The sun has broken over the neighbors houses on another beautiful day. It is 31 degrees and the temperature is going to double today. How great is that!!! Ms. Kate is snoozing and the only sounds I hear are the normal “house sounds” and a mockingbird that is already singing its heart out. Not a bad way to start the day. I just have to take a moment to say “Thank you Lord God for waking me to another day”.

As I told you yesterday, I have a funeral to conduct today. I am so glad that by the time we do the funeral the temperature will be above 60 and the sun will be shining. The funeral is being done at graveside which is a first for me. I’ve always done graveside “closure” and committal but never the entire service at the graveside. It has been a few years since I have worked with this particular funeral home but they told me that due to COVID, more and more services are being done fully at the grave. I guess it allows more people to come. Even the visitation is being done at the grave. Our church and cemetery is sitting in wide open setting of farm land, almost like a prairie setting. So, it will be beautiful, if a funeral can be called beautiful. I have asked the man’s niece, who is also his God-daughter, to sing Amazing Grace. She has a nice voice. She agreed to try. Between her singing and the sound of the bell tolling 65 times across the fields, yes, it does the atmosphere of holiness in what we will do.

I also have to run the bulletins for Sunday’s service today, which reminds me that I need to send the service to my two organists and to Jacob so he can get the media ready at St. Lucas. It doesn’t take long to run the bulletins these days since we are using the big screens at St. Lucas. Not many people use them because everything is up on the screens. We don’t have that capability at St. Paul’s nor do we have a need for it. The truth of the matter is that we would not have it at St. Lucas either had not COVID happen and the Lilly Corporation given out grants for church technology to do their services virtually. So, there is at least one silver-lining to all of this COVID stuff. We got the grant for roughly $4,500 dollars and have \spent a little over $8,500 so far for a doubling match. It has been worth every penny. My only concern is that Jacob have plenty of back-up people to run the system in case he gets sick and can’t be there or he and his family take a vacation. So far, it is just Jacob, his wife and his son, and one other person. 

That’s it for today my friends. Walk outside and take a deep breath or two this morning. Breathe in God’s world and goodness. It will brighten your day. Peace.