"The sun does not shine upon this fair earth to meet frowning eyes, depend upon it." Charles Dickens

Thunder claps shake our little house, wind is howling through every cracked window and gap, a flash of lightning scatters shadows all over the walls... You'd think this is a summer storm, but one look out the window tells you much the opposite. Jack frost is clinging stubbornly to the window, a fine, fierce snow is blowing in every direction, and little crystals of ice are pulling every small branch further and further into a frown. Mornings like these, though intimidating for those poor creatures who must journey out, are quite tranquil and comforting for those of us snug in our cozy abodes. It always amazes me at how much we complain about how wretched the winters are in Erie, for every year is very much the same as the last. When it snows in the winter we are shocked because we got "too much," when it's 85 degrees in the summer we are mad because we're too hot, the springs are too long in coming and overly muddy, the falls are a beautiful array of color, but then there are thousands of leaves to rake and mulch so lets complain about that too. Gracious, just writing that makes one feel grouchy! However, this morning as I read from Psalms, the perfect verse for Erie was right there, " The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. " Ps. 19:1-4 What a difference that verse makes, when you remember that everything around us is displaying the glory of our God! That all His creations are living proof that He is God, He has made everything, and it is all GOOD. In fact, it's WONDERFUL, how thankful I am for the beauty that God has shared with us, by making each season different, each with a purpose, and all for us to enjoy. I feel blessed to live where all four seasons are experienced, so bring on the snow, mud, humidity, and leaves, if the wind and trees are clapping their hands to praise their Creator I'm gonna be right there with them...