Sno Cone or Snow Cream..Its all a Matter of Preferences

Sno Cone or Snow Cream?

So, how do you like this colder weather we are having? I see on Facebook each day that some folks are praying for summer and warmer weather to hurry up and arrive, while other  folks are praying for snow. It's all a matter of personal preferences. It's all good to me. I can have some snow cream in winter and a sno-cone in summer. I like 'em both!

(As a side note, I don't understand Southerners and our love for snow cream. We would NEVER drink rain water, right? But we will scrape some snow off the top of our car and mix it with some Eagle Brand milk and vanilla flavoring and call it a treat! It's pretty gross when you think about it. It's the SAME THING as drinking rain water. But I'm not going to lie. If it snowed today, I would eat some!)

I'm sure you and your friends and family love to get sno-cones on a hot summer day. I love to visit the famous "Hills of Snow" sno-cone place in Smithfield. When I'm there, I don't get grape or cherry.  I can get that anywhere. I can make some grape or cherry Kool-aid at the house. When I go to Hills of Snow, I want to get the wild and crazy flavors. My personal favorite is to get "Mai Tai" flavor on one side and "Tiger Blood" flavor on the other side of the sno-cone.

(That Tiger Blood flavor is slamming! You need to check it out! I also recommend getting Wedding Cake on one side and Birthday Cake on the other side. Another good choice is getting Green apple or Sour apple on one side and then Red Candy Apple on the other. The flavors compliment one another well. What can I say? I'm a sno-cone connoisseur).

Now, when some folks go to get a sno-cone, they get either grape or cherry, because they like to stick with what they know. They don't like to venture out of their comfort zone. They figure if they try a new flavor, they might not like it, and they would rather get a flavor that they know they like. When some folks go to Baskin Robbins, they get either chocolate or vanilla. Not me, I want to try the newest, craziest flavor that they have. There's nothing wrong with being either way. It's a matter of preferences. When my youngest son was two, my sister was his daycare provider. She took him to the "Hills of Snow"  place one day to get a sno-cone. She asked him if he wanted a purple or a red sno-cone. Since he was two, she figured he could understand "purple or red" rather than getting into all the different flavors. He said "Umm, I'll have a tiga blood, please".  That's my boy! She just laughed and said to the cashier "Okay, I think he's been here before!"

Everyone has their little preferences and ways of doing things. There have been studies done on the percentages of people that like the toilet paper roll to roll from the top down or to roll from the underside. I saw on Dr. Phil recently that a husband and wife had major arguments about which way the total paper should roll. So the Dr. Phil show producers contacted some group of people like the Toilet Paper Manufacturers of America or something like that (I don't remember the exact name). Anyway, the toilet paper experts said that there really is no wrong or right way for the toilet paper to roll from the dispenser. Its all  a matter of preferences.
(Well, thanks for clearing that up. Might have stayed up all night wondering about that one.)

Many of the petty arguments that spouses, siblings, co-workers, neighbors, and roommates get embroiled in are often just a matter of preferences. Often, no one is truly right or wrong. Each side has their own opinion about the best way to handle the situation. Honestly, both sides probably have the best intentions and truly believe that things would go more smoothly if the other side shared their opinions.Sadly, a lot of the arguments that Christians get entangled with in their own churches are really just a matter of preference as well. Matters such as style of music, style of worship, sermon delivery style, leadership styles, and ways to administer programs within the church are all just a matter of preference. Your particular preference for a style of Christian music over another does not mean that your preference is more holy or sacred than someone else's. God made us different with our own set of likes and dislikes.

There are some matters that are not about preference. Jesus was the son of God. He died on the cross to save us from our sins. He rose again. He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. That is a non-negotiable. He is the only way to Heaven. There are some things that are certain and are not up to individual preferences. Take the Ten Commandments, for instance. They are written in stone. (Get it? Written in stone. Ha! I crack myself up!) Seriously, there are parts of our faith life that are certain. God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the inspired word of God. Everything in the Bible is true.  Jesus was perfect and sinless. The only way to Heaven is to accept Jesus Christ. God loves everyone. Those are all non-negotiables.

However, there are certain parts of our church work and the way that we organize our churches that are a matter of preference. If you have struggled with another person's style of worship, style of Christian music, preaching style, or organizational style, or the way in which they use their gifts, stop and ask yourself, "Is this just a matter of preference?"

I was in a Bible book store recently and heard a woman LOUDLY complaining to another customer about everything that was wrong with her church. For several minutes she went on. "Well, I just told the Pastor so and so" and "that is not worship, I know what real worship is" and on and on she went criticizing the Pastor and the worship and all sorts of things about the church.  I so wanted to walk up to her and say "I bet you've won a lot of people to Jesus this year!"  However, since I just wrote a blog about minding your own business and keeping your opinions to yourself, I decided to keep my mouth shut! She was so loud and so mean- spirited in her comments, I purposely walked up to the front of the store so I didn't have to hear her any more. If her Pastor really needs that much help, maybe she should be at home praying for Him instead of throwing him under the bus at the Christian bookstore? I'm just saying!

If you have recently had a difference of opinion with someone in your life, ask yourself, "Is this just a matter of preference?" Seek to understand their point of view. Maybe you can agree to disagree!

Romans 12: 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.


Hebrews 12:14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.