Random Rants and other Digressions

We are seven days into the new year and I had the day off due to excessive cold. I live in the DMV. It is safe to say that in Northern Virginia, we waste snow days left and right. Thank goodness the school system builds extra days into the calendar (which they don't give back if they go unused). I am from dreary Cleveland, Ohio where the sky is grey way more than it is blue. I grew up in harsh winters with bitter cold. We went to school with snow up to our knees and not a school bus in sight. Snow days were always the result of sub-par temperatures(think negative something crazy!). Needless to say, we hardly ever had them.

Fast forward about to my current life. Snow days are declared before a snowflake falls out of the sky. Parents are cyber-bullying a superintendent who chose not to close schools. People in this area can't drive in the rain so honestly sometimes it is safer to stay off the roads in the snow or ice. Which brings me to my rant. I have lived in this area since 1992 with the exception of about 2 years. It is time for the folks to get over their weather issues and suck up a few inches of snow. It has snowed enough in the years since that we should be able to handle these situations with grace and finesse. We should have enough salt and de-icer to treat the roads in a timely manner. Now granted I want my children and everyone else's to be safe. The county I live in hasn't quite figured out when to delay schools versus closing them.  Part of the problem lies in the fact that they need to institute parking bans on streets so all streets can be cleared. School buses have a difficult time navigating some of these streets in the sun so ice makes it tricky. My point is that I think we need to adjust. Times are changing and so is the weather. Gone are the mild winters that the DMV is used too. Suck it up and adjust!

While I am ranting about cold, let me just say this: Parents dress your children properly for the weather. I am floored by the number of children who enter the school at 8:00AM with shorts, no jackets, thin T-shirts, and shower shoes. Seriously people?!?!?!? My car was reading 20 degrees so they must be cold. Heck I am freezing and I have on layers and a coat! Responsible adults are supposed to impart wisdom to irresponsible children.

Okay, I am off my soapbox about winter stuff. Let me share something that was really cool. My church is building a new facility to accommodate our growing congregation and hopefully decrease the number of services we currently hold. The foundation is done and covered but we are nowhere near completion. A friend of mine suggested that we go in and write the names of friends and loved ones that we wanted to see come to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior and be impacted by our church family. Our pastor shared the idea with us and told us to pray about who we wanted to impact in the future and be prepared to write those names on the first Sunday in January. On Sunday, I attended our 12:45 services(I usually attend 10:15 service) and it was so sweet to enter our new building and see the congregants excited about who they wanted our church to impact. I wasn't prepared for how emotional or humbling that experience would be. What a privilege it will be to witness the prayers of our congregation answered. It was cool to see a mom and her relatively young children sitting on the floor listing the children's peers. It was sweet to see people write their prayers as well as the names they had chosen. God is going to do extraordinary things in our church and I feel excited about that!

In May, I purchased a book called Q&A a Day-A five year journal. I absolutely love it. It encourages me to write something each day. The questions range from the deep to the irreverent and everything in between. I love it and I have gifted it. Just thought I'd share that! As for how I begin my morning, Sarah Young's Jesus Calling is a great devotional. It makes another great gift. I am not being compensated for this I just like them and am sharing.

Last but not least, I hope your year has begun on a positive note. Remember that God chose you for whatever you face. Yes, I often wish He didn't trust me so much but what a testimony once we reach the other side. Breathe and pray! Smile! Be kind and remember that if God is for you, who can be against you!

In Diva Love,

Pam