Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

“Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”  …Wait a minute!  The fire is delightful, but no place to go?  Really?  I don’t know about you, but I have plenty to do and plenty of places to go! … or do I?

We are a people on the go like no other.  I remember back in the 60s and 70s when I was growing up in Saline on the farm. When it snowed more than a couple inches, we all just slowed down and hunkered in.  There truly was no place we had to go, so we just didn’t.  The cows still got milked each morning and again in the evening, but really, the rest could wait.  I remember using that time to just be.  We would be with each other, but be slower than normal and be all that we really needed to be, no more… no less. 

Some times in the midst of some heavy snow, we would all play cards in my grandparent’s dining room, Shang Hi Rum, Go Fish, or Euchre. Other times, the boys would go off and do whatever boys do and me and my two aunts would go off and do what girls do.  We would play house with our dolls; we would embroider, knit, or sew a new project; or we would play a rousing game of Truth or Dare. 

I remember my grandmother would cook more than usual.  She would spend her time in the kitchen making a big pot of simmering soup.  The aroma would waft into the rest of the house, assuring us all it was going to be a warm and delicious day.  Sometimes my great grandmother would jump in with some Romanian favorites like baklava or crepe suzettes.  During a really good snow, we might even get a huge batch of sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls).  To die for! 

There was always the aftermath of a snow storm that unfolded, as well.  Once the winds died down and the snow transitioned from dangerous to beautiful, we would all begin the process of getting dressed, layer by layer, in order to become part of the pristine winter landscape we call snow.  We would start with oversized long johns, and then add a pair of smaller jeans over larger ones, and then top it off with an old school one piece snow suit that zipped from your lower calf all the way up to your chinny chin chin.  Then we’d add extra socks on both our feet and hands before adding a hat and scarf.  And off we’d go!... straight off the porch with a superman jump into the nearest snow drift.  From there we’d make snow angels and snow forts.  We’d ride dinosaur snowmobiles and be thrown from saucer sleds.  We’d build snowmen and go ice skating, let snowflakes land on our tongues and suck icicles like they were lollipops.  And when it was all said and done, we’d come back in leaving a pile of snow gear the size of Mount Zion by the back door.  Then we’d all pile on the floor heaters with a blanket until it ballooned over us like a parachute, filling with hot, soothing air to dry wet undies and wind parched cheeks. 

I didn’t notice any kids outside this week… even with a day off and fresh snow on the ground.  I heard people grumbling because they had so much to do and needed to get their cars dug out to do it… but I didn’t see any saucers or snowmobiles, snow forts or ice skates. 

I have always wondered if snow days are really gifts from God? You know, a Father-forced day to actually s l o w down, to spend time together laughing and playing, no matter our age?  I hope we aren’t all in such a hurry that we miss this gift… afterall, we only have it a couple months and then it’s gone.  “The fire is slowly dying, and, my dear, we're still goodbying, but as long as you love me so, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”  

Hmmm... What to Do?...

The New Year is well under way and planning is going on all around me.  I see people planning their vacations, upcoming education events, and even doing their tax planning.  I actually have all those on my list of To Do’s these upcoming weeks, as well.  But for now, I am planning this year’s teaching series here at Concord United Methodist Church.  The Worship Team and I sit around and ponder what is it we are really in need of learning?  What areas have we, as a faith community, struggled in this past year?  What teachings of Jesus, or even God’s stories from the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament), could really have an impact on our daily living today?  And then we begin planning.

We decided to start the year with prayer.  Duh!  That was a no brainer.  In year’s past, I have taught on different forms of prayer, the importance of prayer, and how to become a devoted pray-er.  This year I’m offering up a few familiar prayers (to many) but going a bit deeper.  It’s easy to rattle off a prayer like the Lord’s Prayer and really not even know what you said.  Se we’re walking line for line, word for word through four prayers this month in hopes of bringing their meaning back to the surface, thus empowering them to be all they were intended to be in our faith lives. 

Then we’ve planned a couple of teachings on love. What better thing to have swirling around our heads the first two weeks of February?!  Love God and Love Others.  Now there’s a novel concept.  After that… (sit down… you won’t believe this…) we will start our journey toward Easter.  Yes! Easter!  I know.  My Christmas trees aren’t taken down yet either.  My great grandmother used to leave one up so she could put hearts on it for Valentine’s day, shamrocks for St. Patty’s and then eggs for Easter.  Always a good Plan B if I don’t get to them soon. 

This year’s Lenten (the 40 days prior to Easter… excluding Sundays) Series will be on spiritual disciplines.  We do a great job at CUMC reaching out, taking care of our widows and the poor, repairing homes, and even caring four our community’s youth and children.  Among all that serving though, it can be easy to forget our internal state, our holiness.  So I’ll be teaching some wonderful tools like fasting, solitude, and meditation as ways to bring ourselves back to the One who can keep us centered.  Satan is real folks and all it takes is a busy Christian to give opportunity to fall on our face.  Pornography pops into our lives.  Adultery is more than tempting.  Lying to an employer, cheating on our taxes or stealing a song offline without paying the rightful artist can easily become cracks in our holiness.  Instead of relying on God, we come crying to God as we live out the consequences of a less than holy life.  Should be a great series.

We’ll also spend some time teaching on money, missions, and even humor.  But as spring turns the corner to summer, we’ll be heading back into time, back to some of our mothers and fathers of our faith.  We’ll be sitting at the feet of Mother Teresa, St. Francis of Assisi, and John Wesley.  We’ll read some of C.S.Lewis’ work and ponder deep into the writings of Teresa of Ávila.  We’ll even jump forward to the current century and take a listen to some contemporary voices still speaking in the darkness like Shane Claiborne. 

I’m getting excited just writing about it!  Planning: it’s a great way to look ahead and pave a path toward goals worth achieving.  If you haven’t done any planning yet this year, you might want to slow down long enough to do so.  You know how it is… it’ll be 2014 before you know it.