Snow Day

I have never had a Snow Day. A day where you miss school because of snow. I live in Southern California. I have had a Heat Day. We got to miss school because it was too hot. Now, they only do that if the school doesn’t have air conditioning. We actually had a few Wind Days too when we had a wind storm that knocked out power in our city for several days and downed trees blocked roads. Yet, never a Snow Day. Having never had one, I still understand the concept, you wake up to a blanket of snow outside and get notice that there is no school. Yippee!

This past weekend I heard a speaker, Lance Witt, author of Replenish, share about a Snow Day when he was a kid. He lived in New Mexico and it rarely snowed. But once in a while, they would get a covering of white and no school. He said the best part was that his mom let them do whatever they wanted that day. A day of just pure delight. He then equated us observing the Sabbath as a Snow Day.

For me, the Sabbath has connotations of quiet, mediation, reading the Bible, and honestly, being a bit bored. However, when I think of Sabbath as a Snow Day, I get excited. You see, the Sabbath is a day to replenish and restore your soul. Lance Witt says his Sabbath usually consists of time with his grandkids, a meal with a good friend and extended time in God’s word. He gave an example of a family with children where the husband gets the morning to ride his bike, meet with friends, etc. The wife gets the afternoon for her time of replenishment and the evening is shared as a family. The Sabbath is a time to do the things that fill your soul and revive your spirit. Time with God is definitely a huge component of this day. Time with His people, your close friends and family, is part of it as well.

With this definition of Sabbath, I could actually start observing a Sabbath. I want to make it a part of my rhythm. It is what God intended. When we rush from thing to thing and don’t stop to revive ourselves, we will burn out. Taking a Sabbath means a healthier you – spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally. I encourage you to consider this fresh view on the Sabbath. If you can’t do an entire day, start with a few hours or a half day. Spend it without any electronics. Dust off your Bible to read, if you normally use your Bible app. Plan time with a dear friend who is fulfilling. Go to your favorite destination. Do exercise you enjoy. I encourage you to take that Snow Day. It’s a gift from God.

Dream Big! Pray Big!

 

 

The Lamp

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. ~ Psalm 119:105 NIV

I recently heard Beth Moore teach on this subject. She focused on God’s Word, the Bible, being our lamp to guide our path. It inspired me. At one point, she said a lamp is made up of light and heat. My mind ran off on a tangent and I thought of the following verse.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:14-16 NIV

We are also referred to a lamp. We shine our light, Christ in us, to the world. But then there is the heat part. That intrigued me. Does my lamp give off heat?

Heat is my passion. My desire for Christ. My desire to share Christ with others. My desire for the things that Christ desires. That is my heat. Do I have heat? Am I seeking Him daily to keep my passion for Him and the things of God alive? Do I want to shine from the stand and light the house? Can my light be seen from the top of a hill?

Remember the old Christmas lights we all had? You know, those big big bulb ones that we put outside and even on our tree. They were a pain because they were wired in series. If one burned out, they all burned out. Also, they were hot!!!!! Tree fires were no joke back in the day. I want to be an old Christmas light. I want to light up all those wired into my life. I want to burn with passion for Christ and His people. I want to be a beautiful, yet dangerous, multi-color display.

Maybe I took the analogy a bit far, but it truly is what I want. I want to be a lamp with light and heat. I have always focused on being a light. Rarely have I focused on heat. Let’s see how things change when I turn it up a notch. I hope the heat of my lamp lights many other lamps and sets them ablaze as well. Hope you turn up the heat a bit too.

Dream Big! Pray Big!

Thank you notes

It is truly a lost art. Thank you notes are a thing of the past for most people. Not our family. My kids still write thank you cards for birthday gifts, Christmas gifts and other gifts or kind gestures through the year. I do the same. I recently had my 50th birthday. I shared on this blog how amazing that day was for me. I personally hand wrote over 40 thank you cards. Some I hand delivered (to save postage) and the rest I put on a stamp and sent it via snail mail.

Think of the last thank you note you received via snail mail. How did it make you feel? How did you react when you saw a personalized card addressed to you? Did you save the card? Did it remind you to send a card or two of your own?

I receive so few thank you cards these days. It breaks my heart. The ones I do get, I often save. Usually for the pretty stationary. Sometimes I save the card for the heartfelt sentiment inside. I even show them to my kids to bring home the point that they aren’t the only ones who write thank you cards.

As I was pondering our lack of thank you cards on earth, I realized how much God loves to receive our thanks. He deserve a huge thank you card.

Psalm 136:1 NIV says

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.  His love endures forever.

The entire Psalm is a giant thank you card. I think we need to give God a few more thank you cards. For being a writer, I am not a journaler. If you like to journal, use that to actually write out your gratefulness. I often pray my thanks to God. I recently got a true gift from Him and I keep thanking Him in prayer. I also thanked Him by telling others what He did for me. I am giving Him glory and praise. I thank Him by remembering what He has done and trusting Him in the future.

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!” ~ Revelation 7:12 NIV

Let’s give God a thank you card today. Maybe write a card to someone on earth too. Just a simple, “Hello, thanks for being my friend.” It’ll make her day.

Dream Big! Pray Big!