The sun shines brightly this morning, such a change from yesterday. Summer weather has certainly got a grip on the area though. Today promises hot and sticky weather as does most of the week. This afternoon may be bringing in a round of severe thunderstorms. This has been the weirdest weather year that I can remember. I know God put the world into motion, but, man has sure put a lot of dirt in the gears with how we treat our atmosphere.

My flowers are really changing in the yard. Probably 75% of the blooms have fallen from the phlox, so despite the sun shining on them, they look sad. However there is a lot of seed on them still and the Finches love it. The black-eyed-susans are still pretty fresh. It was interesting sitting here during the rain showers. The rain was very light at the moment and drops were hitting the blooms on the black-eyed-susans making then lightly dance up and down. (Yes, I'm easily amused with random thoughts.) One of the prettiest plants we currently have out here is a large pot of sun patience. The other plant that is doing well is a dahlia that has now grown to almost six foot tall. It is a "dinner-plate" dahlia which means it should have blooms on it the size of dinner plates. However, all of its growth went to stalk. It has nice blooms but they are not the huge blooms we were expecting.

Yesterday was a good writing day for me. I finished a good portion of my sermon for next week. I have maybe a page and a half to write yet. The lectionary takes us to the story of Moses and the voice of God coming from the burning bush. Anyone who has had even a glancing view of the Bible has read that story, so to come up with something fresh and interesting can be a challenge. But, with God's help, it continues to happen week after week. I don't even begin to think my messages are always facinating or even interesting, --- however, so far, no one has fallen out of a pew asleep. I 've been doing this now for over a decade and my mentor has been doing it for about 55 years. I don't know how he does it.

The sun is shining brightly on a couple of Goldfinches about ten feet away from me. There is also a male Cardinal on the branch next to them. The way the sun hits them just brightens up that particular area. It is a reminder to me that even in the shadows of our lives, the sudden brilliance of God will come shining through. Its always there --- but we need to stop and look for it and absorb it into our own consciousness. So, that will be my prayer of gratitude and hope for today. I thank God for his unexpected appearances in my life every day and I pray you will experience the same in your life. Walk with thhe Savior today. It is a comforting place to be.