In our neck of the woods we are still seeing snow coming down, haven’t yet today, but yesterday morning it added a touch to what was there already.

It is warming up a bit and snow is sliding off the metal roofs of the garage and carport.  However, it is slushy and makes it difficult to get up and down our driveway, I am thankful that Rich kept the truck in the family and sold it to us.

Carla puts it in 4X4 low and slowly fishtails up the driveway, but wouldn’t even make it on it if we didn’t have that truck.

The next few days into next week we are promised winter mix and low temperatures, which are weatherman speak for snow with a possibility of freezing rain – such fun.

Fixed up a big pot of homemade chicken vegetable soup, yesterday, it tasted wonderful.  We will have enough to partake again over the next day or two – other meals not withstanding.

Yesterday, I was asked if I thought a woman’s place is in the kitchen, I answered it, but as I thought about it for a while, the following came more into the light.

Deed said that she really liked her Grandpa Lynds, he allowed her to follow him around and ‘help’ him from an early age.  He never differentiated men’s work from women’s work.  The only time he insisted on her helping her grandma was on wash day – and when it was over she was back by his side.

That is significant because he was a carpenter in the days that women didn’t do that type of labor.  Even today it is still an affront to some men that women are doing ‘men’s’ work.

Deed has fought through stereo-typing and attacks on her when she worked as an electrician for contractors – she had to prove herself over and over.  And, though she is in a different role, she still has to overcome that bias.

Teresa, too, has had to fight through those biases as she has worked at the different dams.

Both are strong and doing well.

But it isn’t just my girls that push that envelope.  My older son is a police officer who is married to a Veterinarian who owns her own clinic and has a number of employees working for her.

My younger son is a minister, AND he has married a minister.

Both ladies are in a profession that is also not considered traditional for women – but both men were raised by their mother and I to respect women and to treat them as equals.

As far as the kitchen is concerned, all our children, and their spouses, (and all but one grandchild, who is 4 but likes to help in the kitchen) are good cooks.  As a matter of fact several of them – including their father – have won awards for their cooking and presentation.

Men and women are different, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t celebrate that difference and have respect for each other.

My children are teaching their children to have that respect.  They are not the only ones in this world doing that, but I am glad they are and proud of them for doing so.

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“The Christian who is willing to put herself in a place where she must get the answer from God and God alone—the Lord is in that Faith Beyond Reason”  AW Tozer

Acts 4:29-30 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

³⁰ By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.  KJV

There was a time that I thought my preparation to teach a Sunday School class was good enough for my private time with God.

It wasn’t and isn’t.  When we prepare things for public education, that is what it is, preparation to share specific truths with others whether it is in a formal or informal setting.  It may, or may not, reflect our own needs to communicate with God in private.

To be on the safe side, we should set aside time, different from any other obligation, Christian or secular, to be with God.

I know it isn’t simple and I still wrestle with that, getting busy and then realizing I didn’t take that alone time that day.

Habits come from performing the function day after day.  If we neglect our ‘performing’ we tend to fall back.  Sad to say that is usually only the good habits we are trying to commit to our lives, the bad ones seem to just not go away unless completely destroyed within us.

It isn’t just a temporary change in our demeanor.  One of the things we learned early in our professional career is that people can change for a while, but without a concerted effort they will soon revert back to their old habits.

It is one of the reasons why law enforcement requires long probationary periods, to weed out those that on the surface appear okay, but deep down they have problems that are not consistent to being a good officer.  Very few people can maintain that façade for more than a few months.

It has to be a heart change and the only way that can happen is to concentrate on God’s Word and make it part of our daily lives every, single, day.

and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,  That only comes when we put God first and dedicate our lives and our time to study with Him and to gain the insights that He is willing to provide us if we truly submit to Him.

Through all these years, I still have to remind myself of that truth.

Later, Art (-: