Saturday....in the cold

In the winter of our discontent, which goes on and on and on. Today's amusement has been looking at rental properties in the South, for "the five year plan" Ha--we will not--I repeat not-- be here for four more of these winters! This one and the next because we must and then we will see. That and continuing to dream about the Texas road trip keeps us sane as we look at the piles of dirty snow, and and shiver in the still single-digit temps and wait for the Spring that seems like it will never come.

The sermon is done, so we can go play today. The plan is to deliver a birthday cake, run some errands and go to a play tonight at the local college. That sermon was a bit of a struggle. I ended up going more with Father Abraham and a nod to the Gospel. That wasn't where I started, but it's where I went, so maybe it's where I was supposed to go. I'll take that and assume some Spirit at work.

Tomorrow we are discerning two new people for our ministry team, one for youth work and another for evangelism with young adults. This is sort of a leap of faith as neither population is very present among us at this point. So it's kind of an "if we build it they will come" proposition...and this is truly what these folks are feeling called to, so, we will listen, discern and off we go.

We'd like to take Gladys the Mini out for a spin, but she really does not enjoy ice and snow on her skirts. Getting to her in the back garage would require some heavy lifting, and R would have to clear some significant ice humps in the driveway to make way for her ladyship. She really is not a winter car, so maybe not this week yet. *sigh* Back to the practical pickup.

R and I are also meeting with our organist tomorrow to choose our "coming and going" music for the wedding. One more thing off that giant checklist. It gets smaller every day, as do the number of days I have to accomplish it. I'm starting to get a little anxious about things. The big one is "what if ________ does not show up." And on any give day it's fill in your favorite blank...the caterer, the DJ, the cake. There are some people I have no worries about, and they are truly the important ones...the GROOM for one! TBTG :) I also know that my clergy gals will be on board as will my faithful Soul Sisters to witness and attend. So the important things will happen. It's more the feeding and entertaining of the multitudes at the after-festivities that are giving me the 4 a.m fits at this point. So I have set R to work on dealing with the DJ (that is the guy that worries me the most for various reasons) and calling back the caterer as he has a personal contact there. I have the invitations ready to roll...they go out Monday, and I will go see the cake lady and the florist soon. The liturgy is coming along nicely, the service booklet is almost done, the readings and hymns are chosen, I just have to finalize the last few things there and it's off to the printer. Whew! When I decided I wanted a "real" wedding, I had no clue how much stuff there was all involved....and this is really just a simple little thing for the most part...a wedding liturgy, a little dinner and a party for friends and family to celebrate the whole thing. I have actually found myself thinking "I will be glad when it's done" and then feeling bad about even having that thought about my one and only wedding.

An additional concern we are having is R's dad. His health continues to decline and the family is pulling together to keep him living independently as is his wish. Please keep him and them in your prayers.

So we trudge on (because that's what you do here in the back end of winter...you trudge) and wait for things to melt and warm. The Almanac says March promises more cold, more snow, but the local forecast says the next couple weeks might be a little warmer. In the meantime, we remain hopeful that Spring will come, as it always does.