Tuesday, February 2, 2021


The good news is that we are almost at the midpoint of winter; The ancient Celts celebrated today in the festival called Imbolc. Just like it appropriated other pagan holidays, the early church designated the day as Candlemas, the day Mary presented Jesus in the temple and goes through her purification rite. Christmas and Epiphany are over but my neighbor still has the lights and this strange version of the camel looking animal from Star Wars.


The midpoint this year according to the Farmer’s Almanac is actually tomorrow at 4:49 PM, o less.  By then we’re supposed to have a sunny day and by Thursday we’ll have a balmy 40 degrees.  But don’t get your hopes up.  Friday may see more snow. 


Yesterday the birds ate their way through three blocks of suet.  I’m glad I bought a lot last week, not to mention the 20-pound bag of bird seed.  What I really wonder about, though, is how the birds keep warm at night.  Somehow the idea of fluffing feathers doesn’t sound too warming, but I’m not a bird.  And now it’s time to put out more suet and bird seed. It still seems to be snowing.


Prayer for the Day


We feel a chill in the early winter morning, O God,

   And long for the warmth only you can give;

We see a world blanketed in white, O Lord,

   And think about the spring to come.

May the cold outside only increase our fervor for you,

   So we may be the disciples you call us to be.

In the name of the disciple we follow,

   Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.


Thoughts for the Day


On harsh, frigid winter days I often think of our small feathered friends… . In the stark white landscape, they provide a splash of colour and their songs gave us hope through the long silent winter.

                        - Arlene Stafford-Wilson, Canadian writer


So what is one’s country? Is it land of the earth, in a specific place? . . . Is one’s country the trees, the vineyards, the grass, the birds, the rocks and hills in summer and winter?

                         - William Saroyan, American novelist (1908-1981)


Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness;

  Come into God’s presence with singing.

Know that the Lord is God.  It is God who has made us and we belong to God.

   We are God’s people and the sheep of God’s pasture.

                              Psalm 100: 1-3