Fog is the phenomenon where clouds rest on the earth surrounding everything in cottony white and giving a soft, misty glow to large things but hiding the small often unsightly things. This morning my home was blanketed in fog, giving everything in my yard an ethereal quality. Fog adds a mysterious and alluring quality to the most mundane things but at the same time it obscures our vision. So while beautiful, fog can be quite treacherous.

Sometimes, our spiritual life becomes blanketed in fog. We get so distracted by the beauties and duties of this world, that we are distracted from the real dangers that await along the way. We can crash into sins we couldn’t see or get lost in the fog. Much like Peter in Matthew 14:23-32 who started sinking when he took his eyes off Jesus to notice the storms around him, we too can lose sight of our spiritual goals. This is one of our enemy’s most powerful tools. If Satan can keep us dazzled by the ephemeral beauties of this world or disoriented by its problems and obligations, we will not be properly focused on our true goal – eternal life. Furthermore, when he surrounds us with the fog of life, we may not see the dangers that lie ahead of us. He can line our path with any number of snares that we might not see until it is too late. Is it any surprise that the hero in the scary movies is always trying to escape that villain on a foggy night?

So, in this especially beautiful but extremely busy time of the year, we must make it our daily goal to stay focused on the things that are truly important. We must constantly and earnestly strive to make eternity a priority even in the fog of the holiday rush. We should continue “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2 NASV) through daily Bible study and prayer. Finding time for God will never be a problem if we are properly focused on our true home.

“…but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. “– Philippians 3:13-14

Linda aka The Notorious Mrs B put a post on her blog about something she is doing for the to overcome the after the holiday blues. It is called Pay it Forward. The idea is to make a hand made gift in the next year for three people who ask to be a part of the exchange. I thought this was a great idea. Unfortunately three other people beat me to Linda’s blog. But after a little blog surfing, I was able to find Chelsea’s – aka
Spinning Mom of 4/ – blog and signed up there. [Chelsea has a lovely blog so if you haven’t visited check it out. I really like her hand dyed yarns.]

So here’ the deal:

The guidelines:I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet (but don’t expect a sweater) and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week or even next month, but you will receive it sometime within the next 365 days, that is my promise!

The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Want to participate? Be one of the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post and make the same promise on your own blog.

Not So Random Acts of Kindness and 365 days to do it!!! How can you lose??

So, Gentle Knitter, if you’re interested in participating, just be one of the first three knitters to post that you would like to PIF! Good luck!

I have been knitting away on holiday gifts and I am afraid that my SOTS hasn’t been getting much knitting time. I am almost ashamed to show how little I have gotten knitted. Fortunately I am nearing the end of my holiday knitting so hopefully I will be able to get back to the stole soon. With head hung in shame, I present to you my secret of the stole.

Wednesday night was the final night of this quarter in Bible class, so I was finishing up my lessons on the Jewish Exile and Return period (II Kings, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Haggai, Zephaniah). I like to do a review game for my final class so the students leave me with the entire quarter’s worth of information fresh in their minds. But first first I had to finish up the discussion of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem since we didn’t quite compete this lesson last week. We reviewed Nehemiah’s job as the cup bearer for the king of Persia and discussed why the cup bearer was an important and trusted position. Many kings died from poisoning so the person who had control over the king’s food and drink was a highly trusted individual. Then we continued with the discussion of Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem and the process of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem in just 52 days. This would be an impressive feat with modern day tools and heavy equipment but this was completed with hand tools and manual labor. It is amazing what can be accomplished by a group of motivated people.

When I finished the review of Nehemiah, we began our game. Last night’s game selection was Bible Jeopardy. This game is always a big hit with the kids. And it is surprisingly easy to make. I have posted a photo and instructions on the Christian Living page of the Tabitha website. The game was a lot of fun. One of the biggest challenges is for the students to decide whether they want to choose the easy questions worth 100 or 200 points or the harder questions worth 300 – 500 points. I love watching their faces as they try to choose between the easy questions and the big points. One of the students kept asking for an easy 500 point question – he really never got it.” One of my little ragamuffins wondered why he didn’t get very many points when he answered almost every question with Sanballat and Tobiah (see Nehemiah chapters 2, 4 and 6 if you have forgotten who they were). Believe it or not, this was not my “Paul” student.

This time the funniest moments revolved around the question “What job did Nehemiah perform for the king of Persia?” It was my dear little “Paul’s” turn. He immediately answered “cup holder”. I gently informed him that a cup holder was something that kept your drink from spilling in the car and that Nehemiah’s job was “cup bearer”. Paul looked at me , his eyes dancing with mischief, and said “ I really knew he was the cup bearer. I was just messing with you.” I knew I should have pinched that kid’s head off the first week. I am really going to miss him next week.

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In case you are wondering, the photo at the top is from a fresco found in the ruins of Knossos in Crete.

At the risk of complaining, today is a gloomy day. It is cold, windy, rainy and gray. I am very thankful for the rain since we have been in drought conditions most of the summer. But days like today make me feel sad and grouchy; they seem to sap my strength. They can be downright depressing. But occasionally, today I have been greeted by a small glimpse of the sun peeking through the thick, gray clouds. I have embraced those rays of sunshine with immense joy – basking in the warmth and light. I know that we desperately need the rain but still those brief moments of sunshine have greatly elevated my mood and made the day seem just a little less depressing. Thank you Lord for the tiny flashes of sunshine amidst the gloom to remind me of a better place.

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.– Revelation 21:23