Here it is, the 7th of January. In our neck of the woods it is going to be a fairly good day; I think maybe it is going to about 55 degrees which is not terrible for a January day. But, it’s not gong to last long. By this weekend we’re expecting maybe some severe storms and then the temps drop back down “normal”. But as long as we don’t get a bunch of snow or wore — ice — it doesn’t matter to me a lot. We are still three weeks from “Groundhogs Day” when that rodent will tell us that we have six more weeks of winter coming. Amazing how its prediction always happens to line up with the actual calendar first days of Spring. 

We “did a thing” yesterday. We had to pick up a prescription from Walgreens and also needed to do a call and pickup order from Sam’s. Also since it was Tuesday and Fresh Market always has ground chuck on sale on Tuesday, I wanted to go by there and get some of that. I used the last of what we had when I made my vegetable soup. So —- I told Ms. Kate I would take her out to Biaggi’s for lunch. It’s a favorite of hers and she has been getting around much better, and Biaggis is writhing the same area as Sam’s and Fresh Market. So, we went to Walgreens and picked up her medication and then headed to the east side of town and did all of our other stuff. It was the first time we have been able to go out to eat since before Thanksgiving. We considered it a real treat and she did well. The hardest part is the getting the rollator in and out of the car each time. I’m hoping that before long she can get to just getting by with a cane. We’re also hoping that we can get to the gym. I don’t know how Planet Fitness would feel about us going in there with her on a rollator. But when I think about it, they shouldn’t mind because it is physical therapy and we are working to improve her wellness. 

Have you noticed that television is coming back to “normal programming?” Swamp People is on tonight and some of my other favorites are coming back too. Kate watches so many shows that I just can’t watch. She likes murder mystery and crime shows and I just got tired of those years ago. And, she’s been watching some “series” shows on Netflix that have more violence than I want to see.  I like to keep my shows much more light and interesting to watch.  I watch a lot of the paranormal stuff because it is simply entertainment, and I know there is little reality attached to it. And I watch a lot of Josh Gates exploring shows. I have learned a lot of historical facts watching him. 

That’s it for today. I hope you enjoy your day and have a blessed rest of your week. Peace. 

 Good morning on this first day of the first full week of 2026. Yes, I know it’s been a few days since I wrote last but I’ve been a bit tied up doing “other stuff”. 

How was your weekend? Ours was routine since Ms. Kate is still not going out for much of anything. I had hoped to do “in person” church yesterday but it was 26 degrees and I didn’t want Kate to have to walk behind her rollator the distance from the parking lot to the ramp and then push it up the ramp. I do appreciate the church putting in that new ramp though. When she gets a little stronger we will be happy to use it. 

But, yes, we had a routine weekend that consisted of doing laundry, and fixing meals, watching some tv and playing our mindless computer games on our IPads. We did get out to the butcher shop. I picked up some frozen vegetables and I made a pot of vegetable soup.  It is delicious if I do say so myself. (Kate said so too). I’m getting better with my cooking although most everything I fix is simple stuff and I don’t do a lot of “meals” meaning multiple dishes. Mainly I just do no more than two dishes. I’ve watched Kate cook for many years now and she may have six dishes going at once. I guess most wives do that but it has to be an acquired skill that I’m far from learning. Although I did good at Thanksgiving and Christmas. But I did have some help from Julies and a lot of guidance from Ms. Kate. I don’t hesitate to ask Kate “how do I” questions. I think though that I’m no longer a candidate for “Worse Cooks in America”. LOL

We watched the Rose Bowl game this year. It was the first football game I have watched this year. We watched it because IU was playing and were thrilled to see IU win. They will be playing in the Sugar Bowl this Friday and I reckon we will watch that too. 

I finished up my sermon for February 1st. I think it is a good one. I also passed it along to my friend and mentor Art and he said it was great just like it is with no need for changes. It always means a lot to me when he declares one of my sermons “good”. He has been a pastor well over fifty years, has a Doctorate of Ministry degree and knows more than I will ever know about the Bible. I ask him to critique my sermons sometimes because I want my theology to be on point. I feel it is very arrogant of a pastor to just assume that he has the right interpretation of God’s word. Assumption can lead a pastor to preach his own thoughts, not God’s thoughts or word. I try to never assume. 

I was hoping that Kate and I would go to the gym today but she isn’t ready. I would like us to start slow again and work our way back up. 

I guess that is about all I have for today. I’m waiting on a call or text from Walgreens telling me that Kate’s prescription is ready for pickup. She has one more day of that particular medicine left. 

Have yourself a wonderful week. Peace. 

 Day one of the year 2026.  How was your New Year’s Eve? Ms. Kate and I did stay up and see the birth of 2026 but being up at midnight is a fairly routine habit for us. She and I have shared a lot of New Year’s Eves over the years starting with the 1963 new year. In the early years though, while we were together at midnight, we didn’t get to have that “first kiss of the year” at midnight because I was busy with my band playing Auld Lange Sign on my trumpet as we played for someone’s NYE party. Then there were the years that I was stationed with the Air Force somewhere else across the world like the Philippines or Turkey without her. Or — many times we were “together”, but I was on duty as the shift commander for the Security Police. But —- physically together or not, —- we still have celebrated many, many years of watching a new year arrive whether we were together or not. 

I was thinking about the celebration of New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve and wondered if mankind has always celebrated this vent. It turns out that the answer is “yes”. The earliest documented celebrations are dated back over 4000 years to Mesopotamia. There are many ancient sites built specifically for celebrating the event along with other solstice event. The rituals have changed over the years, (thank goodness, we don’t need any sacrificial rituals) but the acknowledgement is still real.  

While I was pondering that, I also began thinking about the actual event itself. What we are actually celebrating is the completion of the earth’s orbit around the sun. It is a renewal of seasons and patterns of growth and changes of weather patterns etc that have gone on forever even before God created man. So let’s think about that for a moment to get your year started. Many religious groups (creationists) will argue that the earth is 6000 years old. I don’t agree with them nor do I know where they get that number. Other people, (the evolutionists) will argue that the earth may be at least as old as ten million years. I don’t have a lot of faith in that number either but will grant them their belief. The point is that whether the earth is 6000 years or ten million years old, it means that the earth has completed that same trip around the sun at 67,100 miles per hour without deviation for the entire existence of this planet. Now, (bear with me) add to this the fact that each and everyone of those years has had 365 periods of  planet rotation at 1000 miles and hour, again without deviation, for the entire existence of the planet. Explain to me how all of that perfection can happen without Devine intervention. Tell me how all of that perfection can happen by accident or as the result of a “big bang” out in the chaos of the cosmos. 

And you know what? That same God cares intimately about you. If you have not developed a relationship with God, please do so today. Peace