Twelve Inches of Snow in the Country!

     Country living in Enola, Arkansas!  What a beautiful experience!  We had a rare occurrence this week with more than 12 inches of snow falling on Christmas day in the country.  I couldn’t get out of my driveway until one of our neighbors came with his tractor and blade.  Neighbors in the country are certainly different from neighbors in the city.  I know and so do you, if you have ever lived in the city.  Utility trucks have been working tirelessly trying to get our roads cleared and our utilities back up and running.  We still don’t have any electricity at the main building and education building at Enola.  Hope everything will be back up and running before Sunday.  We can determine and manage many things in life.  Weather is not one of them.  All we can do is prepare and pray, then adjust.  No use complaining and worrying.   God is still in control.  I’m glad.

     A brand new year – 2013 is only a few days away!  What chances, challenges, and changes will come our way?  God knows.  We do not.  Of course, our own thoughts, dreams, words, actions, and decisions go a long way in determining the chances, challenges, and changes that we will face.  Maybe we will have to face a job change.  Maybe we will face sickness, or maybe we might have to face a financial crisis.  Maybe we will experience grief or sadness.  It could be that we will experience times of great success or pleasure in this new year.  That is my prayer for you and for me.  It is true that we may not be able to determine these things but we can certainly determine the attitude we have in facing these things.  Will we face these chances, challenges, and changes in faith or in fear?  We can decide.  Our happiness and our success are often determined by our decision.

     My last blog was posted just before I heard about my grandmother’s death.  My grandmother (Granny) was born in May of 1917. She was 95.  I tried to explain to my grandchildren that she was born in a very different time and lived very differently from the way they live.  They could not hardly believe that their great great grandmother only received an apple and an orange for Christmas when she was their age.  No videogames.  No Barbies.  No Legos.  No American Dolls.  No Wranglers.  No Remington hunting rifles.  No Four-wheelers.  Just an apple and an orange.  She often talked about the orange she found in her stocking hung on the fireplace, how it fragrant it smelled, how delicious it tasted, how very happy she was to receive such an expensive and rare gift.  My, my hasn’t times changed.  Let’s make sure our children understand, truly understand the importance of the things that really matter.  I need help remembering and understanding myself.   Maybe next year we can be different, better, deeper, more like God.  I miss my Granny very much and look forward to a grand reunion one day when we will all be together again in our heavenly home.

     This Sunday morning during the sermon time we will consider the Parable of the Unjust Steward.  Jesus teaches us responsibility, accountability, and the vitality of service in our everyday lives.  On Sunday evening we will consider the final lesson in the series Foundation Principles – Gentleness.  Jesus was gentle.  His invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 teaches us of His gentleness.  I hope you can be here with your fellow Christians at Enola to worship and learn the lessons of life.