Odds & Ends

I got hauled onto the carpet a few days ago for saying in a prior blog that we were "plodding through Habakkuk" at church. This may have been a bit over the top. Maybe I should have said, "Were taking Habakkuk at a careful, even pace in order to glean the most from this amazing little book."
Now, really, does that sound like me? Or am I more like someone who would say that we're "plodding through Habakkuk?" Your answer to that question may as well rest with you, as I think I know which one I am. (Actually, we were taking Habakkuk at a careful, even pace, which I appreciated greatly. Thank you, Scott.)
It's been cold here, and we're had a couple of snows and a little ice. The sun is out today, but the wind is chilly out of the north. the snow is gone, and we are left with the cold and damp. This is the time of the year to expect that kind of thing, I suppose, but I also wonder if it's a little more than we usually get this time of year.
Christmas is fast upon us. Just a few more days until most of us have the privilege of being with family and friends, eating turkey, ham, cranberry salad, pies, and all that goes with a traditional meal.
We who are Christians are reminded pretty much all this holiday season (from Thanksgiving on) that God has been good to us, loves us, and desires a genuine relationship with us. I wonder how frustrating it is sometimes for God to continue to make overtures of friendship and fellowship day after day, only to see the objects of those overtures turn away time and time again. I feel that I have sometimes done that with God, and I wonder why it is that He continues to make advances toward me in love and acceptance, even when I know that I have rejected Him so much and so often. I'm reminded of the words of the old gospel song that go, "And wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean."
Of course, I know the words that follow: "Oh how wonderful, how marvelous, And my song shall ever be; Oh how wonderful, how marvelous is my Savior's love for me!"