Thank You, God!

Well, the snow I was excited about Friday caused our weekend to be a little different than we expected.  The Area Championship basketball game for our HS boys was rescheduled until tonight.  The Saturday basketball game for our youngest, whose team is in a city league, was canceled.  Worship and classes were canceled for our church family all day yesterday, except that we had a short service and lunch with our Tipton Children's Home church family.  Plans changed, making this week crammed even fuller!

But, even with the few conflicts of basketball games mixed with livestock shows today and tomorrow, I'm still thankful that the snow and ice caused us to slow down a stay home more.  It enabled me to catch up with some things I needed to get done.  It allowed me to get better prepared for this week's events.  It gave me more time with the family since they were in the house even more. So, thank you, God! I needed that!

This morning, two of our boys and my husband are going to get pigs ready for the show that starts at noon.  Goats will also weigh in this morning.  As the youngest was getting ready, he said, "You know? The thing about stock shows is that everyone helps everyone."  Yes, they do! In fact, my husband said that if everyone hadn't pitched in to help him yesterday afternoon and evening, he couldn't have gotten done with all of the pigs that the TCH kids have to show.  What a great thing that everyone helps everyone!  Isn't that the way all of life should be?  Thank you, God, for little things like stock shows, where real-life examples are lived out for us to see and learn from.  Help us to always be willing to help others when they need it - and even when they don't - help us to still reach out to do what we can do to ease their load.

Thank you, God, for this "work" week full of activities and opportunities.  May we use each day to glorify you and to shine our lights brightly for Jesus.  Help us to look for opportunities to share Your Son with others as we go throughout the days.

Be still, and know that I am God.

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth!”

Psalm 46:10

Let it Snow! 2015

So it's almost March, but I'm excited about this snow coming in this morning, February 27!  The first two snows of this winter we missed because we were out of town, so this is a welcomed event for me!

It's not much, though we're expected to get between one and three inches.  I'm posting these two pictures early (about 8:15 CST) and then will post more below closer to 9:00, which is when the post next to be ready to go out via email today.

There are 24 scriptures with the word snow in it in the Bible.  I don't know about you, but I don't think about there being snow during the days and the locations of the Bible, but there really was!  That seems so neat to me....and cold!  They didn't have any of our modern conveniences.  No North Face jackets. No central heat.  No warm, comfy clothes, blankets, gloves.  Brrrr!!!!  I like the snow.  But, I like being warm in the snow, too!

Praise the Lord from the earth,

    you great sea creatures and all deeps,

 fire and hail, snow and mist,

    stormy wind fulfilling his word!

Mountains and all hills,

    fruit trees and all cedars!

Beasts and all livestock,

    creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples,

    princes and all rulers of the earth!

Young men and maidens together,

    old men and children!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

    for his name alone is exalted;

    his majesty is above earth and heaven.

Psalm 148:7-13

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

    and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

    it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:9-11

It's still coming down!  YAY!! Thank you, God, for the snow.  We need the moisture and it is sure pretty coming down and covering everything in a white blanket.

First Snowfall of the School Year!

The snow began falling on Sunday morning during worship. We were so excited! It was so pretty! I had to take a picture of my new little tree in it's first snowfall.  It's cute, huh?! :)

 And then seeing snow on the pumpkins is always fun!

 Zachary put on his ski cap to go feed the goats.  It's all white/grey/brown except for that bright thing!

My old pickup saw its first snowfall, too, but by the time I got this picture, it didn't show too much!

It showed a little more early Sunday afternoon.

The boys were extremely excited when they heard we weren't having school the next day! I know it wasn't a lot of snow, but the roads were slick early Monday morning, and who knew the sun would come out and melt it away quickly?  (God)  And every other school around us was closed, so it was best.

 They played outside....rode the 4-wheeler...

...rode the sled...

 ...just had fun!

 And that afternoon Tyler even "swept" the snow off of the front yard....in shorts....

...so he and his brother could play football!!  

What a fun time it was for the first snowfall of this school year! We look forward to more!  Well, the boys and I do.  My daughter and husband don't. :)

Let It Snow!

It's been pretty amazing around SW Oklahoma! We have had two big snows (big for us!) this year, already, and it's still on the ground four days later. With temps in the 7 to 32 degree range over the past few days, it's easy to tell why it's still here, too.  It's just unusual for us to have this much snow and for it to stay longer than a day! 

The snow began to fall last Thursday, causing the school to close early and letting out Friday, too.  This  gave our three boys a really long weekend of fun and family time!

I like being snowed in. It shows me that I'm not in control, or that any of us are in control of the weather. Only God is.  That shows His power and might!

Being snowed in changed some plans for our town....having to cancel our football state championship game and us having to cancel our church family gathering at our house for Sunday night. I got of online Christmas shopping done, which I wasn't sure when I would have the time to get some of it done - some that involved uploading photos...lots and lots of photos.

When the temperature was a little higher, the boys played and played. They scooped snow for building projects.

They played football. (This one got tackled!) The snow was/is really dry, so they didn't come in all wet like you might think.

They built a bucket-made snowman, with spray-painted eyes, mouth, and buttons. (Ha ha!!)

And they made a huge pyramid.

That thing is about 6 feet tall!

Yesterday I had them pose, right after worship, for a quick "brothers" picture. It sure seems odd not to have a "sister" in the picture!  She'll be home soon for Christmas break, so we'll have to take more pictures with her in the shot.

The boys had to go to school this morning. They didn't want to, but it's probably best. The way it looks, we may be getting more snow days in the future.  We all hope so, anyway! :)

The Oklahoma Snow Storm

I was all excited at the first of the week as weather reports predicted several inches of snow for the southwest corner of Oklahoma. Even more was predicted for further north.  Because I get so excited about snow (unreasonably more excited, that is!), I "punished" myself and only allowed myself to look at the forecasts for a short amount of time.  Otherwise I get so excited that I can hardly sleep!  Crazy, I know!

I was busy studying for my Wednesday night Bible class yesterday morning, occassionally looking out the window to see if the rain had turned to snow.  I began to think we weren't going to get any, but of course, was thankful for the rain. Around noon, I got a text from my husband that said, "Snow!".  He works about a mile and a half north of our house, so I knew the snow would be here soon.  I watched out the window and, sure enough, it came!  I was so excited!  It snowed off and on for several hours - some big, beautiful snowflakes - but as soon as it hit the ground it melted.  I figured that eventually it would start to stick, but it didn't.  I guess the ground was too warm for that.

Towns all around us got several inches.  Many schools were closed or got out early.  Many schools are closed still today, or at least going in a few hours late.  Not us.  There's no need.  The kids were disappointed!  Many of us adults were, too!!

One of my friends wrote that they had close to 20 inches of snow...just a couple of hours north of us.  Even 30 minutes away people got 3 or 4 inches.  Some friends are trying to dig out of their homes due to huge drifts.  Many are without electricity.

Anticipation of something exciting - like a pretty snow - made me think about awaiting Jesus' return.  What if we waited and waited and waited and it never happened?  How would we feel if we never saw Him come like the Bible 'forecase' says He will?

We don't have to worry about that or be anxious about the fact that He is coming.  And yet, while we shouldn't "worry" about it anyway, we should be prepared at all times.  No, it may not happen during our lives here on earth, but it will happen.  God said it would happen, so it will.  The Bible is truth - there's no doubt about it!

I saw several photos of the bread aisle at Walmart the day before the "storm".  There was no bread, or only one or two loaves.  There were mostly empty shelves.  People hoarded food and water and supplies to prepare for the impending snow storm...not knowing if they would be able to get out or not.  Other did not prepare, believing they had nothing to prepare for, but then found themselves snowed in without necessities, such as batteries.

Matthew 25:1-13 tells us of some foolish virgins who also weren't prepared to meet the bridegroom.  This parable Jesus taught His followers is a lesson for us today.  A lesson for us to prepare and to always be prepared for the return of Jesus and for the Judgement Day.  We don't know the hour.  We don't know the day.  But He is coming.  He expects His people to keep watch and be prepared.  Not worry, but be ready. He wants us to be ready on that day so that He can take us to live with Him for eternity.  Isn't that a 'forecast' we're longing to see come?  I am! I pray you are, too!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

(Okay, all of you Okies that are still out of school, work, the house, etc.....

from last weeks blizzard, please forgive me for this post :).

Photography Graphics

I just looked at the forecast for Tipton, Oklahoma, tomorrow night.  It's 100% chance for "wintry mix" tomorrow night and 60% chance for snow on Wednesday.  I am so, so excited!  In fact, I say, "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!"

Last week we received quite a bit of snow, the kids missed a few days of school, and we had heat, water, and electricity.....oh, and Paula Deen's recipe for Snow Ice Cream.  It was great!  We had a lot of fun!  But now, we're expecting even more snow in the next few days - something that is soooo rare for this part of Oklahoma.

Now, about my excitement.  Several years ago, it was predicted for our area to get 10 - 12 inches of snow.  I haven't seen that much snow (except in Colorado) since I was a kid.  In fact, I'm not sure I really ever did as a kid - maybe I was just little and it seemed like that much.  Well, anyway, I watched the radars online for DAYS waiting for that system to move in.  The night it was coming I stayed up into the wee hours of the night/next morning watching and waiting....so excited like a child the day before his/her birthday or Christmas!  Finally I made myself go to bed - knowing that when I woke up I would see 10 - 12 inches of beautiful white snow.  I couldn't wait to wake up the kids and let them see the blanket of white.

The next morning I woke up, put on my glasses and rushed to the window.  Guess what I saw?  Just a slight dusting of white all over our dead grass yard.  I was sooooo disappointed!  The snow had missed us!  It had gone north of us and we missed all but a tiny bit of that system.

Last week, when all of the weather predictions were coming in, I made myself stay calm.  If I would start to get all anxious and excited, I would think back to that disappointing time from a few years before.  But, to my surprise and great satisfaction, when we awoke last Tuesday morning, there was snow - and quite a bit of snow!  The first time I was anxious and it didn't happen.  The next time I wasn't anxious and it did happen. 

Is God trying to teach me a lesson????? 

Can I learn anything from these two extremes????

When I look at the radars and weather sites right now, it's really, really hard for me to not get overly excited and anxious about the possibility of lots of snow.  It's really hard for me to not be excited for the kids to maybe miss school Wednesday and we get to cook and play games and play in the snow all day.

But, when I think of God and His promises and His plan and His will for my life, I MUST remain calm. 

I MUSTN'T be anxious or worried about this possible snow, or no snow, or anything else for that matter.  When we're anxious, we're not putting our trust in God.  A harsh, but true fact.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

So, I say, "Let it snow!" but should add to that, "if it is your will, God."

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6

On this Gratituesday, I am grateful to God for calming my anxious thoughts, for leading me in the way, if I'll submit to Him, and for His patience with me in all of these things.  To see what others are grateful for, visit Heavenly Homemakers.

Gratituesday - Snow Days!!

What am I grateful for on this GRATITUESDAY?
Snow Days!

 

No school for Tuesday and Wednesday, so lots of fun for the kiddos!

I think this little bird was even enjoying the snowy day!

Playing in the snow.

Buried in the snowy ditch!

Too powdery for snowballs, so they just threw it in the air!

Snow Ice Cream....YUMMY!  (Recipe posted on our recipe blog - here.)

To find out what others are grateful for, visit Heavenly Homemakers.