Wednesday, November 15, 2017

This was our eight-and-a-half-hour day since we go early on Wednesday’s to serve as assistant shift coordinators.  Along with those responsibilities I was the veil director and was happy it was my turn early in the morning before it became too busy.  Every responsibility we have gets just a little easier with experience, but there are still subjective and on-the-spot decisions that have to be made that make it challenging.  I like laid out plans with black and white instructions—then I’m good to go.  However, we must learn to rely on the Spirit when things don’t go according to a plan.  This work keeps me humble.

When we were getting out of the car upon our return this afternoon, I saw a beautiful red cardinal sitting under a tree, just posing for me and begging for a photo.  We moved carefully and tried not to make any noise, but this awesome red bird was too perceptive to sit still for long and flew into nearby bushes seconds before the camera was ready.  Oh, well.  I’ll watch for it every day and maybe it will pose for me again. 

“The male Northern Cardinal . . . is a shade of red you can’t take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents. Cardinals don’t migrate and they don’t molt into a dull plumage, so they’re still breathtaking in winter’s snowy backyards. In summer, their sweet whistles are one of the first sounds of the morning.”

” Northern Cardinals can be found in dense shrubby areas, . . .nest in dense foliage, and look for conspicuous, fairly high perches for singing.”  Some have been known to live for 15 years.

There will be a quiz tomorrow on . . .  just kidding 😊

I stopped at the nursery where all the pumpkins were displayed in the front parking lot just a couple of weeks ago.  Inside the pretty shop were all kinds of plants, live flowers, fresh pine wreaths that smelled heavenly, and an assortment of Christmas decorations.  After browsing—Glade was at The Sweat Shop so I was free to just stroll and gaze—through the displays, I realized that there was not one mention of, or reference to, the Savior or even the word “Christmas.”  There was not a single nativity, and all the ornaments and advent calendars, cards and decorations were pleasant, but lacking in what Christmas is all about.  I was surprised since this seems to be the type of community that would celebrate the birth of Christ openly despite the push to be politically correct and only celebrate with “Holiday” greetings.  There are several Christian churches up and down the streets that would surely support real Christmas offerings.  Maybe they will offer more in the weeks ahead.

Can you believe November is half over?  Incredibly fast it is fleeting!  Do you all have plans for a special Thanksgiving dinner with family some place.  Next year I would love to have everyone home for this holiday.  Wishful thinking—I know.  But I would still love it.  Do you-all remember your cousin Lisa McFadden?  She lives in Virginia and has invited us to come for Thanksgiving dinner.  It was so thoughtful of her.