Snow

by   February 9, 2026 with No Comments

By Susan Berry

Isaiah 1:18 NIV

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

As the snow fell last weekend I sat and gazed out the window and watched as my little corner of the world turned pure white. When I first met Jesus the knowledge of my sins being forgiven was astounding to me. Reading in God’s word that my sin is as scarlet to Him made me shrivel in shame. As the revelation of how Jesus’ sacrifice made my sins white as snow made me look at snow very differently.

Have you ever really looked at how pure white snow is? It is so white, so bright that it can blind you for a few moments until your eyes adjust to the brilliance. I imagine that will be what it is like when I look upon Jesus’ face.

Winter can be long and is known to be a time of sadness and depression for some people. For me the days seem to drag as I wait for Spring and getting into my gardens. As I looked out at my gardens buried in snow I smiled. Knowing that snow holds Nitrogen and as it melts it puts Nitrogen into the soil. Atmospheric Nitrogen that snow catches on its way down from the sky to the Earth. This Nitrogen stays in the soil and will feed plants that grow there in the Spring.

When nitrogen supply is high, roots can accumulate excess nitrogen to use later for developing leaves, stems, and grain. So my Asparagus plants may look like nothing is growing in the Winter but under the soil the roots are storing all the wonderful Nitrogen to be used in Spring when the plants break dormancy.

As we wait for Winter to pass into Spring we can feed ourselves by studying God’s word and through prayer. This will strengthen our roots and deepen our walk with our Lord. His forgiveness washes us white as snow. Praise Him from whom ALL blessings flow. Even snow.

Snow Shovels and Leaf Blowers

by   February 8, 2026 with No Comments

By Ashlie Miller

What do you get when you borrow three snow shovels and bring out your gas-powered leaf blower (aka a red-neck snow blower)? Well, when the conditions are right, you get a block party!

Normally, our family observes Sundays as the Sabbath. We gather for worship with our church, enjoy a lunch at home, and then rest and refresh before another busy week. Work completed on this day is that which displays care for others or an “ox in the ditch” situation (see Luke 14:5). While we own no oxen nor do we have ditches as part of our landscape, the snowpocalypse that greeted us on Saturday left many of our neighbors, particularly those with shaded, steep driveways, in a fix.

While one of my sons and I were making our way back from a long winter walk, we saw several neighbors out, making the most of the sunshine while clearing driveways of the fluffy white stuff, thankful that most of it was not yet compact and hardened (icy!). One set of neighbors had three of the most beautiful things (well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the right setting) – three glorious snow shovels! What a novelty in the South, where dirt spades work only marginally better at snow removal on a driveway than the garden shovels adorning most garages and tool sheds. Our neighbors down the street had borrowed snow shovels from their next-door neighbors, who, in turn, loaned them to us.

At 2 p.m., something glorious occurred in our cul-de-sac –  as other neighbors came out to thaw and began making the most of their garden shovels, a gathering of sorts appeared. Children came out to run around, make giant snow bases for snowmen with some of the adults, or to help shovel a neighbor’s driveway, even if only for five minutes. Teens had a chance to flex their muscles by shoveling in record time (thanks to the lightness of the snow!) and use their brains by repurposing the gas-powered leaf blower to clear out paths. Adults connected with some neighbors for the first time, while others reconnected. Babies were held and made over, and even the pups relished the freedom of socializing. All the hustle, bustle, and movement helped stamp down much of the cul-de-sac in a more delightful way than a snowplow!

After almost two hours of work, play, and socializing, neighbors returned the shared shovels, shook hands, and offered thanks – not just for the tools and muscles, but also the impromptu block-party that was much needed. After all, we are Southerners, not accustomed to consecutive weekends of isolation (at least, not the sort we don’t choose for ourselves).

Sometimes, the burdens we can lighten as acts of Sabbath mercy and care are piles of snow on driveways. And sometimes hospitality is shown less through soups and sweet treats (which I’m all for, and receive gratefully!) and more through snow shovels and leaf blowers being shared in the cul-de-sac.

Finding Forgiveness in Snow

by   February 7, 2026 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

Finding Forgiveness in Snow

I stayed up late on Friday night waiting for the snow to arrive. I gave up in the wee hours of the morning. I woke up to the light at my window and had to see if it was snowing. The ground was white. I retreated to bed for a couple more hours sleep and then I got up filled with joy as I watched it snow all day. I continued watching it snow into the wee hour of Sunday morning. I measured 14.5 inches at nine o’clock, so I figured we ended up close to 16.

            I had a great time all day texting friends and family to see what was happening in different places. The winter wonderland the snow created was breath-taking. I dressed warmly and went out midday and took some beautiful pictures. I also made a snow angel, only to discover it is hard getting up from the ground at my age. 

            I went out for a few nice walks after the snow. I like to walk out and check the main roads and see how people are getting around. One of the things I noticed is that everybody who drove by waved. Snow gives you the feeling that we are all in this together.

Today as I look out my window, the sun is shining brightly on the snow. So brightly, in fact, that I have to wear sunglasses when I go for a walk. I don’t know if you have noticed before, but the snow actually twinkles various colors as it refracts the sunlight, similar to a rainbow. It is beautiful and it can help us quiet ourselves so we can spend some extra time with the Lord.

            Another thing we should think about as we look out at the snow is how pure and clean it makes the landscape. We know that snow helps to clean the atmosphere. Hidden within the snow is the dust and dirt it cleans away. In much the same way, the Bible teaches us that the blood of Christ makes us whiter than snow. Our sin is like the dirt in the atmosphere that separates us from God, but the blood of Jesus washes us clean and makes us reflect the glory of God. We are cleaner, whiter, and brighter than snow.

            With this comes the knowledge of our forgiveness. No matter what you have done, the blood of Christ can make you whiter than snow. You can be forgiven and God can even take away the guilt of your sin. He can make you free. He can make you bright and clean. Knowing, living, and walking in God’s love and forgiveness can change our lives forever.

            The important thing is that God wants us to share this with our neighbors. There are so many people in this world who are weighed down with sin and the guilt of their failures. God doesn’t want them to live that way. God wants them to know that if they would simply ask, they could be made as white as snow. They could walk free from their past. All their mistakes wiped way by the blood of Jesus. Then they can know the deep love of God.

            Snow is God’s reminder that we need to share this great news with our neighbors. Our neighbors could be the people who live around us, our co-workers, the people we know at the businesses we frequent, or even the people we meet while waiting in line at the store. We have a saying in our church: Mission is everywhere. People need to hear the good news of God’s love.

I keep looking out the window, distracted by the snow-covered ground. The sun’s rays sparkle like magic off the snow. Kids, dogs, and bearded old men treasure the wonder and beauty of it all. I keep looking at the snow, finding myself wanting to encourage you to open your heart to God’s perfect love and allow it to cleanse you from anything that would hold you back from Him. Then I want to encourage you to share that love and forgiveness with the people in your life. God wants a relationship with every human being. We can be the conduit through which they can discover how to connect with God. It’s our mission, it’s our purpose. God has forgiven you and made you whiter than snow. His peace and comfort are available to all who will reach out to receive it. His love and faithfulness are everlasting. I encourage you to reflect God’s glory so that the lost can find their way home.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

The Inheritance

by   February 6, 2026 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

My beloved mom-in-law passed away a few weeks ago. She was such a beautiful soul. And funny… oh my word! The things she would come up with. She had special names for certain things in her life; like the big white robe she wore in the winter. Often she warned us not to be alarmed if we saw a polar bear ambling around her house as it was just Big Bertha.

When she could no longer walk with just the assistance of a cane, she began using a walker with a seat. It had a little basket where she would load her gardening tools as she puttered around the yard. Inside the house she would load it with cleaning supplies or laundry for that long trip down the hall. She dubbed it her “Cadillac.”

She had a pink blouse which she always wore to the doctor. More accurately it was mauve, that dusty rose color which was popular in the eighties. Her daughters tried every way they could to get her to wear something besides that awful shirt as it did her no favors. However she always went back to it. Though mauve is code for ugly, she brightened it with her smile.

We’ve begun cleaning out her home of over fifty years. You can’t even imagine the treasures we’re gleaning. So far we’ve only gotten to the kitchen. We checked expiration dates on the foods in the pantry and laughed so hard at the things she hung onto. David suggested that if the date began with the words “In the year of our Lord,” we could probably assume it was too old to consume. In the back of one especially low cabinet was an unidentifiable figure. It appeared to be a dried corpse of an animal from yesteryear. David’s sister bravely pushed it into the floor with a broom. The four of us stood hovering over it trying to make out what it could have been. David finally scooped it up with the dustpan and took it outside. It was larger than a squirrel and had a funky shape. The sisters told me I could have it as part of my inheritance. I was more than thrilled.

Later as I thought again about the dried up mystery animal, I remembered bringing Nina some driftwood from the beach many years ago. She had expressed wanting a piece to put a little ceramic bird on that I had brought her the year before. Apparently the two treasures never met as she always had lots of projects in the works. In fact that bird is probably buried somewhere in her craft room which our middle daughter lovingly renamed Nanny’s Crap Room. It is an accurate description and we can hardly wait to go through the treasures there.

What I love about Nina’s kids, Jo, Gail, and David, is that they’ve been able to maintain their mother’s great sense of humor as we do the necessary things. No pushing, grabbing, or resentment; just working together to honor their mother’s last wish of having a happy home. The closest we’ve come to fighting so far has been over a pack of bacon.

Very graciously I have been included in the dividing of assets. Along with the driftwood shaped like a varmint, I’ve been given her cement pineapple which was always her southern symbol of hospitality. Though I do not share that same sentiment, I love that she did. I tucked it by my side entrance behind a large hosta lest anyone get the wrong idea. You know how I feel about entertaining visitors I do not know. All you “angels unaware” might as well fly on down the street to someone more Godly. However, if you do happen to knock on my door, don’t be surprised if I’m wearing a mauve shirt. Too bad it didn’t come with Nina’s sweet smile.

43 Version of Winter Flight

by   February 5, 2026 with No Comments

By David Freeze

The 43rd Version of Winter Flight is Just Ahead

  We have three more weeks to prepare for the Forum Fitness Winter Flight races, and it will take every bit of that time to get it right. More planning goes into this weekend of events than any other month of races. There is a longstanding level of quality and history that pushes us hard to get it right. Winter Flight is usually a destination race with many states represented.

    Winter Flight’s 8K is the signature event and is the oldest race of that distance in the state, and it is also the Road Runners Club of America North Carolina State Championship 8K. The Forum is back for the second year as Title Sponsor, leading the effort of about 45 other sponsors in support of the runners, walkers and event proceeds recipient Rowan Helping Ministries, another long-time fixture.

    February 1st is race day, once again with three different distances to suit all levels of competitors and family members too. The first race at 1:30pm is the fun run, a half-mile distance on the Shuford Stadium track. That is two laps and open to anyone, regardless of age and gender, and is free. Then at 1:58pm, the wheelchair competitors roll off from the starting line. Many of the riders are handicapped and compete as part of Ainsley’s Angels.

    At 2pm, all 5K (3.1 miles) and 8K (4.97 miles) runners and walkers hit the pavement. The 8K typically is the more competitive race and those state overall awards will be fought for along with plenty of top three age group medals. Both 8K course records are owned by Olympians and the historic course typically draws several runners each year with hopes of breaking those records.

     The 5K is less competitive and the course is considered much faster with a net downhill in the last half of the race. We’ll have more info on notable runners as the race gets closer.

    Rowan Helping Ministries will have a big volunteer presence at the event. Early on, Winter Flight was organized by the Greater Salisbury Track Club, the forerunner to the current Salisbury Rowan Runners. In 1981, the first race using the name Winter Flight was actually a 5K distance. Then in 1984, the real Winter Flight race was born, with 5-mile and 10-mile races in the downtown and Salisbury High School area.  In 1986, Winter Flight moved to Catawba College. I remember some talk about why this was done, but except for the 2021 substitution event in Millbridge, the historic 8K has continued to use the Catawba start and finish except for the one year while the new stadium was being refurbished and the track was not accessible.       

    Also in 1986, Winter Flight became part of the Tar Heel Tour, a series of varied distance races over a year’s time that resulted in individual state championships by overall and 10-year age groups.  1989 brought a six-week delay for the local measles epidemic. Course record holders, both Olympians, set lofty standards for future runners. In 1988, Hans Koeleman of the Netherlands set the men’s standard of 23 minutes and 34 seconds. Joan Nesbitt of Tarboro set the women’s mark of 26.48 in 1992.  The 1996 event was postponed due to heavy snowfall. In 2002, the National Guard was the title sponsor of Winter Flight and provided a very special memory for me. As club president, I got to fly to Catawba College in a Blackhawk helicopter with an airborne capability demonstration of the craft along the way. We landed on the football field alongside Apache and Ranger helicopters. Humvees and Bradley fighting vehicles were also on hand. At race start, three Blackhawks flew over just as the starting pistol was fired.  My most challenging day as a race director came at the 2005 Winter Flight when heavy snowfall began to fall on the evening before the race. With internet communication in infant status, a group of SRR members divided the massive participant list and called every single registrant with updates and an eventual postponement.  The races continue with a mix of serious and competitive runners along with those who enjoy being around like-minded health-conscious runners and walkers. The February 1st races offer something for runners and walkers of all capabilities. Look for more information at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org or by calling 704-310-6741. Each 8K and 5K participant will get another in the series of the amazing Meredith Abramson-designed hoodies and the first time finisher’s die-cast medal.

   Next week, we’ll talk more about the races and the SRR Annual Meeting, pasta dinner and packet pickup on January 31st. I will profile keynote speaker Charlotte Corriher and more. Mark your calendars for all of this.

Gotta’ Run: The 43rd version of Winter Flight is just ahead

Feeling of Falling

by   February 4, 2026 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

Feeling of Falling?

Normally I select the title of my column after I write it, but this one fell in line immediately. I was following my grandchildren around the backyard where there is a treehouse, a trampoline, a sandbox, a hammock, very wet muddy terrain. I was the only one who slipped and face planted on the ground. A day later, I lived to write this column and can add to my diagnosis that my neck hurts. Falling is hard at age ???  Hmm. I cannot remember my age! A concussion from the fall,  perhaps?

In case you are have not fallen lately, I will fill you in on the details. Falling is an uncontrolled interruption of balance, resulting in a descent toward the ground. When you begin to fall, finding a way to brace your fall can help. However, it was my head that braced my fall. My involuntary response apparently was to dirt plant my head. When you fall, you may stay in the spot where you fell until someone helps you get up. My first words were, “HELP! I hit my head.” The family members accompanying me got me to a sitting position on the ground, and did not laugh until they were sure I was okay.

Twenty four hours later, my head and entire body still hurt.

 Is that sympathy or laughter I hear resounding throughout the pages of the newspaper as you read this?

Consider this: London Bridge fell. Elvis Presley couldn’t help falling in love with me. Adam and Eve fell. David fell prey to temptation. Ann Farabee fell. That list puts me in a fairly special group.

Our body reflexes prepare our muscular and skeletal system for the imminent collision that comes with a fall. Our arms instinctively go toward the falling surface so we can catch ourselves. Although that sounds helpful, the help from my arms was minimal.

 Looking back over my life, I suppose I fell often, especially on the school playground.

I failed often, too. I still do.

Failing or falling is hard.

But, as hard as it sounds – falling or failing isn’t final.

As I was falling, there was no way to stop it. I could soften the blow a bit, but I was still falling.

As my fall onto the ground was becoming a reality –  I quickly put my best ‘bracing the fall’ technique into practice. That technique was to cry out, “Lord help me!”

I felt: Helpless. Hopeless. Unsafe. Unprotected.

A month later – I am still a pain in the neck.

NO! That was a typo!

I meant to say that I still have a pain in the neck.

The Lord upholds ALL that fall. Psalm 145:14

The Lord will never forsake us.

Realistically speaking, isn’t falling just another way to fly?

Psalm 37:23 -The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way.

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