blizzard

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If A Placebo Can Change The Weather, I Want It!

This week I read an article on the placebo effect. You know, it’s when the doctor gives you a pill, you think it’s a miracle drug, but really it’s made up of nothing more than sugar.

placebo-effect

From what I read, it works for some people in an amazing way. Because they believe something to be true, it actually starts a chemical reaction in them that begins healing in their bodies.

I realize I’m over simplifying it but I really don’t care how it works. I’m just interested in it if it works. And if it works, we need to apply this to way more than just our health!

I wonder if we could apply this mind-over-matter to things that we don’t have control over in nature, like say, the weather.

My daughter believes she brings bad weather with her. She lived in Calgary for six years and they probably recorded the six worst winters on record. One year, she said they had snow or hail in every month of the year.

Now she’s moved back to Ontario, and I hate to tell her this, but Jonah got thrown overboard just for causing rough water for a bunch of sailers. What are we going to do with Karlie if, in fact, she’s responsible for this brutal winter weather that never seems to end?

I wonder if we could all try this placebo effect and start to get our minds to believe that we are having a warm, sunny winter here. You know, gang up on Karlie’s mindset of “I bring bad weather”.

I can’t imagine that Karlie’s the only one that is causing the extreme winter conditions we are experiencing this year. But I figure there has to be a lot of people who would be eager to apply their mind to something like this.

If we could start believing it’s warm outside, maybe we could bring back global warming to this part of the country. I would really appreciate it if the glacier in my front yard would start to recede a little right about now.

To train our minds for this we could scrap the free flu shot clinics … those scientists are so bad at predicting the strain of flu each year, they’re worse than weathermen! What we need instead is free psych clinics. If the government just paid all the sports psychologists and regular psychologists to put on free clinics, I really think we could get our minds moving in the right direction.

If this worked well, we might even be able to create a tropical winter experience right here in Ontario. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about planning a vacation to somewhere warm.

So, how about on the count of three – no, two – we all start thinking about palm trees, white sand, blue water, and sunny skies and see what happens . . .

Hey, I don’t think enough of you are doing it! – there’s still a blizzard outside my window. Or maybe my daughter’s attitude is really powerful. She was pretty strong-willed as a child.

Here’s the thing: God has created us with amazing minds that can do more than we even know. And He has created a world that has elements so powerful we have no control over them. When you think about it, there are so many mysteries around us, it only makes sense to look to God for wisdom, guidance, and help in everything.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How has having a positive attitude changed something for you?  Leave your comments below.

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How Snow Can Keep You From Facing The Inevitable

When I woke up this morning there was a cottony layer of snow on the ground and my heart sank a little.

snowy day

It sank partly because we just got rid of a barrel full of the white stuff from about two weeks ago. Even though I only saw the snow through the blinds – it looked like the fuzz that grows on a man’s face after about three days of no shaving (like I would know) – something told me this stuff is here to stay for the season.

I should have been prepared. Yesterday, I watched two NFL games that were played in blizzard-like conditions … it was inevitable that the storm would move up to Canada and get us.

I like the usual debate we have around here at Christmas time. As it approaches, we start asking, “Do you think we will have snow for Christmas?”, or, “I wonder if we’ll have a green Christmas this year”.

Everyone wants those thin flakes that look like coriander seed and taste like wafers made from honey … oh, no wait, that’s manna that God sent the Israelites in the desert.  Our while flakey stuff is tasteless and has to be shovelled!

We all want it, but we’re fine if it only falls on Christmas Eve, or even really early Christmas day. That way it looks like Christmas but we haven’t had to dig ourselves out of it yet.

This snowfall, however, is coming a little earlier than I had hoped. There’s a chance it might not stay with us. We miraculously got rid of the last batch with some mild weather, some rain and a day of +10 celsius (that’s 50 degrees fahrenheit).

But they’re calling for snow for the next five days. I think I have to face it that winter is here to stay. There will be no guessing about a white Christmas this year; it’s a lock that we’ll have snow.

Then again, you never know. The weather could turn. And look! … Well you can’ t look, but I can – it’s now raining here on the other side of my window and the snow is rapidly disappearing. That might make for some slippery roads tonight if the temperature drops.

That also means we can still play the game of “Will we have snow for Christmas?” The odds are not in my favour though. They (who are they, anyway?) are calling for about 10 centimetres of snow this week.

There’s just no way to escape it, that is, if I’m going to stay here in Kingston. Snow is what we face every year, and even with the crazy weather patterns and global warming (it’s not happening fast enough), a snowy forecast is in my future.

Here’s the thing: There are so many things, like the weather, that are completely out of our control, yet we spend time thinking about them and hoping for something else. We don’t really want to face what is inevitable. It’s best, however, if we just prepare for it.

We can do that with God, too. We can hope that the Bible is wrong, or that He will be accepting of everyone in the end, but that’s not facing the inevitable. It’s just best to prepare for meeting God, by beginning a relationship with the one that Christmas is all about – Jesus Christ.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you dislike most about winter? Leave your comment below.