Saturday, February 07, 2009

It's snow time!

A cheesy pun? Most definately :)

So much snow; so many learning opportunities! We've spent about a third of the last couple of school days playing learning in the snow. One of my children came up to me and asked when they were going to starting learning today? I pointed out we'd been building team-building skills (PSHE), throwing snowballs (based on our English explanations for 'How to throw a snowball at a teacher') and DT/Art - creating snowmen and igloos. Yes, I did get a blank look. My kids rock!

Friday evening and Saturday has been restful and full of sledging with my mum and dad; one of the advantages of living near a steepish slope. Below is the evidence of the fun had!














The snowman at school with the 'empty tummy' as he became known.















Me, dad and mum after a crazy half our on the piste.

Having hung up my salopettes, it's back to the prep for assessment week at school. But what a fantastic day and a half so far. And what an amazingly beautiful creation we live in :)

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

Friday, February 06, 2009

Oh God

'Oh God' is a phrase we hear a lot each day, isn't it?  It's a phrase that greatly saddens me a lot of the time.  People use it as an exclamation of surprise or frustration but more importantly than that it takes God's name and rubs it in the dirt.  It takes his name vainly and reduces the glorious and awesome name of the Almighty God to a witness to someone being annoyed, surprised.  Pick your emotion.

But in the bible we reading of people like the king, David, effectively crying out 'Oh God!' Not in the sense that they were annoyed or surprised, but that they were overwhelmed by who God is.  They allowed the sheer awesomeness, love and unparalleled forgiveness of God to sink deep into them to the point that what they saw shocked them to their hearts.  That the almighty God of the universe loved them.  That, after they sinned, He still loved them.  And that in Jesus, he was going to and did give up His only precious son for them.  And for us.

This morning, I dared to spend a minute reminding myself of what God's done for me on the cross in Jesus, and the shock sank through my whole thinking.  This poem came out of it:

Oh God,

I scarce can take it in,

that you would call me son;

a sinner through and through,

saved by the holy one.

It blows my mind in every way

that I may stay,

with you.  It's done!


Oh God,

that you gave up your own,

your only, precious son,

my slavery overthrown

and my salvation won.

His sacrifice of heart of soul

has made me whole

and with you, one.


Oh God,

that you would love me still,

e'en though my sinful heart

still causes me to stumble

and from you to part.

Yet open arms await my shame,

in Jesus name,

your healing starts.


Oh God,

my life you've shown to me,

a straight and narrow way,

of sacrificial love,

and run with joy today.

My footsteps, stumbling, oft' will fall,

but he will keep me strong in all, 

until His glorious day.


I'm left thinking, it this can come out of reminding myself what God's done for me for 1 minute.  How different may my day be if I did it agin at lunch time?

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal