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It’s Candlemas

What, you say?  Candlemas – I thought today was Groundhog Day?

Yeah, it is.  It’s a pretty fascinating day.  I have started it with so much energy that I am actually surprising myself.  So between wrestling Andrew all morning, and constantly singing ‘The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota”, I did some research on Groundhog’s Day.

Why?  Yeah I know!

But really what a fascinating day.  Besides being 2-2-2012, which I am sure has some mathematical significance, it is also the midway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.  So that means Winter is halfway over, or there’s still half of it left – depending how you look at it.   This day has been celebrated with small mammals like groundhogs and badgers for century’s.  In fact I found some interesting old poems over at EarthSky, like

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another flight. But if it be dark with clouds and rain, winter is gone and will not come again.

or this one

Half your wood and half your hay, you should have on Candlemas Day.

What’s this Candlemas?  Well since Christmas is around 40 days ago ( can you believe it, and I still have some decorations up!!!), this would be right around the time the baby Jesus was brought to the temple for consecration. And there we see some two amazing people waiting for him, Simeon and Anna, and here is what Simeon said when he held that little boy

28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.” Luke 22:28-32

And here we sit, at Mid Winter, enjoying some great mild weather, but wondering if the light will reveal that little Groundhog’s shadow, and pondering will it be spring or more Winter. – do we need wood or hay?  I hope you also spend a moment or two today full of wonder at the light that revealed salvation and glory for all people!

 

 

 

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Daily Post

Happy Groundhog Day

Last night I was discussing some things with the family and needed to go back and find some old digital pictures that were not on my “spinning disk”.  Confidently, I thought to myself that I had all of those old images, documents and the like from computers gone by archived nicely on a set of compact discs.  So, I started to go look for them, and that’s when panic sat in.

Hours later, after digging through several CD’s I now have recreated the digital photograph history of my family from 1998 until the present time and have plans for tonight to archive those in a much more organized and accessible way.  Even though I discovered the pictures I needed were actually taken with film – whatever that is  – and I will have to search though another box to find those, I still learned a few things about myself.

First, the rate of technology change is absolutely amazing.  The first set of pictures in 1998 were taken with a digitial camera that required a 3.5″ floppy disc, the last ones in the set, on a camera smaller then a deck of cards with the ability to store over 1200 very high definition photographs.  Secondly, the rate of change in my life’s activities is absolutely amazing.  Yes, there is the radical change in the growth of the children, plus there are these two odd skinny kids that show up in the pictures which are supposedly Amy and I, but for the most part as I scanned the backup documents my life has been boringly similiar today at its core.

There are some parts of that that are good!  There are some parts of that that are bad.  But overall, I was able to see patterns change and some that is as drastic change  as the technology change when comparing start to finish.

It reminds me on this Groundhog Day, of the movie with the same name.  In that film, the star is stuck in the same day over and over, until he learns to change his ways.  For a time he doesn’t realize the issue, and then once he does he fails over and over again, as he learns the changes in his heart that are necessary.  There’s a great lesson in that about transformation.  We also need to be able to identify those areas in our life that need changed and realize that we will not wake up tomorrow and see that change.  It may take several failed attempts to make it happen, but eventually and gradually the transformation occurs.

So on this groudhog day, don’t be afraid of your shadow and have another go at transforming your spirit, and each day little by little things can change.  It may take 12 years, it may take 1 more day.

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (New Living Translation)