ONE DROP AT A TIME

One tiny snowflake softly floated down from the gray winter sky. It seemed lonely at first as it gently rested on a blade of grass. Shortly after that, another snowflake drifted down toward the earth, swaying back and forth in a casual motion. It wasn’t long before several more flakes drifted from the skies above to join them. Soon, more snowflakes were falling at a faster rate, until the ground had a layer of snow covering it like a thin white sheet. The snow continued to fall throughout the night and left a thick blanket of wet snow that covered everything in sight.  

By morning, a heavy eight inches of snow overwhelmed everything beneath it. The sky was clear and quickly lightened as the sun rose. As the sun gleamed down, the bright white snow reflected the blinding light in every direction, making it difficult to look directly at the snow without sunglasses or through a tightly squinted eye. Warm rays of sunlight began to slowly melt a fallen snowflake causing it to condense. A single droplet of water formed as several more flakes condensed. The warmth from within our house kept drops of water liquid as they trickled down to the roof’s edge. Clinging to the edge, the liquid froze in place. The sun continued to melt each snowflake and one by one, droplets of water made it to the edge of the roof. Each droplet of water made it just a little bit further than the previous one before it froze in place. The next morning, icicles ranging from six inches to six feet long hung from the roof’s edge.

When even the smallest items built together, they can have an incredible growing impact.

Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, make the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

ARE YOU LISTENING

Listening to what people are saying is a very beneficial skill that comes easy to some, but usually not so easy for adolescents.

Dad was always good about taking my brothers and I fishing when we were younger. It was an affordable way to keep the four of us entertained, and most times we brought home a bunch of fish, which was also an affordable way to fill our seemingly bottomless pits for stomachs.

The situation of icing and gear looked something like this - Dad and my uncle built an ice fishing house big enough for about 2 adults and 4-5 kids (it was pretty sweet for the early 1980’s.) When the ice was at least 12 inches thick we’d haul the fish house onto an area lake, drill holes down through the ice that lined up with holes in the bottom of the fish house, put the house over those holes, turn on the propane heater, and start fishing. Each of us had a little fishing pole. We’d put a worm on the hook and lower the line down the hole. It was then just a matter of waiting for the bobber to go down, setting the hook, and pulling up a fish.

On one occasion, my dad drilled a hole about 30 yards away from the fishing house. He set up a “tip up,” which is a device that when a large enough fish takes the bait, it releases (tips up) a flag into the air letting you know a fish is there. In hopes of luring in a big fish, Dad loaded the hook of the tip up with a large sucker minnow.

After an hour of fishing the sun was starting to set, and we had already caught several fish by this time.  Suddenly, Dad yelled, “TIP UP!” He hurdled over two kids and much of the equipment that was between him and the door like a finely trained olympic athlete. Busting out the door of the fish house, he ran to the tip up and started pulling up line. The rest of us watched through the window and door in awe. After what seemed like an eternity, Dad starting yelling something at us while waving his arm. Without listening, we ran out to him to see what all the commotion was about. As we got close to him, he turned toward us and yelled, “I said, GET THE GAFF!” (A gaff is a stick with a large hook on the end of it. Ours was an old broom handle with a large hook duct taped to the end.) One of us finally came to our senses, ran back to the fish house, retrieved the gaff and gave it to Dad. He extended his entire arm and the gaff down the hole into the water, and in a quick jerk, he hoisted the biggest Northern Pike I’d ever seen, up through the hole and onto the ice. It was awesome!

James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

MAKE THE BEST OF A CHILLY SITUATION

This will come as no surprise to you, but it’s been really cold in the upper Midwest this past week. Everybody is talking about it, and most people are probably getting tired of hearing about it. Nevertheless, I’m going to blog about it because there are some really cool things that can be seen and done due to the extreme cold.

The first one that caught my eye was a picture that captured spectacular Sun Dogs. A friend took it on the way home after his morning workout. Sun dogs occur when tiny moisture particulates in the air freeze and reflect the sun's rays causing a spectrum of colors. The air is frozen! Take a few breaths and let that sink in.

Photo Credit: Chris Richardson   

The next few items are ways that show how people can be creative by finding ways to enjoy the extreme cold.

To begin with, there is a couple of brothers who build detailed snow sculptures every year. First of all, they need snow, and second, they need it to be cold, so the snow doesn't melt. No problem with it melting when it's below zero.

 2018/19 Bartz Snow Sculptures

The next one is a fun project to do with kids. Take balloons, fill them with water and food coloring, then let them freeze. Once frozen, cut away the balloon. Some call them dinosaur eggs...makes sense to me. Who would have thought water balloons would be fun all year round.

The final one I'll share shows that it has been so cold, your pants will freeze. A guy in our neighborhood started this project many years ago. This year, I wanted to give it a try. I ran a couple pairs of jeans through the wash to get them thoroughly wet, then brought them outside.With the air temperature at -25 degrees, it only took three minutes for the pants to freeze. I shaped them as fast as possible, then stuck them in the snow. 

Photo credit: My work pants

I'd be interested to see how you make the most of a chilly situation outdoors.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

DON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN

My work van has a remote starter, which is pretty awesome this time of year. Being able to stand in the warmth of my house on a blustery winter morning, push a button that starts the vehicle, and then climb into a warm van 10 minutes later is pretty cool. When the vehicle starts the horn honks, the engine fires up, starts rumbling, and the parking lights stay on. The process is anything but subtle.

The past few mornings have gone like this - I start my van and continue getting ready for the day. After brushing my teeth, I grab my lunch box and head out the door. The van is parked outside in front of the garage door. Opening the garage door is a squeaky operation when it’s frigidly cold. Walking around the front of the rumbling vehicle, each footstep crunches on the frozen snow. One particular morning as I stepped toward the driver’s door, a scared rabbit darted out from under the hedges…which, in turn, startled me. I laughed it off, thinking to myself how weird it was that the rabbit didn’t scare away from the other commotion happening around it.

The same thing happened the next morning, and I was startled yet again. Day three, you ask? Yes, and both the rabbit and I jumped…again. Eventually, the rabbit wised up and found a different bush to sleep under - I’m glad it did because I’m not sure how much more my nerves could handle.

Romans 7:14-17 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong, it is sin living in me that does it.

TAKE IT ALL IN

Hello winter! You know, the time of the year when it’s dark when you leave the house for work in the morning and dark when you get home too. Yesterday morning I drove an hour and a half southeast to a job site that I’ve been to many times. The area is very scenic and because I’m heading southeast in the morning, it also means I’m driving directly into the sunrise.

The first 30 minutes of the drive was busy as I weaved my way through traffic in the dark. Soon I was out of the city limits and ready for a casual drive for the next hour. While heading down the highway I noticed the horizon was starting to get light as sunrise was nearing. A heavy line of clouds was drifting east toward the horizon and it appeared as though it was going to block out the sun. Good news for me because I don’t care to spend the next hour driving directly into the low hanging winter sun. A short time later, the line of clouds was just about to the horizon and the sun was just starting to pierce the earth’s crest. I love sunrises, and this one was quickly turning into a beauty right before my eyes!

Realizing this was going to keep my attention for a while, I figured it would be safer to pull off the highway and enjoy it. As the sky turned a glowing powder blue, the clouds started to change from gray to orange. Soon the sky was a brilliant amber and the clouds were turning pink. The horizon skyline narrowed as the clouds drifted closer the edge. The clouds took on different shades of purple and were cascading down to a burning pink line at the horizon.

This would look a lot better at the Omni Theater

I whipped out my phone and began taking pictures. Looking at the sunrise, then at the pictures on my phone, then back up to the massive sky, I realized it was impossible to capture what my eyes were seeing so I decided to put the phone back in my pocket and just take it in. Ten minutes later it was all over, and I was back on the road. Sometimes, we need to put everything aside and just take in the moment.

Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

HOLLOW INSIDE, FIND FULLNESS

As the sun began to shine upon the neighborhood it became very apparent how much snow fell the night before. There was a thick, white blanket hanging on everything in sight. Power lines were sagging lower than normal, and when the slightest breeze whispered by, they bounced and appeared stretched to their limit. The branches of evergreen trees hung low from the weight, causing the lower branches to drape on the ground. The bare oak and maple trees didn’t seem to be bothered by the extra weight, but the moisture from the snow was dripping off the limbs and running down the trunk.

While clearing the steps and sidewalk of the fresh snow, it felt heavy and full of moisture. Water ran off the scoop of the shovel every time it was lifted off the ground. With clear skies overhead, the wind started to build while the power lines swayed back and forth, releasing snow until they were finally clear. As the winds continued, the trees didn’t fare as well - several evergreens had branches break off within a foot of the trunk, and the oaks and maples began to lose many smaller branches.

The scenery was very different later that day, most of the snow had melted, but the damage left behind was very apparent. There was a large tree that had the main trunk break off just above the ground. The heavy snow and wind had taken its toll on the tree. What really stood out was that the trunk was completely hollow on the inside, so hollow that I was amazed it was able to stand, regardless of the weight of the snow. A tree that appeared healthy on the outside was, in fact, empty on the inside.

Colossians 2:8-10 (NIV) See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the element spiritual forces of this world rather than Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness…

BUSY AS A BEAVER

Busy as a beaver, or so the saying goes, right? Christmas can be a very busy time of year, traveling to see family, re-connecting with friends, buying gifts, sending cards, baking, decorating the tree, going to church…the list goes on and on.

There is a very distinct difference between being busy and busy-ness. The action of busy-ness can be defined as things we feel we “need” to get done, “should” get done, or ”want” to get done, but don’t necessarily benefit us or those close to us. Busy-ness can take away from time spent with those that mean a lot to us, or like spending time reflecting on the birth story of Jesus.

Being busy as a beaver has purpose…meaningful purpose.

As Mr. or Mrs. Beaver waddle through the small brush in their life, the focus is to find suitable branches they can use to build a safe and secure lodge.

The large trees they encounter can be a source of food and for building dams and flood areas to increase their habitat.

As busy as beavers are, they don’t do it for show, they do it in private.  They’re also very hard to get pictures of, though I was able to get this one very lame picture of Mr. or Mrs. Beaver.

The beaver is that round blob on the left

They even eluded my trail camera, either by moving so fast the camera couldn’t catch them, or by moving so slow they didn’t activate it.

Notice the downed log

        The beaver eluded the camera but you can see a lot of that log missing

I do admire their purpose driven life, but also really wonder what their dentist bill looks like.

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.