February 29th! Happy Leap Day. I know of a lady that gets to have a birthday today. It must be weird to only get an actual birthday once every four years. I think I was told that she’s actually fifty yers old but this would be what —- her twelfth  birthday? Maybe, — I’m not sure. But, — Happy birthday to all Leap Day birthday people.

It is another sunshine filled day but only about 30 degrees again this morning. If the sunshine holds, it is supposed to go up to about 43 or so today again. That will be nice. This is the last day of meteorological winter and it has been an exceptionally mild winter. For the first time in recorded history, we had zero measurable snow for the winter season. But we have certainly had way. More than our share of rain and we are expecting the next three days to be rainy. We don’t need it and the rivers will be going up again by Wednesday. Politicians can deny it all they want to, but global warming is a real thing. What causes it is I reckon up for debate. The planet has been through an ice age and global warming before but there weren’t billions of human beings on the planet then. We humans have certainly ruined the atmosphere that God created  and I guess that speeds up the warming process. I wonder what it would be like to breathe in the air as it was when God created it and prepared it for use by human beings. Our chests would probably explode because it would be so pure that it would be foreign to us.

Tasks for today include filling bird feeders again, picking up sticks in the yard, writing my end of month report for the church councils, and if there is still time, work on my March 22nd sermon. I have one page done and at least three more to write. So, that is the list but we’ll see how much of it alI I get done. Oh, and I think Ms. Kate wants to go to her sister’s house. If we do that, that’s going to blow a couple of hours out of the day. And of course, we got to get our nap in. LOL

Tomorrow will be a good day at the churches. We are doing first Sunday communion and we have an infant baptism at my St. Paul’s church. Those two things make it a special day. I love dong communion and as I have told you before, I really love doing infant baptisms. I just think it is the most special thing when parents bring their children for dedication to God and make promises to God as to how they are going to raise the child.

Speaking of church, I hope you will take time to go to your church and give thanks for your life and blessings. We owe our very existence to God and we often forget to be grateful for that. Take timee today to sit and close your eyes and free your mind. Put yourself in a state of peace through a conversation with the Lord God. Blessings.

Happy Thursday morning. It has been a while since I saw a morning that was this bright and beautiful. But, I think my AccuWeather app is on crack this morning. Yes, it is 34 degrees, but my app says that we will have snow starting in four minutes. There isn’t a cloud on the radar and the sun is shining brightly. So, I don’t know where the snow is going to come from but I reckon we will wait and see what happens in four minutes. I’ll let you know.

I had good visits with some of our elderly parishioners yesterday and I did my visitations and took communion to them.

Okay, four minutes are up, and I don’t see any snow but —- my app now says the snow will end in nine minutes. Yeh, my app is on crack this morning.

Anyway, as i was saying, I had good visits with some of our folks. One of the couples I have visited before and have had good conversations with. The other couple I have known them at the church since I started there the first time back in 2004 but I have never sat and talked with them and really didn’t now much about them. They generally scoot out the door at the end of the service as we shake hands but that was the extent of our conversation. So yesterday, I sat and visited with them for about an hour and asked them all kinds of questions and got to know them a lot better. They are really nice people, which I had figured them to be. He has been a life-long member of the church and she has been coming with hi since before they got married. I try to find out things about especially our older couples  and people because frankly, the odds are good that I will be doing their funeral one of these days and need to know them and what to say about them and their life. I know that sounds a bit morbid, but it is what it is.

Ms. Kate and I had our “anniversary dinner” at  McDonalds last evening on the way to church. It was terrible. We waited forever and they got the order wrong and they didn’t have what Ms. Kate wanted to begin with.  The kid working the window to shove the food out to the customer was griping about the girl in the first window saying she didn’t know what she was doing and then as we drove off, we found out that that he had not only given us our order, but I suspect he gave us the order for the guy that was in the car behind us because us. And, —- right order or wrong order, — cold McDonalds french fries suck!!

Nine minutes are up and I guess the snow that never was has stopped. LOL

We had a good turnout for the Ash Wednesday service last evening despite the cold and snowy weather. I’m thinking that we had close to sixty people there, may a little less. This Sunday we are doing an infant baptism and also communion, at St. Paul’’s and I expect a nice crowd for that. Baptisms bring relatives and relatives fill up the pews. I married this couple several years ago and this will be the third of their children that I have baptized. I feel very honored to be an important part of their lives.

I think I’ll go ask Ms.kate if she wants to get dressed and go find a nice restaurant for lunch or maybe an early dinner this afternoon. We must compensate for that awful dinner experience we had last night. Tomorrow we are meeting Bob and Brenda for Schrooms at lunch time.

Enoght for today. I hope your day is pleasant and joy filled. Peace, my friends.

I’ll make this short today because I got parishioner to visit and take home communion to this morning It’s cold and rainy and we are supposed to have snow showers mixed in with it all. I hope this doesn’t effect out attendance at the As Wednesday service this evening. it, I won’t fuss if folks elect to stay in out of the weather.

But regardless of the weather, —- today is a great day because Ms. kate and i are celebrating our 54th wedding anniversary. Wow! Where did time go? I guess, as people say, “time flies when you’re having fun”. And it has been fun. Our success is measured in three wonderful daughters and five wonderful grandchildren. Our family is full of love and happiness and we each like to share that happiness with all around us. It is a pretty great thing actually. So, —- Happy Anniversary to us!

I went t the churches yesterday and ran my bulletins for next Sunday and made sure everything is ready for the service tonight. Since I’m doing visitations today, I won’t have time to do it today.

The Lenten season starts today. I hope you will take the time to reflect on your life and if you feel your self needing spiritual help, it is easy to come by. Sit by yourself, clear your mind of your issues and problems for a few moments and just ask God for help. Will you “feel it” immediately,? Probably not; but repeat the process frequently and you will begin to see life a bit more clear and you will begin to feel the warmth and power of God’s love flow through you. You will begin to see that same warmth in others as it flows out to you. That would be God opening the door to a community of love. Walk through that door. I pray for your peace of mind and heart.

Hello Monday morning! You’re kinda dreary and weary this morning. There’s nothing but clouds and it looks like it could rain any minute and probably will. That’s the forecast for most of the day and into tomorrow. We have certainly had our share of rain and other people’s share too. I think we’ll end up February a good two inches above the normal for rainfall. But shall I say it again? —- At least it isn’t snow!!!

How was your weekend? Ours was pretty routine with nothing exciting going on. It all runs together when you don’t have an event happening. But either. Friday or Saturday, we did the laundry — wahoo! Saturday I filled the bird feeders or at least some of them. I ought another 80 # of sunflower seed and got that carried out to the shed and put in the cans so while I was at it I went ahead and filled all of the feeders that hold sunflower seed. The squirrels have been busy at them of course. So far this morning it has been squirrels and starlings at the feeders. But now, it is cardinal feeding time and they are starting to flock in. And a lot of the small birds are flying in now too; mainly junkos, finches, and woodpeckers. One lone dove is walking around in the yard and a couple of wrens are hopping right outside the glass door. I’m also starting to see more Goldfinches although they haven’t yet begun to turn color.

We had a fair amount of folks at church services yesterday. It was more what I would call “back to normal attendance”. The “new guy preacher” syndrome has worn off. Although, this week is Ash Wednesday week and there will be a good turnout for that evening service, although we are predicted to have a rain/snow shower mix going on, so I guess we will see what happens. I’m anticipating that there will be around 70 people there for that service.

I’m going to do some visitation this morning at the hospitals. I don’t really know either of the people because neither of them are my parishioners. The one was a member many years ago butt hasn’t attended but maybe once  in the time I have been associated with these church’s and that was for a funeral . But, his family are faithful members and are asking for prayers for him, and who knows, me stopping in to simply say a prayer with him could spark a return. And if it doesn’t, I still will have prayed with and for him. The other lady is one that I stopped in to see a couple of weeks ago. She is Catholic and has clergy care, but again, she is closely related to some of my people and they have asked for prayers for her. So, I will go by and see her too.

While I’m out, I may just go on up to the churches and run my bulletins for next Sunday. I’ll be doin in-home communions on Wednesday as well as the evening service, so I might as well get a start on everything early.

That’s it for today. Have a great Monday and hve a great week. Peace.

Saturday morning, end of the week. And, we have another beautiful sun-shiny  morning. Yeh, it’s 28 degrees but the sun makes it “look warmer” if that is a thing. It is supposed to get up to 50 degrees today and the ground is drying out just enough that I can maybe get out in the yard and clean up some of the sticks and stuff and I also need to go get another 80 pounds of sunflower seeds so I can make my critters all happy. It didn’t take three days for the squirrels to empty the feeders this time They must have really been hungry, or maybe it was the cold that that kept them eating. But, I need to fill alll of the feeders again today.

So last evening I finished up the sermon that I was working on. So that puts me three weeks ahead. I’ll take today off from writing but probably Monday I’ll hit it again. Next week promises to be a busy week so I will need to wedge my writing in when I can. I also have a book that I’m working on, (reading, not writing) and it has a study guide with it that I want to start on. The book is a C S Lewis book called “The Screwtape Letters”. I’ve mentioned it before as I read it. I’ve now read it twice and it is going to make a great book study I think if we can find a good time to do it. I’ve asked a lady T church to read it and consider doing the Book study for us. She has read it and was very excited about doing it. She did another book study for me several years when “The Shack” was a new book and she really made it a great session.

Our granddaughter, Lauren, finally got her wheelchair yesterday although I’m not sure how much good it is going to do her. Heather’s house isn’t as wheelchair accessible as it really needs to be. Getting into places like the bathroom is a problem because the doors aren’t wide enough and the cabinets to wall clearance doesn’t allow for turn around. It is going to be a long three months for her. So far though, she seems to be getting around in the house with her crutches and casts.

Time to get busy on my chores list for today. Don’t forget to go to your house of worship tomorrow and give thanks for the blessings received this week. Share your love with others and it makes your love grow exponentially. Peace.

Hello Friday, you pre-curser to weekend day. There is hardly a cloud in the sky this morning and this is the second day in a row! Wonderful. Now, (and yes, I guess I’m still complaining) if were just warmer than 23 degrees it would be super marvelous. Unfortunately, we aren’t going much above freezing today. I feel for anyone that has to work out doors and I especially feel for any of the folks that are homeless. The “white flag” has been raised at the shelters which means, “Please come in and get out of the cold.”Unfortunately, there are those folks who for one reason or another, just won’t take advantage of programs like that. For some I think it is pride or maybe embarrassment. But we don’t want anyone, especially families with children sleeping out on the street or in their cars in weather like this. We are supposed to have a lot of sunshine again tomorrow and the temperature is supposed to rise to the fifties. I want to get out in the back yard and clean up some of the limbs and crap that is all over my yard. I just don’t want to do it in below freezing weather.

But —- at least we don’t have snow. My daughter in Goldsboro, NC got 3 - 5 inches of snow last night. But, their temperatures are going to bounce right back up to the upper 50s and 60’s tomorrow so their snow crisis will be short-lived. The biggest problem they will have is people driving like idiots and not paying attention to the probability of black ice today and tonight when the temperatures drop and the streets refreeze. The kids all had a snow day today most likely. I just find it funny that. They have had more snow this year than we have. But then, they are welcome to it.

My self-imposed task today is to get downstairs and finish the sermon that I’m working on. It is for March 15th. I have it about three quarters done and once I get started back on it, the problem will be winding it down. I’m only half way through my “thought process” for this one and when that happens, I tend to ramble. So, careful tailoring is in order. I’m working an a sermon series for the first five Sunday’s of Lent. It turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. When I first came up with the idea of doing this “series” the titles seemed to just jump right out to me. Unfortunately, the titles didn’t bring along enough of their little word friends for me to play with. So, I have to go searching and develop the concepts on my own. But, writing these things is really a joy, most of the time. And, when I finish one and re-read it and and it all seems to are sense, it really makes me happy and gives me a sense of accomplishment. My prayer always is that what I’m putting on paper is what God wants me to deliver. And I also pray that what makes sense to me, will make sense to everyone else. It does no good to deliver a sermon that people cannot connect with. I have to admit that I have written sermons that sounded really goood to me at thee time and then in thee middle of delivering them, I stop and think to myself —- “This is really boring!”

So, Got to get to it. Happy weekend!

Thursday, February 20th and it is a cold morning but Praise the Lord, it is aa bright and sunny morning. It is 32 degrees with a 15 mph wind out of the north which is knocking the “real feel” temperature down to 18. That is a significant difference from the 32. I think I’ll just enjoy being in the house for a while.

As you noticed, I didn’t get around to writing yesterday. Yesterday was “office day” up at the churches. I’ve decided that Wednesday will be a ful day at the office, whether it is actually in the office or out on visitation. Of course, if someone goes in the hospital on a different day I’ll be there for that too but I’m reserving my Wednesday as work at the office day. It was a busy day and I got a lot done. I finished setting up things in the St. Lucas office and I also did some work in the St. Paul’s office. I got all of my bulletins run for this coming Sunday and I also ran all of the bulletins for next Wednesday’s Ash Wednesday Service. We don’t do Wednesday services like a lot of churches do except for Ash Wednesday and we do the Ash Wednesday service up at St. Paul’s. Our Maundy Thursday service, which is between Palm Sunday and Easter, we do at St. Lucas. It all works out even that way. I have a pretty good routine down now for getting my bulletins etc done. It just took me a couple of weeks to get back in that routine.

I had trouble with the computer set up at the new office. Everything worked fine except that the computer won’t let me connect to the internet. We don’t actually have wifi going to the church and have to rely on a hotspot. That hotspot works well with my IPad and my Surface Pro laptop but for some reason it won’t connect to the PC. The PC reads that it is there and I put in the password for the device, but then I get a message saying that I can’t connect. It is frustrating. But, we have a couple of good technical guys at the church and they will look at it on Sunday. Most likely, it is operator error. When I have a computer problem, that is generally the case. My computer knowledge is very rudimentary. Me trying to read the technical specs and instructions is like a non-musician trying to read sheet music. As I tell Ms. Kate, —- if it can’t be solved with a “re-boot”, I’m basically lost. Fortunately, most things can be solved with a ‘re-boot”.

I did a parishioner visit with Bob yesterday. Now some folks would say, “no, you just went to see your buddy”. But, Bob is one of my parishioners and he lost his lovely Ms. Georgia Ann three or four years ago, and he lost his best buddy a year ago and he is a lonely guy. So, I called him and asked him if he wanted to go to Dairy Queen for lunch and he readily accepted. We had a good visit and it got him out of the house. I think Bob is 88 years old now. We became friends the first time I met him and that has been sixteen years now. I never had an older brother, but Bob would have been a good one.

Oh, I saw a Bald Eagle yesterday flying over the church. It was a magnificent sight with the sun glistening off of that white he’d and tail feather. It made me almost want to stop the car and get out and salute. Well, maybe not all of that, but it was exciting to see. I knew there were eagles up in that area but I don’t see them very often.

Enough for today. It is time for me to get out of my chair and accomplish something. I pray you will have a blessed day;and if you do, —- stoop and give thanks to God for it. Peace.

Well, well, well, —- Tuesday the 18th of February. It is 42 degrees, has been raining (kind of) for awhile, there is a breeze that is strong enough to keep the Corinthian Bell chimes ringing and swaying, which means that if I went outside it would feel damp and cold. If it were bright and sun-shiny and 42 degrees I would be very comfortable and probably be in a short sleeved shirt. That’s the difference that adding sun shine to your life can make. It’s very much like my faith. No matter what the circumstance, adding the love of Christ to my life just brightens up my day because I know there is never a moment that I am not loved.

I filled several, (not all) of the feeders yesterday. But there are three feeders now full of sunflower seeds so the squirrels can get off of my butt and quit staring at me with those hateful looks. I filled several of the bark-butter paste feeders so the woodpeckers are really happy and I have plenty of the bark-butter pellets in the feeders, and bought a new one,  and I also put out four peanut butter suet cakes. The squirrels had eaten the last of the seed cylinder cakes even though they had to hang upside down and hang on with one toe to do it. So, I went to Wild Birds yesterday and re-stocked the larder. This time though I bought hot pepper seed cakes. I waiting to see the squirrels work real hard to get on that feeder only to find out the seed is going to burn its tongue and lips. Three of my taller feeders are totally empty but the yard is too wet to use my ladder to get up to them so they will just have to wait a bit.

What to do today is the question. I’ve started on my March 15th sermon and have finished the worship services to go along with it. I could go downstairs and work on that sermon today or I could go up to the church and put my computer together and finish setting up my pastor’s study at St. Lucas. Tomorrow I plan to spend the day at the offices. I need to run the bulletins for Sunday and for Ash Wednesday service which is a week from tomorrow. I haven’t really gotten into a “routine” yet with this new job and I’m not sure why I feel that way. I’m getting everything done, but I feel like I’m leaving something out too. At Zoar, I had two established “office days” and they were expected by the congregation. In this job, I really have no expectations from he congregation that I have set office days. They just know that if they need me, I’m there for them.  So, it is an adjustment on my part to make.

I guess that is allI have for you today. The rain has quit and now the temperature is going to drop. The squirrels are running and chasing one another all of the years and across the house and through the trees. I guess they have to work off allof that food they are eating somehow. Have a pleasant day. God loves you, and so do I. Peace.

Good morning and a happy new week? How was your weekend? Did you get some rest? Did you make it to your house of worship? ——  It’s President’s Day, a day in which we celebrate the birthday of George Washington, (the “Father of our Country”) and Abraham Lincoln, (the great emancipator). I wonder if they even teach this stuff in our schools these days or if the liberal educators have decided to eliminate that part of our history too. I call it a “sales-holiday” because that is about all it is used for. The Federal offices are closed, so no mail today, and some of the schools are closed and others aren’t. Lots of stores though will be having President’s Day sales although strangely enough the only real sales ads I have heard have been from car dealers. We are a weird society sometimes.

Today however, is a marked day on my calendar. It was one year ago today that I took my tumble down my basement steps, starting a year of surgeries and recoveries and therapy sessions. I think I shall not try to re-enact the event. Sitting here comfortably in the sunporch this morning with no pain or visible effects from all of that is just a miracle. As I have said a thousand times, yes, having to put my simple brace on my leg everyday when I’m ready to leave the house or navigate the basement stairs is an inconvenience; however, I could have been killed, I could have been paralyzed or any number of other options. I owe my condition today to God. I’m healed, I’m healthy, I can get around the house without a brace, and I’m able to work and serve the God who made this recovery possible by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I don’t need proof of the goodness and grace of God; I am living proof. What more could anyone ask for?

We had good attendance at both churches yesterday. I had made my number of bulletins for yesterday based upon the number of attendees last week. Well, we ran out of bulletins at both churches. That’s a wonderful problem to have. I know that it won’t continue to be that way simply because it never does, but, —- folks are coming back to the church as they feel comfortable to do so and I can’t ask for better than that. We are a week out from Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season. Seven weeks after that we’ll be at Easter.

The council members finished getting the furniture put together for my office at St. Lucas and it really looks nice in there now. It’s functional and it looks professional. It no longer looks like the pastor has been stuck in the copy room. Yes, the copier is still in there but it is no longer the nicest piece of equipment or furniture in the room. I do need to go up and put my computer together and see how it works up there.

Did I tell you about my Moto-cross riding granddaughter? She had an accident out on the track either Friday or Saturday and broke her left foot with what is called a Talmus Fracture and she sprained the right ankle. We suspect her racing season is over for sure. I would ask that you lift her up in your prayers.

That’s it for today. I’ve been a regular “Chatty Kathy” this morning haven’t I? Have a wonderful week. Be kind to one another and share your blessings. Peace.

I can hardly believe it —- the sun is shining! Yes, it is 29 degrees, —- but the sun is shining. That just makes my day bright and happy. I need to put some warm clothes on today and see what walking in the yard will be like so I can fill bird feeders. If it is sloppy, they will just have to wait another day or two. We allegedly have mostly dry weather for the next few days.

My daffodils are all up about five inches or so. I’m looking forward to the blooming. It will be spring tim before too much longer. According to the calendar we still have about five weeks until it is officially spring; that should be on March 20th if my thinking is right.

The family has all been on Facebook Messenger this morning as we talk and plan for our June family reunion. This year we are going to Branson, Missouri for a week. I have rented a very nice home with lots of room. There will hopefully be twenty one of us. But, with with grandkids that think it is perfectly alright to grow up and have their own lives, —- ya’ just never know what the count will be. It was sure a lot easier when we could say; “Get in the car”. LOL My kids used to call that “forced family fun”.

Well, my IPad just told me that I have less than 10% of my battery left so I guess I’ll just close out for the day. I hope you have a very blessed weekend. Don’t neglect the opportunity to thank the One responsible for those blessings. Peace.

A blessed Valentine’s Day to you on this bitterly cold morning. My app says eleven degrees this morning and only going up to about 25 or so. It’s not fit for man nor beast out there.

So what are your special Valentine’s Day memories? Remember back when we were in grade school and we would buy. (Or our mom’s would buy) those packs of little cards to pass out in school? And of course you were eager to see if you got one from that “special person”, and disappointed if you didn’t. I’m told, but don’t know for sure, that kids aren’t allowed to pass those little Valentine’s Day cards out anymore. That way no one get less cards than someone else and nobody gets their feelings hurt and everybody is treated equal and blah, blah, blah!!!Just more of the socialist revolution and participation trophy world.

I’m waiting on a knock on the door and delivery of some flowers for Ms. Kate. I ordered live plants, tulips and hyacinths in a pot so she or I can plant them in the yard if spring ever goes here and it quits raining long enough. A couple of weeks ago, I was out and I picked up some flowers for her, star gazer lilies and a mixed bouquet. The house smelled like a funeral parlor because the next day we received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Zoar Church as a going away gift and it was full of star-gazers too. I love the smell but if I’m in the room with them very long my throat closes up and burns. So, I was glad when they were finally through. When we do Easter Lilies at church we cut the Stevens outOf the center of the lily. That not only cuts down on the smell, it also eliminates the chance of getting the yellow pollen all over your clothes. The mixed bouquet that is on the kitchen table will get thrown out today because it is finally past looking nice.

I guess we are going to head to Target this morning and do a little shopping and then head up to the church to make sure I’m all set for Sunday’s services. I have some more books that I am taking to the offices to put on the bookcases, and I want to see if they have the handrail put up yet for me. They say the contractor that they have hired to do the job is really good but this is a small job that he is having to squeeze in along his big jobs. So, ya’ get when ya’ get it.

Having said all of that, I guess I better get myself dressed and ready. I hope you can stay warm wherever you are. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day. Peace.

How did it get to be Wednesday so quickly? Where have I been and what can I remember to account for my time. Well, only one word describes it —- busy. Taking on this new job and going back to the two churches is very time consuming, at last at first it is. I laugh at the contract that I have with the churches and I was hired “part-time” which is for 20 hours a week. If I stuck to that, I’d work two days a week to get everything done. But, I knew and they knew that part-time was just “words”. Like I said, things will slow down before too long. But, I spend far more than 20 hours a week just on working on my sermons.

I’ve done visitations two days this week. I went to see a lovely couple yesterday that I had not seen since before I left there over three years ago. They are both in an assisted living complex now. They have rooms right across the hall from each other and he spends almost all of his time sitting in her room with her. They have been married 67 or 68 years now. It is a living picture of love.

A couple of the guys did get one bookcase and the wardrobe put together in my St. Lucas office. I’ve started taking some of my reference books up there with me. Yesterday I took the first eleven volumes of the Interpreter’s Bible up and put on the bookcase. There are sixteen volumes and they are heavy. They look like the row of “lawyer’s law books” that they have in their offices. I bought my used set fifteen years ago off of Amazon and they are an old set. I think I paid like $125.00 for my set. New sets are like a grand and that is for the download set from the computer. But, I have used my set many time over the years. I was told in one of my seminary classes that every pastor should have a set of these and also a “Strong’s Concordance “. So, I have both. I don’t know that I have used my concordance very often. I also have a good Bible dictionary. When I eventually leave the parish, I’ll leave the books to the church.

Of course, we are having rain again today. What’s new? It is supposed to set in and last most of the day and night and bring about another inch. 2019 was the wettest year on record for us and I think that 2020 is trying to challenge that. We are looking at rain for five out of the next seven days. That is why I did my visitation and administration stuff at the chuch yesterday. I wanted to beat the rain and cruddy weather. It is about forty this morning. Tomorrow we are supposed to start off at around 30 and then drop temperatures for the rest of the day and set down to twelve degree. But, (thank you Lord) it still isn’t snowing.

The bird feeders are empty again and I’m running out of feed again. The sunflower seed can is almost empty and I’m out of several other things. But, the yard is too wet to be tromping around out there anyway  so, everybody has to go back to being wild animals and critters until I can get out there.

That is it my friends. I apologize for not getting to you sooner, but while my life is busy, it isn’t all that exciting anyway. Have a blessed day.

“Baby, it’s cold outside”; so the song says. And, it looks cold too. There is a very light dusting of snow and it is currently snowing but the flakes are so small that they are almost indistinguishable. Needless to say, our snow won’t amount to much. There have been some reports of slick roads though. I’m glad we don’t have to go anywhere today. We had talked about taking Ms. Kate to get her   Pro-time blood work done, but I think we’ll just wait and see what the weather does. It will warm up this afternoon maybe and then we will go. It is a quick outing if we don’t go anywhere else.

Well, I went to the churches yesterday and did some work in the office. The furniture delivery finally got there. The guys can get it put together now and I can quit futzing about that. While I was there, I got a text that one of our ladies had been taken to the Gateway Hospital the night before via ambulance. Turns out she had several ulcers and at least one of them was bleeding. They gave her some blood and they cauterized the ones that were bleeding. She should get to go home today. She and hr husband are a few years older than me and he isn’t doing all that well either. I have concerns about their health and condition. Both are really nice folks and leaders in the church. I would guess that at least a third of my St. Lucas congregation is older than me and at St. Paul’s I think only one might be older than me. But, I potentially could be doing several funerals in the next four or five years because most of my aging population are not in that great of health. But then, who knows if I’ll live that long either.

I don’t want to get morbid with you but do you ever think about your death? I am a Christian and therefore I believe there is certainly eternal life of a different kind after out physical bodies have quit and we “die”. And I try to live a life that will guarantee that eternal life will guarantee I’ll be in the presence of God. But, — what I sometimes wonder about isn’t the eternal life and all of that. I think about the actual experience of death. When we do something here as live people, we can look at it afterwards and tell ourselves that it was a good experience or a bad experience. But can we do that when we pass away? Do we, in our new form of reality have the ability to look back and think, “well, that wasn’t so bad.”  Do we watch how people react to our death? Do we attend our own funeral and wonder why more people didn’t show up? Our Bible tells us that God created us in His image and I believe that. However, I believe that the true image of God is spirit and light and love and when we “return to God” our souls will be of spirit and light and love and we will be reconnected with all of our loved ones because we will recognize and be reunited with  their spirit and light and love.  That, for what it is worth, is my picture of what we call heaven.

So, that went deep really quick,  didn’t it? And with that, I’ll sign off for the day. Stay in contact with God; —- you’re part of my light and love.

Wednesday morning and it is another cloudy day with little hope of seeing any sunshine. It isn’t raining, at least not at the moment; but we expect it to rain on and off all day. I spent a good deal of time at Hahn Air Base in Germany a few decades ago and our winter this year reminds me of being there. Wow, sitting here thinking of that reminds me that it was thirty five years ago. That is amazing! Where in the world did the time go? It sure doesn’t seem like it has been 35 years. I don’t know if Hahn Air Base even exists anymore. So many of the bases that I was stationed at are gone. But then, it has been 19 years since I retired from the Air Force. Just WOW !!

Did you watch the President’s State of the Union address last night? I channel surfed it. I’d watch a few minutes and turn on to something else, then go back to it and leave it. I did get to see the Speaker of the House rip up her copy of the speech when he was done. I also saw that he blew off her offer of a handshake when he first got there. Neither action was becoming of the office they each hold. And both actions were drama for effect. But, what I heard with my “Republican ears” was a very good speech. Of course people listening with their “Democratic ears or their Socialist ears” probably heard something totally different than I did. But that is politics, isn’t it? Somehow, we have to mend the divide and start thinking as Americans first and then consider a political party. Ms. Kate and I each vote for the candidate that states views that are in line with what we believe to be good for the country. And we’ve been fooled by the rhetoric. But, we won’t vote for a candidate just because he or she is of a certain party.

We went to Sam’s Club yesterday and bought a table for my office at St. Lucas. Then we took that up to the church and we cleaned out a storage cabinet and moved it to a different spot in the office. Now I have to put all of that stuff back in the cabinet. Tomorrow morning the other three pieces of furniture arrives. It is slowly coming together.  It will look very nice and professional when we are done and will be something to be proud of. When I leave there in a few years, we will just leave it all for the church as our donation.

I have lots of cardinals, chickadees, a mockingbird, some woodpeckers, and a bluebird this morning. What a glorious bunch of Backyard Buffet visitors. But, I need to get busy so they will just have to get along without me watching. I have some writing to finish up today and that sermon will not write itself. So, with that, I’ll say have a great day. God loves you; —- share that with someone today.

A blessed Tuesday morning to you. It is raining, (again) but it is also fifty six degrees. So, there is no danger of this rain turning into something that I have to shovel or worse yet, slip and slide and fall in. My Accu-weather App says it is going to be raining for the next couple of hours and I’ll be surprised if it stops then. So, — I think that sitting here watching my guests at the Backyard Buffet and listening to the ran on the roof sounds like a solid plan for the morning. Of course there is always the damages of the “drowsies” and the “dozies” sneaking up on a fella under conditions like this.

Ms, Kate and I sat at the church all day yesterday waiting on a furniture delivery and it never happened. Well, not the one I was expecting anyway. I was supposed to receive three pieces yesterday, a desk and two bookcases. What I did receive was the wardrobe that I was expecting to arrive on Thursday. So, I talked to the freight company this morning and now the other three pieces will arrive on Thursday morning between 0800 & 1200. However, being there yesterday gave me the opportunity to get all of my bulletins run and put where they belong and it gave me a chance to do some writing and I got a good start on my March 8th sermon. So, the day wasn’t wasted, just long. Ms. Kate took along a bunch of her card making stuff and made some nice “Thank you” cards.

Yesterday evening I had to go meet with our local United Church of Christ association for my renewal of my license to serve the two churches as their pastor. I call it the “Inquisition” because that is exactly what it feels like. I don’t know what answers they were looking for; but I know I didn’t give them the “high theological” answers they were looking for. Some how it seems like “feeling called by God to preach the Word and the Bible, loving my congregations and loving the joy of being a pastor” just isn’t enough of an answer for them. They will re-license me, of that I have no doubt. But I do get tired of the attitude that they are merely tolerating me, but I’m certainly not really worthy to be playing on their ball field. I hate the fact that I come away “angry” every time I leave that board, when I should be joyous. But —- that’s my problem and I’ll be over it by the time I sit down and start working on my sermon again. But thanks for letting me vent.

I think I have to go to Sam’s Club and see if they have a table for my office. I need a six foot one instead of this massively heavy eight footer. So with that, I’ll sign off for today. Yes it’s still raining but let’s go look for sunshine through the clouds. Peace.

Yep, it has been a few days but we have been busy doing some moving of stuff to the churches and cleaning out some of the old stuff etc. So today was the “big day”, my first day back in the pulpits at the Ft. Branch churches. It was as if I had never left with the exception of all of the hugs Ms. Kate and I received. I felt like it was a “family reunion” with cousins that we hadn’t seen in three years. Lots of love to share all the way around. After the services today we went to our favorite restaurant again and that too was like “coming home” with the warm welcome we received.

I just filled my feeders for the first time in days and the guests were in the branches and trees talking about it as I filled them. It is 1700 hrs right now and the guests have been coming in hot and heavy since 1630. That is their usual feeding time so I was trying to time it correctly and it worked well. And I wanted the birds to get a good chance at them before the darned squirrels found  out about it. I guarantee you that when I get up in the morning, the squirrels will already be on those feeders.

I’ll need to be up early tomorrow to get to the churches. My first furniture shipment is supposed to arrive tomorrow but I don’t know what time. I’m waiting on a phone call or a text to tell me when the stuff will arrive. But, I have some writing to do and I can maybe run some bulletins for next weekend. There is always something to do.

Tonight is the Super Bowl but I doubt that we will watch it because frankly we couldn’t care less who wins. I know that sounds “unAmerican” but sports are just not our things. I’ll probably go downstairs and pull up Star Trek Discovery on the CBS All Access channel.

That’s it. I hope you have a glorious week. We have a couple of nice weather days in the forecast and then back to rain and winter. Today is Groundhog Day and the rodent didn’t see his shadow so that allegedly says an early spring.  Peace