Picture of the Day—Snowflake

snowflake, originally uploaded by wenabell.

My wife is ah-may-zing. Click on this photo to see more at her flickr site. She had to stay outside and freeze to get these shots.

A Glorious Morning

This boy from Washington State absolutely loves mornings like this. It is raining relatively hard, lighting is slamming the Shoreview Towers, and thunder is rolling across the sky from south to north.

My family is at the library, all the windows are open, the smell of rain is everywhere, and I am sitting at my computer with a large mug of steaming hot coffee in my hand and an eclectic mix of tunes flowing from my playlist.

It really is glorious.

Job 28:23 “God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he gave to the wind its weight
and apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
28 And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Here comes the rain again, I hope.

The weather forecast shows 70% chance for precipitation on Wednesday. Several times during the last week of sunny days, I realized that this Washington boy longs for a few solid days of rain. I can only take so much sunshine.

(Note: Average days of precipitation—including snow—in Minneapolis, MN., 115 days. Average days of precipitation—not including snow—in Portland, OR., 151 days.)

Fall in Minnesota

HT: Wendy

Snow Days

I have been meaning to write about this all week, but alas, now is my first chance to write.

Monday morning we woke up with about nine new inches of snow on the ground. This was a welcome surpise since virtually all of the previous snow had been melted and we had several days with temperatures in the fifties.

Then, on Thursday we had another seven inches of snow. So, in the space of four days we had sixteen inches of snow. It has been a lot of fun, especially for the kids. The temperature has stayed around 29-31 degrees, so it hasn't melted much.

Today, however, it is warmer and the snow is starting to melt, but since there is so much snow, it won't melt too fast.

This is probably Old Man Winter's last gasp. Spring starts in a few days.

Happy New Year -- Three Days Late

Happy New Year! We wish you all a wonderful new year. May God bless you as you strive to find your joy in Him. For, as my pastor says, "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him." So, find your satisfaction in Christ, and in doing so, you will fulfill your greatest duty to glorify him.

We are a little disappointed in the weather. It is supposed to be cold here in Minnesota, but it hasn't hardly dipped below 32 degrees for the last few weeks. The lakes are starting to thaw. Several trucks have fallen through the ice on one lake. If we have to put up with heat and humidity in the summer, I sure would like to have a worthy winter.

School starts again this coming Monday. However, I have two assignments, plus reading due on that day, so I have started studying again. Please pray for Wendy and I as we try to get back into the swing of TBI and homeschool.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Romans 15:13).

The Stones Have Rolled

Today was a momentous day this week. I stayed up Sunday night and worked on my paper. At 5:00 am this morning, Wendy looked up from bed, looked at me working at my computer, and said, "Have you not come to bed yet?" I turned around and said, "Five more minutes!" I crawled into bed at 5:15 am with a major draft completed. It is due tomorrow night, so I still have to revise the paper and interact with secondary sources, but at least the draft is done.

This afternoon, the other major problem in my life went away. That is a significant praise. Enough said. At least I don't have to go to the doctor....

We heard Vancouver had a bit of snow. It must be cute out there.

Snow and Stones

It is Tuesday night and the weatherman says that we should be getting five to eight inches of snow between now and Thursday. That sounds kind of fun. Despite the fact that snow is a regular occurance in Minneapolis, if it goes two or three days without snowing, people forget how to drive in it. So, tomorrow's commute should be very slow.

As for stones, the doctor says I have them. As in multiple kidney stones. I have had several recurring instances of extreme abdominal pain in the last four weeks, so at the strong urging of my wife, I went to see the doc. Sure enough, the Star Trek like CT Scan indicates that small rocks have formed in my left kidney and have decided to make like Mick Jagger and be rolling stones. Unfortunately, the route they want to roll is a bit small. The doctor called today and insists that I get in ASAP to deal with this problem, but I have an exegesis paper due in 1 week, as well as two finals. I don't have a lot of time for either snow or stones.

Needless to say, we could use your prayers.