Advisories

There is a winter advisory for the mountains! That means snow may soon be here. I think it is awfully considerate of the weather station to offer an advisory to the snow. When snow arrives, it will be advised of all its rights: the right to peaceably assemble, the right to bear arms (and legs of skiers, but not to break them), and the right to remain silent. This is important because half the beauty of snow is its silence.

Just in case I was not harried and irritable with overwork enough as it is, I took on the effort of organizing Charlotte Homeschool Ski groups for outings to my favorite mountain in the area. I got enormous interest immediately and should have no trouble getting the minimum group number for the discount- in fact, I will probably have to limit group size so that I don't spend the whole ski day handing out tickets. I think I should parlay this into book sales. For every ski ticket purchased, skiers must also buy my book. It will be my own little winter advisory.

There is an awful lot of bad advice. It is very important to be careful whose advice you listen to. I am finishing up the book of 2 Samuel, and am once again amazed at the treachery of Absalom. He was David's son, and he plotted with his advisers to seize the kingdom from his father. In the end, Absalom was killed. Poor David mourned doubly- first the son's betrayal, and then the son's death. I cannot imagine coping with that kind of grief. I kept wishing Absalom would listen to wise counsel and turn from his evil path. He never did. There are many messages in this story, but I do think one warning is that we should choose carefully whom and what we listen to. Especially with the onslaught of information in the age of the internet, we are bombarded with conflicting views on just about every subject. I find myself reeling in indecision after considering all the viewpoints about just a simple matter like drinking juice : pros and cons. And then, like a breath of clean mountain air on a snowy slope, I open the Bible, my Spiritual Advisory. This is something I can breathe in safely,  trust in, and base my plans on.

Jeremiah 18: 17-19
¹⁷ Like a wind from the east,
   I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face
   in the day of their disaster.”
 ¹⁸ They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.”
 ¹⁹ Listen to me, LORD;
   hear what my accusers are saying!