Welcome to the national deep freeze! I heard last night that 80% of the country was going to be under 32 degrees last night. I awoke up to 4 degrees with a -19 degree wind-chill outside. That is just miserable. The school systems have closed for today as have many other things. This is a day that you check on elderly neighbors etc and make sure they are alright. LOL, around here, we are the elderly neighbors. The ground is snow covered but no accumulation. I filled the birdfeeders yesterday afternoon. I also cleaned the bird bath. I would love to sit in the sun porch and watch all my critters, but it is just too cold to be doing that. So, I go check out the window once in a while. There aren’t a lot of birds out there and only one squirrel hanging round. What is really hard to fathom is that we are supposed to have 57 degrees on Sunday.

I spent a few hours yesterday up at the hospital with a family. The husband was having carotid artery surgery. The surgery went three and a half hours and the doctor said the man was extremely fortunate not to have had a massive stroke. Yesterday they did the right side. In eight weeks they will do the left side. I just never cease to be amazed at the things that God has allowed us to learn. And, the fellow is going home today. That is just unbelievable.

Ms. Kate outdid herself yesterday in the cooking department. She made a pot of clam chowder that waas fantastic. It was so good that I ate too much and was stuffed. Then for supper she made spaghetti sauce and spaghetti. I was so full from lunch though that I could only eat one helping which is really unusual because I am a “pasta-hollic”. On top of that she also made jello with pears in it. I may have some more of that for breakfast this morning. I went to bed around 0100 this morning and I was still stuffed. Today I have to eat less that is for sure.

I don’t know what I am going to do today. Art and I cancelled our staff meeting this morning. We’ll do it tomorrow assuming it will be a little warmer to get outside.  Actually, we’ve texted back and forth this morning so we basically covered everything. But, I still have one more sermon to write for February and then I need to work on the Ash Wednesday service. I reckon that is what I will do today.  It seems like as good as anything to do. Of course, I could just sit and read a book for a change. I took a book with me to the hospital yesterday to read and never opened it at all. I spent the entire time talking to my parishioner.

BUt, for right now, I may go back out to the sun porch and sit for a few minutes with my blanket on my lap and listen to this Collingswirth Family Album I have playing on my IPad. I hope y’all snuggle down and stay out of the cold. Peace.

January 28th already. The first month of the year is almost gone. As it has forever, one day melts into another and plans we had for yesterday often turn into plans for today or maybe --- well, we can do them tomorrow too. That is the status of my Backyard Buffet. I did get out and buy another 80# of sunflower seed and four smaller bags of Bark Butter Bits. But, the sunflower seed is still in the car and I haven't put out the bits yet. It will be a warmer day today when I get home from the office and I will fill things up then. The artic front is supposed to be coming in starting tonight and it will be bitter cold. My critters will need energy to keep warm.

I was supposed to go to the doctor's office this morning. I had an 0815 appointment for a "wound check" on the area where I had my surgery. At 0730 I got a phone call from the doctor's office asking me if I wanted to come in or did I want to do it over the phone. I can honestly say I have never had a doctor's appointment over the phone, but it worked for me. It meant that I didn't have to drive to the southeast side of town in morning traffic, and I could make it to the office on time. So, the lady on the phone asked me if I still had my bandages on or not, (which I don't). She asked me about pain or swelling and I told her that I was just fine. So, she told me to continue with my restriction against lifting with it and to baby it until I see the doctor on the 20th of February. I told her that was fine with me.

We had our congregational meeting yesterday and I was hoping for a good report from the Pastoral Search committee and we didn't get it. The comittee chairman basically just said, "we're still searching". We are entering our fifth year of a pastoral search which is beyond rediculous. Most searches last maybe three years. I think the folks would have been much happier if she could have given them at least some hope that they were finding some potential candidates. But as it was — it was depressing. On the other hand, the congregation is very satisfied with their current solution of having Pastor Art and me.

I’m home from the office to finish this. About half way through this morning the wifi went out. I thought I had lost it all but I didn’t. I had planned to come home, have a bite to eat and then fill my birdfeeders. But —- it is raining again and the wind has really picked up. Crapola.

So, I have stuff todo and I guess I’ll get to it. In the meantime, you have a blessed day. Peace.  

Somehow or another, I have lost another day I my life. This is Saturday, is it not? That’s what my calendar says and yet it has been a jumbled week. A week ago we were being shut down by snow and cold weather. What we got was far less than what was predicted but the roads were bad enough that we cancelled church. So, that is the first thing that messed up my brain. —- no church on Sunday. Then came Monday, which was not only a Holiday, (Martin Luther King Day), but also the roads were still bad to be traveling so I didn’t go to work on Monday which confused my scheduled brain. Tuesday I had surgery on my arm, and while it was a same day surgery and I went home after the surgery, I slept most of the day.

Wednesday I was supposed to go to work but was still under the weather from my surgery so I didn’t go to work that day either. Pastor Art and I did communicate though about stuff so I basically worked from home, in between naps. However, not going to work when I should have been at work, was again, enough to screw up my brain and week. Thursday is, I think, my lost day. I can’t tell you anything about Thursday except that for whatever reason, Ms. Kate and I went and did some minor shopping and went out to lunch at Western Ribeye and Ribs. I began some sermon work and watched my Thursday night TV shows. (It must have been an exciting day, huh?)

Yesterday morning I got up at 0530, showered and got ready to go to Deaconess Hospital to be with a parishioner whose husband was going to have surgery on his carotid artery. At 0600 I was ready to get in the car when I got a text from her that the surgery was cancelled because the doctor was sick. So —- great, another screwed up day. I went back in the house, sat in my recliner and got another couple of hours sleep while I waited for Ms. Kate to wake up. I spent most of the day downstairs in my office working, and last evening I just watched TV.

Now it is Saturday morning, and I’m watching the cardinals and mockingbirds as they look for food on mostly empty feeders. I’ve been a bad host and let things run out. It isn’t terribly cold out there this morning and is supposed to warm a bit more. I’ll go out in a bit and fill things up again. We have more bitter cold coming and the gang needs food and water. I also need to get some sunflower seed and my arm is strong enough to carry the bags now, I think. I took the bandages off yesterday morning except for the steri-strips that hold the wound together. I was told not to take them off but to let them fall off naturally.

Well, there. Is my week. I guess I have accounted for every day except that it all seems fuzzy still. Was it just a week ago that we were snow in?? Tomorrow is our winter congregational meeting and I hope we will find out something about getting aa new pastor. Until next time — I bid you peace my friends. Have a most blessed day.

Thank you for putting up with my whining yesterday but this morning I’m up early, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as they say. I think I dozed most of the day on and off yesterday. I tend to do that if I feel bad. My system just kind of shuts down and I don’t have the energy to do anything, and I just doze in and out. I think it is a great thing and is God’s way of taking care of me or forcing me to take care of myself. God is just so good.

It is twenty-one degrees  this morning and by tomorrow morning it will be only nine degrees. That is no-bueno. I have to be up and at the hospital at 0630 for a parishioner tomorrow morning and that doesn’t sound like fun getting out in that temp. Brrrrrr.

No clouds this morning at all. There are a couple of cardinals out there and a couple of sparrows but that is about all. I literally got up before the birds this morning. Most of the feeders are out of food so I must bundle up later this morning and go feed them. I’m almost out of sunflower seed again. I have enough to do a full round but I really need to pick up some more. The problem is that I’m restricted on my lifting for a couple more days so it may have to wait.

I think I will write a sermon today. I preach next on the 3rd of February but I have an idea of what I want to write and the scripture for that day is so perfect; 1st Corinthians 13:1-13, which is the “love chapter” of the Bible. It is the most commonly used scripture used at weddings. And with February also encompassing Valentine’s Day, it is a great way to start off the month. I’m also preaching on the 10th of February but I already have that sermon and service done.

I have another job that I need to get done. It is almost the end of January and we still haven’t sent out our Thank You cards for our Christmas gifts. That is down-right rude. We’ve certainly said thanks to people but the polite thing is send an acknowledgement. When I was a kid, that was the first thing we had to do, the day after Christmas or birthday. We never forced out kids to do that I don’t think and we should have. I doubt my grandchildren have ever written one, although, we do get a call from them which is even better because we get to talk to them.

One of my favorite TV shows starts a new season tonight so I’ll be looking forward to that. Last evening I went through the shows that I have on the DVR and watched and cleared out most of them.

Tie for another cup of coffee and I think I’ll toast a bagel and put some Creme cheese on it. You have yourself a great day. Remember God loves you, Christ has saved you and I pray for you. Peace.

Ok, let me whine and whimper for a moment and tell you I feel like crud this morning. I had my surgery yesterday morning on my arm and I think it went well. My lip is raw on the inside from the breathing tube they used. It is swollen and sore and feels like someone punched me in the lip. My arm and hand are swollen from the surgery, or maybe because of the bandage and how I slept last night, I don’t know. Ms. Kate brought me some Tylenol and that should get things back into perspective. But at the moment, I just want to stay wrapped in my blanket, sit here and watch the rain and maybe feel sorry for myself aa little bit, which I know is silly as heck. The doctor gave me a description for Loritab but I don’t think I’m going to fill it. The Tylenol should do the trick. With any luck, I’ll still be able to make choir practice tonight.

Well, you’ve heard about my Tuesday, how was your’s?  We finally left the hospital and then went by Ms. Kate’s doctor’s office so she could have her blood tests run. They needed to know if the steroids they prescribed for her bronchitis was affect her Coumadin. After that we came home and I napped on and off most of the day and went to bed around 2200 hours.

It is thirty nine degrees and raining this morning. That will be our high for today. The rain is supposed to stop around 1500 hours and the temperature is going to drop all day and get down to below freezing by tonight. The yard is sloppy from the rain and thee snow has all melted. The bird feeders are mostly empty again. I’m sure the starlings stayed on them yesterday until there wasn’t a bit left of the Bark Butter bits. That’s too bad because I’m not in the mood to go out there and slop around in the yard filling feeders.

As much as my arm and lip might bother me today I do need to stop and give credit where credit is due. My nurses and doctors yesterday were super. The doctor was very caring and the nurses were too. So, I want to thank them for their care. I also lift them up to God and thank God for providing them the skill needed to do what they did. They were excellent but I also know that God was just using them to do His work. So. Give praise and glory to God for my successful operation.

That is about it for me today. I’m going to pour another cup of coffee and sit here and watch it rain. Have a pleasant day. Peace.

I posted a picture of the starlings at the feeders hanging in the Pussy Willow tree out the back door this morning. They look like a scene out of a horror movie. But that happens anytime we have snow on the ground. They flock and fight and fuss and peck at one another; meanwhile the cardinal sits stately over on another feeder waiting patiently for them to move on. When the starlings are here the cardinals generally just go to the “gazebo” feeder that is filled with safflower seed. For whatever reason the starlings don’t like it but the cardinals really do. The junkos, Downy Woodpeckers, wrens, finches, and a blue jay are all feeding or trying to. But it will be the starlings that will empty the Bark Butter bits feeder.

Our winter storm came through and the residual is still with us through bitterly cold temperatures and a couple of inches of snow. It is seventeen degrees this morning and the electric birdbath is a popular spot as the only unfrozen source of water. I would normally be at the church office this morning but first of all it is a holiday and secondly, the churrch parking lot is not fit to walk on. We didn’t have church yesterday or did anyone else that I know of. The streets were dangerous to drive on. The snow-storm was quick going through and I call it the blizzard that wasn’t, at least at our house. We have maybe two inches of snow on the ground but it was preceded by a day of rain, then sleet, then about five hours of 20-30 mph of driving snow. But, I was able to get out first thing yesterday morning and clear my driveway and the street with the John Deere. I also cleared off Theresa and Jeff’s driveway. Dan and Minh are gone to Virginia so I didn’t bother with his. Dereck, who lives next door to the south drives a county truck during weather like this and he made a pass through our street Saturday evening after the snow stopped. That made a huge difference in my ability to finish up the street with my blade.

Ms. Kate’s cough and bronchitis seems much better today. The medicine seems to be working on her. I’m very relieved at that. I just wish she had gone to the doctor sooner. he needs to go back to the doctor for bloodwork tomorrow to make sure the steroids aren’t messing with her blood thinner medicine. She takes so many different medicines that is hard to find medicine that that dosn’t counteract something else that she is taking.

That is about it for today. I’ve ben sitting here watching the birds and the starlings don’t seem to be in any hurry to leave. It has been a George Strait morning on the Bose player. I generally have some southern gospel going when I’m out here but today I’m toe-tapping to a different rhythm. But now, it is time to go down to my office in the basement do some computer work. I pray you will have a great week full of warm thoughts and love for your fellowman. Peace.

Saturday morning and Pastor Art and I are discussing the “what-ifs”. It is raining and has been for most of the night. The temperature is starting to drop and the snow is supposd to start around 1500 hours and blow snow in blizzard-like conditions for about six hours, leaving us with anywhere from three to six inches. It is not going to be pleasant or fun. The odds of having church in the morning do not look good.

I can’t pre-treat my driveway because of the rain. With the temperature dropping to twenty-one degrees I expect a thin layer of ice under that snow. Ideally, if it quits raining for a half hour or so before the snow starts,, I could get out there and throw down a good sprinkling of snow melt stuff. But, we will just have to see how it all plays out. My JD may end up being useless out there and just sit and spin.

I filled the feeders yesterday but my guest list today has been sparse. A couple of squirrels have shown up, of course, I did have a half dozen or so cardinals come by and a mockingbird. The little wren is always here and I even had a goldfinch here. But that is about it, If it snows like it is supposed to, I’ll have a lot of starlings here tomorrow.

I thik I’m done for today. It is perfect “take a nap” weather even though it is still morning. I’m pretty comfortableout here in the sunporch withmy light blanket over my lap. The sky is grey, and the rain on the roof is mesmerizing to hypnotic; perfect napping conditions. Y’all stay safe out there. If you are in the path of this winter storm, stay home and read a book with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee. God will listen to you and talk to you right there in your recliner. Have a blessed day.

Friday, morning, the end of another work week. It is a cold damp morning and is cloudy again today. But since it isn’t raining, I can get out and fill bird feeders. We aare supposed to be getting a real artic blast of weather in here between tonight and tomorrow afternoon. They are predicting a couple inches of rain followed by maybe an inch of snow which is alright, but the temperatures are going to plummet into single digits. I need to make sure my Backyard Buffet guests have food because they are ging to be flocking in here.

Ms. Kate’s finally calling her doctor about this cough and cold that has had her in its grip since Christmas. I hope she can get in today. I will be very surprised if he doesn’t admit her to the hospital with pneumonia. I just want her to be able to get over this cough. It takes her breath away and really worries me. As hard as she coughs, she literally could have a heart attack. As you know, I’ve been trying to get her to the doctor for over two weeks now, but, I think it has gotten to the point that she know the continued OTC meds she is taking are not going to do her any good. If she has to go to the hospital, so be it. I just want her well and healthy.

Speaking of doctors, I got a call late last night from Dr, Weaver, the neurosurgeon, with the results of my neurology test. He said that I indeeed do have some pinched nerves in my arm and that they were weakening my muscle. So, he is going to have his offfice set me up for surgery. They will put me to sleep and do a couple of inch incision on my arm and move some nerves around. The procedure will be an in and out of the hospital and shouldn’t take but about an hour. He said that I could let the whole thing go but that at my age, it will continue to weaken the muscle in my arm, so, he recommended that I have the surgery. I agreed to it. Will let you know more about that when it happens. Heck,, that will  be my fifth surgery on that arm. It should feel very sspecial. LOL Back in 1977 I had three surgeries on it after I got run over by a truck. Then in 2011 I had major surgery on the shoulder after I tore the biceps out of the socket from a fall. And now they are going to rearrange the nerves. I hope this is not going to require me to go through any physical therapy. I’m not a fan.

We were supposed to go have lunch with Brenda and Bob today but she is having to babysit with a sick grandchild. And of course we are also waiting to hear from Kate’s doctor so we can get her in there. We’ll postpone our schrooms and beer date.

That’s it for today. The winter storm is sweeping across the country. If you are in its path, stay safe and warm. Until next posting, May God be with you. Peace.

I have let two days go by without dropping a line in the blog. But, that’s what happens when your days fill up with other stuff. Well, at lest my mornings fill up and I don’t know why I don’t like to write my blog in the afternoon, but when it gets to be after one o’clock or so, I just decide to wait until the next day.

Tuesday morning instead thing I had to be at the neurologists office for testing on my arm. Just so we are straight here —- a 0845 appointment does not mean you will be seen anytime close to 0845. It was at least 0930 before I went in for the testing. The testing was different than anything I had ever had. They were testing for pinched nerves in my arm and specifically the elbow region. So, they put electrodes or wires around my fingers and different places and hit my arm and places with electric shock causing my arm and hand and fingers to jump and I guess they measured something by that. It didn’t “hurt” per se but it was certainly very uncomfortable. Next the doctor started putting needles in different muscle locations and would have me move my arm or hand  or rotate my head. When I did those things, the machine would be making all kinds of weird noise. The results were that he determined that I indeed do have some nerves pinched in my right elbow region. So, —- the next step is to send me back to the neurosurgeon who will do some minor surgery on my elbow and “un-pinch” those nerves. I did’t know they coud do such a thing. But stand by for updates whenever I get a new appointment. After the doctor finished with me, we went to Cracker Barrel for a much deserved breakfast.

Yesterday was our weekly staff meeting at church. Art and I still have no update about the pastoral search. We were hoping to be told somethng at the Monday night council meeting but were told nothing. So we are pressing on with planning for the spring events like Lenten season and Easter programming. Art has gone ahead and scheduled a vacation which is just fine. After our morning meeting I went out and did some Pastorral visiting and home Communion. I always enjoy doing those.

It is a rainy morning here again and it looks like my bird feeders are empty. It isn’t raining hard so maybe I’ll go out a little later and fil the up. We’re in for a few days of crappy weather. The squirrels will run all of their fat off going from empty feeder to empty feeder.

I’m caught up with my sermons through January now and need to look at upcoming lectionary reading through February and maybe get started on sermons for those dates. I like to stay ahead simply because one never knows what extra might get thrown in the mix.

Tomorrow will be “schrooms & beer & gossip” lunch date with our friends, Brenda and Bob. We always enjoy that. BUt, I’ll try to be diligent and write tomorrow morning. Between now and then, have a great day. Peace.  

The snow came, the snow is gone, except for a few very sad looking snowmen that have yet to completely melt. Even the snow I moved out of my driveway with the John Deere is gone. I debated and debated over clearing the driveway simply because the weather forecasters had said that it was going to rain and wash it all away before the day was over. But -- the desire to play on my JD won out and I went out there. It might have taken me  eleven or twelve minutes to get the job done but it was an enjoyable eleven or twelve minutes. I think we are forecasted to maybe have another dusting of snow this week.

The worship service went well yesterday and we had seventy-three in church. That is about average any more. We have at least a half dozen "snow-birds" that are gone for awhile or the attendance would be a little higher. Plus Ms. Kate still hasn't returned to church bcause of her cough. Next Sunday Pastor Art will be talking about Ecumenical Sunday and also about Martin Luther King. He has asked for us to sing some Negro Spirituals as a tribute. The Choir will be singing "Down To the River to Pray". I really like that song and the choir does a good job of it.

As I knew I would, I re-read my sermon for the 27th and I don't really like it. It says things that I want to say but it sounds "angry" and that is not my intention. So, I'm deleting parts of it and re-writing it and going from a different approach that I think will be be much more palatable to the congregation. We had a Sunday school lesson yesterday that fits well with the point I trying trying to make wth my sermon. So, I'll use the scripture taken from the Book of James as a background for my sermon. That will make my point without me pounding on the pulpit. I think we have a congregation that is a good mix of fairly conservative and also fairly liberal. We don't have any extremist on either side of the aisle. The good thing about the congregation is that we can discuss topics prayerfully and that is so important. It wasn't always so here though. "Back-in-the-day" we were very much more traditionalist and conservative. Of course, back then were a church full of German farmers and what we might call "stiff -collar" people. I think it is good that we have "mellowed" out some and have relaxed with our faith. However, there is a big difference between being "relaxed in your faith" and being "lax  with your faith."

Pastor Art and I are hoping the council will provide an update on the pastoral search tonight at the council meeting. I am working on a drama for Maundy Thursday and I don't want to get too far into writing something that will never be used. And frankly, not only do we need to know for our planning purposes; ---- we're nosey!!!!!  Okay, I've admitted it. .

Tomorrow, I have to go for some neurological testing on my arm. I'm not l;ooking forward to that. The instructions say that I will experience "some discomfort, but most people tolerate it well". What that says to me is "it's gonna' hurt"! But, maybe they can find out why my arm goes to sleep so easily. So, bring on "the discomfort". But, I may not be writing tomorrow.

That's it for this first day of the week. I pray that you will have a blessed week full of God's blessings. Peace, my friends. God loves you and so do I.

Welcome to a snow covered Saturday morning. I don’t know how much we actually got. There is maybe two and a half inches sitting on top of the birdfeeders. I just went out and used the John Deere to clear off the driveway and theere wasn’t but about an inch and a half out there. It is supposed to rain all afternoon and wash all of this away, but, I wanted to play with the JD for a little bit so I went out and cleaned off the drive and the street in front of my house. I hardly got to use my JD last year for snow. On a day like today, I probablywasn’t out there ten minutes total.

I have lots of guests this morning at the Backyard Buffet. It doesn’t happen often but I had a robin eating from a feeder this morning. They are generally just ground feeders. But I guess since there is snow on the ground they can’t find what they want. I also have a half dozen doves here this morning again. They’re all puffed up this morning keeping warm. They look twice as big as they really are. If I was a dove hunter, they would be easy pickings today. As is usual when it snows, I have a flock of starlings in here bullying everything else around with their pecking and fighting and squawking. They are some nasty birds. I see maybe four wrens out there and a pair of titmouse. You never see just one titmouse, they are alway paired. I wonder if they maybe maybe for life. I know some people that could learn a thing or two from them.

I’m starting to see snow melting and drops of water coming off of things. MMy Accuweather App says that we will be having rain in 112 minutes. I suspect by tomorrow we won’t be able to tell we even had snow. That works for me because tomorrowis Sunday and I don’t want people to have an excuse to not be in church. We make up enough excuses, no use in adding weather to the list. LOL

I have a sermon to go over before tomorrow so I think I’ll head downstairs to my office and do a re-read to make sure I’m saying what I want to. Sometimes I’ll do a last minute read of something I’ve written and wonder what in the world I was thinking when I wrote it. So, you go have yourself a very enjoyable day and I’ll get some work done and then maybe later, I’ll prop my feet up in front of the fireplace and take a nap. Peace.

A blessed Friday morning to you. I’m sitting here watching the mockingbird and the red headed woodpecker and the starlings fuss and and fight over the bark butter bits  feeder. I call it the battle of the “long beaks”. They peck and flit and try to land on one another and move one another out of the way. It’s comical and entertaining. Then, when the three of them have forced one mother off of the feeeder, a cardinal swoops in for a quick bite.

I got my new cowboy boots yesterday. I’ve been looking at a brand of boots that are advertised on Facebook for over a year. They are called Tecovas. I’ve debated and debated with myself about buying them. I love cowboy boots but I seldom find any that really are comfortable and spending $250.00 on a pair of shoes just seems outrageous to me. But, I finally gave myself permission to order some and they arrived yesteday. They are very comfortable, once I get them on; but there-in lies the problem. I’m havig trouble getting them on. I wish I could say it is a problem with the boot but it isn’t. It is a problem with my fat belly and bending over to do it. But, I’m going to keep them.

I spent almost eight hours yesterday putting together my sermon for the 27th of January. It is a sermon that I have been wanting to write for awhile, but just had not been able to really focus my thoughts on. Now that it is written, I’ll let it set for a couple of days and then go back and read it and see if it says what I want to say in the manner that I want to say it.

I read this morning that yet another Law Enforcement Office was gunned down for no reason at all. She was only twenty two years old and was just two weeks out of training. She had responded to an alleged three car accident and was ambushed at the scene. The suspect then barricaded himself in his home and committed suicide before the police could get to him. What the hell is wrong with people? Why do people thik they have to go kill innocent people before they commit suicide. I trust God has a special pocket in hell for his immortal soul.

We are looking for snow tonight and tomorrow morning. I expect to be looking at a yard full of snow in the morning when I write my blog. Although, the forecasters say that by afternoon we will most likely be getting rain and wash most of it away. Hello southern Indiana January.

That is about it for me this morning. I hope your day is bright and cheery. Take time to say a prayer and be grateful for your blessings. Peace.

It is a little hard to type this morning on my IPad keyboard because my leg is tapping to the music of the Gaithers singing “There is Power in the Blood”. So, yes, I’m creating my own problem. But — it is a great problem to have. And it always happpens when I’m in the mood for some good southern gospel music, which is daily.

I have yard full of Backyard Buffet guests today. I have a yard full of robins this morning. They are scratching around through the leaves out there. They don’t eat from the feeders so I’m not really sure what they find out there that they like. I threw out a lot of bread this morning because I also have a bunch of starlings and they love bread. There is also a half dozen doves out there grazing in the leaves. I see at least a half dozen cardinals plus finches, and woodpeckers. So, my yard is just full of God’s blessings and I do so enjoy it.

We had a great choir practice last evening. We were practicing one of my favorite songs, ((I have so many). Next week Pastor Art is doing his sermon based around Ecumenical Sunday and Martin Luther King’s birthday. So, he asked if the choir could do some Negro Spirtuals. (Hmmmm, Iwonder if it is still acceptable to call them Negro Spirituals, or if we are supposd to just call them “Spirituals”?)  I managed to get a copy of “Down By the River to Pray” from a friend and we practiced that last night. It will go quite well. He also has the folks that do our Praise Music to try to do a spiritual and they were excited to do that. Who knows, we might have our “traditional” old church rocking for the Lord. I love to hear and sing the historically traditional hymns , but I also love to listen to and sing the southern gospel and the spirituals. I’m not crazy about what they call “praise music” because I fail to find the liturgical value in it so very often. It seems like we just sing the same words over and over in a four chord range. It is neither melodic nor meaningful to me.

I came up with some sermon thoughts last night around midnight and it was really too late to be going back downstairs and start writing. So, thankfully God has allowed me to not forget the thought pattern I had going so I’m anxious to go down and get started on it. Generally when an idea hits me like this the sermon either turns out pretty good and rather quickly or — sometime I get about two pages into it and then go blank. So, we’ll just have to see what happens this time. While I do that, how about all of you folks sitting back and and taking a little time to give God thanks for the day you are having today. You might not think you are having a great day and maybe you are suffering or worried in some way but God is there with you at every breath. Remember that and relax.  Peace.

Talk about “turn around weather”; we have it this morning. It is thirty three out there this morning and the wind is stiff and out of the north. They used to say; “it’s colder than aa well digger’s butt in Alaska”. I’ll need to dress warm today when I go out. Our weather folks are saying we are in for at least aa week of “winter” weather to include cold, wind, rain, & yes, even some snow. After all it is January and we should not be having fifty degree days. Say what you will, I believe in Global Warming. Our ice -caps are melting and the temperature of the ground is in fact heating up. I don’t know the cause of it but I do know that we humans really suck at taking care of the world that God created for us and. We are routinely destroying our ground and our air.

I filled all of the feeders yesterday and so far this morning, I haven’t had a single guest at the Backyard Buffet. They will come, but the wind and cold has them finding shelter I’m sure. —- And as I said that; here comes the cardinals aand the Bluebirds and I’m a happy guy. I went to Wild Birds Unlimited yesterday afternoon and picked up some of my specialty foods. It was a great trip. They have a “rewards program” where they give you “bird-bucks” for “X” amount that you spend. I have been saving them up and yesterday I bought everything I needed and it only cost me eighty one cents.  I used $60.00 worth of Bird -bucks. But now I have to start over again. I am so glad they opened up that store again. I could find comparable products to what I use but my critters didn’t like them as well. And while it seemed that they were cheaper, the bags were smaller and therefore I was I reality paying more. I still go to Pet-Food Center though for my Black-Oil sunflower seeds.  I get 40# bags there for $18.00 which is a good price. About five years ago there was a shortage on sunflower seeds for some reason aand it went up to $30.00 for a 50# bag. I go through at least seven hundred pounds of Black-Oil seed a year so I watch my prices. I really should keep a record of what I spend on feeding and housing my birds and critters a year. I know it is a lot.

I need to get cleaned up and ready to head to the office. It is staff meeting morning. I’ll go brave the cold and you sit there in your chair and stay comfy. Have a blessed day.

Bright blue skies and the temperature is going up to the mid fifties. The wind is “a-blowin’” though. Hopefully it will dry out my back yard sufficiently to walk around in without tracking in a bunch of mud. I simply must get out there and fill the bird feeders today and clean out the bird bath. It’s gross. The forecast for the week indicate that it will get much colder as the week goes on and we may even have some wintry-mix or snow on Saturday. I already had a squirrel with its paws up on the glass of one of my sunporch doors. It was looking at me quite expectedly. I just avoided eye contact.

The great news this morning is that Ms. Kate is feeling well enough to sit out here in the sun porch with me. That’s mainly because it is much warmer out here this morning. Her cough is still hanging on but hopefully it is going to subside. It would seem at some point that it should. She actually got to the point last night that she says she is almost to the point of going to see a doctor. Of course I was thinking —- “Gee, I wish I had suggested that two weeks ago.” No, it wasn’t nice of me. I just worry about her.

Last night was our Music and Worship committee meeting. I’m not sure of the purpose of this committee. It isn’t like we actually accomplished anything. The committee is I think supposed to work with the pastor in creating meaningful worship services. But Pastor Art and I plan our own services, then we send the proposed bulletin to the organist who picks out the hymns and decides what music she is going to use, and then Karen, the secretary types it all up and prints them. So, I’m not sure why we had nine people sitting around that table last night. We laid out the Lenten schedule of services last night, not actually knowing if Pastor Art and I will be there to do them or if they will have the new pastors in place by then. I hate things being upin the air like this. My patience grows thin at times. Pastor Art and I both want to get on with planning things like summer vacations etc. For instance, they would like to go south with their grandson for a week or so and the grandson wants to go over Spring Break. However, that is Holy Week for the church and Art can’t be gone if he is still an employed pastor. So, the not knowing becomes a problem. But — all in God’s time.

Speaking of God; I hope you have taken time out this morning to stop and have a chat with your Creator and sustainer. I think that is the very least we can do is to take a few minutes out of our day to give thanks for our blessings. I don’tknow about you but, I knowI am blessed beyond measure and I owe it all to God and my faith in Jesus Christ. Have a wonderful day.

Hello Monday morning. I guess it is time to start another week. As I do, Ms. Kate is still coughing and still nor getting out of the house. She says she is better but I can't tell it. I guess she plans to stubborn her way through this thing. I just hope she gets fully back on her feet soon.

It is a cloudy morning and we are supposed to have a swath of rain pass through our area later today. But the temperature is going to be almost sixty degrees. That will be comfortable. Of course with our rolller-coaster weather, by Thursday we'll be back in the freezer. But that is all good. I noticed yesterday that my early daffodils are already up about an inch and a half.  They are going to get their buds frozen off. We are only three weeks into winter with a whole lot of snow and ice and cold weather to come yet. But, I look at those daffodils and think to myself that the are a promise from God that nature will continue and the seasons will continue to come because God's presence is eternal. So, I look at them and I smile.

Our church attendance was down yesterday. We only had sixty -one in church. I know that some of our "snow-birds" have taken off for Florida and there are people out, like Ms. Kate, with this cold/cough thing that is going around. And there might have been some folks that stayed home because we had announced that we were changing the worship format ofr yesterday and some folks just don't like change, no matter how minor it might be. I guess we'll see how it goes next Sunday when we return to our "normal" service.

I went to Bob's house yesterday and visited with him. I had asked Brenda to meet me there. I'm borrowing some music from St. Lucas church for our choir. Pastor Art wants to use some "Negro Spirituals" for the Sunday before Martin Luther KIng Day and I immediately thought of the the song "Down To The River to Pray". But, we didn't have it here at Zoar so, -- I called Ms. Brenda and asked her if she would run me a copy from their files. I'll give it to our choir dirctor tonight and see if she wants to use it. I really like the song, it's simple, and our choir would do a great job with it.

Well, I'm at wwork and I need to look some stuff up for an upcoming sermon so I better actually "do some work." I hope you have a pleasant week . Stay in tough with God on a daily basis. You week will go so much beter if you do. Shalomn.

God has provided an absolutely beautiful day so I must start my day by saying “Thanks be to God”. The sun is shining brilliantly this morning and the temperature has a bit to climb yet but is on its way up to around fifty five degrees. For a January 5th morning, I couldn’t ask for anything better. Yesterday was such a miserable cold and rainy day and I’m glad it is done.

I also offer up my thanks because Ms. Kate appears to be doing so much better today. While I’m hearing her do some coughing, it isn’t that deep-lung, can’t breathe coughing like she has been having fits of for the past eleven days. I hope this is a good sign that she is on the mend. I know she has been miserable.

I’m glad to report that I finished my sermon and bulletin for next Sunday, the 13th. I told you yesterday that I had started on it but was deeply dissatisfied with it. So, I hit “delete” on the computer and started over. I still think my original idea was a good idea but I just couldn’t pull it together without it being a history lesson. May God was telling me that it waasn’t as good of an idea as I thought it was. The benefit of it was that I did some research to write the sermon and that means I learned something new. So nothing was lost in the process, it just wasn’t right for this particular occasion. I can live with that. Who knows —- some day someone may ask me about that particular subject and I’ll be able to expound and sound like a smart guy. It could happen!! LOL

Last night I read a book by a fellow named Ken Ham, called “Gospel Reset”. It was a short read but interesting. I disagree with some of his theology and he would certainly disagree with mine but his basic premise of his book was correct I think. His point was that our country and our society is rapidly losing its claim that we are a Christian nation. Our society has banned God from the schools, from public display, from open teaching because it might offend somebody. He says we have become much like the Greeks when the Apostle Paul went there to preach, They had many gods and when he began to preach about Christ, they had no idea what he was taking about because their faith and religious foundations were totally different than his. And the basic Bible foundation starting with Genesis, is what he says we are losing rapidly in this country. Like I said, I agree with some of his writing and disagree with other parts but I think I found value in the book and can use some of it in my own preaching.

I think now I’m going to just sit here and watch my guests in the Backyard Buffet. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Peace.

The click, click, click of raindrops falling on the roof could be a little mesmerizing this morning. It is supposed to rain on and off all day again today but right now we are just getting little shots of light sprinkling as the front moves in. We certainly don’t need any rain in my opinion but then I can’t see it from God’s view. The good news is that today’s showers will usher in a nice sunny weekend.

I’m concened about Ms. Kate. She still has that terrible cough. Yes,  it is a tad bit better but this is the tenth day of it. She’s getting no rest because of it and refuses to go to the doctor. In my opinion she really needs a breathing treatment regimen to clear out her lungs. I’ve been sick like she is and breathing treatments were the only thing that really helped me, well, and the steroid shot that Nurse Fran sticks in my hip. But, Ms. Kate just won’t go.

I’ve been trying to put together my sermon for next week and I’m having a hard time of it. It is the story of the baptism of Jesus which is a scripture that everybody knows. So, trying to make it relevant is tough. I wrote a bunch of stuff last night but it sounds like a history lesson instead of a sermon. It would be great material for a Sunday school lesson because I did some good research for it, but as a sermon, there would be nothing gained I’m afraid. So, my task today is to get that sermon written.

We have some good left-overs in the refrigerator today. A couple of days ago we made vegetable soup and we have a couple of quarts of that left. Yesterday she made navy beans with ham soup and we have maybe three pints of that left. So, we’re set for a day or two. At least Ms. Kate is feeling good enough to do a little cooking and more importantly eating. She had not been eating hardly anything at all for several days.

Despite the rain, I have a bunch of cardinals this morning. They are joined by a couple of larger woodpeckers, wrens and finches. And of course —- the fuzzy tailed rats are out there. Tomorrow is supposed to be a sunny day and I’ll take the opportunity to refill feeders. I need to make another run to Wildbirds and pick up some Bark Butter bits because they have gone through the three bags I bought last time. Everything loves those things, especially that darn starlings. They fight and peck and fuss at one another and everything else. But the bits are also a favorite of the Cardinals and the Bluebirds so I keep buying them. I get thrilled when I see the Bluebirds come in.

My coffee cup is empty and my Lauren Talley CD is about done playing, so I guess it is time to vacate my sunporch and get downstairs to my office. I pray you will have a blessed day and a grand weekend. Take time out for worship of the marvelous God that is providing you an abundance of blessings and the very breath you take. Shalomn.

Wow! It is hard to believe, I’m seeing sunshine this morning and it is accompanied by a backyard full of cardinals. It is thirty three degrees and the squirrels are looking fat this morning because they have their fur fluffed up to keep warm. The cardinals sit out there with their feathers fluffed up too. BUt, it is such a joy to welcome sunshine after several days of clouds. And —- we have Bluebirds at the Backyard Buffet. God gets an extra prayer of gratitude today.

I’m sorry I missed you yesterday but it was a busy day as is every Wednesday. I started off with the usual staff meeting with Pastor Art and Karen. We had to do a bunch of work tailoring the bulletin for this Sunday’s service. We are doing our service this week differently than we usually do. It will be more what we call “traditional”. There is more liturgy and prayer and no “praise and “fun stuff” that the younger generation feels they need today. It requires you to concentrate rather than be entertained.  We haven’t even held the service yet and I have already heard complaints from the thirty somethings. But, they can sit through one “old time service”. LOL. Art and I have maybe two months left before they hire the new pastor. That new pastoral team may have an entirely different method of conducting worship. The search committee is meeting with the prospective couple again tonight and they are driving here from Ohio. This is their second trip here so Art and I figure they are close. We still hear they want to be in place by Lent and that is March 6th.

I’m not sure what I am going to do once this interim job is done. We’ll need to find us another place to worship but that is only part of it. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my time. Certainly there is plenty of stuff to do around here. I have a park bench that is all rotted and broken down and sitting in my garage taking up space. I bought the materials to rebuild it two years ago and still haven’t done so. That will become a priority. But odds are that Ms. kate and I will fall into a routine of just doing stuff. I can look around the backyard and the front flowerbeds and there is so much that really needs to be done, but I think it is time we cut back on some of that too. Kate isn’t physically able to be of much help out there and I don’t like to do it by myself. We’ll just have to see what happens. There is always an unfinished Stephen King novel sitting beside my chair. Who knows, I just might get caught up before he turns out another.

That’s about it for today. We were supposed to have dental appointment today for cleaning but with our colds and coughing we cancelled that. I need to go to the drugstore today and pick up some more Mucenex for Ms. Kate. I also need to refill bird feeders again today. The flying pigs have almost cleaned me out once again. Have a blessed day.

Happy New Year. May your 2019 be filled with blessings.  Ms. kate rang in the new year in style, her with Robitussin  for her cough and me with a cup of coffee. Some revel-rouser down the street set off a few loud booms, and that was it; —- 2018 was done and 2019 was off and running.

I pray 2019 will be a happier year for this country but I fear it will not. I would label 2018 “the year of offense”. It seems that people were offended by everything. And it also seems that people went out of their way to offend others. Civility, respect, and kindness made no news headlines, only hate and innuendos flamed by the media and social media made national news or got attention. Potions of the government are shut down and federal workers are going without pay —- except for the elected leaders who are keeping the government shut down. They still get paid.

As per usual on New Years Day, we have the Rose Bowl Parade showing on television. Ms. Kate and I went to the Rose Bowl Float show after the parade one year. We took my parents because my Dad was such a flower enthusiast. We fought the traffic, finally found aa parking spot relatively close; he looked at one float and was ready to leave. Needless to say, Ms. kate and I were quietly honked off. But, what we did see was fantastic.

That’s my blog to today. I don’t want to miss the parade. May God bless you and bring you peace throughout this new year.