I'm Singing in the Snow!

I’m singing in the snow! Yes, I said snow, no rain, just snow and lots of it! Can you even believe all the areas that have been hit this week with snow and ice storms? It’s crazy, isn’t it? Last night when I heard on the news that Corpus Christi, Texas and Lake Charles, Louisiana schools were closed for a “snow day” I was stunned! That’s the Deep South my friends!

What’s really funny to me though is listening to everyone’s comments about this storm. A lot of the people, who have the snow, don’t want it. The people that don’t have it, really want it! Here in NW Arkansas we have a ton of it, at least by our standards. In my own yard, depending on where you measure, it is anywhere from 9”to 12”. Now there is more snow coming down today and more predicted for Sunday and Monday. Today is our 4th snow day off from school this week and only the Lord knows what next week will hold. I LOVE having our four kiddos home & our snow days together. The days haven’t been without chaos, sibling rivalry, humongo messes and lots of just good old busy-ness. To be honest, at times it has been a little difficult. With four children, it takes 30 minutes to get everybody dressed in all their snow gear to only go out for just a little bit because it’s sooooo cold. Then, trying to keep everyone from tracking snow onto the hardwood floors is a fulltime job all by itself. BUT, would I change a single thing about these days with our kiddos? Absolutely not! Having four children that range between the ages of 11 & 3 comes with challenges; but the joy outweighs the challenges 100 times over!

This snow and these snow days were not in my plan. We had our weekly schedule all laid out. Our children had lots of weekly school activities, extra-curricular activities, school clubs, they all had their books of the Bible & verses memorized and ready for Wednesday night Awana, Kip had people flying in from all over for work meetings, I had some really neat lesson plans laid out for my classroom kiddos…….the list could go on & on! But, God had different plans! I could gripe & complain about all that was “messed” up by all this snow or I can choose to see what God has for me at home this week with my family! It’s a choice, it’s my choice!

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." Proverbs 16:9

So what would I have missed out on this week if my plans had been my path?

- Extra snuggle time with my honey, hot cocoa & baking cookies with my kiddos, beautiful paper snowflakes to cover the front windows, deep conversations with our 9 year old about who she is in Christ, discussions about where our inner beauty comes from with our 11 year old, make-overs with the girls, wrestling matches with the boys, tents in the living room, snowmen, snow forts, sledding down our crazy driveway, snowball fights, doctoring booboos from snowball fights, snow ice cream, extra Bible reading time with our children, sipping hot tea at 9:00 in the morning and reading God’s word for as long as my heart desired . . . . . I could go on & on!

I would have missed making MEMORIES!

Now, would I change a thing so that all I had planned would have taken place?
NOT FOR ALL THE TEA IN CHINA! :-)

So, my challenge for this snowy Friday is – STOP and take time to enjoy where the Lord has you today! It may not be what you had planned. It might not be snow or weather that has changed your plans; it might even be sickness or trial. But none the less, your plans have changed. Why not try to look for the steps that the Lord has established for you? If you don’t, you could miss out on the blessings and lessons He has planned for you this day! I know that His way is ALWAYS better than mine!!!!! So for today, I’m singing in the unplanned blessing of snow; will you join me?

From my heart to yours,

Holly