Jack (Frost) the Ripper

It's a balmy 36 degrees today. The wind is howling at equal speeds.

Had it not been for the roller-coaster-like fall season we've experienced this year, I feel our bodies would have better adapted - that the blood would run thicker, more concentrated and determined in the veins. But right now, I feel as though my innards (and outers) are screaming in shock.

And as I sit here typing, snowflakes fall sparsely in the night sky. They are the first signs that winter is indeed on its way. And I'm not quite ready.

This past Sunday, we had a guest speaker at the church I've been visiting. He spoke with the passion and fire I've only witnessed in the Baptist church.

He spoke truth.

And as I sat there receiving God's Words, the speaker reminded us all that the Advent was upon us.

The Advent - the hopeful waiting of a lost world for a Messiah, a Deliverer.

That thought remained with me throughout the day. It continues to cause a ripple in my thoughts now.

And I realize: These messages - this hope-filled longing - were (are) the first signs. But, like the the abrasive cold that seems to steal my breath tonight, I'm not quite ready for it.

This world is/was lost. It needed EXRA-ORDINARY hope. It needed (we need) extraordinary help. We find that in Jesus, our WONDERFUL, EXTRA-ORDINARY counselor... Everything, EVERYTHING - every answer, every hope, EVERYTHING - is found in Him.
- Paraphrased from this Sunday's message. (My brain isn't very good at retaining info for more than a day these days... sigh... but you get the idea)