We will see how this goes this morning. I’m sitting in my car with my IPad precariously wedged between my belly and my steering wheel trying to write. Ms. Kate has a doctors appointment first thing and I decided to wait in the car. It shouldn’t take too long for her since it is early and the doctors haven’t had time to get backed up yet. Actually, I don’t know if she even sees a doctor. It is for her yearly mammogram so maybe she will only see a radiologist who will do the test and then let her know what the results are after a doctor has read them. I don’t now; never had one, never want one from what Ms. Kate describes of it. Any way, she is supposed to call me when she is ready for pick up.  The hospital parking lot is full as it always is on the first couple of days each week. So I dropped her off, found a place to park, and will wait.

It has been what I call a “cows and flat rocks” morning so far. Lots of heavy rain so far but at the moment it is quiet. I’m glad to see the rain because we are running about two and a half inches short for the month and my garden waas really needing it. Now maybe the okra will put on. My tomatoes are really putting a lot on. I can have all the tomato sandwiches I want.  I do love tomatoes and summer time when I can just walk out to the little garden, pull a tomato of of the vine and eat it fresh like God intended me to. LOL

I had a very good counseling session last evening with a couple of my parishioners. It was obvious that one of them was really needing to talk to someone. He really is carrying around a lot of baggage and it is weighing him down. Hopefully we unpacked some of it and tossed it to the garbage can where it belongs. We’ll meet again next Monday and talk some more. I’m certainly not a certified counselor, — but sometimes, —- all people need is to know someone will actually just sit and listen to them and care about them. That is where we are with this session. Knowing someone will listen to us without judgement can be a tremendous healer. I just ask God to give me the right things to say or the right advice to pass on.

I think when we leave here we need to go find a produce stand and pickup a cantaloupe and a watermelon. Our area grows some of the best there is and we probably should get one don’t you think?  In the meantime, I have a couple of Max Lucado articles to read and I need to concentrate on them as my morning devotional. I pray you will have a great day. Shalomn.

Ta-daa! Welcome to Monday. It's cloudy, there are a few sprinkles coming down and the sidewalk is almost wet. There is a hummingbird battle going on in the backyard as the two of them chase one another off of the feeder and off of the phlox. It looks like the hummingbird feeder is empty. I just filled that thing on Saturday. I can't believe the two birds drank all of that sugar water already. I must not have screwed the lid back on correctly or it wasn't as tight as I thought it was. After I get back from the office today I'll fill up the feeders again. I was trying to do too many things when I filled it the other day and probably did it wrong.

From looking at the rest of the feeders I need to fill them up too. But first I need to go to Rural King and buy some more peanut butter pellets. I used my last bag on Saturday and they are already gone. I also bought two new jars of peanut butter to put out. I don't know why everything seems to be eating a lot more right now. Maybe the slightly cooler temperatures have fooled them into thinking they need to be preparing for fall or something. According to the weather folks, we are in for a week of cooler temperatures which I'm sure will not hurt anyone's feelings.

I'm lifting up prayers today for the people of California who are experiencing horrible wildfires. I think the total of lives lost so far is nine and countless homes have been destroyed as well as thousands of acres burned. This fire is up in the Redding, CA area and the Cascade mountains. There is virtually no way to get control of it because the terrain is so rugged. My first Air Force duty station was up just north of that area and it is beautiful country, or at least it was. I'm not sure if this is the one or not, but one of the massive fires that is currently raging was purposely set. I don't understand the mindset of a person that would do something like that. What kind of a person would purposely set a forest on fire with no care whether it killed people or animals or destroyed homes.

We had a much smaller congregation yesterday. Part of the people were out doing a Christian education program for new Christians. But there were a bunch of our folks that are getting their camping in before school starts again. When the camping group takes off, it takes at least twenty out of the pews.  But, I hope they had a good camping weekend. It was perfect weather for it.

Well, it is time for me to get to work and see what's gong on at the church today. I have  meeting this evening at 1700 hours with a couple of men. One is rejoining the church and the other is his son and is going to be baptized and join the church in a couple of weeks. So tonight is a counselling session for that. Pray for the three of us.

I hope you have a pleasant day and are full of good thoughts as you start a new week. Peace.

My days seldom end up like I laid them out in the beginning. But that’s life from an armchair or recliner. I had planned on going out and pulling some weeds from the flowerbeds but I got a text from Julie telling me that the book I had ordered through her bookstore was in and did I want her to send it right out. Ms. Kate said “why don’t we just drive over and get it? “ So we showered and got dressed and took off for New Albany, 120 miles away, to pick up my book, drop off some tomatoes, and some clothes that Jules had left here last weekend. What can I say, it’s worth a 240 mile round trip to be able to hug one of my kids.

We basically did just a “turn-around” over there. We had talked about going on across the Ohio River to the east side of Louisville and having lunch at P.F. Chang’s, Ms. Kate’s favorite restaurant. But, we decided that by the time we got there, had lunch, and started home, we’d be in 4:00 Friday evening traffic and no way did we want to be involved in that. So, we came home, took a nap, got up and went to the grocery store. One certainly lives on the edge of excitement when you get to be our age.

It is already pretty warm outside so I’m thinking that I need to go downstairs and practice my trumpet for awhile, maybe work on a sermon for awhile, and I have to work on my pastoral prayer for tomorrow. I generally write those out. I know God doesn’t mind if I repeat myself and run on a bit, but congregations are less understanding than God. LOL. I’d hate to hear somebody start snoring in the middle of my prayer. It is interesting that these days we don’t have the congregation stand durning the Pastoral Prayer. When I was a kid, we always stood during that prayer. It seemed like the preacher prayed forever! More than once I felt the hand of my mother or father on my shoulder or head as I shuffled back and forth from foot to foot or swayed back and forth in my boredom.

Wow! I got my property tax bill from the state of Illinois yesterday. Through inheritance, we are part owners of some farm ground in southern Illinois. My cousin farms it and we just get a “cash-rent” check at the end of the season for whatever he has planted. BUt the taxes on just our portion of the property have gone up by $250.00 since 2016. Illinois has some of the highest taxes in the nation. We owned a home in Collingville, Illinois for boot four years and the taxes on that small place went up astronomically over the four years. I know that state is broke form all of the years of corruption and mis-management but —- they seem to not understand that they can’t tax their way out of debt. People are fleeing the state and moving to other states like here in Indiana.

Time to sign off for today, Have a great weekend. Peace.

It is another beautiful morning as the sun creeps over my roof to light up the back yard. We had a chance of getting some rain last night but it would appear that it didn’t happen. The phlox and other plants are looking a little droopy this morning. I’ll need to water the potted plants today for sure. And while I’m at it I might as well clean out the bird baths again. The humidity is lower and the temperature is supposed to stay in the low eighties today so I think it will be a great day to do a little work outside in these flowerbeds.

It’s Friday and believe it or not, it is the last Friday in July already. It is interesting that some times the days seem to drag along and we go about do our thing and all of a sudden it is later than you think. How did it get to be the end of July already? Of course this year has been confusing because of the weather. None of our weather has owned up to its actual season. Today for instance it almost feels like fall and I’ve seen a few leaves already dropping. We seemingly had only about two days of spring and then summer was all over us. So, let me go on record right now —- I’m predicting a cold and snowy winter. Let’s hope I’m wrong. I’m basing my prediction on absolutely nothing so the scientific reasoning is out the window. However, my friend who lives in Colorado was posting pictures of the hail they received yesterday and it was deep enough to shovel.

I’m re-reading a book about my church denomination. It is an ”Un-Official explanation of the United Church of Christ” and is a good book to explain what we stand for, and what we believe etc.. I wanted to refamiliarize myself with some of the history and stuff, and this book cuts through a lot of the stodgy stuff and says it all in a manner that isn’t boring. Of course, it has now led me to purchase yet another book because it raised a question in my mind that I had not heard asked before. That’s why my book shelves are double stacked and I don’t have room for anymore book cases. I really need to thin out my library. But as sure as I get rid of some, I’ll need them. I know I can “Google” most anything I want to know but that doesn’t give me the whole picture. I sometimes look back on my childhood and wonder how I ever really got any research done. I was fortunate enough that my parents bought a set of Compton’s Encyclopedias. Many homes never had those. I used to set and read them and be facinated by “the world” that was out there. Now people just whip out their IPhone and they have their answers to their question instantly. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. But —- I do it a lot too.

Time to wrap this up and get busy. Have a blessed day. Shalomn.

A bright and happy Thursday to you. It’s a beautiful morning; not too hot just yet and the humidity is still in the tolerable level. I’ve had enough guests at he buffet that I may have to go fill some feeders again. I already went out and filled one of the bird baths becaus it was getting low enough that the finches were having to lean way over into the bowl to get a drink. Once I filled it, it didn’t take long for the rim to be crowded with finches getting a drink. Running a backyard buffet requires a lot of care and maintenance. LOL.

Thursday morning is “game morning” for Ms. Kate and me. We both play a couple of computer games on our IPads and computers. She plays Bingo, Klondike, and two different Criminal Case games. I play Bingo, and the two different Criminal Case games. Thursday morning is when Ms. Kate gets “a new land” to develop on Klondike and I get a new case on Criminal Case. I might seem very silly for us to be doing these games but I will tell you that they are good memory exercises for both of us. If we can keep our brains a little sharper by playing these games, —- so much the better. It sure beats watching the television, although tonight is the night to watch “Mountain Men”, a favorite of both of us and one of the few that we watch together. We also do Swamp People and Survivor together. Other than that —- our television preferences differ vastly. She watches crime/drama anything and I watch things like Destination Unknown, and a couple of paranormal shows and HGTV —- a lot! I also love nature documentaries. I watch those and I just sit amazed at the wonders that God had created. I am amazed at the intricate nature and balance that exists to maintain this world. I am a scientific creationist. I believe that God and only God set this world into motion and caused all of this to be. But, — whether God did this through millions of years of evolution or snapped God’s fingers and it happened —- well, that is of no concern to me. But I will never accept that nature is an accident. I don’t believe that the tiny beating heart of that hummingbird out there is an accident or are the beautiful colors and intricate design of its feathers. Nope —- that my friends is all Divine Intervention. 

OK, so I’m just now sitting here,minding my own business and a dowel rod that I had propped up by the door for weeks just fell over all on its own. So, speaking of the paranormal, I wonder whose spirit just walked through here to get my attention. There was no breeze, no vibration, no movement of the door —— it just fell over from where it has been securely sitting for weeks. Hmmmm.   

It’s time for another cup of coffee and a leftover Bavarian Creme donut from Dunkin Donuuts. I picked up a half dozen yesterday on the way home from the office and we ate the first four. Then I need to get downstairs and practice my trumpet for awhile. I’m doing so every other day for thirty minutes and hope I get it will be enough to get me through my solo. Until my next writing, I bid you peace and will hold you in my prayers. Shalomn. 

Good morning on this bright Wednesday morning. Join me for a cup of coffee as we watch the critters at the backyard buffet. I filled the feeders yesterday and this morning I have lots of guests. So far the guest list has been mainly finches, sparrows, an occasional cardinal, and the squirrels. The woodpeckers will be here shortly since I put fresh peanut butter out for them. I’m not sure what is going on with my sunflower seed that is in my storage cans. It is clumping up and won’t fall through the holes at the bottom of the feeders for the birds to get at it. Even the squirrels seem to not be eating it like I would think they should. I know there are some bugs in it, (like corn bugs) and there is a kind of sticky consistency on some of the seed. I keep putting it out there and they do eat it but slowly. Maybe the heat has caused it to go bad, —— I just don’t know. Of course I’ve never known squirrels to stick their nose up at anything. They are frankly, just rats with fuzzy tails. I’ve seen them eat stuff from the ground that has lain there for a month so I don’t know. I do now I’m not going to pour thirty pounds of sunflower seed out on the ground for a free for all.

This morning I have office hours again. Pastor Art and Karen and I will meet to go over the calendar and discuss some things about upcoming events. I’m generally there for only a couple of hours on Wednesday. So, I’m trying to get this written before I head out. It might be a short entry today.

Ms. Kate and I went for pedicures yesterday. We go about every four to six weeks and probably should go more often. My big toes tend to get ingrown and it hurts like the dickens when they clean out the sides of the nail or “trenches” as I call them and they clean around the cuticles. I don’t really get my monies worth from a pedicure because my feet are so ticklish that I can’t stand to have them do the rasping and scrubbing on the bottom of my feet. So whoever is doing the job gets off pretty easy.

The clock just chimed 0900 so I better get in the shower and get out of here. I hope you have a pleasant day. Peace.

Hello Tuesday. It is nice to be alive and joining you on this bright and sunny morning. It wold seem that God felt as though I ended another day on this earth so maybe I need to do something good for somebody today. However, for the moment I am very content to sit out here in the sun porch, watch my guests, play my silly Bingo and Criminal Case computer games on my IPad and just enjoy the world around me. I hope you are having an opportunity like that. I think everybody should be afforded some time like that in their life. It sure takes down the blood pressure andfrees up the mind to be open to conversations with God.

I have been trolling on my computer for vacation spots again. Ms. Kate has never been to Washington state or to Alaska. It is the only two states that she has missed. I doubt that we’ll ever get her to Alaska but I would like to get her to WA. So, I’ve been looking for vacation places on the Washington coast. I found quite a few last night and they don’t look all that expensive. Nioiw, we just need to find a time to do it. Two of my four weeks of vacation this year are taken up by reunions of former military groups I was associated with. We’ve already taken one week and our next one is to Gulfport, MS in September. So I guess it will have to wait until next year. Of course, we don’t know that I’ll be working next year so when to go might not be a problem. We already have one week of vacation reserved and partially paid for for next year and that is for our family reunion in Virginia Beach.

The other “bucket list” trip we want to take is to Nova Scotia. I’ve never been there and don’t really know a lot about it. One of my favorite television shows was filmed there and it looks beautiful. And I have read that the best lobster in the world is found in Nova Scotia. We could go and eat out fill of lobster and fresh seafood. We can get good seafood in Washington too but I don’t think I have ever heard of lobster fishing on the west coast. Maybe I need to Google that.

I didn’t get my feeders filled yesterday so the buffet is bare this morning. I still have birds and squirrels but their pickings are slim. We are having a few days of beautiful and less humid weather right now so it would be a good day to get out and do some weed pulling in the flower beds. I also need to practice my trumpet again today. I stretched my practice out to forty minutes on Sunday evening and my lip was still sore most of yesterday. I tried to maybe practice some last night but the lip still hurst. I think I’ll be fine today. I’m playing for church on the 19th of August and while I have the songs down pat, I still need to keep thee lip up. I’m finding that I’m having fun with it again. So, that is my minimalistic plan for today. Some I’ll do, some I won’t. I also need to get in some sermon writing.

I need to quit now, and have a talk or better yet a listen, to the One from who I have received all of the blessings in my life. Have a blessed day.