ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the National Council of Churches.
Rev. Dr. Brooke Petersen understands the profound mental health needs of today’s communities. Petersen, John H. Tietjen Chair of Pastoral Ministry, also believes that addressing mental health and trauma are part and parcel of the healing pastoral caregivers can offer. Through her dual expertise in pastoral care and clinical therapy, Petersen is preparing a new generation of church leaders at LSTC to meet contemporary challenges with courage and compassion.
“Moments of joy and deep suffering are intertwined in ministry,” Petersen reflects, recalling her early days as a parish pastor. These experiences sparked deeper questions, especially following the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s (ELCA) 2009 decision to ordain queer clergy. This milestone brought queer individuals into the church in greater numbers, including the trauma many had endured in previous faith settings. To better understand and address this lived experience of LGBTQIA+ individuals, Petersen focused the topic of her PhD research on religious trauma.
“The language of trauma fit the experiences that some queer people were bringing with them,” Petersen explains. Her work highlights how religious trauma manifests—feeling unsafe, a lack of focus, and disconnection—and how healing unfolds when inclusive spaces allow individuals to reclaim their narratives. Her book, Religious Trauma: Queer Stories in Estrangement and Return, examines these dynamics and offers practical insights for pastors and religious communities to help marginalized individuals find reconciliation and healing within faith communities.
“One needs to engage in explicit welcome – naming in a variety of ways that queer people are welcomed, beloved children of God,” Petersen says. This involves displaying visible symbols of welcome, participating in advocacy for marginalized groups, and repentance for the harms done by religion in the past. “We must help people reclaim their narratives and find love and connection where there was once rejection,” Petersen says.
KJV 1 Timothy 2;12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago is pleased to announce that the Rev. Dr. Shauna Hannan has been appointed as its next President. The decision was affirmed by the Board of Directors following a national search.
A distinguished homiletician, ELCA pastor, and leader in theological education, Dr. Hannan brings more than two decades of experience in the classroom, the congregation, and the broader church. She most recently served as Professor of Homiletics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California, and as core doctoral faculty at the Graduate Theological Union, where she taught and mentored students at the doctoral, master’s, and certificate levels.
Dr. Hannan is widely regarded for her innovative approaches to preaching, her scholarship on collaborative and contextual theology, and her passion for empowering emerging leaders. She is the author of The Peoples’ Sermon: Preaching as a Ministry of the Whole Congregation (Fortress Press, 2021), and co-author of Scripting a Sermon: Using the Wisdom of Filmmaking for Impactful Preaching (WJK, 2024), among many other publications. Dr. Hannan embodies the spirit of thoughtful faithfulness that defines our seminary. Her gifts as a teacher, preacher, and community-builder make her uniquely suited to lead LSTC into its next season of growth and transformation.
“I am honored and humbled to be called as the next president of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. LSTC’s vision for a church committed to justice, peace, and care for all people and creation is more vital now than ever. I look forward to working with LSTC’s dedicated faculty, staff, board, students, alumni and partners,” Dr. Hannan said. “Together, we will build on the seminary’s rich legacy to shape a new chapter that ensures LSTC’s long-term sustainability and deepens its capacity to steward the world God so deeply loves with determination and even a faithful dose of delight along the way.”
A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary (PhD, Practical Theology), Luther Seminary (MDiv), and Concordia College (Moorhead) (BA), Dr. Hannan has preached, taught, and led workshops across five continents. She is ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and has long been active in ELCA candidacy and leadership formation.
“The Board of Directors is honored to welcome the Rev. Dr. Shauna Hannan as LSTC’s next President,” said Greg Lewis, Chair of the LSTC Board of Directors. “Dr. Hannan brings a rare combination of pastoral wisdom, academic distinction, and visionary leadership. We are confident that under her guidance, LSTC will continue to grow as a seminary that prepares bold, faithful leaders for a changing church and world.”
Dr. Hannan will begin her term as President July 1, 2025, and will be formally installed in the fall of 2025.
James Nieman was the president of LSTC for many years. Liz Eaton visited the shrunken seminary and Nieman was suddenly emeritus - retired - and replaced by yet another woman, Shauna Hannan.
Charlie Sue and I came out from the endless rain to have a sunny day for once. I expected politeness and gratitude, but the birds and squirrels went crazy filling up for tomorrow, when we could have another long rain for the day.
The squirrels were more like drunken brawlers in a Hollywood scene, being tossed through large glass windows. Some walked along the ledge to discover a way inside.
The majestic blue jays were the best, coming to the food and taking it back to the nest across the street. I noticed how one did a fake flutter of her wings to get rid of a greedy starling.
8. What does it mean, then, to believe the resurrection of Christ, this thing which is so important, and concerning which the disciples were called unbelieving and faithless, and without which nothing else that they believed would help them? To believe the resurrection of Christ, is nothing else than to believe that we have a Mediator before God. Who is Christ, who makes us holy and acceptable to God the Father. For man’s possessions, by birth and nature, are but sin and corruption, by which he brings down upon himself the wrath of God. But God is eternal righteousness and purity, and therefore, from his very nature, hates sin. Hence there is always enmity between God and the natural man, and they cannot be friends and in harmony with one another.
9. For this cause, Christ became man and took upon himself our sins and also the wrath of the Father, and drowned them both in himself, thus reconciling us to God the Father. Without this faith, we are children of wrath, able to do no good work that is pleasing to God, nor can our prayers be acceptable before him. For thus it is written in Psalm 18:41: “They cried, but there was none to save; even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not.” Yea, even our noblest deeds, by which we had thought to obtain from God mercy, help and comfort, are counted to us for sin; as the prophet says, Psalm 109:7: “Let his prayer be turned into sin”; seeing God could not be reconciled by all our strength, for there is truly no strength in us.
10. Therefore Christ must come, that he might go before the Father’s face, reconcile us to him, and obtain for us everything we lacked. Through this same Christ we must ask of God all we need. You have heard in last Sunday’s Gospel that the Lord says: “If ye shall ask anything of the Farther, he will give it to you in. my name.” Whatever we obtain from God, we must receive through this Christ, who has gained for us a merciful Father. For Christ is our support and refuge, where we may hide ourselves, like the young chickens hide under the wings of the mother hen. Through him alone is our prayer acceptable before God and through him is it answered, and we obtain the favor and mercy of the Father; for Christ has made atonement for our sins, and an angry judge he has changed into a gracious and merciful God. To believe in the resurrection of Christ means, then, to believe, as I said, that Christ has taken upon his head our sins and the sins of the whole world, also the wrath of the Father, and thus drowned them both in himself, whereby we are become reconciled with God and altogether righteous.
11. Now, observe for yourselves how few Christians there are who have this faith, by which alone man is freed from his sins and becomes entirely holy; for they believe not in the resurrection of Christ, that their sins are taken away through Christ, since they attempt to become holy through their own works. This one runs to a cloister, that one becomes a nun, one does this, another that, in order to be free from sin; and yet they always say they believe in the resurrection of Christ from the dead, notwithstanding that their works prove the contrary.
12. The apostles have insisted upon and preached this article more than any other; thus St. Paul speaks to the Corinthians: “If Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:14. And shortly, after in verse 17 he says: “If Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” What sort of a conclusion is this? What is its logical analysis? This: If Christ be not risen from the dead, then sin and death have devoured and slain him, and we cannot get rid of our sins ourselves. Jesus Christ took them upon himself, so that he might tread under foot sin, death and hell, and become their master. But if he be not risen, then he has not overcome sin, but has been overcome by sin. Also, if he has been overcome by sin, then he is not risen: if he be not risen, then he has not redeemed you; then you are yet in your sins.
Likewise Paul speaks to the Romans: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt he saved.” Romans 10:9. There to all the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments agree. [GJ - But not the Waltherians.]
11 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. (receive in the sense of welcoming)
2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
4 But Peter rehearsed (placed) the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,
5 I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:
6 Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.
8 But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. (koinonia - bad sense)
10 And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.
11 And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.
12 And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:
13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;
14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
25 Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
A time management consultant would definitely agree. The kitchen window was more likely to scatter the birds feeding than to feed them with caution. The parsonage came with an open porch, unlike the others on the cul-de-sac, so the mandated rose garden easily draws a variety of creatures.
A seldom used easy chair was perfect for Charlie Sue observing nature on the inside, the feeding birds and greedy squirrels. If we step out the front door for a walk to the PARK! - she gets ready for all the outside amenities. PARK! is a magical word for Charlie, making her spin around and look for targets on the short walk to her grassy paradise.
Our visitors, viewed from the inside, are are obvious to Charlie and me, so we get to watch their antics as they try out various options for food. Squirrels exercise their Fifth Amendment rights and take what they can.
5. So should we also deal with our neighbor. If we see him fall from the faith, or err and sin, we should not strengthen him in his wickedness, nor justify his cause, but admonish him, and in meekness reprove his faults, yet neither hold enmity, nor turn our love from him. Thus St. Paul speaks to the Galatians: Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Galatians 6:1.
But our lord pope, the bishops, priests, monks and nuns allow no one to reprove them when they do evil; they are never willing to acknowledge that any fault is theirs, but always that of their subjects, and their policy toward subjects is one of strictness and severity.
6. To sum up all: We should expose and reprove what is wrong, and exercise truth and love toward everybody; we should be plain-spoken, not letting ourselves be silenced, for none of us, since we are flesh and blood, will so live as to be found without blame in all things. I in this, you in that.
We all see, that even the apostles were lacking in the chief things yet they were corner stones, the foundations and the very best part of Christendom.
7. But let no one think that the apostles were altogether unbelieving; they believed what was written in the Law and the prophets, although their faith was not yet perfect. There was a faith there and yet no faith; they did not yet believe all things, although they believed that God created heaven and earth, and was the Maker of every creature. So the apostles were not altogether without faith, for they had faith in part. Faith is a thing that always grows. It is with faith as with a man who is ill and begins to get well — is increasing in strength. Therefore the Lord shows where they did not believe, and what they lacked; it was that they did not believe the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Although they believed the other things, they were still lacking in this. I hold that they believed that they had a gracious God. Yet this was not enough; they must believe also the resurrection of Christ. The Lord upbraided them with their unbelief, reproved them and said that in spite of all they had seen, they were not believing, they still lacked in a certain article of faith, namely the article on the resurrection. Hence Christ’s words to them at the Last Supper: “Ye believe in God, believe also in me.” John 14:1.
8. What does it mean, then, to believe the resurrection of Christ, this thing which is so important, and concerning which the disciples were called unbelieving and faithless, and without which nothing else that they believed would help them? To believe the resurrection of Christ, is nothing else than to believe that we have a Mediator before God. Who is Christ, who makes us holy and acceptable to God the Father. For man’s possessions, by birth and nature, are but sin and corruption, by which he brings down upon himself the wrath of God. But God is eternal righteousness and purity, and therefore, from his very nature, hates sin. Hence there is always enmity between God and the natural man, and they cannot be friends and in harmony with one another.
18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
KJV Mark 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
1. In today’s Gospel there is again presented to us the essence of a Christian life, namely faith and love; just what you constantly hear in all the Gospel lessons. Since the Gospel ever holds up before you this theme, we must continually preach and discuss it; for Jesus says to his disciples: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” We will consider the thoughts of this Gospel text in order.
I. CHRIST UPBRAIDS HIS DISCIPLES WITH THEIR UNBELIEF.
2. First, Christ upbraids his disciples with their unbelief and hardness of heart, and reproves them for it, and shows them their faults. He does not reject them, nor deal too severely with them, but reproves them; just as we would say to a person: Are you not ashamed that you dared to do such a thing? Meaning thereby to bring him to a knowledge of himself and make him blush with shame, that he may desist from his wicked intent or deed, though we do not reject him, nor turn our love from him.
3. However, it is not an insignificant matter here that the Lord rebuked the disciples; for unbelief is the greatest sin that can be named. Christ tells them the cause of their unbelief when he says that their hearts are hardened, yet he deals mildly and gently with them.
4. This is given to us all for our comfort, lest we despair when, lacking in faith, we doubt, stumble and fall; it is to help us to rise again, to strengthen our faith and lift up our hearts to God, that we may grasp and hold fast the confidence of God, who does not deal with us severely, but can indeed bear with us and overlook much. And whoever believes him to be thus, shall find him so; if we hold him to be a merciful God, he allows himself to be found merciful, and shows himself thus to us; but a bad conscience and an unbelieving heart have no such trust in God, but flee from him, and deem him a harsh judge, which he, therefore, is found to be.
With the voice of singing declare ye and tell this:
utter it even to the end of the earth. Hallelujah!
The Lord hath redeemed His servant Jacob: Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Psalm. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
sing forth the honor of His name; make His praise glorious.
The Gloria Patri The Kyrie p. 17 The Gloria in Excelsis The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
O God, from whom all good things do come, grant to us, Thy humble servants, that by Thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be right and by Thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Christ, who hath redeemed us with His blood:
is risen and hath appeared unto us. Hallelujah!
V. I came forth from the Father and am come into the world:
again, I leave the world and go to the Father. Hallelujah!
Monday Memorial Day. The Veterans Honor Rose is on the altar.
The Ascension Holy Communion Service is Thursday, 7 PM Central Daylight.
Prayers and concerns - Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader, Sarah Buck, Kermit Way. Lito Cruz is getting better. Those suffering from emotional distress and those with metabolic disorders.
Thursday is Ascension Day, 7 PM Holy Communion.
KJV James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
KJV John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
Enchanted Peace
Mark 1:34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. 35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.
This passage and many more like it are examples of His prayer and its priority. Many prayers are formalities and many more prayers are mocked. However, this is concentrated in one exceptional passage -
KJV John 16:8 - And when He is come, He will reprove [convict] the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
The basic errors of these days and the past are based upon the problem of unbelief.
Many priests and clergy start and end on law and order. Pay the price.
The law is broken so it must be absolved.
How about emotion, being really, really sorry?
Or ice cream names on fancy new chapels, libraries, and buildings?
Luther was trained in the forces of the priesthood. He struggled to understand and practice forgiveness. He felt guilty and felt the weight of all his sins, no matter how minor, and therefore felt no grace. The monasteries badgered their victims with Law and more Law. They inflicted pain on themselves and knew - at the same time - that their struggles were a lot of tommy-rot. There was no relief.
The interior life is quite powerful. Our brains are at work at all times and places, so we find ourselves in one arena or another or several at once. Concentration is a struggle because God has endowed us with so much mental energy.
But we do have one great asset from the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin because we do not believe in Him. Although we have a great emphasis - Justification by Faith (St. Paul, Romans 4-5 etc), on this Johannine passage directly from Jesus Christ is even more clear.
We can go through all the Scriptures and academic books without believing in Him. That was and is the great struggle. The rationalists, scoffers, and deniers can flaunt their knowledge but it is tied up in their lack of faith and therefore in all the follies of this world.
However, if we continue with a child-like faith, the blessings of Jesus Christ come to us in many different ways. As Jesus said, Let the children come to me and do not forbid (reject) them - the Kingdom of God belongs to them.
Prayer - Faith in Jesus
The greatest gift the Savior offers us is a complete knowledge of His kindness, compassion, spiritual wisdom, and trust. Even the disciples had their failings in three years and even after the Resurrection. But they were encouraged to take on the work of Jesus on earth while He managed from beyond, as Luther observed. Jesus did not stop His work but elevated it to a greater number, like the millions of stars predicted to Abraham, greater than all the sands of the sea.
There is no sorrow, trouble, or pain which the Good Shepherd is unable to heal. John 10 and Psalm 23 encourage and comfort us in many ways.
Individual prayer is the great blessing, because we can communicate with the Savior as easily as He can talk to us. It is a sin not to believe in Him. If we let the truths of the Bible take over our thoughts, many refreshing waves of joy can roll over us. We remember the disciples asking in fear in the dark raging storm, "Don't You care if we die?!" But when fear takes over, faith flies out the window. That is why the heavenly forces - Jesus and His angels - watch over us to prove their efforts and their love.
Charlie Sue raced a squirrel today. She loves them.
Someone wanted a lot of hummingbird feeders and I wanted share them, so the hummingbird fan got the poles, feeding liquid, and hummer feeder. The birds were an instant hit and immediately loved the set up.
I gave the couch-bed for someone and moved the massive coffee table (more like an aircraft carrier) to the open space.
Good friends pulled back the living room curtains and the easy chair took on an extra client - Charlie Sue. She jumped onto it, with me beneath, and positioned herself for a double window with birds and squirrels enjoying the food and frolics.
The animals are almost immune to movement on the other side of the window. A second pole feeder easily doubled the feeding chances for everyone. My first look at the double set-up meant - the female cardinal fed first, the male landed next to her, and a starling made it a threesome for lunch. That was one of two large square spaces to investigate and share.
Tiny birds fly from two Clethra bushes, on each side of bird feeders. That adds to the fun. Clethra's do not hold a lot of birds, but they harbor the tiny ones as they back-and-forth over the bountiful food.
When I left to get some groceries, Charlie Sue jumped on the easy chair during the interim.
Our entertainment center is overly sunlit now, so we have bamboo hanging three feet down from the porch beam.
Another benefit is observing the cul-de-sac traffic, from post office to Amazon to various other adventures.
Charlie Sue has a great sense for judging weather. She accepts sprinkling and even a steady rain when she wants to commune with Porchy and DustMop. Today she was at the door, 4 AM - no rain but a loud boom sounding. She came inside without a drop of rain and suggested a snack would be welcome.
7:30 AM Saturday, May 24, 2025
We are on the list for five days of thunder, rain, and variations. The rain barrels were full, so I poured some out on roses that needed more encouragement. The honeysuckle vine was reaching and climbing across the cow square. I spotted the berries starting to grow. They are a highly regarded weed, known for the fragrance and the fruit. Like wild strawberries, they distribute more examples wherever birds rest.
Charlie Sue urged me to share the picture window. She happily jumps onto me and the much neglected easy chair. The drapes are pulled aside and the coffee table is out of the way. She loves watching the various bird feeder sources and sometimes relaxes in a nap.
