17° with a zero degrees wind chill factor this morning. It is is fairly cool out here in the sun porch this morning too, even though we have a heat vent out here. But I sit in my recliner and pull up my lap cover and I'm warm enough. The real problem is that my coffee gets cold too quickly. I have one of those "cup warmer" things some where. Julie bought it for me a couple of years ago. I need to find it and plug it in. It would be a great help.

The ground has a layer of snow on it and I have lots and lots of birds this morning. But again, the electric bird bath is the popular spot. At the moment, a lot of my "favorite" little birds are out here; the Junkos, the Wrens, and the Sparrows are all hopping around on the ground grabbing seeds that the other birds cast off. They hop so quickly that they are almost a blur as they move around the yard. The Downy Woodpeckers, the Titmouse, and the Nuthatcher are all taking turns at the bark butter feeders when the Starlings will get out of the way. The Cardinals, the Blue Jays, and the Mocking bird just kind of swoop in and grab a bite or two then fly back to a limb to eat it, and repeat the process. Needless to say, the ground and the air are in a constant state of motion with all of the hopping and flittering and fluttering this morning. It is a beautiful and peaceful site.

So, the weather was about as predicted yesterday. I'm glad we cancelled choir because it would have been too nasty for my ladies to come out and Ms. Kate and I may have been there on our own. I went early in the day and did my visitation at the nursing homes and my work at the churches. The temperature plummeted from fifty degrees to twenty five degrees quickly. Brrrrrr!

Today will be a writing and maybe a reading day. I'm one week ahead on sermons and services which is a slim margin but allows for a day to sit at the keyboard and play and a chance to read a bit on my current Stephen King novel. I've started my sermon for February 22nd, but haven't come up with anything intelligent or inspiring to say yet, so, I'm not going to try to force it. It will come when it comes. That's not to imply that everything I say is particularly intelligent or inspiring.

My beautiful red Cardinal is again sitting there on the bird bath with the sun making it almost radiate. It is my daily reminder that God is always present and the warmth of his love radiates from us if we allow it to. But, in order for others to see it, we must be intentional in our actions and share our love and our God-given blessings with others. My little Cardinal has no concept or idea that it provides such an inspiration for me. And, I believe that sharing God's love should be so ingrained and natural to us that we too will radiate God's love without realizing it.  Have a radiant day!