Winter Is Here!!!

Well if you are North of the equator this is officially winter season. Brrrr.

Having had the opportunity to be in Alaska, Canada, and Finland during winter through the years makes me appreciate living in a warmer climate. And now that I am acclimated the cold is even colder. I would rather mow the yard around Thanksgiving and put up Christmas decorations in t-shirts than wear parkas for months. I don't mind visiting the frozen tundra of Amarillo, Texas and parts north, but getting back down south is where I would rather be.

It is good some people want to live North of my latitude. I appreciated their choice. It is always interesting to see these 'natives of the north' out in shorts and t-shirts when the temperatures warm up just a few degrees no matter how cold it is.

Blessings, especially to anyone in the cold.

Extremes

Just got back from a week in Canada. Vancouver was ok, snow and rain highs in the 30's f. Edmonton was a little, no, a lot different. It was clear but the high in Edmonton was a -13 f with a low of -29 f. Yes that was 29 degrees below zero. As one of the crew said you don't live in that kind of weather you survive it. Calgary was a little warmer, when we left it was -5 degrees. The temperature in Dallas upon arrival was 75 degrees. So we gained 80 degrees in about three hours. Glad to be back in the warm!

Cold extremes are hard on equipment. Any drip you have in warm weather becomes a leak when the cold contracts everything. Batteries get real weak and oil very thick. You have to make preparations to survive the cold weather.

Life is a lot like that. Preparations need to be made so you can survive the extremes. Extremes are the parts of life that happen to other people. Cancer, job loss, death. The things that test your relationship to God.

Preperations:

1. Spend time in His word, listening.

2. Spend time in prayer, sharing your heart.

3. Spend time with a 'strong believer', sharing and growing your faith.

Books are written on each of these tasks. So they may be simple but they can be so rich and rewarding as you delve deeper into them.

Blessings.