath, hope... and a glass.

Today, I am grateful I have a glass. 

                

The First Sunday of Advent

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 333: Today, I am grateful for the first Sunday of Advent. 

In the blink of an eye, Thanksgiving weekend turns our hearts toward Christmas. With the snow, the long weekend made it a great time to pull out the Christmas decorations. It always makes the winter more bearable when there are little white lights every night. 

The first Sunday of the Advent season, I am grateful for the hope that arrived when Mary said, "Let it be onto me as you have said." Young, scared, and trying to comprehend the wonder of it all. She would be the mother of the long awaited Messiah. Most would miss him, but she would know him and who he was from the beginning as only a mother can. 

And dear Joseph, took on a wife he had not known as a husband knows a wife... and a child he did not father. He did not have Mary stoned, as the law allowed. He believed and received a special part in the nativity. I have a soft spot for Joseph. 

The many prophecies fulfilled in Christ's birth, this is the one that came to pass because two people submitted and said, "Thy will be done" in us and unto us... accepting whatever the future might hold. 

"All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)." -Isaiah 7:14

God with us. Christmas is a reminder that hope has come. He still waits for each of us to believe, receive, and find our way to the manger. 

Today, I am grateful for the first Sunday of Advent. 

The Wonder of Snowflakes

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 333: Today, I am grateful for the wonder of snowflakes. 

I am sitting here watching the snow come down out the window. It is a steady flurry and the flakes are being blown by the wind. Isn't it amazing that something as delicate as a snowflake can survive the winds? It survives as long as it submits to the wild ride and goes with the flow. 

It does not survive the impact with the ground or another object. It turns to a water drop when it stops moving. When the snowflakes cling together, they can be gathered to form snowmen and snowballs. They can become the magic that moves sleds, skies, or snowboards. Oh, the magic of it all. Our Creator has made the most amazing things in nature. Snow is one of the most breathtaking, even if I do not love the cold and bitter winds. 

We just finished a study on Job. One of the weeks focused on Job 38. This is one of only two examples of sarcasm I am aware of in the Bible. 

The first is where God asks Moses, "Is the Lord's arm too short?" Moses has suggested that what God asked would not work. He was full of excuses. God was clearly offended by Moses doubting His power to bring what was asked of Moses to fruition. 

We can describe snow, but experiencing it for the first time is unforgettable.  Kind of like when Midwest people make our way to the ocean for the first time. The awesomeness is real. 

Job was so faithful in the midst of his suffering, but there was that one moment when he questioned God. God responded with what translates like sarcasm. I love this passage in the "The Message" translation. The modern language speaks to the depths of my soul. Who are we to question omnipotence and omniscience? 

“Have you ever traveled to where snow is made, seen the vault where hail is stockpiled, The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness for times of trouble and battle and war? Can you find your way to where lightning is launched, or to the place from which the wind blows? Who do you suppose carves canyons for the downpours of rain, and charts the route of thunderstorms That bring water to unvisited fields, deserts no one ever lays eyes on, Drenching the useless wastelands so they’re carpeted with wildflowers and grass? And who do you think is the father of rain and dew, the mother of ice and frost? You don’t for a minute imagine these marvels of weather just happen, do you?" Job 38:22-30(MSG)

You do not for a minute imagine these marvels of the weather just happen, do you? There was always a source, and there still is. From that source comes the delicate... but resilient in the wind... snowflake. The earth is blanketed in glitter as the soil is restored with much needed water and rest. That God sends it in the form of snowflakes is art and smart. If it was raining, we would be flooded. 

Today, I am grateful for the wonder of snowflakes.