Another snow day.  I live in the foothills of northeast Tennessee.  Unlike the snow-slammed northeastern states and parts of the country that are used to big winters, we practically close down when a handful of flakes team up and stick to the road.  So I’m not complaining.  I don’t have to go to work, and the snow is beautiful.

There’s something about the white, clean-looking appearance of snow.  When it falls gently and begins to muffle the sounds of city life, a peaceful scene soon emerges.  One of my daughters used to live in a state that had a lot of litter and a lot of snow.  (I won’t name the state; I don’t want to make Sarah Palin mad.)  The great thing about the snow was that it covered up the litter, making the landscape look clean.

Religious preachers and teachers throughout the ages have used the snow analogy to address man’s sin and the promise of cleansing.  “Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7)  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18)  They add in the paradox of Jesus’ blood being the cleansing agent.

I suspect that the teaching is much like the snow in real life.  It covers, giving the appearance of clean, but underneath remains the mud, dirt and litter.  Even though we’re “washed in the blood,” we continue to sin.  We don’t need our sins covered; we need to be rid of them.

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For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
I Corinthians 2:16

Viruses of all sorts can be annoying. When what seems like a short-term bacterial infection doesn’t go away, it can turn out to be a virus. It’s a nasty bug that hangs on forever and must finish its course until the body’s natural immune system gets rid of it.

A computer virus is equally annoying. I write from recent experience. What was particularly frustrating was that I was paying for a service that provided firewalls and security devices to protect from just such an invasion. In the process of getting my computer functional again, I had to wipe my hard drive — that is, erase all of my files and reinstall the basic operating system. If you don’t have a backup of your files, then you have lost everything. I did recently back up my files, but, thankfully, most of my thoughts and scribblings are safe on the worldwide web (?).

I’ve read that our minds are like super-powerful computers. That we record and catalog virtually everything over the course of our lives. Every thought, printed word, spoken word, sound, image and smell. I believe it because some of the oddest rememberings from my distant past can pop into my active thinking at any time.

The good memories are a blessing to relive. The bad ones? Well, you just wish they would go away. They can consist of hurt or ugliness that you have received or witnessed, or they can be reminders of ugly things that you have said or done. I believe that our mind is the seat of our soul and is the area in which God and his enemies do battle.

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If you don’t get everything you want, think of the things that you don’t get that you don’t want. Oscar Wilde

Attitude defines who you are.  For the moment, for awhile or for the rest of your life.  I work in a doctor’s office (administrator), and I have learned that all illnesses or diseases fall into one of two categories.  An acute condition is a temporary flare-up that, when treated, will eventually ease up or go away.  A chronic condition is one that will constantly inflict; the symptoms can be treated, but the illness will be your lifelong companion.

How you and I view life is often impacted by the circumstances we encounter or the people that invade our space.  On a grander scale, our religious training will shape how we deal with life.  God is Almighty, but what would Jesus do?

Attitude is a necessary part of our development.  It can be positive or negative.  It can also be apathetic, but I would throw that into the negative category.  Attitude is important to one who lives alone, as well as for those of us who interact with others through work, church, school or social activities.  It contributes to you accomplishing a goal or making someone miserable.

Attitude is what uniquely makes us human and is the driving force behind our actions through word or deed.  It is far greater than just mindlessly performing a task.  It generates our determination, our love, our anger and our hatred.  The Bible speaks a lot about the range of emotions that God’s created beings go through in their relationship with him, as well as their dealings with one another.

I have become more conscious lately how attitude affects my life.  More importantly, God has been teaching me a lot about my own attitude, even taking me back through the years to see where I had failed and disobeyed, and how my attitude was the culprit.  Many of us don’t realise that we are conveying a negative attitude.  Even what we might consider an obedient, submissive attitude may, in fact, be a resentful or bitter attitude.

Bad attitudes are founded in pride.  Our self defense behavior is often getting us into trouble.  Returning hurt with greater hurt.  Or worse, displaying sarcasm or smugness before we are able to be hurt.

Our attitude sets the pace for how we will face each day.  It must be disciplined, as any other characteristic of life.  My wife likes to say that we choose to have joy.  And she’s right.  But choosing it, then doing it brings the challenge.  And nothing is worth it’s salt unless it is tested.  Anyone who participates in group interaction, be it work or play, will easily attest to the fact that our hackles are armed and ready at the first sign of threatening behavior against our pride.

For many, as they grow older, they become more cynical, pining for the energy, freedom and pain-free days of their youth.  My life is going in the opposite direction.  I’m beginning, albeit slowly, to be more thankful each day for what God has already blessed me with.  I told a friend recently that, for all we can complain about, we need not look far to find someone who has it a lot worse.

I’m also thankful that God loves me enough to check me when my attitude is heading in the wrong direction.  I believe that we were placed on this earth to help others, primarily in being able to develop attitudes, beginning with our own.  One day at a time.

Anyone reading this blog could probably not help but notice that I reference Scottish author George MacDonald fairly regularly.  In fact, one of my favorite MacDonald quotes appears on my home page.  George MacDonald lived from 1824 to 1905.  He was a pastor, poet and novelist.  I’d never even heard of him until a few years ago, but I am firmly convinced that God sent him my way, because my exposure to his writing has literally changed my life.

I like to read.  I wouldn’t exactly call myself an avid reader, but I have enjoyed reading various books, as well as magazine and newspaper articles over the years.  A large part of my reading of books has been in the area of theology.  But I am naturally drawn to a bookstore and can be found browsing a variety of subject matter.  Oddly enough, I hadn’t utilized the library as much as I should have.

Back to my encounter with George MacDonald.  I went through a reading dry spell a while back (more like several years back), and my wife offered for me to look at one or two of her books, novels by MacDonald.  She thought I might like them because of the frequent religious/Christian dialogue by the characters.

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We are at the end of Autumn in our region, a season of beauty that too quickly fades into the chilly deadness of winter. Each season has its highlights of splendor, but Autumn has a special attraction in that it displays a final burst of glory preceding a long sleep, only to awaken into the new morning of spring.

I am blessed to live in a mountainous area with so many varieties of trees, each having a leaf that turns a unique, brilliant color that blends so well with that of its neighbor. Before this seasonal show begins, the hills and mountains are carpeted with various shades of green, looking luxurious against the blue sky.

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Just down the road from me in Newport Tennessee, on any given Sunday, snake handling can be observed at Edwina Holiness Church with Signs Following.  Did I mention that they were poisonous snakes?  And Pastor Jimmy Morrow doesn’t just preach while holding them; he catches them for the services.  In fact, he knows just about everything there is to know about them — especially copperheads.

Phil Colclaugh, the curator for the department of herpetology at the Knoxville Zoo has checked Pastor Morrow out and found him to be the real deal.  Apparently, the key to handling the deadly critters is that you first have to be anointed.  Once that happens, any church member, man or woman, can pick them up without injury.  Of course this excludes children, due to the fact that faith and Child Protective Services will lock horns.

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Pope Benedict XVI, at the invitation of Islamic leaders, has begun a series of discussions with them in order to promote not only tolerance between the two religions, but possibly to launch a collaborative effort to decry the use of violence in the name of religion.  The Catholic Church should have plenty of knowledge on this, having a history fraught with strong-armed tactics.  And the many radical Muslims are carrying the tradition forth.  Even our own Bible (Old Testament) has passages that promote mass killing at God’s command.  News flash.  Jesus came to show the people that they had it all wrong.  God doesn’t just love.  He IS love.  Eternal life is to know God.  My prayer is for the Pope, the Muslims and any other religion to actively pursue peace as we live together in this wonderful world.
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Terrorism
Peace