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Yesterday was one of those days.

Snow fell.  Wind blew.

In Saskatchewan that means that the high velocity stirred up blizzard conditions.  On the road, the conditions were icy as the temperature approached freezing. 

Snow catches on pavement and begins to melt, then to freeze.  Other snow catches on the frozen spots.  Drifts form and soon travel is both restricted in what you can see, and drifts create literal road blocks.

As I drove to work, I wondered about a ladies study that was scheduled.  The ladies come from within town, and outside.  Soon after I arrived, the study had been cancelled.  A smart move.

By noon I headed home.  My wife was back from morning work out in the countryside, and she decided not to venture out again in the afternoon.  My decision was to do some visiting next door to our home, at the local senior’s manor, and work on a sermon.  

Today, the wind is down.  I’m headed off to the church.  We’ll see what a new day holds.  This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!!

That is the question of the morning.

I headed to bed yesterday with a cold medication.  This morning I’m feeling fairly well.  Unfortunately the symptoms are creeping back.

We’ll see how the day goes.  After a statutory holiday, I am hoping to head back to the office and prepare for the coming weeks.  There are sermons and Sunday School, a farewell and annual meeting, along with the regular tasks of the day.

All in a day’s work, as they say.

Provided the cold doesn’t waylay me!!

The weekend was spent in watching a play in which Cynthia’s daughter and her husband were acting.  Bryan was the lead character, Samantha was a part of the chorus.  The production was well done.  I can see why Bryan’s push towards being a professional actor is certainly well directed.

The rest of the weekend was here and there with meals and people.  Friends and family brought forward updates and advice and fun.  The difference in visiting in Calgary vs. Kindersley is that you have to travel.  Most treks were at least 20 – 30 minutes in length.  Timing your travel amidst traffic can be a bit of a trick.

On the other hand, I have been fighting a cold that has begun to blossom.  Right now it is just irritating.  I expect the next few days will see an increase in coughing, tiredness and whatever else goes along with a cold.

One of my takeaways from the weekend relates to playing a role.  In the theatrical production the one character uses the Bible to prove a point, one of the main protagonists is a conservative southern preacher.  In “real life” the  actor who uses the Bible would characterize himself as an atheist and the actor who plays the conservative preacher is a homosexual.  In a very real sense, the actors play the opposite of their daily lives.

How we perceive the purveyor of words may affect whether we will eagerly listen to them, but are the words themselves voided by the character of the one who speaks them?  This question goes back millennia – Paul sits in a prison and others speak about the Good News of Jesus, but do it only for selfish gain. or out of envy.  Seems that Paul still accepts that what is spoken is powerful regardless of who does the speaking (Philippians 1:15-18). 

A bit of an argument to listen to others – even the worst of people may have a nugget of truth tucked away in their arsenal of words! 

This is the time of year where we run our annual meeting.  With transitioning that is happening, I ‘m thankful the meeting was scheduled for a little later this year.

Our Associate Pastor is headed out of town by February 28th.  His goal and the vision God has given him relates to reaching Montreal for Christ.  The picture is huge, the first step is getting there.  One way or the other, he will be headed to Montreal in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, a transitional plan which would have propelled me into retirement, has been set aside.  What the next step is, I (and we) are not sure.  I’ve spent time in personal retreat and am starting to contact others for advice. 

Looking over our annual report one characteristic stands out.  The reports are basically the same, but each one seems to be abbreviated from the previous years version.  I had somewhere around 8 pages – this year 2. 

We were in the midst of the year talking about waiting.  I think I begin to see the sense that was there.  You can’t make huge long reports when you are waiting to see what is coming.  You might catch a glimpse of  the train that is on the track, but you can’t yet describe it.  There is a light on the front!  The rest is still to be revealed.

God knows, and we will discover!