1. Charlie’s Small Group meets on Sunday mornings at 8:30am.  Usually everyone is late because it is Sunday morning at 8:30am.  Charlie’s Small Group is made up of sports fans and baseball players/parents.  Not a lot of opportunities to do life together in the winter for baseball families.  So Charlie gets creative in the cold months in order to get the group together…and arrive on time.  Sunday morning he text me and invited me to his groups’ breakfast.  He walked in carrying an electric skillet, three bowls, bottle of syrup and plastic plates.  He had made hot cake batter at home that morning and brought the entire kitchen to his group meeting.  And yes, they all showed up early to have some of his special chocolate chip hot cakes.

2. I love sitting around a fire chatting with friends.  It is amazing what kind of subjects come up and the length of time you can chat around a fire.  My group finds it more exciting to cook hot dogs and marshmallows on a fire than to ‘just come to a meeting with pizza.’ One key for us is to turn off cell phones…and if you happen to have a TV mounted on your patio, unplug it and hide the remote;  Backyard fire pits are less than $100 at most retail stores.

3. Several storms have come through our area recently resulting in many limbs falling off of trees or entire trees falling in some cases.  Get the heavy coats out, gloves and boots and help your neighbor.  They probably won’t call asking for the help, but take 5 minutes today and drive around your neighborhood looking for downed limbs or trees.  Call your small group together and serve.  Afterward you can make hot chocolate at your house and laugh about how dangerous it was to run a chain saw.

4. Everyone needs a good snow-day.  For those of you in the north that does not make sense, I know.  But in the south, when it looks like, feels like or even forecast to snow we go into panic/prepare to hibernate mode.  Get the 4 wheel-drive truck ‘gased’ up and ready.  When the snow falls, call your group together and make a snow man, play snow-football, sled together.  You can even check on the elderly to be sure they have enough food and heat.  For most snows in Tennessee, the snow disappears by 10am, so you have to have this one already planned when the meteorologist gives the prediction.

These are the only four legitimate ones I had on my mind.  I wanted to leave #5 for you to share with everyone, so go ahead, comment with your best activity in the cold.

(I started to add “go to a Titans football game,” but it too late for that.  Or maybe head to a hockey game as a group.  Nothing excites and allows a group of Christ-followers to share their love like a good ole hockey game. Maybe ice-fishing or having a chili-cookoff, prize goes to the person who made the hottest chili.)