Silent Night Holy Night

Today reminded me of snowfall. Now... it's is not snowing... our temps were in the upper 40’s and it was a yukky gray day not a snowy white one but the day had that magic all the same.

DH and I went out in the madness to get some last minute Christmas items, and even in the hustle and the bustle it was a snowfall kind of day.

Have you ever been in snow fall? So you know what I mean... huge flakes of frozen water drifting softly down, piling gently on top of each other when they hit earth, changing the landscape altering the entire world as you know it. All sounds are muffled by the snowfall itself, yup, snow makes a noise or a non noise as it falls, your ears know its snowing just like you do when your face is embraced by little frozen kisses.

Snowfall is like the stars on a clear night, your gaze upwards is overwhelmed as it tries to focus on a single flake, it's just impossible to pick just one, the sky is littered with them as they plummet towards earth. There is a moment of total quiet when peace descends if you will allow the envelopment to happen. Myself, I am usually secretly panicked, somewhere far from home and to drive in it scares me, but there’s always that moment for a deep breath and then I give in. To the snow moment.

So today I am grateful for the peace that I had. I had a peaceful day. My gift from God. Thanks for asking! And, how was your day?

I love Lori Stanley Roeleveld , I love her style of writing, she's so honest.

She writes about some of her year end devotional practices:

"So, that is what I did last year and what I will do again this season. I set aside time and asked the Lord to bring to mind all the things I had to confess and all the things I was holding against others and against Him (even though we know we have no right to judge the Lord’s ways, most of us still hold some things against Him when His ways are not our ways). I acknowledged the gravity of each of my sins, asked for forgiveness and agreed to change.

I acknowledged the pain of other’s sins against me, agreed to forgive them and leave judgment in the hands of the Lord. I acknowledged any anger or disappointment in the way God had worked things out in my life and let them go, reaffirming my trust in His character and His wisdom in my life, reaffirming that I have given my life to Him and it is now His, not mine. And I put 2008 under the blanket of His forgiveness, just as I will put 2009 under the blanket of forgiveness."

http://loristanleyroeleveld.blogspot.com/2009/12/like-house-ablaze-further-adventures-in.html

That sounds so peaceful, 'putting 2009 under the blanket of forgiveness'. That reminds me of snowfall also, giving in, succumbing to the peace that the Lord has to offer me. It is a discipline to daily take stock and realize how short I have fallen from the mark that God has set for me, that I create my own chaos apart from God. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The "sin" word that is used most frequently in the Bible is hamartia, "missing the mark".It is the most comprehensive term for explaining sin. The Apostle Paul used the verb hamartano when he wrote, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

So you can be a great person (I am a wonderful person) and still fall short of the mark, or miss the target that God has set for you personally. I am trying to develop that discipline, to take stock daily. With a whole lot of help from God.

Fast away the old year passes,
Fa la la la la la la la la
Hail the new, ye lads and lasses,
Fa la la la la, fa la la la.

I hope you are getting your fair share of metaphorical snowfall days, I wish you moments of peace where you really feel the love of God falling gently all around you. I hope you take the moment to look up into the endless sky of falling blessings and just smile as you receive your snowflake kisses.