Monday, February 22nd; Happy 30th Anniversary to our oldest daughter Julie and her hubby Jim. I hope they get to have another thirty years together. When I think about it, there is no reason to think they won't. Afterall, Julie would only be 78 years old and I think Jim would be 80. So, it is possible.

All is quiet in the back yard for the moment. The gaggle of blackbirds came through and cleaned up the yard under the feeders again. I don't see them at the moment but I can hear them up in the top of the poplar tree. So now, the cardinals, the mockingbird, finches and woodpeckers all get their turn until the blackbirds swoop back down. When the blackbirds land, they remind me of the character Batman by the way they just kind of float down.

We had a good weekend and Sunday. The services were fairly well attended and the weather was nice. Saturday was a picture perfect weather day. Yesterday was a little cooler but still nice. But the weather of course is going to go back down hill for a couple of days this week with much cooler temperatures, rain and maybe even a bit of snow. It is what it is. The old preacher's line is; I'm in sales, not production. The good news is that we have flowers coming up in every flowerbed and within a month, I suspect we'll be seeing daffodils blooming everywhere. I looked this morning to see if we have any crocus blooming yet but I didn't see any. I always look for that first crocus because it is the first anchor of spring. I know they will bloom in the snow, but they have a hold on the changing of the season and when the snow melts, the crocus is still there . I think I is possible that the crocus might make a better Easter flower than the lily. It lives on regardless of whether it gets snow covered or not. When the darkness is gone, The crocus is the light still standing.

Speaking of Easter; the month of March is but a few days away. There will be extra services to prepare; a Maundy Thursday Service and a Sunrise service. All of that is approaching rapidly and I need to get busy preparing ahead. I'm also needing to prepare ahead for April because we are taking two weeks of vacation in April. So the next few weeks will find my body tied to a computer downstairs in my office.

We have begun planning a bit more seriously for our trip to California in April. I made the hotel reservations for all of us there in Murrieta, CA for the four days that we will be there foro the wedding. I was disappointed thata the price of our room went up by a hundred dollars a night just because it was Friday and Saturday. But, it is standard practice --- and they can easily get it. It just seems morally wrong somehow. It's not like the hotel will provide a hundred dollars more worth of services on those two days. Any way --- now Ms. Kate and I need to plan the rest of the trip.

My cup is empty which is a good sign I need to get up out of the recline and start getting some real work done. I hope you have a most wonderful day. Never doubt that God is good; -- all the time. Talk with God often during the day.