Skip to main content

A Snow Recess


I’m sitting by the fire noticing the beauty of the falling snow this morning. Our week has been full of sleet, freezing rain and a constant winter storm advisory.

For many, the wintry weather forced us to slow down, regroup and re purpose our days. Streets and sidewalks are treacherous causing schools to be closed for days and even colleges to call for the almost unheard of snow recess day.

Most of what was on my calendar has been postponed and replaced with other things. For me, what was a packed week of meetings and activities became an assortment of surprise gifts. I found time to take care of some thing that desperately needed my attention, like sorting socks who have lost their mates.

I've also had extra time to savor quiet moments to breathe deeply while approaching my days with less intensity. An added bonus -- we made time to reconnect with our family and hang out with friends. One evening we took advantage of a snow recess day to share dinner with our neighbors and play Catch Phrase with six teenagers. The smiles were easy and the laughter was generous as we cheered each other on.

Maybe, we all needed a respite from our normal routines. I know I did.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Shaking the System

Here at Grace Community Church we just finished a four week series entitled Shaking the System. If you missed any of these -- you can listen online at www.gracecc.org/sermons.html How did this weekend series stir you? What questions or concerns did it raise in your heart and mind? This past week Dave Rod gave us some ideas for personal engagement -- have you or are you planning to take any steps to personally get engaged in social justice issues?

Praying as We Breathe In & Out

By offering a simple prayer with every breath, we can be reminded "for in him we live and move and exist" (Acts 17:28). Although rather simple, this practice requires a connection between the unconscious act of breathing and a conscious expression to God. A Bit of History The church has practiced breath prayer or "prayer of the heart" for millennia . The Eastern Orthodox Church, in particular, has seen breath prayer as a way of living out Paul's instruction to "pray without ceasing."         Examples Jesus Prayer Take a moment to become aware of your breathing. It might help to find a quiet place -- close your eyes and notice your breathing. As you breath in -- bring your thoughts to Jesus. As you breath out -- express a word of gratitude or need. For example, breath in -- saying "Lord, Jesus Christ" -- breath out saying "have mercy on me." Throughout your day -- as you notice your breathing -- take note an...

The Shack and Room of Marvels

I love to read. I enjoy hearing what others are thinking and processing. I go through spurts of reading fiction and honestly I don't read very much christian fiction. BUT, a few years ago I read a book called Room of Marvels and just recently picked up a copy of the book, The Shack . Both books are fiction. Both books press in on really hard subjects of pain and loss. Both books profoundly impacted my view of God, our world, and eternity. Any readers out there? Have you read either of these books? Would love to hear your thoughts?