The Warm Spot Turns Cold

Treasure Hunter found a delightful spot for nature gatherings. It's a "warm spot" on the side of the hill that overlooks our beautiful lake and rolling stream. It is covered with a straw like grass that is dried to a golden wheat color. This spot was discovered yesterday during a windstorm when Treasure Hunter, Sweetness and Cutie Pie ventured over to cut some of the golden grass to place in our chicken pen turned stable and manger scene. (Treasure Hunter NEVER ceases to amaze me.) While the wind was stirring up a gale with bone chilling temperatures that sliced through your skin straight to the bone the warm spot was sunny and calm. The children tore off their jackets as they began to sweat cutting down the golden rods. They brought their harvest home, placed it in the stable making the manger scene look more authentic!

Today we revisited the warm spot. We took PBJ's bananas, crackers and a book. When we first arrived I noticed a lot of trees were down. I thought, "Mercy, that storm really blew a lot of trees down last night." I walked up on the hill to have a closer look at the damage. Many trees were down, but it is the result of some logging activities : ( I've been hearing chainsaws and trees crashing for a week now.

We ate our lunch and I attempted to reard our Christmas storybook, but the children were too busy making straw dolls and houses for them to withstand the weather. I took this "quiet" time to reflect on how wonderful God was to give us this warm spot on this chilly afternoon and how even more wonderful that we celebrate the life of our Savior on the darkest, coldest day of the year. Here I was sitting on top of the world looking down on the glistening creek, listening to the ripple of the water; watching the birds fly above the lake. God certainly knows how to create warm spots.

THEN! What's that noise! Quick children the loggers are back. We gathered our things and headed down the hill just as the chain saw was tearing through another tree and then cabang! The children were a bit frightened and I was too seeing how we were just beside fallen trees! We made it to our property and safety rather quickly.

Then I was reminded of how commercialism can rip Christ out of Christmas just as that chainsaw ripped through the trees and ruined our warm spot. I pray God, don't let that happen to me.