27°F clear S@14mph

Morning Offering given

Village sleeps

Coffee good

Looks like cloud cover will move in as the day progresses with rain & snow possibly beginning tomorrow.

Let us take a moment to offer prayers for those in California & in the Northeastern State that they remain safe during the winter weather they are having. Here we are fortunate to have excellent snow removal equipment and experienced snow removers that is not the case in California and some parts of the Northeast. This then leads me to prayers of thanksgiving for the excellent snow removal teams we do have.

Day 74 of Catechism in a Year… how goes it for you?

Once again I am out of books, a trip to the library is instore today

5 days till Spring… yes I am counting.

Matthew 5:17… Do not think that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but *to fulfill. * “To fulfill”: By accomplishing all the figures and prophecies; and perfecting all that was imperfect. (Jesus came to bring to fulfillment the plan God had in mind for his people from the beginning. His purpose in coming was to fulfill not abolish.) Let’s think about that for a moment. Because of Jesus, his death, and his resurrection, we can now have an intimate relationship with God. We can receive all the grace we need to live a life pleasing to God. We have the Holy Spirit to convict, teach, and guide us as well as brothers and sisters in Christ to walk with us and support us on the way.

The man will be taking the month of April to work on finishing what we started last fall here at the house. A few prayers would be awesome so we get this project finished up.

Did you know there is a region in Wisconsin called “Gitchee Gumee”? Check out the history of Lake Superior and the native tribes that lived there and those who continue to call it home. It reminded me of this poem by Longfellow.

Hiawatha’s Childhood
By the shores of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.
Dark behind it rose the forest,
Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,
Rose the firs with cones upon them;
Bright before it beat the water.
Beat the clear and sunny water,
Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.
There the wrinkled old Nokomis
Nursed the little Hiawatha.
Rocked him in his linden cradle,
Bedded soft in moss and rushes,
Safely bound with reindeer sinews;
Stilled his fretful wail by saying,
“Hush, the Naked Bear will hear thee!”
Lulled him into slumber, singing,
“Ewa-yea! my little owlet!
Who is this, that lights the wigwam?
With his great eyes lights the wigwam?
Ewa-yea! my little owlet!”
Many things Nokomis taught him
Of the stars that shine in heaven;
Showed him lshkoodah, the comet,
lshkoodah, with fiery tresses,
Showed the Death-Dance of the spirits,
Warriors with their plumes and war-clubs
Flaring far away to northward
In the frosty nights of winter;
Showed the broad white road in heaven,
Pathway of the ghosts, the shadows,
Running straight across the heavens,
Crowded with the ghosts, the shadows.
At the door on summer evenings,
Sat the little Hiawatha,
Heard the whispering of the pine-trees,
Heard the lapping of the waters,
Sounds of music, words of wonder;
“Minne-wawa!” said the pine-trees,
“Mudway-aushka!” said the water.
Saw the fire-fly Wah-wah-taysee,
Flitting through the dusk of evening,
With the twinkle of its candle
Lighting up the brakes and bushes,
And he sang the song of children,
Sang the song Nokomis taught him;
“Wah-wah-taysee, little fire-fly,
Little flitting, white-fire insect,
Little, dancing, white-fire creature,
Light me with your little candle,
Ere upon my bed I lay me,
Ere in sleep I close my eyelids!”
Saw the moon rise from the water,
Rippling, rounding from the water,
Saw the flecks and shadows on it,
Whispered, “What is that, Nokomis?”
And good Nokomis answered:
“Once a warrior, very angry,
Seized his grandmother, and threw her
Up into the sky at midnight;
Right against the moon he threw her;
‘Tis her body that you see there.”
Saw the rainbow in the heaven,
In the eastern sky the rainbow,
Whispered, “What is that, Nokomis?”
And the good Nokomis answered:
“‘Tis the heaven of flowers you see there;
All the wild-flowers of the forest,
All the lilies of the prairie,
When on earth they fade and perish,
Blossom in that heaven above us.”
When he heard the owls at midnight,
Hooting, laughing in the forest,
“What is that?’ he cried in terror;
“What is that,” he said, “Nokomis?”
And the good Nokomis answered;
“That is but the owl and owlet,
Talking in their native language,
Talking, scolding at each other.”
Then the little Hiawatha
Learned their names and all their secrets,
How they built their nests in summer,
Where they hid themselves in winter,
Talked with them whene’er he met them,
Called them “Hiawatha’s Chickens.”
Of all beasts he learned the language,
Learned their names and all their secrets,
How the beavers built their lodges,
Where the squirrels hid their acorns,
How the reindeer ran so swiftly,
Why the rabbit was so timid,
Talked with them whene’er he met them,
Called them “Hiawatha’s Brothers.

Know that you are prayed for.