Best Winter Ever 2023

Living in Southwestern Ontario, I don't know many people who really love winter. It's cold, dark, and snowy. The weather tries to kill us with snow or ice, or the short days and long nights encroach on our mental well-being. Winter is the not-so-easy season.

A couple years ago a saying was making it's rounds on social media that went something like this; you can choose to complain about the snow...but you'll still have the snow. It's true. We can complain about the winter weather and the challenges that come with that, but it won't change the white flurries or dark evenings.

This past summer, following Annie F. Downs' example, I made a list for the "Best Summer Ever." It included things like learn to stand while paddle boarding and go camping. And this winter, I've decided to make a "Best Winter Ever" list to add some enjoyment to the season. Here are some of the things on my list:

Outdoor skating (my town has a free outdoor rink)
Sledding
Games night
Dinner Party
Go to local hockey game (we also have a local hockey team)
Read 10 books

I'm not a winter hater. I like the snow (so long as I don't have to drive in it!) and I like wearing snow pants and playing outside. I like sitting inside with a cup of tea and a book. But I wonder how this winter will be different since I'm trying to be more intentional about doing the fun things that this season gives special opportunity for. I wonder if we'd all experience winter differently if we tried to make the best of the opportunity. Here are some suggestions if you'd like to make a list of your own:

Cook a new recipe every two weeks
See what classes your community center offers
Visit as many of your towns coffee shops as you can
Start a puzzle (that's only if you're crazy. Puzzles are the worst).
Bake cinnamon buns
Learn a new craft or pick up an old one (I do embroidery in the winter and lay it aside in the summer)
See if there are any local plays or performances you can attend
Host a dinner party
Movie night

These next couple months don't need to be the deary, lonely months that we think they are. They can be months of fun and laughter, of feeling the textures of wool or woodworking, of reading a book or writing poetry. There is beauty and joy to be found in the months ahead, we just might need to do some extra work to find it.

Comments

What Is Your Purpose?

A couple weeks ago, a young woman asked me, "what is your purpose?" it kind of threw me off. Ok, it really threw me off. It seemed a bit touché to say "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever" when she was looking for specifics. And I get why she's asking. My life does seem pretty random. Thirty-two years old, working on my BA, teaching music part time, working at a coffee shop part time, and living at least an hour from my closest family member. On paper it looks...well...it looks random. I get it. Kind of hard to pull a purpose out of the randomness. I was talking to the Lord about it because sometimes, even for myself, the person living this life, it's hard to find a specific purpose in the randomness. Sometimes I wonder, when I get to Heaven if I'm going to have anything to offer God, if while other people show up with their kids, I'm going to hold out empty hands and say "it's just me." I mean, if He wants soldiers to defeat spiri...

Body Image (1)

Contentedly situated in lawn chairs with our toes in the sand and the baby playing on a blanket at our feet, my friend and I watch her girls digging holes or running between the beach and the lake. Periodically, the girls run up to us to display the shells and rocks they've found. At one point, as the girls surround us, one of us adults comments on the baby being chubby (which she is, as a baby should be) after which one of the girls looks at me and says, "you're kind of chubby." She wasn't trying to be rude or smart, she was just being bluntly observant as children are. As I looked at I her and considered an answer, I thought of the baggage of body image that women have carried for generations, and I thought, I don't want her to carry this baggage too. I want better for her. I replied, "you know, being a little chubby is actually a good thing. Our bodies function better and it helps keep us warm." This deep lesson was probably lost on her as she s...

Personal Pragmatism

Pragmatism is the philosophy that believes things have value based on their effectiveness; the idea that if something works it is right. Usefulness is most important. And this philosophy is thriving in our culture today, partly because it is so sneaky. Of course we want to use systems that are effective and produce good results, but the danger lies in only valuing something or someone for what they can do. For example, certain people are not very useful, therefore it is okay to remove them from society; or taking care of one's home does not bring in money, therefore it is not as valuable as work that does produce money. John Snyder says that "in religion, pragmatism values God; but it values Him because He is the most useful of all beings. He can empower us to accomplish our goals--world evangelism, healthy families, personal fulfillment, moral excellence--whatever they are. A useful God is the pragmatist's great desire. Though hard to spot at times, the shift from worsh...

by jot and tittle

Search This Blog