Good morning on this first day of the first full week of 2026. Yes, I know it’s been a few days since I wrote last but I’ve been a bit tied up doing “other stuff”. 

How was your weekend? Ours was routine since Ms. Kate is still not going out for much of anything. I had hoped to do “in person” church yesterday but it was 26 degrees and I didn’t want Kate to have to walk behind her rollator the distance from the parking lot to the ramp and then push it up the ramp. I do appreciate the church putting in that new ramp though. When she gets a little stronger we will be happy to use it. 

But, yes, we had a routine weekend that consisted of doing laundry, and fixing meals, watching some tv and playing our mindless computer games on our IPads. We did get out to the butcher shop. I picked up some frozen vegetables and I made a pot of vegetable soup.  It is delicious if I do say so myself. (Kate said so too). I’m getting better with my cooking although most everything I fix is simple stuff and I don’t do a lot of “meals” meaning multiple dishes. Mainly I just do no more than two dishes. I’ve watched Kate cook for many years now and she may have six dishes going at once. I guess most wives do that but it has to be an acquired skill that I’m far from learning. Although I did good at Thanksgiving and Christmas. But I did have some help from Julies and a lot of guidance from Ms. Kate. I don’t hesitate to ask Kate “how do I” questions. I think though that I’m no longer a candidate for “Worse Cooks in America”. LOL

We watched the Rose Bowl game this year. It was the first football game I have watched this year. We watched it because IU was playing and were thrilled to see IU win. They will be playing in the Sugar Bowl this Friday and I reckon we will watch that too. 

I finished up my sermon for February 1st. I think it is a good one. I also passed it along to my friend and mentor Art and he said it was great just like it is with no need for changes. It always means a lot to me when he declares one of my sermons “good”. He has been a pastor well over fifty years, has a Doctorate of Ministry degree and knows more than I will ever know about the Bible. I ask him to critique my sermons sometimes because I want my theology to be on point. I feel it is very arrogant of a pastor to just assume that he has the right interpretation of God’s word. Assumption can lead a pastor to preach his own thoughts, not God’s thoughts or word. I try to never assume. 

I was hoping that Kate and I would go to the gym today but she isn’t ready. I would like us to start slow again and work our way back up. 

I guess that is about all I have for today. I’m waiting on a call or text from Walgreens telling me that Kate’s prescription is ready for pickup. She has one more day of that particular medicine left. 

Have yourself a wonderful week. Peace. 

 Day one of the year 2026.  How was your New Year’s Eve? Ms. Kate and I did stay up and see the birth of 2026 but being up at midnight is a fairly routine habit for us. She and I have shared a lot of New Year’s Eves over the years starting with the 1963 new year. In the early years though, while we were together at midnight, we didn’t get to have that “first kiss of the year” at midnight because I was busy with my band playing Auld Lange Sign on my trumpet as we played for someone’s NYE party. Then there were the years that I was stationed with the Air Force somewhere else across the world like the Philippines or Turkey without her. Or — many times we were “together”, but I was on duty as the shift commander for the Security Police. But —- physically together or not, —- we still have celebrated many, many years of watching a new year arrive whether we were together or not. 

I was thinking about the celebration of New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve and wondered if mankind has always celebrated this vent. It turns out that the answer is “yes”. The earliest documented celebrations are dated back over 4000 years to Mesopotamia. There are many ancient sites built specifically for celebrating the event along with other solstice event. The rituals have changed over the years, (thank goodness, we don’t need any sacrificial rituals) but the acknowledgement is still real.  

While I was pondering that, I also began thinking about the actual event itself. What we are actually celebrating is the completion of the earth’s orbit around the sun. It is a renewal of seasons and patterns of growth and changes of weather patterns etc that have gone on forever even before God created man. So let’s think about that for a moment to get your year started. Many religious groups (creationists) will argue that the earth is 6000 years old. I don’t agree with them nor do I know where they get that number. Other people, (the evolutionists) will argue that the earth may be at least as old as ten million years. I don’t have a lot of faith in that number either but will grant them their belief. The point is that whether the earth is 6000 years or ten million years old, it means that the earth has completed that same trip around the sun at 67,100 miles per hour without deviation for the entire existence of this planet. Now, (bear with me) add to this the fact that each and everyone of those years has had 365 periods of  planet rotation at 1000 miles and hour, again without deviation, for the entire existence of the planet. Explain to me how all of that perfection can happen without Devine intervention. Tell me how all of that perfection can happen by accident or as the result of a “big bang” out in the chaos of the cosmos. 

And you know what? That same God cares intimately about you. If you have not developed a relationship with God, please do so today. Peace

 New Years Eve 2025. We’ve almost tucked away another year to history.  I just realized a few minutes ago that I “officially” retired from Pastoral Ministry. It seems so long ago and I do miss it. Although with all of the issues we have had with Ms. Kate’s health these last two years, I’m convinced that my retirement was a “God thing”. There is no way I could have stepped up and cared for her like I needed to if I was still pastoring two churches. But, I do miss it and am thrilled that I get the opportunity to fill in for their pastor when he goes on vacation. I’ll be doing so on February 1st. 

Have you taken the time to look back over you 2025? Was it a good year, a bad year that you are glad to see gone? Did you have any unfulfilled plans? Do you have any “memorable moments or experiences” from the year 2025? As I look back over 2025 much of it is a blur and I guess it was therefore a good year. I remember that Kate went through Cardiac Rehab the first part of the year and enjoyed that to the extent that we joined Planet Fitness to keep her and my exercising going. But health wise, Kate had a good year up until right before Thanksgiving and it has been not so good since then. We have her in Pain Management and it has helped some but I’m still chief cook and bottle washer and laundryman around here. She’s only been out twice now for anything other than a doctor’s appointment. We went to her sister’s for dinner this past Saturday and today I took her with me to Dewig’s meat market. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason she got sick on the way home from that and started throwing up. 

2025 did allow us a family vacations with the girls and their husbands for a week at Kentucky Lake. That was a fun trip. 2026 promises a full family vacation in Sevierville, TN with all the girls, the grandchildren, and the great grandchildren. I’ve rented a large house with acreage and an indoor pool for a week the second week of June. I really hope they all make it because I fully realize that having all of them at one time is going to be harder and harder. And frankly, who knows how much longer Kate and I are going to be around. Kate just turned 78 and her health sucks. I am 81 and in fairly good health but unable to do so many things that I used to do regularly. I’m much weaker and I have a hard time getting up and down. I’m not sure what is going to happen with garden this year.  I truly hope that they will keep up the tradition once we have passed. It’s very important. 

Do you have any big plans for 2026? Other than the aforementioned trip, we certainly don’t. On February 26th Kate and I will celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary. She and I have vastly different thoughts about celebrating that. I’d love to “have a shindig” and invite a bunch of friends to celebrate with us. She wants none of that. I suppose it is because her health is so “iffy” that she doesn’t want to make any plans.  We’ll have to see. I guess I just consider it such an honor that God would give us this much time together that we should celebrate it. 

That’s a wrap for 2025 my friends. Thanks for following along on my day to day uneventful life. Give God thanks for another year of living and giving. Peace. 

 Thursday holidays on top of weekends and company etc; —- it wears you out. This week won’t be a lot better, but I’m not expecting any company this week at least. But —- it was great company. Julie came over as I told you and we had a nice quiet visit. She cooked Christmas Eve dinner for us and she and I cooked Christmas Day lunch/supper (Lupper???) Christmas was quiet although we did not see Jim. He came down with the cold crud and sounded like a dying calf. We told him to stay home and not infect us!!!!!

The weekend was uneventful. Julie went home on Saturday and Kate and I sat around and did little to nothing. I did some reading and played my IPad games. Kate watched a lot of her cooking and “stamping” shows. And she watches a lot of “crime television”. I don’t like to watch much of any of that. I told her all I see about her shows is a lot of gunfire, and women either being beaten or kidnapped and trying to escape and a lot of screaming with it. I go into the kitchen and watch something or just turn off the tv in there and read. I could go downstairs to “my area” but getting up and down the steps is not as easy as it used to be. I guess I don’t know which is worse; going up and down the stairs or sitting on a kitchen chair  for two or three hours and getting stiff and sore.  These “Golden years” are heavy. LOL

It was 58 when I got up yesterday morning and 18 when I got up this morning. We had a major wind storm come through the country last night. There were tornadoes around and lots of other wind damage. Luckily we had no damage that I know of but the bottom dropped out of the temperature gauge. We’ve had several days of “springlike” weather and then a 40 degree temperature drop in a couple of hours. But, at least we didn’t have any of the terrible blizzards that are still messing with the northern part of the country. 

Saturday evening we went to Karen’s house for dinner. It was Kate’s first “social outing” since before Thanksgiving. We had dinner and visited with her family for a bit and then headed home because Kate was starting to be in pain again. I think it did her good to know she was well enough to say least go even if we did kind of “eat and run”. 

I think I’m going to do some writing today. Have yourself a wonderful Monday. Peace. 

 Merry Christmas 2025. This doesn’t feel much like Christmas today. It is almost 70 degrees outside, yet also gloomy and cloudy all day. As I told you, we did very little decorations this year nor did we put up the “regular” Christmas tree. We sent out a limited amount of Christmas cards and frankly received less than normal, which fine by me. Julies came over to spend Christmas with us yesterday and Jim was going to join us today for lunch but leave their dogs at home which meant he would turn around and go ack home after lunch. But, he has come down with a cold so he didn’t make it over either. So, nothing was “normal” but it was okay at the same time. 

Julie made us an excellent dinner last evening of scrimp scampi. Today she helped me with fixing lunch. We had pork tenderloin, Brussels sprouts, Mac & cheese, and jello, and then I had baked Ms. Kate a birthday cake yesterday and we had that for our dessert.

So how was your Christmas? Did you get to a Christmas Eve service? I watched our church service on my IPad and I watched the Children’s program and worship service at the parish in Ft. Branch. I love the Christmas Eve service at my home church. It always closes with a candlelight service. The Bell Choir played “Silent Night”, and they had Holy Communion. I remember the Christmas Eve services from my childhood at that church. At least part of the service was always done in German and we would always sing “Silent Night” in German and English. It is a very fond memory. Back in those days churches were always packed on the Holy days. At Christmas Eve we were elbow to elbow. Last night we could easily have had another 70or 80 people added to the congregation. That’s sad. I would love to see that turned around. 

Christmas is over now and we have just one week left in the year 2025. I look back over the year and Kate and I had a good year up until the last six weeks or so when she started having all of these back pains etc. She went to her Pain Management doctor. He has put her on a regimen that we hope is going to lead to better days. I would love to see her become pain free and be able to get around without using a rollator. It is miserable for her. 

That’s it for today. Have a blessed rest of your day. I wish you Christmas peace. 

 Tuesday the 23rd of December and it is 66 degrees outside. That is very hard to believe especially since we started December in the deep freezer. But we are on tap to have the second warmest Christmas on record. I remember the Christmas of 2004 when it snowed 24 inches. I hope I never see another one of those. 

Ms. Kate had her MRI yesterday and her Pain Management appointment today. The bottom line is that she does have arthritis in several spots in her spine. And she has some bulging discs and nerve pinches. The doctor has put together a plan that is not overly aggressive but will take some time. We both felt good about the visit.

I think it is “Trades Day” around here. I just had the plumber leave the house from fixing all three toilets. The fill valve was not working on two of them and had to be replaced. So, while he was here I had him just replace the valve on the third toilet. It was cheaper to get the third one done now than to have it go bad and pay for another service call. 

Later today, I have the Heating and AC guy coming to check my furnace and see what I have a condensation leak coming out of my furnace. I was wondering where I might spend any Christmas bonus that I might have coming. 

Tomorrow my lady turns 78 years of age. I will bake her a cake. Julie is coming over and will fix her /us a nice birthday meal. 

Okay, here comes the HVAC guy. Have a great day. 

 Happy Friday, December 19th. We have a beautiful but chilly day today. Yesterday was gloomy and rainy on and off all day. But today the sun has come out and the temperature will probably get up to 38 degrees. I can live with that.  

Well, I did make a pie yesterday. I was thinking about making two since I have eight apples left yet. That would make a full pie for sure. I used seven yesterday to make this one and it was plenty although another small apple would not have overfilled it. Bout, Kate and I talked about it and decided that we did not really need to have two pies sitting here. We have so many sweets sitting here between candy and cookies that we don’t need to put ourselves in a sweets coma. So, I put the remaining apples back in the refrigerator and they will hold up for a few more weeks I think. After New Years I will make another one. 

Kate and I both had hair appointments this morning with the same person 30 minutes apart. So we loaded her and her rollator up and went down to the beauty shop. We had to really watch ourselves this morning or at least Kate did. She fell twice this morning or maybe it was one continual fall. She was getting dressed and lost her balance and fell. She didn’t call for me to help but tried to get herself up. She managed to get herself half way up but then fell back down. She didn’t hurt herself anymore than she already was and she did manage to get herself all the way up.  

So we are back home now and I think it is time for a brunch time peace of pie. That will build our energy back up. That will leave two pieces for supper dessert. How long does a pie last in your house? 

I think I’m going to need to make a Walmart or Sam’s pick-up order before Christmas. I don’t need a bunch of stuff but I don’t want to wait until Christmas Eve and try to fight that traffic or those crowds. I think I told you that we are going minimal for our Christmas meal. But there is always something that needs to be picked up. 

That’s it for today. Have a blessed Friday. Peace.