Sitting here this morning watching snow fall, drinking a cup of coffee and getting ready for daily devotionals.

It is coming down fast enough, and sticking so I got out our snow shovels out.  Not much of a wind, but it is coming from the north, which is unusual EXCEPT when we have the artic winds coming in.

The forecast is for 6-10 inches.  We may get it up here.  When we lived on 12^th we used to feel sorry for those that live past 14^th street – that, over the years, was the point where snow came down harder, thicker coverage and lasted longer.

Bird feeders are all full, although not many going to the seed feeders.  Looks like we are down to our 2-3 hummingbirds during the winter.  When I put the feeder out this morning, under the heat lamp, one of them came and sat for at least 5 or more minutes.

He would eat a bit and then just sit there looking up at the lamp, usually they look around for predators or another bird coming in to challenge them, but he didn’t.  It was clear he was enjoying the heat – and this time it is 24 degrees, it could and has gotten much colder.

I can remember my first winter in uniform.  Patrolling the streets on Graveyard, it was so cold the defroster couldn’t keep up and I would have to scrape the windows every few minutes.

I went by the Benjamin Franklin Savings and Loan building, they had a digital thermometer and I saw a minus 17 degrees, MINUS.

It may not have been entirely accurate because I haven’t seen it that cold since, below zero, yes, but not that low.  AND I can’t seem to locate a site that officially confirms – or denies – that temperature.

The Sarge pulled us in after 0300 when the bars had closed and the likelihood of family disturbances from husband coming home from the bar intoxicated was diminished.

Snow is coming down thick enough, now, that I can’t see the trees across the street, a couple hundred feet away.  Looks like we might just get that 6-10 inches.

I can only remember two years we had more than 3 feet.  Both years I was not able to shovel the sidewalk.

Poor Carla was expecting our youngest daughter, I came down with the flu and was hospitalized for several days.  During that time it started snowing and didn’t stop until it got over that 3 foot level.

Carla would come up and visit me and the nurses didn’t want to see her go home, they were concerned that she might have the child anytime and an accident would cause complications.

Her comment was, “I am not going to have the baby until Art can be in the delivery room with me.”

Three days after I was released, and still pretty weak, she had the baby, and yes, I was in the delivery room.

The NEXT year I was attending a training program in Monmouth with another sergeant.  We had a recruit that was starting her first week at the academy and she rode with us.

My oldest daughter, had agreed to watch the recruit’s cat, she lived right across the street from us.

We left Sunday afternoon.  It started snowing right after we left and didn’t stop until there was 3 feet of snow on the ground.

They closed the gorge.  On Saturday, the recruit stayed at the academy and the other sergeant and I went over Santiam Pass to Redmond and then north on Highway 97.  It was about 3 hours longer, but it was better than staying away from home until the gorge opened up several days later.

The recruit stayed at the academy the entire time.  My daughter had to deal with the cat all that time.  She could only let him out a few minutes each day.

The cat started losing hair.  We took him to the Vet and Wally diagnosed him as stressed and prescribed a half pill of cat female birth control pills morning and night.

If you haven’t tried to feed a cat a pill, you won’t entirely appreciate how much difficulty she had putting it down his throat; and she had scratches to prove it.

When the recruit came back to work we were glad to see her, but nothing compared to how much our daughter was glad to see her.

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Mathew 27:20-25 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

²¹ The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

²² Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

²³ And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

²⁵ Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

Proof that just because the majority advocate something and force others to follow them, doesn’t mean they are right.

Mathew 10:21-22 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.

²² And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

It isn’t easy, but we are told by God to stand for Him.  No matter what happens, He is there with us.

The world may demand we go in a direction we know is counter to God’s, when that happens, we go with God; no matter the consequences handed to us by the world.

Later, Art (-: