HappyTuesday, the 7th of November. It is another cloudy cool morning. It has been like this for enough days that one could easily become depressed were they of that mindset. But I have no doubt that the sun will come out maybe later today or perhaps tomorrow. Isn’t that what “Annie” promises us: “The sun will come out tomorrow.” In the mean time I’ll enjoy looking at all of the yellow and orange leaves in the neighborhood that surrounds me.

It rained some more last night and now the leaves that are all over my yard and sidewalks and flowerbeds are soaked. Hopefully they will dry out enough for me to get them cleaned up before the week is out. But it won’t be today. It would be a real mess trying to clean all of that up today, although it would be good exercise trying to rake all of that up. I may have to re-evaluate the situation a little later if it doesn’t rain anymore today. I could rake at least some of them up and put them in my compost barrel.

It must be “tiny bird day” out there in the backyard, although I don’t recall making that announcement. The yard is teeming with junkos and gold finches My thistle feeder has as many as six gold finches on it at one time which is more than I have seen on it in a week usually. The ground looks alive with junkos running and hopping around eating seeds, I guess. I’d venture to say there must be at least fifty junkos, finches, and cardinals feeding off of the ground right now. There is plenty of food in the birdfeeders so that isn’t an issue. But obviously they are finding something out there that they like. And there are a couple of squirrels nosing around in the leaves too. As the character on the old TV show used to say: — “Verrrry interesting!”

Sunday, my pastor, Rev. Dr. Art Christmas, gave me a book he has written called “The Ambitious Pastor”. I started reading it Sunday night and I finished it yesterday. It is a great book and I consider it a wonderful gift. Over the past 15 years I have read a lot of books for my ministry training and I’ve attended a lot of seminars and classes on theology, and the Bible, and ecclesiology, and boundary training etc but this is the first book that I have read that truly talks about how to be a “Pastor”, and I make a large distinction between being a “Preacher” and being a “Pastor”; just like I make a distinction between being called “Reverend” and being called “Pastor”. I wish I had been able to read this book when I first started. So, “thank you, Pastor Art.”

I need to go refill my coffee cup, grab a cookie or two and maybe a banana and sit and enjoy the view out my sunporch for awhile. So, I’m wrapping this up for today with prayers that you will have a most blessed day that is full of love and joy and peace. Shalomn.