gingersnaps, i think

i'm so glad it's march now. lately i've been waking up earlier and earlier, sometimes because of the beeping sound trucks make when they back up (the joys of living right behind the main street in town) but mostly because it's so much lighter outside so much earlier. i love that. and although we're having a big snowstorm today, i'm hoping for spring. dreaming of mowing the lawn and that fresh-cut grass smell...one of the best smells in the world. i want to plant some flowers.

for now, i'll go out and shovel. and i've been thinking of baking some cookies. if you have to have a winter storm, the best thing is to have a warm and cozy house to come into, especially if there are good smells coming from the kitchen. gingersnaps, i think. so if anyone would like to get out of the cold for awhile, come on over for some tea and cookies. but you'd better come soon - or i might just eat them all up myself...as i curl up for some great reading under a blanket. now all i need is a fireplace :)

my latest super great book pick: Perpetua, by Amy Rachel Peterson. this is a very intense, powerful novel (based on a true story) which tells the story of a young Christian woman/martyr in the early church. i think i might even buy it, it's that good. that way i can read it again and you could even borrow it from me. it challenged me to a greater passion in my faith. this is interesting to me - how do you develop a greater passion than you currently have? for me i think a key is to immerse myself in the Word, much more than i have been doing, and to pray. to spend time with passionate-faith type people. i've been realizing the great truth of 'seek and you shall find' ...God wants me to find Him and as i've started to seek Him more in earnest, i have been finding more of Him without even really expecting it. He just shows up and amazes me - why am i so amazed that He would keep this promise? my faith is so tiny sometimes...

the other thing i've thought about quite a bit is the whole issue of dying to self. this is discussed a lot in the book, and even though these would-be martyrs realize they will probably have the chance to die physically for Christ, they are never content with that. they want to also die emotionally, spiritually, mentally, every day that they are alive so that Christ can live through them. to live is Christ, to die is gain...that's the point of being a christian. but it's so hard. and since i don't really expect that i will have to die physically because of my faith (although, who knows, right?), it makes me want to do this 'dying to self' business from day to day even more. actually, i need to do it. it's all i can do. so i want to learn how to do it better.