Happy Friday! Welcome to another day of God's love and goodness. It's time to take a deep breath and be thankful you are alive.

We're going to call this a partly sunny day. The sun was much brighter thirty minutes ago but now high clouds are starting to roll in. The weather dude is saying rain is coming. I wish it wouldn't. But, at the moment, it is still bright enough to make the cardinals look beautiful as they sit on the bird bath. I think it is time I put the electric bird bath in the shed and brought the glass one out. The glass one is really pretty and we are past the point where it might freeze and break. But this electric one is really great for the winter and gets a lot of use.

The backyard aviary and bird buffet is a bit sparse at the moment. I have maybe a half dozen cardinals and a few finches this morning. There were three or four starlings here but they didn't stay long. I'm really glad all of the bigger blackbirds have move back out to the fields. We saw lots of them yesterday as we were driving to the church. Better they eat out there than off of my check. I need to be sure and fill my bark butter paste feeders today. There is still some left in them but I expect my Pilated woodpecker will be here tomorrow. It seems to have become a Saturday visitor and I want to keep it coming. Although, it did come around one day this week too and I did have food for it.

Somehow or another Ms. Kate and I have gotten our schedule off kilter. Yesterday was kind of typical of what I mean. We got up at 0830 because we had been up late Wednesday night. Then we didn't actually eat anything beyond having our morning coffee and a peach smoothie while we were at the Vinyard Bookstore, until around 1600 yesterday afternoon as we finished up our running around. She had put a corned beef in the crock pot but we didn't get around to eating our supper until about 2200 hours. I went back down to the office after that to do some more work and finished up about 0130 this morning. Then it was up again this morning at 0830. We need to get ourselves a little more back on keel.

My rabbits are no where to be seen this morning. I kind of miss them running around doing their rabbit antics this morning. And so far I only have one lazy squirrel sitting out there on what I have designated as the "squirrel's feeder". He hasn't budged from that spot and just keeps shoveling in the sunflower seed.

I have an appointment to take Ms. Kate's Cadillac in for service at 1600 today. It is hard to believe that I only have to do this every 7500 miles. I'm used to faithfully doing that every 3000 miles on my vehicles. But with today's synthetic oils, things have changed. Of course synthetic oil changes cost a lot more. Luckily my purchase plan included free oil changes and free car washes for five years. I suspect the cost for all of that was hidden somewhere in the purchase price; nothing comes for free.

It's time for me to acknowledge and give praise to the creator of all of this beauty I am surrounded by. So, I will pray for you too and pray your day is fully blessed. Have a wonderful day.

Another beautiful crisp, cool, breezy Thursday morning. This morning I had not one, but three young rabbits running and hopping around in my back yard. They were helping themselves to all kinds of young shoots of grass and plants. I wonder how long it will be before I see young bunnies at my door looking in again this year. That was always exciting to look forward to last year.  I wonder if these are the three that were born here in my flower bed last year. It's possible I guess. I don't know if they "return home" or not like other animals and birds.

So, -- this morning the squirrels and the rabbits are both running around. The squirrels run and that scares the rabbits. The rabbits run and that scares the squirrels. It's actually quite entertaining In the mean time, the robin is also hopping through the yard but the doves; ---- they just keep waddling around paying no attention to anything that is going on around them. There is far more activity on the ground this morning than there is on the bird feeders. I have some finches and one or two woodpeckers so far. The cardinals will be here soon, of that I have no doubt.

I got through all of my things I had to do yesterday. I have some more running around to do today though and a list of things that I need to get done. Ms. Kate is great a keeping lists of things she needs to do but I'm not. When I don't I either jump from one thing to the next or I forget things. I sometimes think that the longer I'm out of the Air Force, the more unorganized I become. Or perhaps I'm relaxing too much on my time management skills.

The choir sounded wonderful last evening during our cantata rehearsal. We only have one more rehearsal and that will be next Wednesday. They (we) have really worked hard on this and it has come together. This cantata is my favorite of all of the ones that we have done. It is a very passionate cantata and easily evokes a mental image of what is going on in the story being told. It is almost like an opera without characters doing any acting. I pray it will stir the emotions of the Resurrection in the hearts and minds of the congregation like it does me. More importantly though, I hope is pleasing to God and acceptable as our worship of Him.

Well my friends, as enjoyable as it is to sit here and watch critters and birds and flowers and sunshine --- I got to get out of my chair and get busy with today. Before I do though, I have to look around at the beauty of God's creation one more time and just know that God's love and presence is everywhere as in manifested by His creation. Take time today to enjoy what God has done for you. Peace.

Federal taxes, Indiana taxes, Illinois taxes, my deceased mother's taxes ----- no wonder no one liked the disciple Matthew! Taxes and a meeting took up my day yesterday which was an absolute shame because it was the warmest and brightest day of the year so far and I spent it at the computer. But ours are filed and  accepted and I have everything ready to drop off to my mother's accountant this morning.

God has blessed us with a beautiful spring morning today. It is a cool 57 degrees with a 17mph wind but the sun is shining brightly and there isn't a cloud in the sky. A week or even two like this would be most welcome. The breeze keeps the chimes playing a lovely sound,  the bird feeders are all filled, and the gang is arriving for the back yard buffet. The neighbor's forsythia is blooming nicely, everyone's daffodils are looking beautiful, and the trees are leafing out and many are blooming. This is a perfect time of the year; a time of rebirth and renewal and it all ties in nicely with the fact that Sunday is Palm Sunday followed by Easter the following Sunday. God is good and the world is alive. I look at it as our yearly reminder of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Today is Wednesday again already and that means a busy day as usual. Today I'm adding a counseling session to my schedule. I have a young couple coming in for their first pre-marital counseling. I'll do their wedding on July second of this year. I've met her a few times but he is from my St. Lucas church. I've watched him grow up and mature into a very nice young man with an excellent set of moral values and an excellent work ethic. I think it speaks well of him that the congregation trusts him enough that at 21 years old, he has been elected to the church council.

I don't like to talk politics but I will sure be glad when this years's presidential election is over. There has been debate after debate and I still couldn't tell you what any candidate actually stands for. All we hear is rhetoric and slander and yelling and screaming at one another. I'm firmly convinced there is not a God fearing candidate among the group The nation is so divided and on edge that it is a frightful thing to see. It is going to take a lot of prayer to turn this thing around or we will be in a civil war. I can't remember a time when this nation was so inwardly violent, even during the 1960s when we were having race riots. The politicians and the media have turned this countries values upside down. The police are being portrayed as the bad guys and the criminals are portrayed as helpless victims. One candidate actually said yesterday that putting a black person in jail is nothing more than going back to the days of slavery. So, my prayer today is that God will lay a calming hand upon this nation and fill our minds with prayerful reasoning instead irrational hate.

In the mean time, I'm going to pour another cup of coffee, send up my prayers, enjoy my view from the sunporch, and hope that your day is full of peace and the glory of God's goodness. Shalom.

Happy blessed Monday. As seems to be usual, -- it is raining again, or still, or something. I know I'm ready for some much sunnier days as are most people. On the other hand we've been spared the flooding and storms that have plagued Louisiana. I pray for those folks who have lost their homes and for those who lost loved ones in the flooding.

I have had a busy couple of days. Saturday we spent a good portion of the day at the church. The Women's Guild of St. Lucas do a chicken pie making / baking day once and sometimes twice a year as their major fund raiser. It is a fun event full of fellowship and hard work that always brings in a good amount of money for them. They take orders for the pies in advance so they know how many to make and are sure they sell them all. They try to limit the number of pies to around 200, (we made 214 on Saturday), and it takes a lot of people. We had about forty people show up on Saturday. All of the ingredients are donated by the members of the church so it does make them some money for both charity and needs of the church. It is an event that they have been doing for decades. They have a good assembly line and everyone knows their job. It took me to give them names. We have the "Studley Stirrers"; they cook the chicken and broth. We have the "Holy Rollers"; they make and roll out the bottom shell and the top covers. We have the "Crusty Crimpers"; they put the top cover on and crimp the edges. And finally we have the "Fetchers"; that would be me and a couple of others who "fetch and carry" what ever is needed and move completed pies here and there. The workers ranged in age from 8 - 86 as new generations learn traditions of their church. It is the definition of a faith family at work.

Yesterday was a typical Sunday; two worship services and a church council meeting, then out to our favorite restaurant for lunch. Yesterday afternoon and evening we went out to a craft store for some stuff  Ms, Kate needed to make her greeting cards and then we went back to the church so I could put my office back together now that the painters have finished in there. I wanted to get that done ASAP because I have a young couple coming in for their first pre-marriage counseling this week and they need a place to sit. It also gave me a good chance to get rid of a lot of stuff that has been collecting in the pastor's office over the years because people didn't know where else to put it. We don't have a lot of storage room in the church and church people like every one else tend to keep stuff for decades that they didn't need to keep in the first place. So, my recycle bin here at home is fuller today with copies of old bulletins and stuff Iike that and their were older Bibles and hymnals that we don't use that are now going to another church to send off for a mission. Re-use and recycle; it's a good thing.

It's nice to have time to sit with you again this morning and enjoy my coffee and watch the rain. The feeders are all empty out there so that is a job for after the rain quits today. I have a busy week again this week with meetings and stuff so I better get to it. I pray you will have a blessed day full of the spirit of God.

You just never now where I might be writing my blog. At the moment I'm sitting in the car at the beauty shop while Ms. Kate is inside getting a haircut. It is a not very convenient thing for me to do because I have to kind of balance the IPad between the steering wheel and my stomach. On the other hand, --- it is the first positive I've found for having a fat belly!

We have several places to run to after she gets out of the beauty shop. We're still working on taxes, both mine and my mother's. I'll be glad when they are done. Bless Ms. Kate's heart, she collects and worries over getting everything together. All I do is sit and fill in the forms as she tells me what to do. I  don't have the patience she does when it comes to doing this kind of stuff, and she has no patience with technology. So, --- it all works out well. We mumble and grumble and fuss and cuss our way through the process, but we get it done. Yesterday we spent hours trying to download a form. It kept coming in as a PDF form and wouldn't let me print it unless I paid for some subscription to a service. (Remind me to ask my brilliant daughter Julie about that because I'm thinking I shouldn't have to subscribe to a service to use PDF on my PC. )  I knew that I should be able to download and IRS form for free but --- just couldn't figure it out. But eventually I figured a way around the whole thing and got it downloaded and printed. We should have gone to get an ice cream from Cold Stone afterwards because that dissolves the stress.

Today, or should I say "so far today" it isn't raining although tonight it is supposed to start again. He weather guys said we might get another coule of inches by Monday. Of course, this is the same guy that predicted a warmer and dryer March and it has rained every day and he is now saying more rain on and off through next weekend. The month is almost over so "warmer and dryer" had better get here soon.

I did have some porch time this morning. The birds and the squirrels were everywhere this morning. I guess they were celebrating a period of no rain too. I hope to get back to the porch sometime today. Heck, if we get our running done, I might even sneak in a nap out there. The sun isn't really breaking through the clouds so if it stays that way it won't be shining in my eyes.    

Well, Ms. Kate should be out of there in a couple of minutes since she was just getting it cut and not getting a permanent. Gotta get on down the road. Have a blessed day.

The rain continues this morning. None of it has been really hard down pours but rather a steady "spring-rain" and the temperature is staying around sixty degrees. It is supposed to continue like this for the remainder of the day on and off. But, my brown yard is turning a dark green, at least in the back. My front yard is planted in Zoyza grass and still look like a brown carpet out there. When we first bought this home back in 2001 there was only a small patch of Zoyza out there in the front but it has taken over in the past fifteen years. And, it is a good healthy grass so I have no complaints. Neighbor Dan has the same thing across the street and perhaps that is where it got started some how.

Two squirrels are about it for visitors this morning at the buffet table. One is on a feeder and one is eating off of the ground. It tried to climb a feeder pole but the pole was too wet and it couldn't make it. I have no doubt it will try again and if it can't make it. Then --- it will simply move on to another feeder. There are plenty to chose from and they are all full. But --- the birds are coming and going. I have lots of cardinals as usual and they are acting strange. I don't know if it is time to do a little Cardinal hanky panky or establish territory or what but the males are challenging one another everywhere they go. And my pair of robins are back again so I suspect there will new robin's nests being built on the "S" curves of the downspouts very soon. Springtime is "twitterpatting" time for the for the birds; to use and expression from the Bambi movie.

I'm sitting here listening to my Andrew Rieu album again. It is his movie theme CD and I love it because I have seen many of the movies that the songs come from. My favorite one on the album though is the John Dunbar Theme from the movie "Dances With Wolves". Every time I hear the song I immediately can picture the peaceful scene of the open Dakota prairie as he rides through it to where his post is supposed to be. I haven't watched that movie in a long time, in fact I don't know that we even have the CD of it. But, I may have to try and find it and watch it again. It is a long one as most of Kevin Costner's movies are. But it is worth the time it takes to watch it.

I think today Ms. Kate and I are going to get started on our taxes. We can't keep putting it off. I'm also doing my mother's taxes and I got started on that yesterday by making calls to places that I need information from. Once I have all of that information in, I will hand her stuff over to the tax accountant that she always used. But, Ms. Kate and I have used Turbo Tax for our taxes for the past few years. It works pretty well for us.

My second cup of coffee is about gone, my breakfast that Ms. Kate fixed for me is gone, and my CD is almost over so I guess I better get busy. I could easily sit here all day and watch the rain and the critters in the back yard. It is addictive. I don't know why people would turn to drugs when there are opportunities everywhere to sit and commune with nature and enjoy the peace and beauty that God provides. I pray you will have time to do that at some point today. Peace.

Midweek already! I missed my porch time yesterday. I had a meeting and stuff to do at the church that.started early and went long. Yesterday was the monthly Pastor's Circle meeting and it was my turn to host, so I had to be there early to get the coffee mad and the goodies set out. The meeting was a meeting and that is about exciting as it gets. The good side is that I got to have lunch at R'z, I got my bulletins run already, and --- I still have left over snacks for this morning's breakfast. I'm making silk purses out of sow's ears this morning.

It is 61 degrees already this morning but there will be no sunshine today. The rain is slowly moving in today so the sky is cloud covered and grey. But, that is alright since most of my day is going to be spent at the computer writing or trying to figure out my deceased mother's taxes. I've about decided that I am not going to die. There is just too much paperwork involved. I mean, if a person dies and there is no estate left to settle, and nobody pays the taxes ---- what are they going to do? ---- Dig them up, put them in a chair and call them a congressman!!!!  But, we got that to take care of and then we have to get started on our taxes.

I don't have a lot of birds this morning. I have a couple of Robins hopping around, three or four cardinals, a couple of woodpeckers and starlings, but that is about it. The good news is that the daffodils are starting to bloom here and there in the yard. And --- I did find some crocus blooming out by the mailbox. But all of the ones up by the house will have to be replanted I reckon.

I was dismayed at my meeting yesterday to hear yet again the discussion about Licensed Ministers wearing a stole. We have a young lady that is going through the discernment process for licensing and eventual ordainment. She was talking about robes and stoles and was informed that she should not be wearing a stole because she isn't ordained. I get so tired of hearing that. I really need to find out where it says that in our denomination rules or policies. I've always worn a stole despite being told the same thing. But I just hate the "you're not really a minister" mentality behind it all. Some times the "learned clergy" just drive me nuts with their pettiness. If an ordained minister minister feels threatened by me because I'm a Licensed Miinister and I'm wearing a stole when I preach the Gospel --- they need to find another career field. Okay, I'll get back down from my soapbox.

The rain has started and if I don't get out of this recliner to where I can't hear the raindrops falling on the roof --- I will fall asleep. So, I pray you will have a most blessed day. Give thanks to the Lord for the bushel of blessings you are receiving yet again today. Peace.