MARCH MARVELS

Hard to find something green this time of year.
These are tomatoes from my garden that soon
turned bright red-orange - yum!

Amazing March is soooo cold and windy and still bringing snow.
 Just when we think we have relief there is more - more cold, more snow, more gray days.

But daylight savings time is just around the corner and light peaks through the darkness just a bit more each day.
So I MARCH FORTH with marvelous mention of my observations of God massive blessings each and every day.

#2185-2187:: Thanksgiving for a quiet beginning to March; Time to put vinegar in all our drains; Nice preparation for tomorrow, Sunday.

A treat from Pennsylvania Dutch recipes.
 Made with potatoes and without holes.
Nice to have on Shrove Tuesday.

#2188-2190:: Clear skies, crisp air and a Sunday focused on Transfiguration, family time and fun food.
#2191-2193:: COLD but almost none of the predicted 12 inches of snow! Sunny day with Canadian Geese flying about; A nice 'inside' day!

#2194-2196:: Thankful for a cancelled meeting; Get to enjoy Fasnachts (German for "fast night") with friends; Using up all the eggs, fats and delicious things that I will lay aside during Lent; Shrove Tuesday Pancake night.

#2197-2199:: A quiet day of meditation between meetings; As we receive ashes we "Remember we are dust and to dust we shall return." The beginning of our 'desert' time as we empty ourselves out as Jesus Christ did for us.

#2200-2202:: Thankful to be invited to a talk by Lisa Landis, a local radio DJ who WON her fight with a rare skin eating disease;  GREAT news from a friend on the other coast who has done well after 32 radiation sessions for throat cancer; A SUNNY DAY! brings hope for all of us that there are few snowstorms before the end of winter.

#2203-2205:: Time to clean the photo album on my computer; Words for Sunday drift freely from my heart; Hubby brings home PIZZA - a very rare treat.

#2206-2208:: So many thanks for volunteers who give time and energy to help the church run efficiently; Blessed with computer communication which makes my job sooooooo much easier; Taking time out to sew hubby's 'costume' for tomorrow's story-time with the children.

#2209-2211:: Thanksgiving for good weather so that the loss of one hour with the time change did not discourage people from coming to church; Thanks for this first Sunday in Lent and our fifth day of walking in the desert with Christ; Thanks for positive feedback from fellow leaders.

#2212-2214:: Waking one hour earlier was not too bad today; A great meeting filled with the motivation to motivate others; Sunny skies for completing tasks.

#2215-2217:: A nice trek to Philly for an all day meeting; Warmer weather helped us run lots of errands into the evening; Driving around farms is always a JOY.

#2218-2220:: A positive spin on guilt: making us look inside ourselves is not to bad during Lent; Two wonderful gatherings with women - each with a different focus; Rain drops on my car turned to ICE as a storm moved in after my last meeting.... sort of neat.

#2221-2223:: Piercing, chilly winds makes me love being by the fire this morning; Telephone conversations and getting organized feels good; A wonderful opportunity to bundle in my thick winter sweater again as I prepare for tonight's meetings.

#2224-2226:: A bit of rest to sooth the aching bones; Nice to work on getting organized; A sense of stillness in my soul as the winds howl and the temperatures drop again.

It's all I could find with a little bit of green.
It's a simple wooden cupboard painted
to look elegant and bring a little color into
 a cold, gray, winter day.

#2227-2229:: Spring in the air as we see a glimmer of sunshine melting the ice peaks; Spring seems hopeful in a couple months? Savory stew smells delicious and so good to eat.

#2230-2232:: The sun pierces the darkness a little before we arrive at church; Pink streaks glaze the sky as sun peaks from the clouds; A glorious time of worship in this season of Lent.

#2233-2235:: Number crunching and computer transfers and finally I am ready to get down to some real work!  A still, cloudy day with another scattering of snow that melts on the tundra but not on our little back porch; St. Patrick's Day reminds us of the Trinity and our freedom in Christ but shamrocks are not yet growing on our frozen tundra.

#2236-2238:: Sun slithers between wind gusts, nice; QUIET time - real quiet - no interruptions for two whole hours! NICE; Hubby hilarious with his new toys: weights.

#2239-2241:: Adventure in the rain that takes three hours to and from . . .  for a two hour meeting; Beautiful drive; Notice opportunities to return to the area and really explore when the weather gets nicer.

#2242-2244:: Got organized! Old files, pieces of paper, notes now in the trash; Still an inside day but nice to see some sun as the chilly March winds blow fiercely.

#2245-2247::Visiting day - chatting with elders who relish a visit from us 'young' ones.  Stations of the Cross- a wonderful journey to the Cross during Lent right in our own church.  Dry roads and rainless skies. YES!

#2248-2250:: Morning meeting where great ideas were shared - so stimulating; WARM weather for cleaning up the yard - OH JOY!
Three hours and five huge bags of garden bits brings great satisfaction- wonderful.

#2251-2253:: Clouds cover a painted sky just enough to keep the early sun from stinging our eyes as we drive to church; worship and bible study and sharing with so many and then teaching ESL to a couple great hispanic guys - what a day; home to vege out as the temps drop drastically and I snuggle in warm blankets.

#2254-2256::  COLD again but so nice and sunny; Hubby and I put a project together and lived to tell about it - actually great teamwork; slow day trying to keep a cold from getting worse.

#2257-2259:: Nice number crunching as we work on taxes; Digging thorough and cleaning up papers and projects that have piled up over the weeks; Great day for inside jobs as chill winds pierce the quiet of the day.
#2260-2262:: Great bible study on forgiveness; Spiritual and physical results from non-forgiveness became real to many who attended; Bundled in many layers as wind sweeps me down the block.

#2263-2265:: A nice chat with my 99 year old dad - he is so busy it's hard to get hold of him; follow-up with friends brings nice chat; Getting through mounds of work gives me a nice feeling.

#2266-2268:: A great day for a visit with a church member who rarely gets outside, especially in this very winter climate; Stations of the Cross- a reminder of Christ's sacrifice for ME, lil ol' me.... unexplainable; A good day to fast from things we don't need in the first place.

#2269-2271:: Chilly rain drips on the windows as I snuggle in and read notes from friends; A time of wonder and introspection as I write words for tomorrow; Clean laundry smells so good today.

#2272-2274:: We see blindness of the heart is far more debilitating than blindness of the eyes; Praise God that we can worship freely as we choose; Two new families at church - hooray!

#2275-2277:: Warmth seeps into the air above the crispy cold earth; A fruitful meeting with hope for the future of our church body; The joy of a massage gives rest to the soul and grants a wondrous end to a tumultuous month (weather wise).