What a beautiful world we woke up to this morning! Actually, it's more like what a beautiful world we went to sleep to this morning. The snow is at least 6" deep and the fresh, white snow covered over the world, as if it had buried the old year and left us a clean new start to 2008. It was just breathtaking to see! What a promise this was to me this morning as I stood at the window looking at the untouched snow. We have the promise in Isaiah 1:18 "Come let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." and Psalm 51:7 "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Looking out at the perfect snowfall, I could feel God's comforting reminder that He has taken my sins and removed them as far as the east is from the west and now He was giving me the chance to start brand new again. His mercies are indeed new every morning, but the reminder in the covering of snow was very powerful for me today. I get to start all over again!
Last night we had a party here with some friends and their children. What fun! I wasn't sure how the boys would handle things, but they had a good long nap in the afternoon and I told them that they could stay up as long as they could handle it. Christopher didn't get that privilege. He was put to bed after we got home from church, but Timothy lasted until about 11:45. Stephen, on the other hand, took full advantage of his ultimate dream: staying up until Mommy and Daddy went to bed! (Almost, but don't tell him that!) He was up until our last guests left around 1:30. He was in his glory playing with the other kids, eating cookies without being supervised, experiencing sparklers for the first time, shoveling snow at 1:00 in the morning! Wow. He loved it!
We had a lot of fun last night eating great food, telling funny stories, doing a craft (that bombed) with the kids, playing Outburst and just having a great time together, but at midnight, we stopped to thank the Lord for the old year and invite Him into our new year. Fred said something that really hit me last night before he prayed. He mentioned that everyone in the room had gone through things this past year that may have been difficult or burdensome to us personally, but he encouraged us to leave those burdens behind and let God take care of them in the new year. Looking around the room, I reflected on job issues, health issues, concerns with children, spiritual struggles, etc. Yes, we all did have some burden that we had to deal with in the past year. Did we really have the faith to leave it in the Lord's hands and not carry them with us into 2008? That's something to really ponder.
Well, even though I have no more splint on my finger and my typing is pretty good now, it's still painful to be sitting here pounding out the keys. Not to worry! I'm hoping that I can now be back on a more regular basis!
Happy New Year to you all! I encourage you to also leave your 2007 burdens with the Lord and walk with Him in faith in 2008, letting Him carry those burdens for you!
2 comments:
I remember Oscar seeing snow for the first time at Mom and Dad's house on Akron Road and being amazed at how it covered everything and made it "clean". He said something like, "Now I understand that verse--whiter than snow. I need to tell the people back home--who've never seen snow--about this."
Thanks for the reminder to leave our 2007 budens behind! I needed that. I loved the whiteness of the snow, and enjoyed it even more when Hannah said she would pray that daddy has a snow day because today 1/2 is mommy's birthday...just like happened on her Dec. 17rh birthday. Yes, God answered that prayer and addy had a snow day to share with Tammy and the children. Hannah's faith was also a reminder that God cares for the little things in our life, also.
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