Christian Reflection and Prayer

DIARY OF A SNOW SHOVELER 1

Page One

December 8 - 6:00 PM
It started to snow.  The first snow
of the season and the wife and I
took our cocktails and sat for hours
by the window watching the huge
soft flakes drift down from heaven. 
It looked like a Grandma Moses
Print.  So romantic we felt like
newlyweds again.  I love snow!


December 9
We woke to a beautiful blanket
of crystal white snow covering
every inch of the landscape. 
What a fantastic sight!  Can
there be a more lovely place
in the whole world?  Moving
here was the best idea I've ever
had!  Shoveled for the first time
in years and felt like a boy again. 
I did both our driveway and the
sidewalks.  This afternoon the
snowplow came along and
covered up the sidewalks and
closed in the driveway, so I got
to shovel again.  What a perfect
life!

December 12
The sun has melted all our lovely
snow.  Such a disappointment! 
My neighbor tells me not to worry-
we'll definitely have a white
Christmas.  No snow on Christmas
would be awful!  Bob says we'll have
so much snow by the end of winter,
that I'll never want to see snow again. 
I don't think that's possible.  Bob is
such a nice man, I'm glad he's our
neighbor.


December 14
Snow, lovely snow!  8 inches last night. 
The temperature dropped to -20.  The
cold makes everything sparkle so. 
The wind took my breath away, but I
warmed up by shoveling the driveway
and sidewalks.  This is the life!  The
snowplow came back this afternoon
and buried everything again.  I didn't
realize I would have to do quite this
much shoveling, but I'll certainly get
back in shape this way.  I wish I
wouldn't huff and puff so.


December 15
20 inches forecast.  Sold my van and
bought a 4x4 Blazer.  Bought snow
tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. 
Stocked the freezer.  The wife wants a
wood stove in case the electricity goes
out.  I think that's silly.  We aren't in
Alaska, after all.

TOMORROW PAGE TWO

Jesus' Job Application
Ron Walters

Can you imagine if the Savior of the world
were asked to fill out a job application?
Think of it! How would the incarnate God
answer the simple questions required for
a job interview? After all, His resume is
not run-of-the-mill.

Put yourself in that employment office.
Take a look over His shoulder and follow
along as He completes His application.
It might look something like this:

NAME: Jesus Christ

APPLICANT BACKGROUND:
I am pre-existent, appearing numerous
times before my birth.I also participated
in the creation.

FAMILY BACKGROUND:
Jewish on my mother's side and Divine
on my Father's side. Mother was a virgin
at the time of
my birth.

LIST YOUR REFERENCES:
Myriads of myriads and thousands of
thousands of angels, and a few fishermen.

CLOSEST RELATIVE:
The eternal God, who has said,
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased."

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR
GREATEST STRENGTHS?
I can forgive sin and raise the
dead. From time to time I walk on water.

WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATIONAL
BACKGROUND?
I taught doctors and elders when I was
in Junior High School.

LIST YOUR DUTIES IN PREVIOUS JOBS:
I've catered full dinners to large crowds with
low overhead. Once, during a wine shortage
at a wedding, Improvised with a water substitute.
Also, at a local funeral for a friend, I provided
the life for the party.

HOW DO YOU GET ALONG WITH OTHERS?
It varies. Sometimes they shout "Messiah"
to me, and the next day they yell, "Crucify Him."

ARE YOU ABLE TO WORK WEEKENDS?
All but one. I have a prior commitment at
Mt. Calvary, but I'll return on Sunday.

SALARY REQUIREMENTS:
None. Although I haven't a home or even
a pillow to lay my head, I do own the universe.

Scripture:

"For you are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs
of victory."
Psalm 32:7 NLT

If you do this, you will experience
God's peace, which is far more
wonderful than the human mind
can understand. His peace will
guard your hearts and minds as
you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 NLT

Peace like a river

"H.G. Spafford was a businessman
in Chicago. He was a dedicated
Christian. He had some serious
financial reversals and, during the
time of readjustment, he lost his
home. He realized his family needed
to get away for a vacation. Spafford
decided to take the entire family to
England.

He sent his wife and four daughters
ahead on the SS Ville du Havre. In
midocean the French steamer carrying
his loved ones collided with another
and sank within twelve minutes; 230
people lost their lives. The four
daughters drowned, but Mrs. Spafford
was rescued. She wrote her husband,
"Saved alone."

Mr. Spafford was almost overcome
with grief. He had lost his property,
his four precious daughters were buried
beneath the deep waves of the sea,
and his wife was prostrate with grief
on the other side of the world. But he
put all his trust in God and wrote a
song that has comforted thousands
since that time:

When peace like a river attendeth
my way, When sorrows like sea
billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou
has taught me to say,"It is well, it
is well with my soul."

from 1001 Great Stories and Quotes
by R. Kent Hughes (Tyndale) p 304