Here’s a warm welcome to my first blog. I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but here in the frozen Midwest it’s that time of the year when people run to the warmth. Whether it’s from the house to the car, the car to the school, or the car to the store, they scurry out and back in to escape the cold.

The last few weeks my family has enjoyed many nights with a crackling fire to give us added warmth and that woodsy aroma I love so much. We find ways to do our evening work, chores, study, even prayer by the fire.
There is simply no substitute for warmth.

Over the past few days, I’ve sensed God using this season of cold to speak to me. Cold is not just a degree of the weather but more often a degree of the heart. A cold heart is harder to bear than a bitter blizzard.

No one wants a cold heart, but sometimes life brings chilling circumstances that can leave us cold and numb. Tragedy, loss, rejection, sickness, financial pressure or betrayals are a few of the icy storms that can change the climate of our heart in a matter of moments.

Other winds such as unanswered prayers, lack of direction, even busyness, can leave our heart cold and indifferent. The good news is that we can choose the degree of our heart, despite the circumstances around us.

We can’t control the weather, but we can control the temperature of our heart. Here are a few ways I’m learning to kick out the cold emotions and to turn up the degrees in my heart.

• Surrender to God all the circumstances I cannot change.
• Daily ask Him to show me what changes I can make. Make them.
• Forgive others. Forgive myself. Then I do it again and release the hurt.
• Build space in my life for a rekindling fire in all my relationships.
• Create warmth by cherishing each moment with my friends and family.
• Keep a thankful heart by speaking my blessings, not my problems.
• Find someone stuck in the “cold” and share my warmth with them.

During this season of contrasts, I hope you and I discover some secrets to staying warm, both inside and out. Now, how about that fire?