I can hardly believe it --- it is not raining and has not rained all morning. It is just after noon and I'm just getting around to the blog. I can't tell you what has taken up my morning, but here it is after 1200 hours. Well, yes, I did spend sometime on Facebook this morning and Facebook messenger talking to my girls. (Thank you Mark Zuckerman for your insight that caused you to create this social media.)

Ms. Kate and I also are getting the laundry done today and that takes a little time; plus she made a breakfast of French toast. That is always a hit with me. I'm a breakfast person and could eat a breakfast meal of some kind three times a day. Cereal is my "go to" around midnight every night.

We are going to the church again today and run the bulletins for the 28th. I didn't have time to run everything yesterday and do visitation too. But, before we go, I wanted to sit and write my blog and we are waiting on the last load of clothes to dry in the dryer. Being that it is just the two of us, we only have two loads a week so it isn't a big job.

I filled seventeen feeders again last evening. Two of the sunflower seed feeders up here by the door are already half empty. I need to go to the bank today and get some money so I can go to the darned Wildbirds and Things and buy more stuff for the birds. I need to find a way to claim these guys as deductions. Although, I guess in reality I'm not their sole source of care, so I'll just keep buying food.

Ms. Kate is sitting here reading the latest Harry Potter book; "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child". It is written like a screen play, which is what it is as opposed to a movie. So, she says it is a little hard to follow. I had one of my Stephen King books like that and they are hard to follow.

Julie and Jim got a new puppy from the pound. I'm not sure that Jim is quite done naming it yet but for now it's name is Fenway, as in Fenway Park. It is a female and so of course the name doesn't jive at all. But ---- the last female they had  they named Harley. So there is no counting for it.

OK,, I need to get moving or I am going to fall asleep here in my recliner. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and it is totally quiet here in the house. That is a recipe for a nap for sure. I pray you will have a most glorious day filled with the blessing of God Almighty. Peace.

I'm not sure but I think this is day six of rain and the second month in a row of more days of rain than sunshine. This has certainly been a wet summer. I know it isn't as bad here as it is in other parts of the country and we haven't had the flooding that some parts of the country have had, so I can't complain. But I do hope that it backs off for awhile. We were in Cracker Barrel Restaurent yesterday having lunch and there were a lot of senior citizens coming in and out. I told Ms. Kate that it looked like everyone of them was "wearing the weather". They all looked so grumpy and cranky, and from what conversations I could overhear, they were cranky and grumpy.

My feeders need filling again. With the rain I haven't been going out as often to fill them so my backyard guests are cleaning the feeders out. We were supposed to go to the Wildbirds and Things yesterday and restock the supply but just didn't make it there. I'm not totally sure what I'm short on except for bark butter bits and paste. I only have a couple of suet feeder cakes left, and the safflower seed is gone. They sure do go through stuff quickly. Right now I must have 30 or so birds out there eating. I particularly enjoy watching the "hummingbird dance" as I call it. It looks like I'm missing a feeder again this morning. They probably knocked it down. The squirrels, possums, and raccoons do come through and try to eat off of things they can't but they knock them down in their efforts.

I've been enjoying my cousin's photos on Facebook. Where I have birds, She has deer and heron to watch every day. She has a couple of does and young fawns and even a couple of bucks that play in her yard and around her lake everyday. Of course they are also eating in the soybean fields next to the farm and I suspect they are also eating from the corn field which isn't great for profit. But they are cute to look at.

It is Wednesday and that means going to the churches today. I think I may run both this week's bulletins and also next week's too with the newsletter. Next week Heather and Lauren will be coming in and I'll have enough other things to be doing to get ready for their visit. If I work ahead that will take a little of the pressure off. This Sunday we have an infant baptism to do. I love doing those. It might just be a favorite part of being a pastor; the dedication of children to God is just so very special to me.

I guess I need to finish my coffee and get my day going. The rain has stopped and the radar shows it now to the south of us and moving out of the area. I would say "gotta' make hay while the sun shines" but the grass would be too wet to cut and the sun isn't shining. So, I'll just get busy. Have a glorious day.

Another rainy morning, --- what else is new? At least the rain is light and as much of a mist as it is an actual rain. It's one of those rains that just keeps the windshield a mess when you are driving behind a semi-trailer.

We are out and about this morning, starting at the Orthopedic doctor for Ms. Kate to get another cortisone shot in her hand. From there we need to go to Sam's, Hobby Lobby, Wildbirds and Things, Fresh market and CVS to pick up my prescription. Hopefully at some point along the way the rain will stop. And --- hopefully along the way I'll find a plate of biscuits and gravy. Can't let a man starve and expect him to hold down parking spots ya' know.

I spent some time last night working on a my continuity folder for whoever will be my replacement when I retire. I've put a lot of information on a flash drive so they can just plug it in and will have all of the template for the bulletins and different things that I do. Of course, perhaps they will want to do something totally different. I don't have a problem with that. I just feel that I should do whatever I can to help out. Neither church has a secretary nor any technology so I'm not sure what they are going to do. I know they won't have a permanent pastor chosen yet and may not even have an interim pastor chosen. So if they end up with a different pastor every week, ------ well who knows? I asked them last Sunday if the Search Committee had met and they said it had; although they also said it was an hour and a half that wasn't very productive. That is totally to be expected. The first thing I think they need to do is to develope a profile for the parish. That way prospective pastor can see what the church expects from a pastor. It is a long and complicated process and I almost feel guilty leaving them to have to go through this. However -- they would have to go through it at some point.

Ms. Kate and I have a bunch of work to do because we need to get the house ready for company next week. Heather and Lauren are driving across country for Lauren to race at a track north of us on the 28th. They are going to be spending two nights at our place first and will be here on the 24th. We are excited about the whole thing. We are planning a gathering of the family, (cousins etc.) at a local restaurant on the 25th and then all of the cousins and us, and Karen will be going up for the races. It is going to be exciting because none of the family besides Ms. Kate and I have seen her race. She is dynamic on the motorcycle. She will leave Indiana and go to Michigan for another race a week later. That will close out her season for the year.

It is really raining much harder now but, that is fine; I'm not out in it. I hope your day has more sunshine than mine does. But, even though it is racing --- I've got sunshine in my soul. Have a most wonderful day. Peace.

A blessed new week to you my friends. I trust your weekend went well for you. Our weekend was typical around here. It has been a rainy one off and on and is supposed to continue in like fashion through Wednesday. Evansville has had some cloudbursts that dropped a bunch of rain for maybe thirty minutes and the clears up. It was still sprinkling when I got out of bed at 0645 but that didn't last long and now we even have periods of a little sun shining through. Southern Illinois is getting hit hard though. What is also amazing is that much of the country is getting none of this rain and they really need it. I was talking to one of my farmers at church yesterday who had spent part of the week up in Ohio at a tractor show. He said that the area he was in was in a drought and that their corn won't make 50 bushel an acre. And then there is the state of Lousiana that under a state of emergency because of historic flooding. In parts of that state they have 80% of the roads closed and are under two feet of water with more rain to come. I pray for all of those people who have lost so very much.

We've had more racial violence in the heartland of America. I just don't understand it. A young black man with a very long criminal record confronts police in a stolen car with a stolen automatic weapon loaded with 23 rounds of ammunition and ends up getting killed. The result: hundreds of other young black people riot, burn their local businesses, burn vehicles, assault white people randomly. The parents of the young man claim he was a "good kid"; in fact he was even planning to go to community college." Well --- a picture of him in his cap and gown would have been a sharp contrast to all of the pictures on Facebook of him half naked with his hanging down pants and pointing his weapons at the camera. These young blacks whine because they say we white peoples don't understand the black culture. I agree that I have no idea what a it is like to grow up black in America but if I may continue on my soap box for a moment: --- what they have is not black culture. Granted, inner cities get the short end of the stick in schooling and education and therefore their job opportunities are often less. But far too many black people are totally successful, upstanding contributing citizens of this country to claim that rioting and all that other crap is "the black culture." It is time that they quit calling themselves African Americans and started just being Americans. Odds are pretty good that all of those that were out there burning and looting coudn't even show you Africa on a map. As I see it, the black society of America fails to demand better of their own people. And when there is no expectation of better behavior --- there will not be better behavior. I have worked for, with, and supervised people of every race, color, and religion in my life. I know that when standards are set, followed, made clear, and enforced ---- anarchy can not prevail.

Enough of my soap box for today; thanks for reading and putting up with me. I love you all. Peace.

I've been listening to the ding, ding, ding of smartphone conversations between my girls since about 0630. We have a long running conversation going that goes back a couple of years on Facebook Messenger. We created a "message group" and call it The Committee. We just never shut it down and when someone happens to be on they will type in a message and see who is on and wants to chat. I love that capability. It is like my girls are always just in the next room and I can talk to them anytime I want. I've been talking to them for about an hour and now Ms. Kate and Lisa are talking. The rest of the committee just comes in and out as they want to.

There is no sunshine in the sky this morning. We're actually just waiting on the rain to start. We are supposed to be in for a lot of it. I've heard some thunder in the distance but we are dry so far. It could miss us completely and I'd just be a happy camper. I'm tired of rain.

I filled fifteen feeders yesterday. Two of the ones up here by the house are already half empty. All of the feeders are busy this morning. The birds obviously have instincts about the weather that is coming in and they are filling up now. I guess it's kind of like humans when they hear a storm or a snow storm is coming ---- they run and stock up on bread and milk whether they ever eat bread and milk any other time or not.

Ms. Margaret's lawn crew is out there this morning. They won't take long. There is a young girl (13 or so) that is doing the back yard and she is moving quick. I don't know if her mower is self propelled or not but she is quick. I'll bet they are done in less than twenty minutes. Her biggest obstacle over there is Ms. Margaret's flowering crabapple tree. It is out of control and hangs low so they really have to duck down to get under it. It is beautiful when it blooms but the rest of the time it is just a mess. It needs some serious love and attention.

The hummingbirds are really working their feeders over this morning. Last night I took one of those hummerbar a to my sister-in-law Karen. She has several hummingbirds and can put it to good use. We cleaned our hummerbar out yesterday and put in fresh food. I put any guard cups at each end to keep the ants out of the feeders

I need to get outside and clean the leaves out of one gutter befor the rain starts so I'm going to leave you alone til Monday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Peace.

I wonder if the hummingbirds eat 24/7. We have them late in the evening and we have them early in the morning and all day long. I guess they expend so much energy with their constant flying that have to eat all the time. What I do know is that they are a joy to watch. Our two, maybe three, just continually seem to be here.

Happy Friday! I hope you have had a good week. Our week has been pretty good around here except for the rain. Unfortunately the next two or three days are supposed to be gully washers as the gulf moisture moves up through not only our area but on up into Canada. July was a constant rainy month and now August is following suit. I had a text from my grandson Joshua up in New Hampshire who said they are in drought conditions and he hasn't had to mow his yard in almost a month. I'm mowing twice a week.

I'd like to solicit you prayers for a beautiful young lady I know who checked into detox at a drug rehabilitation center late last night. She will be in detox for maybe a week and then is supposed to move on to a couple of months of rehab. Her story is only one of hundreds of thousands just like her across this country. I pray that she will make the most of this opportunity and will be able to return to her family, clean and drug free. From everything I'm hearing, the young lady wants to become drug free which is a great start. We all have our addictions of some kind or another. For some it is drugs, or alcohol. For some it is a toxic relationship. It might be gambling or it might be work and the desire to have more and more money and stuff. Mine was cigarettes for well over thirty years at two plus packs a day. I know that technically I am still addicted to smoking, --- I've just chosen not to smoke for the past twenty five years. But I know it would only take one cigarette and I'd be spending that $7.50 a pack without thinking twice.  Wouldn't that be great for my asthma?? Any way, I ask for your prayers for this young lady and all like her who are trying to free themselves of a terrible demon.

We have running around to do today and I have a bunch of bird feeders to fill. I also need a haircut and need to pick up more supplies from the pet food places. Knowing I have that stuff to do tells me that I better vacate the recliner and get busy. It's Friday so I better take advantage of having a day off before I get retired and no longer have "days off". I pray your weekend will be filled with the peace and love of Jesus Christ. I also pray you will take time to take stock of your blessings and maybe even pass some of them along to someone who could use an extra blessing today. Peace.

There is a prehistoric creature crawling across my patio. ---- Granted it is only about five inches long but it is a lizard which is a descendent of the dinosaurs. If this one was fifteen to eighteen feet longer and weighed about 400 pounds, it would be a komono dragon. Instead we'll just call it Sammy the Skink! Maybe it will gobble up some mosquitos out there in the yard.

It is Thursday afternoon and my day has been busy. Ms. Kate and her sister are off on a "sisters day" and I'm just doing stuff that needs to be done. I got to the churches and have everything set up for Sunday service. Then I stopped by our favorite restaurant for lunch. After that I came home and mowed .

The rain has held off so far today and we have had a day of sunshine and extra high humidity. It didn't take long out there in the yard to be sweating. So now, I'm cooling off here in the sunporch, watching the birds as the continue to deplete the remaining food that is is the feeders and I'm seeing that I need to fill everything again. There just isn't any rest is there? It's hard to believe that Ms. Kate is gone for the day and I didn't get a nap.

So, this will be short because I got to go watch my news and weather. I hope you have a great evening. Peace