"IF- Heavy"

This week's topic for Illustration Friday is "Heavy" and we, here in the San Juan Mountains have gotten a "Heavy" amount of snow-coming out of drought cycle- (any wood on a computer?)we are now at over 150% of our average snowpack. In a week of warm, nearly two feet of snow just got done melting-teasing the livestock in the pastures with the tips of old grass-but this morning it is snowing again!
Next we will have a "season of mud" where our shoes can get "heavy" by the amount of mud attached to them.
Next week is Easter- I wonder if people will accept spring ain't here yet or stubornly were their opened toed easter sandels to church? No daffodils peeking through the earth or chirping birds- but did hear a stuborn woodpecker whacking away at our furance exhaust pipe (trying to impressive the lady woodpeckers-accoustics are great) and the skunks have woken up- and are looking for a dry piece of ground to hang out!

P.S.- thanks so much to all who gave advice on using the camera instead of the scanner- you were right- and all I needed was to update my Corel Paint Shop- which is now much similiar to Photoshop- and get a tripod- still working at it-but you can see the improvement if you scroll down to the last IF entry! Thanks again!!!

"From This Day Forward"

This weekend we expanded our living space by decreasing. Huhhhh? you say. We moved bedrooms around, got rid of our family room ( it technically is a master bedroom) and by opening up one wall of another downstairs bedroom have expanded our great room.
Now not to bore you with our families remodeling plan anymore, let me get to the point. In all the furniture moving I found a lot of cobwebs, it had been a long time since I had done any spring cleaning in my house and I have to say it felt good- to have really-pull the furniture out from the wall-lift up the rugs- clean rooms- I needed that!
Then I went to church and played keyboard with the Praise Team, something I haven't done for a long time, corporately played praise songs which I haven't pondered in a long time and realized I had other cobwebs in places I haven't been using very much lately, like inside me.
I could blame it on our winter- unusual for the Four Corners where the sun shines most day- even when it snows some time- we are over 150% of our normal snow pack and the skies have been dreary a lot or I could blame it on the loss of my husband's mother, right after Thanksgiving- which needless to say changed everything for our family, but honestly-my cobwebs have grown in places they shouldn't for one reason-they have found places I have stopped taking care of, be it behind furniture or in my soul.
Through out the ages,cobwebs have grown in God's people as well. The Old Testament is a record of Israel wanderings to and from the protection of God. Back and forth through the generations- lead by the judges and kings, the people swayed away in good times and coming back to God in bad times-usually whining and moaning- with only the prophets being a constant reminder of God's provisions and love.
Haggai was just one of those prophets that God kept talking to and as usually when things started going "south" the people looked back to God for help.
And this is what God told him to tell the people (cool first line-BTW)
"How does it look to you now?
Does it not seem to you like nothing...
Be strong, all you people of the land,'
declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,'
declares the LORD Almighty.
'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.
And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear."
Haggai 2:2-5
He goes on to tell them to basically clean out the cobwebs from their temple, from their barns, and from their lives and he will again bless them.
saying---
"From this day forward, I will bless you."
Haggai 2:19 NIV
So to have I realized I need to clean out my cobwebs from my soul. I am writing this to share- but also because it has been a long time since I have cracked the "book" and pondered the words of my Lord and Savior.
But thank goodness that the promise of "From this day forward" holds for me as well- because I need it about every day.
Was God with me- through the dreary winter and my families loss? Of course- he is with me always and I felt him- but like in a house, the cobwebs are not really very inviting- so it is time for some spring cleanig- consisting of a bit more praying and pondering through song and his word. Reality is once I blow the dust off- I'll start to feel better because He say...
"From this day forward I will bless you!"
It's a promise!!