Ladies, don’t forget the women’s Christmas brunch is coming up this Saturday. Reserve your space by clicking on the image.
It almost seems cliché to talk about snow at this point. After a 48-hour, 20-in dumping, many of you are already tired of talking about snow. And honestly, being more of a warm weather enthusiast myself, I'm not super excited about this early winter storm. It certainly increases our chances of having a white Christmas. But aside from the pretty pictures and the Christmas mood that it sets, I'm just not that crazy about the snow.
However, there is one thing I do enjoy about a good winter storm; snow days. You know what I'm talking about. When we were kids it meant school got cancelled. But even as adults, when the storm is raging, and the only wise thing to do is stay home, it forces us to stay in, rest, pour a second cup of coffee and take a little break from our usual routine. There is something special about a snow day that even as an adult I still enjoy.
Tuesday morning I usually have a series of meetings. But when the second wave of snow blew in, it seemed prudent to cancel. Suddenly I had several hours open up that I had not planned on. I got up (admittedly a few minutes later than usual) poured myself a cup of coffee, sat down in my favorite spot and opened my Bible. After a little time in the Word, I closed my Bible and just sat quietly. I asked God to bring to my heart and mind those people he particularly wanted me to pray for that day.
I do this every morning, but I have to confess that I sometimes rush my devotional time. But because I had nowhere that I had to be, I was in no hurry. At first, I just sat quietly and listened. But after a few minutes, God began to bring people to my mind. One by one I prayed for them. Before long, as I allowed myself the time, I found that people, situations, circumstances and needs begin to flood my spirit. For a while, every time I thought I was supposed to stop, another one of you came to mind.
Sunnie Andrews, one of the truly sacrificial servants in our ministry, is home following knee replacement surgery. It’s a little difficult for her to get around right now, so we would like to bless her by bringing some meals. If you would like to pick a day to prepare a meal for Sunnie, please go to www.carecalendar.org. Login ID is 287806. Security code is Sunnie.
Honestly, it was great. In fact when it was all said and done, it was one of the best times of personal prayer I've had in a long time. All thanks to a snow day! There was a takeaway for me. Sometimes there are circumstances beyond our control that impact our perfectly planned day. When we find ourselves being forced to pause our plan, let's make the best of that time. Let's use it to spend some time in God's word. Or to just sit quietly and allow God to bring to our hearts the people he would have us pray for. Rather than be upset or disappointed about the interruption to our plan, we can embrace it as an opportunity to spend time with God that we might not otherwise have taken.
This Sunday we will continue our Advent series "Expecting". What are you expecting this Christmas season? I believe God is desiring to do something great in your live. I look forward to us all being together this Sunday as we continue this journey toward the celebration of the coming of Christ.
God bless,
Pastor Steve