part two

The snow has been so pretty. 
The days were like postcards as we watched inches pile up.
The moon is out tonight and it is a winter scene.
Scenes poems are made of!

Then there has been Tim Keller's book on Pain 

and Suffering these snow days.

. I will remember reading this book

as the world turned white. The depth of his examination

of this subject which we all experience requires a stillness

of the soul. The question of WHY is always present. 

God is near. He is far in these times. 

" God's plan works through our choices, not around or 

despite them. ' 

" Ultimately, there are no accidents. His plan includes bad things."

' We live in an individualistic , consumeristic society, a society 

in which we are taught not self-renunciation but self- assertion--

your freedom , interests , and needs must come first.  A culture

promoting self assertion , however, will always produce revenge as

a response to suffering,  while a counterculture like the Amish, 

promoting self renunciation , will much more likely produce 

forgiveness as a response. "

" Most of us have been formed by a culture that nourishes revenge 

and mocks grace."

Very sobering.