Rain rain, go away. Send the pelicans out to play. Actually, we’ve been watching g the pelican most of the morning as they swoop and dive and grab their breakfast from the Gulf shore line. They usually travel in groups of four it seems and look like a flight of airplanes coming in. It is 62 degrees outside and we have had rain on and off still since we got here. It is like small bands of rain comes through and then the sun pops out for awhile. No complaints here through. According to all the folks back home, they are waiting on the snow to start falling and the temperatures are hovering around the freezing-mark.

We went across the street to the other resort property, Island View yesterday. We played their machines for awhile, neither lost nor gained much. I know you can lose a lot of money playing penny machines but not this kid. I just wager the bare minimum most of the time which is why any payouts are the minimum. I know some folks would rail against me for “gambling” but for no more than I win or lose, I call it the cost of entertainment. I’ve always said that these casino corporations don’t build multimillion and billion dollar hotels by letting the customer win all the time. And in all the years I have played these machines I’m probably basically even. 

The big difference between the Island View and the Bach View is that our hotel and casino is 100% smoke free. Yesterday when we walked into the Island View the smell of cigarette smoke hit me immediately. I have gotten so very used to not being around smokers and it really hits me when I am. I can’t believe that I used to put my kids through that and was belligerent when they would complain. I’m sorry kids!!!! I should have quit much sooner. Thank goodness I did quit when I did. Having developed adult asthma, I can’t imagine what my lungs would look like today if I had not quit. I might not even be alive. God takes care of children and fools.

I think we need to get ready and go drive up and down Beach Blvd. Or, we need to go get something to eat. I have had three beignets this morning but they were cold and left overs from my order yesterday. They were still good, but they are much better hot. 

That’s it then for today. Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 Good Morning! I think the song says, “Sittin’ on the dock in the bay—-”, but actually I’m sitting on the tenth floor in my hotel room looking at the Gulf of Mexico. Ms. Kate an I are in Gulfport, MS and are currently staying at the Island View/Beach View Resort complex. Thursday morning we will move to the Beau Rivage Resort about five or six miles east of here for three maybe four days. Then back to reality and work. But it is an absolute blessing to get away on our vacation and away from the house. We haven’t gone anywhere or done anything since we went to North Carolina with Lisa’s family. So here we are, enjoying just doing nothing. It is currently 67 degrees outside and the sun is shining, at least for now, It may rain a little today but the beach is pretty in rain too and it won’t affect the book I’m reading. 

We took off for here Sunday after church. It rained on us the rest of the day but we made it as far as Athens, Alabama. Yesterday we got up and it was still raining, and it rained on and off for the rest of the trip. Just as a point of interest, I don’t think I have ever driven through Huntsville or Birmingham Alabama that it wasn’t pouring rain. And I-65 is of course crowded with Semi’s and they throw all of the rain spray up making it almost impossible to see. Hopefully on the way home we will have dry weather, and hopefully we won’t return home to snow and ice. 

I think we may drive over to Bay St. Louis for one of our meals today. We have a favorite restaurant over there and I hope it is still open and hasn’t had to close for COVID or something like that. It sits right at the docks and the food is really good. 

Enough to “chatty-Kathy” for now. I have a Stephen King book calling my name and a cup of excellent coffee waiting. Have a blessed day. 

 Good morning on this cold January morning. Thirty-two degrees out this morning but lots of (temporary) sunshine to start the day. I think low forties is about all we are going to achieve today and then tonight it is supposed to go down to eighteen. ‘Tis what it is. 

Thankfully, God gave us a much brighter day yesterday  for me to conduct the graveside service for my parishioner. It was fifty-three when we pulled up to the church and for once the wind wasn’t blowing us across the prairie. It made it a much brighter and more cheery day. The funeral was well attended, or as well as it could be with the COVID restrictions. The director of the funeral home told me tat in the past yer he has done fifty COVID related funeral services. Man, we have got to get this thing under control and get people vaccinated. 

Speaking of vaccinated. Ms. Kate and I got our first shot and we go back for the follow-up on February 10th. The shot didn’t bother me at all with the exception of a sore arm muscle for a few hours. But —- as I expected, it took Ms. Kate down for a couple of days. She wasn’t “sick” but she was weak and “not feeling good for two days. She is better now. They say the second shot hits a person harder than the first so I’m not looking forward to her getting that one. 

I’m two days late getting the bulletins run but I’m going up this morning and do that. I’ve been waiting for the council to decide who is going to fill the pulpit on the 31st and then for that person to get their scripture and sermon tootle to me go I can finish creating the bulletins for that Sunday. I finally got what I need last night and finished putting it together. So, this morning I’ll go up and run two Sunday’s worth of bulletins. It won’t take that long.

After bulletins, we need to go to the grocery store and pick up some stuff. We need to “snack stuff” for while we are on vacation. I want to get some fresh veggies like carrots, and celery and maybe some more little tomatoes as well as “junk food” like chips and stuff. I think our hotel rooms will also have Kuerig coffee makers in them so I need to pick up a box of the K-Cup pods. One can’t sit and watch the waves roll in without a cup of coffee and a book. I already have the book. LOL  I have a Stephen King that I have barely started and I’ll finish that next week. It has been sitting beside my recliner for a year untouched. 

So, now it is time to get off of my duff and get something done. I pray you have a wonderful weekend. Stay in touch with God. Peace. 

 There isn’t a cloud in the sky; all I see is infinite blue and sunshine, and that makes me happy, although the thermometer says 31. Brrrrr. 

Today is Inauguration Day for President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. President Trump has already landed in Florida to return to civilian status. Personally I want to thank him for all he tried to do for this nation. The Democrats fought him every step of the way because he was not one of them and could not be corrupted. He promised to “drain the swamp” but the alligators ate his ass. Did I like him as a person? I never met him but he did some things that I would not have done. I do believe that his motives were honorable and he was true to his mantra; “Make American Great Again.” I believe he is  a man with a “frontier American” spirit, and I believe that too much of our society no longer has an appreciation for that kind of thinking. I pray for him and his family who have suffered so much hatred for the past four years and yet have stood their ground and continued to work for the people. 

Now we have a new president; a man who is a professional politician. He has been in government for 47 years with zero record of accomplishment except to become a multimillionaire on a government salary. His Vice President was picked because she is bi-racial and a female. Her only claim to fame is that she became Attorney General of California through a sex scandal and then was elected a senator. 

But, they are now the President and Vice President of this nation. I will not protest the nor riot against them. I will shudder and grimace at many of their changes they say they are going to make because I personally believe they are immoral people. So far President Biden has announced a number of his cabinet picks and agency heads and it would appear that he has a list “kinds” of people that he wants to put into positions and is staying far away from anybody that is a “white, Christian male, with old American values.” President Ronald Reagan and John Wayne thinking has no place in the new administration. It is , of course, all in the name of “including all Americans”. Even his dog is a rescue because he is so against oppression. (BTW, I love rescue dogs.) 

But as I said, they are the new administration that has been placed into office to led this country. I will not hate them; I will pray for them. I will pray that this country can come together and unite once again and get one with leading the world. I pray that God will calm the anger that is a dark cloud hanging over the country. I pray that neighbors will one another as neighbors to rely on and not people to avoid because of skin colors or politics. I pray for peace in the world and I pray that we can lift one another up rather than constantly looking for ways to tear one another down. 

And I pray for you. Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 A pot of warm coffee, cardinals at the feeders, sunshine and blue skies over head. What a great way to start the morning. I’m almost glad that Medicare was concerned about my coverage and called me at 0700 to check on it. A parishioner and friend sent me a great prayer and devotional this morning and now I have Alan Jackson’s “Precious Memories” album playing on the Bose as I sit here enjoying the morning. It’s pretty darn peaceful. 

I’m tempted to get on the bike to nowhere and do a ride. I did 7.5 miles yesterday but it was a struggle ti get it in. I had seven phone calls in the middle of my ride. Then, when I was done with my ride, ——- not another call all day. It was a bit frustrating, but they were all calls “about work” so it’s all good. I probably call people and interrupt their thought processes and activity too. It would not have bothered me if I hadn’t had to stop and get off of the bike each time. 

Wow!, I’m looking at my “porch plants” and a couple of them are in need of water. I didn’t bring as many in this year. I have my orange tree, the Biltmore Ballgown tree, two pots of geraniums, and a purple shamrock that I brought in. Then we have a rather large “Peace Plant” and a Pony-tail Palm tree in here that stays in here year around. We really need to trim that Pony-tail Palm back. I think we gave that palm to my mother-in-law thirty years ago. It is a totally forgiving thing. We forget to water it once in a while and it dries back but always come back out when we water it. It probably the most maintenance free plant we have. Although most of these plants are maintenance free. We’ve had these two pots of geraniums for a decade, and they constantly bloom. 

Today the folks come to give me an estimate for changing out my fireplace and then this evening we go get our first COVID Vaccine. I’ll be glad to have that done. Tomorrow I go to run my bulletins  and then Thursday I have the funeral. The forecast for Thursday is for sunshine and fifty degrees which will be wonderful for the funeral graveside service. Sunshine eases the mind and soul. 

Tomorrow is the Presidential Inauguration and they are expecting all kinds of civil unrest. I pray that does not come about. We don’t need it and and it accomplishes nothing except more hate.  

Tie to go toast bagel and pour another cup of coffee. Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 Good morning and happy Brrrrrrr-Monday. It’s 34 degrees and there is a dusting of snow out there on the ground. The sky is overcast and that most likely means that even what little snow we do have, will not melt quickly today. But, I’m not going to be out in it anyway so who cares. 

How was your weekend? Our was the usual. Although, — I guess it wasn’t really “usual”. I did lose my parishioner on Friday evening. Bless his heart, I had been up to his house just a couple of hours prior and did an “end of life” worship and prayer with him. I got home and his wife called me about two hours later and said that he had passed. It was time. I’m glad God has relieved him of his suffering and I’m glad for his wife that she can now exhale and relax somewhat. We will do the funeral on Thursday afternoon. The COVID restrictions are still in effect so I don’t know what really to expect. The funeral home can only have 25 people at a time in it and visitation is what they are calling “walk-through”, which means, go by the casket and pay respects to the family and exit. That’s hard on everybody. People want to stand and talk and express their feelings and they really can’t. But the times are what they are. I’ll do the service at the funeral home and then do a graveside service too. I think more people can be at the graveside if they want because it is out side and people are safer as long as they wear their masks and social distance. (I’ll so glad when this pandemic is beaten.)

Our service went well yesterday and the broadcast/taping went off without a hitch. Jacob is going to “pull the trigger”on the purchase of the new camera this week. I’ll be really glad when it is in. My vision of it all is that he can just sit and do everything from his laptop as far as zoom, pan, tilt. I may be over simplifying it all because in reality, I only know what I want to be able to do. I’m sometimes guilty of “we’re going to” when I don’t understand “what we can do.” 

Tomorrow evening Ms. Kate and I go to get our first COVID shot. I’m hoping we have no reactions to it. We get the flu shot every year and it never bothers us, so maybe this will be the same. I’m glad we can get ours. I hear and see so many stories on the news about people standing line hours long lines only to be turned away. I also hear other people say that they went, it took no time, and they had no after affect. So, who knows what to expect. I know we have appointment times and just hope that it all works out well. 

I think that is it for today. Welcome to a new week of opportunities to do something good for some body. I would ask you to smile at strangers but I’d rather they didn’t see your smile because of your mask. So, just say “hey” to a stranger. You might just be the best thing that has happened tp them today. Peace. 

 Good morning on this cool a little breezy, Friday morning. We have a mixed bag of weather coming in today. When I got up the sun was bright and it looked really nice outside. Now the sky is pretty much overcast and later today we are supposed to maybe be getting some snow or snow showers or who knows, maybe just some rain. Ya’ gotta love southern Indiana weather. 

There isn’t much on my plate today that I know of. Of course, I could always find something to do work-wise. But yesterday I finished up my sermon and service for the 24th, put together the service for the 31st and also the service for February 7th. Today I need to review the funeral service tat I have prepared for my parishioner. Bless his heart, he is still hanging in there but only barely. I talked to his wife yesterday and he is now moved into his hospice hospital bed and barely acknowledges her, although when she gives him water or some applesauce, he might tell her how good it tasted to him. She is absolutely worn out. She hardly sleeps because she is awakened every time he moves. It is so sad when people reach this stage of the dying process. The family gets worn out and is so ready for the person to go ahead and breathe their last and then they feel horribly guilty because they feel that way. So generally, people just sit around and wait for the patient to breathe their last. I have been to so many hospital and nursing home rooms where people were crowded in. Their intentions and love is so noble and yet they look like vultures waiting for carrion. I know, that sounds like a terrible description but it is factual. And so often, the dying person seems to be just waiting on everybody to leave the room so they can pass in solitude and peace. Ms. Kate and I sat all night with my dad and he assed about ten minutes after we left his hospital room. Dying is a very interesting phenomenon. —— Wow! That went morbid quickly didn’t it?? Anyway, I need to review and maybe tailor that service. I’ve asked both my parishioner and his wife if there is anything in particular that they want read  and all they have said is, “no, just whatever is appropriate.” That throws the door wide open but answers nothing. 

Ms. Kate and I are planing a vacation for a week down in Biloxi, MS at the end of the month. We have two different resorts that we like down there. We won’t do much except sit in our hotel room, read, do our computer games, stare at the Gulf of Mexico and go to some favorite restaurants, assuming they are still there. Between the closures for the pandemic and two hurricanes hitting the area last fall, we don’t really know what is open and what isn’t. But —- we lost three weeks of vacation last year JD we don’t want to lose it again this year. The only thing that could change our plans is if my parishioner is still hanging on to life. That really makes a difference. If we have to delay because of the funeral we can cancel plans up until 24 hours before check-in. We’ll have to see what God has in store for the next couple of weeks. Wish us luck. 

Well folks, it is Friday so I hope you have a good weekend. I hope you can take a couple of days and just relax. Make sure you take the time to stop and give praise to God above for getting you through yet another week. Be kind to your fellow persons and share God’s love. Peace.

 The sound of the clanging and banging and motor running our on the street told me the garbage dudes are here and that means it is Thursday morning. And sure enough, when I looked out to the street, the can was empty and waiting for me to bring it back up to the house. The good news is that it is a bright and sun day to go out there to get it. It’s currently 39 but it is going up to 52 today which is “wahooo” weather. LOL

I haven’t got a lot of stuff this morning to talk about. Well, the US House of Representatives did impeach president Trump —— again. But that’s not even news anymore. The Democrat party’s hate for our president has no limit. He has six days until the inauguration of the new president and they intend to make every day as miserable for him as they have for the last four years. What a shame and how embarrassing for this country. But that is what happens when the people elect a guy that is not a career politician, is not interested in “playing the political corruption game” and calls them all out for what they are. His mantra was that he was going to “drain the swamp’. Unfortunately, the alligators have been biting at his ass every single day and have finally driven him out of the swamp. I look at all of the new appointee’s that the President Elect is appointing and it is the same tired old corrupt people that have been there for years and done nothing except make themselves very rich. 

Ms. Kate and I are now scheduled for our COVID 19 vaccine shots. We called yesterday and got on the schedule for next Tuesday evening. This is shot #1. We’ll have to go for our follow-up shot probably three or four weeks later. I’m glad to be getting it. Just yesterday the state of Indiana opened up the eligibility for those of us that are 70 and over. There seems to be a nation-wide problem of distributing the vaccine. And now that it is available, people are hesitant to take it. Well, we’ve had COVID and don’t want it again. We’ll take the darn shots. 

I had a good ride on the recumbent bike yesterday; I did 8.3 miles. I wasn’t overly smart about doing it though. I did my ride with my house slippers on and they don’t have  hard sole. So, it was almost like riding in just my socks. Today the bottom of my feet are a bit sore. I’ve learned to not do that again and will put on shoes with a hard sole on them when I ride. But, what the heck. Onen is never to old to learn or to make silly mistakes. 

That’s it for today. Time for me to change keyboards and start working at my desk and get my sermon written. You go have yourself a blessed day and enjoy the sunshine. Peace. 

 Well, yesterday’s question was answered this morning. It is 29 degrees again this morning but the sun is shining brightly. I went and and cleaned the nasty birdbath and with the sun shining on me, it didn’t feel nearly as cold as it did yesterday. Yes, it is a beautiful morning and let’s start the day with thanks to the Lord God for it. 

I woosed out on my bike ride yesterday and only did six miles. I try to ride seven or even eight miles at a time, and want to keep doing that three days a week. But I just got tired and said “that’s enough for today”. I may ride today for awhile just to even it all out. 

Today is going to be a shopping day, unfortunately. I don’t know how big my grocery list is because Ms. Kate hasn’t given it to me yet. I do 99% of the grocery shopping now-a-days. Frankly, I’d much rather do it myself than go with her. I’m a “list guy”. Give me the list, I go get it and come back out. Ms. Kate is a “think about it shopper” and that is probably good if you are thinking and doing meal planning, but I don’t ever plan meals. My biggest planning is if I see something in the freezer that I think might be good and get it out a day ahead of time. I know we are going to go to Fresh Market because as I have told you before, Tuesday is “ground chuck” day there. Ms. Kate goes in there to get that. Then I guess we’ll go to the Walmart Neighborhood Market which is where I do most of my grocery shopping.  Their prices are pretty good  and they aren’t like a full box store Walmart. Groceries are about all they have. I pretty much know where everything is in there. I don’t think Ms. Kate has been in there more than twice. My “other store” is Schnucks. They are a mid-west grocery chain. Their prices are a little higher but they have fresh made fruit turnovers and donuts and I always stop by the bakery and get a few. Of course, Sam’s Club has turnovers too and sometimes I’ll go in there to pick up a box. During cherry season and peach season, there is a farm market not far from us that has fresh made turnovers and once in a while, I’ll swing by for a couple. 

I know you have been keeping up on what is happening nationally with our politics. It is some scary stuff. You know, part of the problem is that “we the people” really have no idea what is actually going on. This country has heard so much rhetoric and lies, and half truths that folks like me and you are left forming our opinions on and about things that we truly don’t know if we are being told the truth or not. I do know that the US House of Representatives is doing everything they can to oust President Trump before his last eight days in office are over. They are impeaching him for the second time during his presidency. They don’t want him to be able to ever be able to hold a political office again and the way they prevent that is to remove him from office. And unfortunately, the fact that we have over 300,000 people that have died from CORONA 19, and the fact that people are desperate to find a job and care for their family is all less important to them than their hate for President Trump. And why do they hate him so much????? Because he isn’t one of them and was never supposed to win the 2016 election over their hand picked candidate. It is a mess that could very easily end up in a civil war and we won’t really even know what we are fighting about. It is no different than it has ever been —- what one side calls insurrection and treason, the other side calls patriotism. Pray, pray, pray my friends. Pray for peace. Pray for calmer attitudes. Pray for our current president and pray for our in-coming president. 

With that, I will close. May God bring peace to your life. 

 

 I’m not sure which is colder, a day like today when it is 28 degrees and the air is damp, the sky is grey with overcast clouds and the land is bare without snow, or — snow covered ground with sunshine and still 28 degrees. I actually think the latter would at least seem warmer because the sun would be shining and the beauty of it all would “warm you up” or at least it would brighten your day. Yeh, today it just looks cold out there and when I went out it was “bone chilling” because the air is moist. But —- tomorrow promises to be better with sunshine and a high of 42. Yesterday the temperature difference between the high and the low was two degrees. And winter is not yet even officially one month gone until the 21st. But again —- I’m not shoveling anything so there is that to be grateful for today.

Church service attendance was slim yesterday. Between the COVID virus and the cold weather, I don’t blame people for not coming out. We did have a good attendance on Facebook virtual though. Lot’s of folks tuned in. Even Ms. Kate stayed home and watched it on the computer. She said it was too miserable to get out. I am so very glad we have this virtual capability. We’ve had a little camera trouble the past couple of weeks. Yesterday it kept going in and out of focus. We are still using Ms. Kate’s extra IPad and it has done well but yesterday it was a bit distracting to watch. The sound was good though. We are going ahead with the purchase of the new camera setup for our system. Our biggest problem is lack of internet. We are currently having to operate off of “hot-spots” on our phone and that is a weak signal. I’ve asked our council president, who is also our resident tech guru, about purchasing a couple of “fire-stick” devices, one for the sanctuary and one for my office. I’m not sure what kind of cost that runs into. He has also found out that the State of Indiana has some grant money for rural internet service so he is going to look into that and maybe we can get High Speed Internet run to the church. I know some of the congregation members that live around the church have it because they need it for farming. So, we’ll see what happens. We’ll be getting just too fancy. LOL. 

Ms. Kate didn’t just stay home and sit while we were having church yesterday. I came home to a pot of freshly made veggie soup, a cherry custard pie, and a pumpkin pie. Talk about good eating. I had a piece of the custard pie for my breakfast and it is delicious. I’ll be having left-over soup for lunch today and a piece of pumpkin pie. 

That’s about all of the news I have for today. I think I’ll work on dropping some writing today and see if I can’t accomplish something. I was going to go get on the bike for awhile but I think it is just too cool out on the sunporch to be comfortable. Saturday I rode my eight miles with a jacket on. I guess I could do that again. It wasn’t too bad. 

Have yourself a wonderful day and a week full of blessings. Wear your mask out in public and keep yourself safe. Peace. 

 Good Saturday morning to you. I hope wherever you are is brighter and warmer than where I am. It’s not that it is terrible or anything out side, but it is cold and grey and overcast and makes you cold just to look outside. I’m not a fan of “blah days” as you can tell. But, as I often say, at least it isn’t raining, or snowing, or any of those other yucky winter things. 

I finally finished my sermon for next week. It sounded like a good idea for a message when I began it, but somehow it fell apart between my brain and the keyboard. That happens occasionally and it is frustrating when it does because then it feels like I am forcing words. There is a good chance I will read it again at some point and end up rewriting it. That happens frequently. 

I have a lot of guests at the Backyard Buffet again today. Thank goodness the starlings and blackbirds haven’t returned to clean out the Bark Butter Bits. But that darn. Mockingbird is still out there being a bully. I don’t know what is going on with it. There is only one so I don’t think it is a mate finding thing, but it certainly is being territorial. The smaller birds come to eat and it is at them instantly. What is strange is that it is eating very little, just being a bully for no reason that I can see. If the grackels move in, it will be. Whole different story. The Cardinals do stand up to it though, so that makes it interesting. 

Did I tell you about my new song that I have been listening to every day. It is called “Psalm 34” and is done by the Baltimore Chapel Choir. It is rousing and Holy Spirit filled and really makes me feel good when I listen to it. I generally will play it a couple of times while I’m on my bike. It is a pleasant way to do my ride. I have several You Tube music videos that are favorites that I watch while I ride. I put on my headphones and just peddle away and the next thing you know, I’ve done a 7-mile ride and passed 45 minutes or so. 

But now, it is time to toast a bagel and get the Philly Cream cheese out and have my breakfast. I wish you a very Holy Spirit filled weekend. Peace. 

 Good morning once again. It is almost the end of the first full week of 2021, Only 50 weeks until Christmas. 

The nation is a little calmer this morning. The rioters and protesters have gone home from Washington DC. The mess at the capitol has been cleaned up. President Trump has finally conceded that Joe Biden has won the election although he just “tweeted” that he will not attend the inauguration. You know, I have supported President Trump for the past four years and I have defended him when I thought it was appropriate. But, —- I am so tired of his pouting and tantrums. I don’t like that he lost the election either but he really needs to “man-up” and act like an adult rather than a kid whose mother just took his lollipop away from him. It’s shameful and embarrassing for the rest of us. 

It is obvious that I filled the feeders again yesterday afternoon. The squirrels are taking full advantage. And I have a lot of birds that are happy. Unfortunately I also have a “bully” out there this morning too. The mockingbird is harassing everything that comes in for a bite. Usually it is the starlings, but so far they have not found out the feeders are full. By noon they will be here in full force. I have seen many battles out there between the starlings and the woodpeckers and the mockingbirds over the years. I call it the battle of the long beaks, and sometimes they get pretty vicious. They flutter and peck and flutter and peck and usually don’t get a lot of eating done. The problem is that the starlings and blackbirds usually fly in as a gang so they have the number on their side; —- except they are also busy fighting among themselves too. It’s good entertainment while I’m on the bike because it all happens less than ten feet from me so I get a “ringside” view. 

I’m making this short today. I have a lot of work to do and better get to it. Enjoy your weekend but don’t forget that you only get that weekend because God provides it. Take time out for worship. Peace.

 What a horrible day for this country yesterday. This will be a day for the history books. I just for once hope they write that history story correctly and not try to make it “sound heroic” or some other such nonsense. Yesterday stormed the United States Capitol building all the way on to the Senate floor. One person was killed (shot by police) several other were hurt. Congressional delegates and Senators were rushed to “safe places” and staffers and other were told to shelter in place. There were pictures of anarchists actually sitting in the chair of the President of the Senate, which is theVice President of the US’s chair and another picture of some guy sitting at the office desk of the Speaker of the House. This is the equivalent of rioters storming Buckingham Palace and lounging on the throne. Never in the history of this country has this happened, not even during the Civil War. 

This thing started as a peaceful protest (as they always do) but three or four extreme right wing political groups turned it into a full blown assault on the government. The protesters were there because they were protesting the results of our National election. Thousands had shown up to legally and rightfully voice their opinion. But the fact is that we have many radical militias in this country that are just screaming for a civil war and anarchy. These groups don’t care what the protest is about, they disguise themselves to fit in with the crowd for the single purpose of causing trouble. They should be thankful that they live in the democratic republic that they hate so much. There are regimes and governments that would have gunned them down as they approached. 

I have been a supporter of  President Trump since he was elected four years ago. I don’t particularly like him but he has done a lot of really good things for the country. He believes in taking care of the citizens of this country before we take care of the rest of the world. But —- he was zero help yesterday and in fact added fuel to the fire with his rhetoric about how the election was stolen from him, blah, blah, blah. Do I think there was a lot of foul play in the election? —— absolutely. Do we need to go to a civil war over it? Absolutely not. But we are in a dangerous place as a country right now. I pray that maybe the horrible events of yesterday becomes a huge lesson to the leadership of this nation that they need to lead this nation back to peace. Yesterday was very scary and both sides of the political canvass are equally guilty. The Democratic Party has fought president Trump every step of the way since the day he was elected. Before he was even sworn into office, they were already trying to find a way to, or reason to impeach him. The president didn’t’t help his cause any either because he came into office like a school-yard bully wanting to “kick ass and take names”. He was not and is not a politician. He has always been a multimillionaire business man who hired and fired when people displeased him. “Doesn’t work well with others” fits him perfectly.

We have two weeks until we change our national leadership. I pray that as a nation we can start looking out for one another. I pray that as a nation we can learn to talk to one another and quit listening to rhetoric and conspiracy theories and use our brains instead of our emotions. And I pray that God will not give up o us because I also believe that this is a nation of people that truly loves one another and loves being American citizens. 

Thanks, for reading and listening to my mind this morning. May God bless you each of you, and keep you well. All praise to the Lord God, and may God bless America. Peace. 

 Good morning on this Hump Day. It’s not a “bad” morning; 36 degrees, no wind and cloud covered. We aren’t expecting a lot of sunshine today. But it isn’t raining nor is it snowing, so I’ll just pass along my gratitude to the good Lord above. The whole week is supposed to be like this. 

I have a couple of things on my “to-do” list today. It’s Wednesday and that means go to the churches and run the bulletins etc. I think I will do that this morning. I want to be home this afternoon because my oldest granddaughter is supposed to call this afternoon and I don’t want to miss her call.. She is such a sweetheart. All of our kids and grandkids are sweethearts. We love talking to them. And the joy is, they seem to like talking to us. We just don’t get to see them often enough. 

Other duties today include getting on the bike and taking a ride. I did 8.3 miles on Monday and it kind of wore me out. I was sore in my ankles and legs yesterday so I didn’t ride. I don’t need to ride everyday but I should ride at least three times a week. If I can ride for an hour, that’s seven miles, and do that three days a week, that would be a good consistent program I think. It would strengthen my legs and muscles and my heart. Besides, I have to do something to combat the calories. I just baked and ate most of a pan of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for my breakfast. I can’t afford to do that too many times a week and not exercise. 

Then this afternoon I need to jump on the computer keyboard and get busy. I’ve started on my sermon for the 17th and have “a lan” for what I want to say, but I need to get it on paper before I forget it. I do that too often. I’ll have a random thought or song run through my head and think to myself that I could turn that into a sermon, but then if I don’t make notes at the time —— it’s gone with the wind. 

That’s it for today; I know it’s short but I do have stuff to get to. Have a blessed day. Pray for one another and pray for our nation. I know God is in charge but “the kids” ain’t behaving  very well. Peace. 

 Good morning and a happy Monday to you. Wow! The sun is actually shining for a change. It’s a cold morning, 30 degrees, but the sun will help it to feel a little warmer anyway. I’m sitting at my kitchen table this morning to write my blog and I’m looking across the street at Dan’s house and his frost covered roof. He obviously has  good insulation because there is no heat escaping to melt the frost off. 

How was your weekend? We were pretty sedentary around here; didn’t do much. Of course we went to church yesterday. We’re open again and doing in-person worship. We had pretty good attendance at both services. Percentage wise, St. Paul’s had a much better attendance than did St. Lucas. It was great to be doing inn-person worship again and see our folks. And, I have to say, they all did a good job of mask wearing and social distancing. I have to admit, social distancing is really hard for rural church faith families. Hugging and handshaking is second nature, especially since most of them are related in one form or fashion. But, unfortunately, we’ve had several cases of COVID 19 in the parish so we don’t want to be taking chances. What we are seeing though through out society is that people seem to have developed an attitude that it is 2021 and COVID was last year. The fact that a vaccine has been developed and is starting to be distributed is making people reckless. They seem to forget that having the vaccine developed means nothing if you ave actually received the shots. Folks are just so tired of it all, and I don’t blame them. I’m tired of it too. 

I don’t have a lot on the to-do list today. I carried the laundry out for Ms. Kate so we’ll do that today. And I need to go to Lowe’s and pick up a 3/4” pipe about 7’ long. Heather and John bought me a “weather station” for Christmas and I need the pipe to mount it on. There are several ways to mount it but I’m limited as to where I put it because of things like trees. So, I’m going to put it in my garden area on the south side of the house. Hopefully that will work for connection to the house. The thing is supposed to be placed between five and twenty feet high, away from tree and south facing. So, the garden is where it will go. I don’t know how the information it collects gets broadcast to the receiver that is in the house but, it is supposed to work that way. —— While I’m out, I need to stop by the grocery store and pick up some dishwashing soap. 

Hey, do you understand this new “Discovery +” television network. It sounds like a lot of the shows that I watch are going to this network and you have to pay extra for it. I pay enough for my cable as it is and I’m already paying extra for HBO, although I’m going to go cancel that. But it seems like there is an extra cost for everything. I have CBS All-Access so I can watch some of the Star Trek stuff and that is a pay-extra. I’m wondering why I even have regular cable. Julie and Jim have all of the extra things that they pay for, Hulu, Netflix, and I don’t know what all. It’s confusing. I think I need to go to Spectrum and get myself a little smarter. 

That’s it to start off my week. Now I need to go get on the bike to nowhere and take a ride. Enjoy your day. You have a brand new week with which to do something amazing.. Peace. 

 January 2nd, 2021; or in “military”, 2-1-21. It’s a cold grey morning. It’s 37 degrees outside and unfortunately that is only two degrees below the expected high for today. I have a few guests at the Buffet this morning. I went out and filled a few feeders yesterday afternoon that I didn’t have to walk through the sloppy yard to get to. Unfortunately for the squirrels, I didn’t go out to the shed and get sunflower seed and fill their feeders. Nor did I fill any of the bark butter logs for the woodpeckers. But, I have suet cakes out there for the woodpeckers that they can eat so I’m not too worried about them. But, I think I will bring the logs into the kitchen and fill them. This morning I put some birdseed just out on the ground for the small birds. Each year my Wild Birds Unlimited store gives away small bags of “good luck” seed for the birds. It is a mixture of stuff that I don’t normally buy because the birds waste it out on the ground anyway. It contains a lot of millet and the birds knock it on the ground trying to get to the “good stuff”. But they will eat this. There was some sunflower seed in the mix and I’m surprised that the squirrels haven’t already snagged that out of there. Thee juncos and sparrows will eat most of it. They are avid ground feeders. 

Ms. Kate fixed our New Years “Good Luck” meal yesterday for dinner. It’s not just the birds that get something special. She fixed some black-eyed peas with ham and rice mixed in, some collard greens, and a paan of corn bread. It was good eating. Well, the collards weren’t all that, —- but everything else was good. We don’t eat a lot of collards but once in awhile I let a small bowl. I’ll sometimes order them at Cracker Barrel and that small bowl is just enough to satisfy my tastebuds. I like greens, but prefer spinach.

The squirrels just found the seed on the ground and are picking out the sunflower seed just as I suspected they would. Silly critters. Now I have a battle over territory going on because another squirrel tried to horn in on the pile. 

I got on the bike yesterday and rode seven miles. I’m going to get on it again in a few minutes and ride some more. I set my IPad up on the holder, put on my earphones and just peddle away. I found a new group to listen to yesterday, it is the Baltimore Chapel Choir. There must be about 75 people in that choir and when they sing their praise music it will bring tears to your eyes as it puts you in touch with the Holy Spirit. I love to listen to  great choir singing with their soul and this choir does just that. Check them out on You Tube. If you do check them out, they do a song called “Psalm 34”, listen to that one. 

Okay, time to take a ride to nowhere for a bit. Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 Happy New Year and welcome to 2021. It neither looks or feels any different than yesterday except that it i a little warmer today than yesterday. It is currently 41 degrees but the “feels like” temperature is 27. It appears to have rained quite a bit during the night because there is water standing out in the back yard and everything looks like it would be a sloppy walk. 

Did you celebrate last night? We stayed up until around 0100 just watching television and celebrated with a kiss. That’s the best way I can think of to start off a new year. Ms. Kate and I have never been big party people and frankly, they older we get, the fewer  people I want to be around. It’s not that I don’t like people, we just enjoy our solitude and peace. I don’t like loud noises. I don’t like to hear people yelling or arguing. I don’t watch television shows that have that kind of stuff in them, and I don’t like to be around drama. I wonder if I have officially earned the title “Old Fogey” yet. I just like peace in my life. 

I need to call my terminal parishioner today and congratulate him for making 2021. He had really wanted to see Christmas and to see the new year. We even prayed together about it. So, I need to call him and congratulate him and remind him to keep looking forward because there is no telling whaat God has in store for him yet. 

Do you make resolutions for New Years? I used to but haven’t done so in years. I do make goals for a new year. I found that making a resolution was a waste of time because I always broke them within the first week. Things like quitting smoking, or getting in shape were resolutions that were a waste of time. Ms. Kate and I did quit smoking and that was 32 years ago this month. Thank goodness we decided to do that. As an asthmatic, and her as a heart patient, we might both be dead by now if we hadn’t. But, making a goal gives me something to work on. My goal this is year is to find mores ways that I can be of service to my fellowman. I’m not sure what that even means but I know that I don’t do everything I could be doing. My goal is to be more active and less sedentary around the house. I’ve gotten into a bad habit of not doing stuff because I give myself excuses not to do them. I’ve kind of convinced myself that I’m too old to do stuff when in reality, all I would have to do is get off of my duff and put in some effort. Will I be able to do everything I used to?— no, but I’m not as helpless as I’ve let myself become. I think it’s a good goal. But, my most immediate goal is to throw a bagel in the toaster, get out the cream cheese and have my second meal of 2021. My first was bowl of cereal a little after mid-night. 

Have a blessed 2021 my friends. Peace