Thirty-one degees this morning with cloudy skies. So happy Friday to you. We have successfully reached the end of another work week, or at least the end of the work week is only a few hours away for those of you who actually have a daily day-time work schedule. However, that weekend that you have been looking forward to is most likely going to be rainy and cold if you live anywhere close to my area. Winter is certainly hanging on and being a real jerk. I was talking to my grandson Josh last night and they have about thirty inches or so of fresh snow to deal with and have been with out power for a few days. The north east portion of the country has been hit with a triple whammy of storms and blizzard conditions in the past week and a half. So, a little cold and rain down here is a blessing compared to them. There are millions of people currently sharing that same weather with him. I offer prayers for their safety. The high seas on the coast have been terrible causing flooding. Josh lives well inland and that isn’t a concern to him.

It is supposed to get a little warmer today and the wind is supposed to be less severe. We didn’t go out yesterday to buy cemetery flowers. Ms. Kate gets too cold too easily. Her blood thinner medicines keep her in a constant state of being cold. I’ve told her many times that I think she would wear a sweater at the equator. So, maybe today we will venture out.

I’m finally getting a handle on what I want to do for my Bible study presentation next Wednesday. It has been a bear to pull together. I know what I want to say —- it is just the organization of it that I am  having trouble with. I don’t want to go rambling around my subject and never actually say anything. Part of the problem is my lack of understanding of how to do power point presentations, nor do I have the equipment to actually present a presentation. Pastor Art has a projector but it won’t work with my new lap top. As much as I love my new lap top; it does have a couple of short coming that I could use such as an ability to play CDs and only one USB port. Julie just bought one like mine and she bought a blue-tooth Microsoft mouse to go with it. That frees up her USB port.

I have an extra guest thismorning in the back yard. The neighbor’s long-haired black cat has been here all morning slinking around trying to catch breakfast I think. This is thesamecat that chases off the squirrels and chases them right on upinto the tree. He just went after another one. At least he leave my birds alone, or I haven’t seen him get one anyway.

Time for a coffee refill and maybe a bagel too. Have a great day and a great weekend. Pray for those less fortunate than you and if you hav a chance —- do more than pray. Get out and help. Peace.

Blustery and cold this morning, but the sun is shining brightly. I don’t think it is helping much though since it is twenty-nine degrees with a “real-feel” of twenty two. The bird baths are frozen over. Unfortunately I pulled the plug on the electric one a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t see a reason to keep using the electricity with the temperatures staying above freezing. Oops!

The weather has not deterred my buffet guests at all. I have at least a half dozen cardinals out there and I also have at least a half dozen robins. The robins are doing some nest material gathering this morning as they run around in the yard getting something to eat. Beyond that, I mostly have gold finches and junkos. It is a little early for the starling gang to get here and bully the neighborhood and the squirrels are still nestled in their nests somewhere. The steady breeze is keeping the Corinthian chimes singing to me. All in all, it is a pleasant and peaceful morning.

I missed writing yesterday; I just ran out of time and when my day finally settled in, I just didn’t feel like doing it. I had office hours yesterday and then Ms. Kate and I went to get a pedicure. The place was kind of packed but we waited. From there we drove to a funeral home sixty-five miles away for a visitation. The sister of one of our parishioners passed away and even though we didn’t know the sister, we felt we should go to express our sympathy and support for our parishioners. From there, we rushed back to the church for the Lenten meal and Bible study.

I have a full week ahead of me while Pastor Art is on vacation. Saturday our church is hosting the Men’s Lenten breakfast and worship service for our local Evansville Council of Churches. We expect around a hundred men to show up for it. It starts at 0700 and we have to start working the prep around 0530. I haven’t been to one in years but as the host church I need to do the welcome etc. Then od course we have Sunday services, and a week full of meetings, Bible Studies and other things. For a “part-time” job, sometimes it is “full-time” work. But, I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to come back out of retirement so I’m not complaining at all. God has allowed me to continue serving Him and the church. I couldn’t be doing anything better with my life. (Maybe something more fun sometimes; but not anything better.)

Ms. Kate wants to go shopping for artificial flowers to decorate headstones. The Christmas flowers are past time to remove and we want to get new ones on the graves before Easter. So maybe this afternoon, when the tempeerature gets above freezing we’ll head out to some craft stores or something.

That is about it for today. I’m including you (yes, you) in my prayers today hoping your day is filled with love and joy and good health. May God’s Holy Spirit lift you up and make your world bloom with warmth and love on this cold day. Shalomn

Lots of guests this morning at the back yard buffet and why not. It is a beautiful morning to fly out to your local bird seed eatery for some breakfast before you start nest building or what ever birds do during the day. There isn’t a cloud to be seen in that bright blue sky this morning. Weather dude says that the wind is going to pick up pretty heavily this afternoon though. I just might have to get my little garden tiller out this afternoon and see if the garden is dry enough to work up. However, as beautiful as it is out there now, weather-dude actually aid we might have some snow flurries this evening and tomorrow. Let me tell you —- I think God has a real sense of humor.

The daffodils are heads up and blooming this morning in the front flower bed. My daffodils in the back yard though are still in the bud stage and nothing has opened. The crocuses are blooming, the pussy willow is blooming and the tulips are up about two inches. The forsythia is budding out too. Our forsythia never has done very well and I don’t have a clue as to why. They are a plant that when they bloom fully can be beautiful. But when they only partially bloom, —- well, they just look sad. Ours always just looks sad. I need to get out there and put some Epsom Salt on the plants. It is a spring time thing to do. And I need to go to Lowes and pick up my fertilizer and yard feed with grub worm killer in it. Stuff to do, stuff to do.

I did go to see my parishioner yesterday at the nursing home that I talked about yesterday. He didn’t remember me and I’m not all that surprised. He’s eight years older than me and we never ran in the same circles other than at church. His wife was there so we had a good visit, and were able to keep him in the conversation as much as possible in that he can’t talk.

Today is “do the taxes day” for sure so, I think it is time for me to stop what I’m doing and go do them. Maybe, we can get them done and then I can still get outside and work up the garden. Wish me luck. Peace.

 

Monday, Monday; it has to be Monday because I'm up and not sitting in my recliner but instead am having a cup of coffee while I get ready for work. I need to be at the office by 0900 although there is no one sitting there waiting for me to punch a clock. I can't complain since I only have to be there until 1200 and then I can go do some visitation. I need to go visit one person in particular and I know it will be a hard visit. The fellow has had a stroke and can not talk so that means I need to do all of the talking. Nor can I take him communion because he has to have a feeding tube and can't eat by mouth. Bless his heart. I've known him for years. He is a few years older than me and was always active in sports and other kinds of physical activity. I haven't seen him since he had his strokes and that has been several years; so I don't know his physical limitations for sure. However, we have some pictures here at the church that he drew and painted so he obviously has some use of his arms.

It is another cloudy day with rain on and off. I was in the sun porch first thing when I got up and there were several birds out there; cardinals, starlings, mockingbirds, red headed woodpeckers, and a blue jay. They are all what I call the "long beak birds" and they have no problem fussing and fighting one another for a place at the bark butter feeders. And that was going on first thing. The woodpecker would come in and run off the cardinals. The starlings would come in and run off the woodpeckers and the mocking birds came in and fussed and fought with all of them. The only one that had little challenge was the blue jay. He's bigger than the rest. I guess in the "bird-world"size matters.

I'm trying to work on my Bible study presentation still but have at least come up with a plan and started my research for it. It is only a half hour max presentation. I'm thinking I'll do it on The Cross and the Crucifixion. What did it mean and who actually was responsible for Jesus being crucified? My hope is that I can ask the right questions, the right way, to generate discussion. I know many people believe there is only one way to answer questions concerning faith and religion but I’m not one of them. I’ve never been a Biblical literalist that says “this is the only answer and you must accept what I tell you.” If we were all indentical in our thinking and actions, Gos would only need one of us. Why make a billion copies of a circle if they are all identical. I also have no problem answering a question with “I don’tknow The answer to that question; — let’s explore it together.”

Enough for today, I have work to be done and places to go. Have a geat day and a great week. Shalomn.

It is a sunny Saturday and that is just wonderful. We certainly can use a sunny and dry day. Although, I have a grandson up in New Hampshire who has been going through the winter weather cyclone the last couple of days and it has been really scairy fo them. We also have a friend who posted a picture of her car that is smashed to heck by a large tree laying on it. They really got hit hard with wind and rain and snow in the north east portion of the country. So, I’ll not complain about a couple of days rain. I’m just thankful for what we do have and I’m thankful that none of my family or friend were injured by their storm.

I have lots of birds at the backyard buffet this morning. God has sent me an extra helping of blessing because the bluebirds were here first thing. I need to refill some feeders today. It is going to be a good day to do a little yard work. The ground is drying out some and I can walk around without getting too muddy.

Yesterday we went to Bob’s place and got the sawdust to put on my asparagus. I took some large plastic bags and we put it in tem. It kept the saw dust from flying out of the bed of the truck and made it easy to use when I got home. I put a four inch layer on my asparagus bed and them took the other three bags that I had to Karen for her asparagus.

To day is my grandsonMatthew’s twentieth birthday. It once again reminds me that our grandkids are growing up. Only Jon is a teenager anymore. Josh is thirty, Amanda is twenty one, Lauren is twenty and now Matt is twenty. That leaves Jon at seventeen. Seems like only yesterday they were just children. Where did the time go?

Julie will be here a little later today and spend the night with us. We haven’t seen her since Christmas so there will be a little neck-hugging to catch up on. I do love my girls and I feel so blessed that all of our kids love Ms. Kate and I. So many families fight and are estranged from one another. But our family is constantly in contact with one another. The girls keep the Facebook Mssenger chat going everyday and so do we. I pray they will always stay close despite the distance in miles. I am an adopted child  and only have one known blood relative and that is a sister who was adopted along with me. We were close for six and a half decades but now are estranged and haven’t seen each other or talked to each other for a couple of years. I don’t know that either of us know where to begin again and perhaps there comes a point where there is just nothing left to be said in life. I just pray that doesn’t happen to any of our girls.

Enough drama talk. The sun is shining and I need to get off of my rump and do something worth while. I hope you have a blessed weekend. Peace.

A blessed Friday morning to you. It definitely looks warm out side but that would be a fooler this morning. It is actually only thirty six degrees with a "real feel" of thirty two, so it is a bit chilly to say the least.

I've called my buddy Bob already this morning and will be going up to his house at 1330 to pick up some of his load of saw dust to put on my asparagus. I don't know how much he has or wants to get rid of. He asked if I thought sister- in-law Karen might want some for her garden and she does. So, we'll see what he has and go from there. I'm thinking that I will put it in large bags unless he has a pickup loaded that he's wanting to give me. It would be easier to transport if I have it in large yard type bags. It wouldn't blow all over everything. I thought about taking a couple of wash-tubs up but that won't hold what I need.

I have several things I want to get done today. I need to get the chains off of the John Deere. I'm pretty sure we are done with freezing ice type weather until winter by now. I'll not take the snow blade off just yet. We have been known to have snow up until the middle and even late part of March. But it won't be with ice so I can get that done. I'd like to do some raking but it is just too muddy. The same goes for doing anything in the garden. I'm like most people, get a little sunny weather this time of year and it begins to feel like planting time. St. Patrick's Day is coming in a couple of weeks so if we want to plant any potatoes, I'll need to prep some ground for a hill or two of potatoes. And it will be early  lettuce and radish time soon too. 

I took my truck in for service yesterday. Had them do the regular oil change, rotate tires etc and I also had them adjust and clean the rear brakes. The brakes were just out of tolerance for what I like them to feel like so I had them correct that. Other than that, everything was pretty well on target. Oh, they tried to talk me into doing a couple of things with the old sales pitch of, "well , your mileage, we recommend" but heck, I don't have fifty thousand miles on that truck yet and I drive it once or twice a week if that. So, I think I will just wait and then we'll plan a trip to North Carolina where I know Gary will look my truck over and tell me what is right and what might need to be done, and he'll absolutely do it correctly. He's the best mechanic I know and it is worth driving it down there to him.

I have a couple of things I need to do for "work" too. I have the Lenten Bible study to conduct on the 14th and have not come up with an idea yet. It needs to take up about thirty minutes. It isn't a matter of lack of subjects, it is a matter of trying to fit a singular subject into a single Bible study. But, I have time to come up with something.

Time to get off of the computer and go do some manual labor. I hope your day is as bright as the sunshine and caries you all the way through God's wonderful weekend. Take stock of your blessings and give thanks for them. Share your love with a stranger. You could be the most positive thing to happen to someone all weekend just by sharing a smile and a friendly "hello". We never know what God will use us for. Peace.

I’ve been sitting here watching weather happen. Initially the sky was cloudy and dull and was promising rain. I knew we are supposed to have a cold front move through this morning and the temperatures will drop about ten degrees. Well, the wind picked up, the rain moved through and now the skies are much brighter in the west so that tells me the front has now pushed through. The really good news is that we are allegedly in store now for a sunny weekend even if it will be a bit cool. We did have a couple of days of sunshine earlier in the week and that tends to brighten everyone’s attitude. Today is the first day of meteorological spring, what ever the heck that means. It tells me that “official spring” is 21 days away.

Last night was the weekly Lenten meal and bible study. Pastor Art did a talk on “The Humor of Jesus”. He will continue the series next week. I like the concept he is talking about. We Christians liked to act as if Jesus spent three years walking around preaching 24/7 and never smiled and was always serious. But —- walking around with twelve men —- you can’t tell me that nobody farted in those three years and it didn’t bring about riotous laughter from everyone of them including Jesus. I’m betting the human part of Jesus found all manner of things to laugh about. I doubt though that Pastor Art will mention that. He’s a great guy but I suspect he doesn’t tell fart jokes. LOL

I have an appointment to take my truck in for service in a couple of hours. I don’t drive it enough to rack up many miles on it. I haven’t had the oil changed in at least nine months because I haven’t driven the 5000 miles. So, it is time to do that.

Julie is coming down for a visit this weekend. She hasn’t been here since Christmas. She has to go to Indianapolis first thing in the morning and will come here directly from Indy. So, it will be just her —- no hubby and no dogs. She might just actually get a full night’s sleep without dogs waking her up in the middle of the night go go out.

I need to cut back the hydrangias as soon as it dries out a little. I cut back the asparagus yesterday before the rain. I’m going tomorrow to Bob’s house to pick up some saw dust to put on my asparagus. It is also time to get the Epson Salts puton the plants. Spring is popping and thee are annual things to do.

That’s it for today my friends. Nothing worth shouting about except the love of God. I urge you to stop, and give thanks for received blessings and then share them. Peace.