Lines

From our youth we have been encouraged to stay within the lines - to color within them and to stand in them. The lunch line. The line to get on the bus. The marching band marched in a line on a field that was painted with lines.

Lines seem to form nearly everywhere we go. We wait in line for all kinds of events - to get in, to get out, to buy food, to go to the bathroom. Lines are everywhere!

What IS a line anyway? Geometry class teaches that a line is a point with direction. If that's the case, aren't we ourselves just lines? Do we have a point to our lives? Are we going in the right direction?

I watched 13 coffins being unloaded from a plane yesterday. The soldiers marched in a line, the mourners stood in line. What's "the point?" Are we as a nation going in the right "direction?"

If you haven't figured it out by now, the "point" of this life is to learn. We learn good things and bad. Happy and sad. It's easy to be "a point." Things just happen to us and we move on. Or do we? Movement implies direction. Which way are we moving then?

Jesus tells us that He is "the way, the truth and the life." Hmm. The way . . . that sounds like . . . a direction. We Christians ARE lines!! We have a point AND a direction!

We are told in Luke 21:28 . . .

"So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your redemption draws near!”

That was Jesus speaking and those "things" are all happen right now. Wars, rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, plagues, earthquakes, floods . . . and here we sit, little "points" in search of direction. Jesus has already given us that direction. Look up!

Where's The Line To See Jesus - Becky Kelley

Seventy Times Seven

It's hard not to feel ashamed and disgusted as we watched the news unfolding from Afghanistan this past week. Suicide bombings killing American soldiers and Afghani people.

We watched as our country's leader failed to lead. It seems as if his priorities are all screwed up. Why is this happening? Where is God in all of this?

Have you read your Bible lately? No one seems to be reporting what the Bible says about all of this.

“Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction.

He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” - Genesis 16:10-12

The Taliban are descendants  of Ismael. The United States is an ally of Israel.

Keep that Biblical truth in mind as you watch the news.

The Taliban have been at war for 31 years against the two most powerful nations on earth and have prevailed. How could that happen? That's simple. God is change of nation building, not man.

In president Biden's speech following the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport he said, "We will not forgive. We will not forget." This is contrary to God's will. We are CALLED to forgive others.

"Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times." - Matthew 18:21-22

Our president says he is a strong Catholic. Judging by his actions, his fruit, he is not. Joe Biden is a liar.

How could Biden come to power if he clearly conducts his business as if he were one of Satan's henchmen? I've just answered my own question.

All these events are part of God's plan. Both the good and the bad, all transpire with God's knowledge. God is allowing all of this to happen. Why? I believe God is setting the stage.

A world leader will soon come to power. One whom everyone loves and adores. All will follow him and his plan for world peace. Finally, a world without war!!

And what will all of the Christians say then? That's hard to say because we won't be here anymore. We will be taken away with Jesus, the Holy Spirit (the restrainer) will be removed, the antichrist will be revealed and the world will undergo seven years of tribulation. The entire world will look like what's happening outside the Kabul airport only there will be nowhere safe to go.

The exodus from Afghanistan right now resembles a slow-motion rapture of the church. The U.S. soldiers are the angels and Satan (the Taliban) is in charge. The ultimate questions is, "Do you have your visa?"

His name is Jesus, The Messiah

Perfect Love

Many people have certain fears in life. Some of them are rational. Real. Some of them exist only in the minds of the beholder. Phobia's they're called. What are YOU afraid of?

There is a lot to be afraid of these days. Turn on the news. The media live-streams fear 24 hours a day, every day of the week, every week of the year. It's almost like they WANT you to be afraid.

Yessss . . . But that's not why we are here.

Are you afraid of death? Of catching the Covid bug? Are you afraid of people who wear masks? Who DON'T wear masks. Are you afraid of terrorists? Guns Global warming? Spiders? Snakes? Politicians? But I repeat myself.

We should fear none of these things. A Christian should fear nothing . . . NOTHING.

The reason why I, and many other people like me in this world, 'fear nothing' is found in The Bible. It's not a secret. But most people simply won't believe it. They can't believe it's true either because they don't believe in God / Jesus or the truth of God's Word. And so they fear.

I would like you to read something. If you can read this one thing, and understand it, fully, you will know why we should not fear. Are you ready?

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you

    from the fowler’s snare

    and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

    and under his wings you will find refuge;

    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,

    nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

    nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

    ten thousand at your right hand,

    but it will not come near you." - Psalm 91:1-7

Now look, Covid-19 is very real. In a small percentage of cases it is deadly. I could catch it tomorrow and die from it. But I will not fear it. I fear the Lord! That word fear I just used doesn't mean that I am afraid of God. It means I love Him and trust Him. It means I honor Him above all else. It means I obey Him and never deny him. And it means I trust Him with my very life.

Here's a couple more verses for you . . .

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1"We love because he first loved us. 20Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister." - 1 John 4:61-21

Have you experienced God's perfect love? If you have you would fear nothing. If we still have fears, have we fully surrendered everything to God?

If there is something that you still fear, surrender it to God. We need to examine ourselves my friends. What haven't we surrendered yet?

Do you remember that old song "I Surrender All?"

Well....? Have you?

The Remnant

We got another great message from our pastor on Sunday. He was speaking about how God always leaves a portion of His people, Israel, remaining after He has punished them for their disobedience. The Bible calls them "a remnant."

"In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 21 A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. 22 Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return." - Isaiah 10:20-22

I think that when God mentions something four times in the span of three verses, He wants us to remember something.

The word remnant means "something left over, a remainder, a piece of fabric remaining after the rest has been used or sold."

The best example of a remnant that I can think of is a quilt. My grandmother used to make them out of small pieces of leftover fabric. Little scarps of leftover cloth, turned into something beautiful.

That's what God was talking about in Isaiah 10. Not scarps of fabric but a salvage portion of His people.

When we look at the world today with all of its craziness we wonder why God would leave even a few people remaining after the coming judgement. But He will. He has promised that in His Word.

"Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 

“These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." - Revelation 7:2-3 & 14

Once again, God will save a remnant. They will have the seal of God on their foreheads. Do you believe in Jesus? Have you been sealed? Although God is talking specifically about Jewish believers in the last days, He has offered salvation to anyone who believes.

"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’: - Acts 2:21

Only a remnant of people will be saved at the end. It will be their choice, not God's. We are the ones who must choose. Will we choose life? Only a remnant will. And God will make something beautiful out of His remnants.

The Hugging Prayer

Maybe this is a little too personal but here goes. When we lift people up in prayer there is a critical step, perhaps even "a need," that seldom gets talked about. Yet it happens more often than we even know. I call it The Hugging Prayer.

To understand this prayer we must first understand a little bit about God.

"For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." - 1 Corinthians 2:11

"You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar." - Psalm 139:2

God knows our thoughts before we even verbalize them! He knows our prayers before we even utter them. Keep that in mind, always.

Now to The Hugging Prayer. . . .

When we first learn of someone in need of prayer we are often with them. Sometimes not, but we are often in the presence of the personal actually in need of our prayers. Look at the steps involved in the prayer process.

1. Someone tells us of their need for prayer. Maybe it's an illness or an employment situation. It is usually some kind of personal struggle they are going though.
2. Our hearts become saddened upon the hearing of the news from this person.
3. We tell that person that we will pray for them.
4. We actually pray for them, if we remember.

Try introducing another step in this process. Let's call it Step 2A - The Hugging Prayer.

When we hear someone requesting prayer, don't tell them "I'll pray for you." PRAY FOR THEM, right then, right there! They're not asking if you will pray for them later in the day.

God knows our thoughts. I believe we actually begin praying for a person while they are telling us their prayer request, even though we are not actually praying in the traditional way. God knows our thoughts. He knows our heart. Remember?

Have you ever prayed for someone as you hugged them? Without knowing it, yes you have. Our hearts ache for them. God knows the compassion in our hearts. He knows our thoughts. AND our prayers.

For a close friend or loved one, upon hearing their sad news or request for prayer, we will often give them a hug. What better way to deliver a hug than when accompanied by prayer.

OR, we could make our prayers caring and meaningful enough to hug people WITH your prayers. LOVE deeply, PRAY deeply. We should be praying for people AS we are with them. When the bad news is fresh in our minds and in our hearts. "Pray! Hug!" or "Hug! Pray!" Multitask! Do both at the same time!

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." - Romans 8:26

An undelivered hug doesn't do anyone any good. The same for undelivered prayer. Hug and pray. We need to show our compassion for others and submit our prayers to God as we do so.

I Saw You

Today's story comes from a family reunion my wife and I attended over the weekend. We met some distant relatives (from California and Idaho), many of whom we had never encountered before.

The older visitors had been to the farm years ago and had many stories to share. Wonderful stories of their childhood and also of my father and grandparents.

After completing a tour of the barn, and as we returned to the farm house, I noticed three teen boys sitting under a cedar tree, looking bored. So I turned aside and struck up a conversation with them. Nice young men. We talked for half an hour and then it was time for lunch.

After we had eaten, one of the older visitors came up to me and said, "I saw you talking to the boys under the tree. What is it in you that enables you to do that? The boys were so interested in what you were saying."

The reason I decided to speak with those teen boys was because I had once been in their situation - bored and waiting for my parents to get done visiting. I knew what they were feeling and wanted to make their visit at least a little more tolerable.

The point of this story is something we ALL need to remember - someone is always watching. Maybe it's a distant relative or maybe it's God Himself. Someone always notices what we say and do.

"Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”

48Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” - John 1:47-48

Do we act the same in private as we do in public? When God watches us interacting in the world around us, and He does, what does He see? Does he see a worldly human doing what "the pagans" do? Or does He see one of His children showing compassion for and loving others the way HE would?

There is an old saying, usually reserved for job interviews. It says, "You never have a second chance to make a first impression." That's true. But I think we ALWAYS have a chance to impress God with the decisions we make in life. May we always reflect the truth, honesty, humility and compassion of Jesus. That is how people will know who, and whose, we are.

In An Instant

Life can change in an instant. One minute everything is fine. The next it is chaotic and everyone is running around wondering what in the world they should do.

Are you ready for everything life has in its arsenal? You had better be because life can change suddenly and we can be left wondering what went wrong.

A friend of mine and his wife were heading home to their three kids on night a few months ago. Their motorcycle ride ended abruptly. REAL abruptly. My friend's wife wakes up in the ICU wondering what has happened. Her husband is dead. What about the kids? Who will care for them?

This past weekend at our family reunion everyone was laughing and talking with one another. The food was wonderful and so were the hugs. Then there was a noise in the garage and I turned to see my aunt lying in the floor. It happens just that fast. Life changes in an instant.

Jesus has promised to return just as suddenly, like when we trip and fall, or as quickly as an animal runs in front of our car or motorcycle on the highway.

When Jesus returns He is not going to ask any questions. He's not going to check to see if you've been vaccinated or whether or not you voted for Biden or Trump. He will simply remove all of His children from the earth and He will be gone again. And we believe will be with Him.

Many will be left wondering what happened. They will be wondering where their chidden are and what has become of them. Too late. Sorry that you missed the boat. Better luck next time, only there will BE no next time.

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." - 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Things happen and they happen quickly. There will he no time to swerve or to reach for a falling friend. Are we ready? Are we prepared? Consider the options. Jesus offers hope for a future. Ignoring Him does not.

Vacation

 My wife and I are vacation right now. Vacations are nice. They give us the opportunity to relax and enjoy the things that we like to do. They can also tell us a lot about a person or family by observing their actions.

What do you like to do on vacation?

Some people like to travel, some like to stay at home. Some might like to party down while others catch up on sleep. We're all different and we all "vacation" differently.

There were no vacations back in the days of Jesus. The only break they had from all of their work was the sabbath day - one day each week. And on that day they could do no work. None.

Today things are different. I remember a time when stores were closed on Sunday. You'd better have gotten your groceries on Saturday because you weren't getting them on Sunday. Not any more. Those days are gone.

That is just one of the many "signs of the times" that things have changed. Our priorities have changed.

I am reading in the Book of 1st Samuel right now. Samuel was "given to God" at a very young age and he lived his entire life serving the Lord. No vacations whatsoever.

"After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there." - 1 Samuel 24-28

What do our vacations look like in God's eyes, I wonder? Do we serve only ourselves, or do we serve the Lord? Do we serve others with our time off? I have a friend who is a dentist. He takes takes vacations to foreign countries, but he doesn't go there for his own pleasure.

My friend goes there to serve God by doing dental work for those who cannot afford it. And many need it. He also shares the gospel with them as he works. Most need that too.

Are examples of Christ on our vacations? Or do we serve only ourselves?

Truth Or Lie

There are lots of words floating around out there these days. Most are false. Some have actually been proven true. So, how can we separate the truth from all of the lies out there? How can we know, with certainty, that what we perceive and believe is actually the truth? Trust.

Maybe we should trust our leaders then. Hmm. There are lots of lying politicians out there as well.

Who do you trust to never lie to you? Your two-year old? Your spouse? Your best friend? Your doctor? Your pastor or priest? It is difficult to come up with any kind of lengthy list because so few people actually qualify.

We think we can trust our pastors to be truthful yet we hear stories about sexual abuse of children amongst their number. We think our government leaders should be truthful but, quite honestly, they are amongst the worst offenders when it comes to telling the truth.

God had a good way to tell the difference between and actual prophet of God and a false prophet. Everything a true profit spoke actually came true.

I don't trust any of the major "news" networks. Nor do I trust any politicians. They all have agendas they are trying to promote. At least it seems that way to me anyway. I want someone who is actually truthful at ALL times and in all situations.

This is the point in my story where I tell you about Jesus and how you can trust Him. The Bible says He cannot lie. He is God. It is against His nature. But don't believe me. I'm just a human. Read the Bible for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Some say that the Bible was written by men and therefore cannot be trusted. That statement is a lie in itself. It was written DOWN by men but the text was dictated to man by God. But don't trust me. Read it for yourself.

"Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." - Psalm 25:5

"Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies." - Psalm 34:13

"Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." - Proverbs 30:5

Little Lies - Fleetwood Mac

Hair

I know what you're thinking. Why is Bob writing a story about hair? He has none. Lol!

Well, there IS a reason. The hair I am writing about today belongs to someone else. So there.

While sitting in church yesterday, a family came in and sat two rows in front of me. A nice looking family - mom, dad and three kids. Nothing special to see. Or so I thought.

Our pastor was talking about Joseph, as we near the end of our study in the Book of Genesis. Our pastor told us that Joseph was an Old Testament example of Jesus. And that, he is. So I had that thought in my head as I watched the father of the family in front of me reach out his had and caress the hair of his wife. I smiled. A perfect example of Jesus and His love for His bride - the church.

His wife had their youngest child on her shoulder and the dad was making sure her hair was looking just right and not being crushed. Lovingly, affectionately, he stroked her hair. Talk about your example of Christ! Jesus makes sure that we, the bride of Christ, are ready, perfectly groomed for His coming.

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself." - Ephesians 5:25-28

Then, as if the father's example wasn't enough, He did the same for his young son - stroking his son's hair to calm him. The father was God in this second illustration. Answering the prayers of Jesus perhaps as His Son readied Himself for the cross? Affectionately, compassionately.

Do we exhibit God's love in our public affection for our spouses and family members? Do we cause others to think about God when they see us in line at the grocery store or while driving our cars? We should be. We are commanded to be.

God loves us in the same way that father in my church loves HIS family. Unashamed, devoted, committed. We need more fathers in this world who exhibit the love of Christ for their families.

"Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children." - Ephesians 5:1

Check Your Radar

Have you noticed that the same news stories are playing over and over again? Why is that? Are we caught in a time loop? Or are we humans just SO boring that we can't come up with anything different?

The root word in "news" is NEW. If we've seen it before, it's not really "news," is it?

And the weather; what did we do before we had weather radar? Well, we probably got wet during our family picnic. There was no way to see what was coming before radar. We just hoped for good weather.

There were signs of coming weather back in Jesus' day. Jesus Himself told us this.

“When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times." - Matthew 16:2-3

The signs of the times. Hmm. Jesus warned us that we should be watchful and that we would be able to tell when the time of Jesus' return was near. He also encouraged us to persevere through all of these "news stories" and that soon He would come back for us.

So, how do we do that? How can we get through all of these stories of gloom and doom? That's easy, and difficult, at the same time. The easy part is this: Trust in God. The difficult part, however, is exactly the same: Trusting God. Believing in God and trusting God are two different things. Both are required.

John tells us how to overcome "the world"

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" - 1 John 5:4-5

Recently, someone told me that I was an extremely positive person. What's my secret? How can I stay positive in such a depressing world? Jesus! I have placed my faith and hope in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. And that, my friends, has made all the difference in the world, like Robert Frost said.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - . I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." - The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost, 1920

Relatively few will place their faith in Christ, "the narrow road." Will you be one of them? I sure hope so.

Be An Example

My wife and I had our eight-year-old grandson over for a visit this week. We always love having our grandchildren come see us. We had all kinds of fun things planned too. For me, I took him disc golfing and played catch with him in the yard. It was on our way back home from the disc golf course that I learned a valuable lesson . . . from my grandson.

I was driving as we neared our house. My grandson was in the back seat on his booster chair. Still a block from home, I took off my seat belt without thinking. As soon as I clicked that button I thought to myself, ,"I shouldn't have done that." I'm a role model for my grandchildren. Sure enough, a few seconds later, my grandson removed HIS seatbelt.

Children are sponges; absorbing everything they see and hear. They are copy cats, learning and growing by following the example of their teachers.

Jesus didn't have to worry about unbuckling His seat belt too often but He WAS an example to His disciples and followers. Jesus said this to His disciples:

"For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you." - John 13:15

That one click of my grandson's seatbelt taught ME a lesson. I have to be more diligent about my conduct in this world. Someone is always watching. And it's not just for the benefit of our children.

Do you speed when driving your car? I often do. Not by much but I'll drive 5MPH over the posted limit upon occasion . . . okay, full disclosure, I USUALLY do that. I also have a cross hanging from my rear view mirror. Am I a good example of a Christian? Breaking the law when Jesus told me not to?

Do we curse in the presence of our children? Do we drink alcohol in excess? Do we yell at the television set? What TV shows do we watch in the presence of our kids? Do we exhibit grace in line at the grocery store?

We must constantly be one guard in how we live our lives and interact with others in this world. We are an example for others of what it means to be a Christian. Do we "wear" Jesus well? Will people look at us and see Him?

"Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." - Ephesians 5:1-2

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

We must walk like Jesus walked. Think like He did - always teaching. Always in obedience to HIS Father. Not only in word but in deed.

RSVP

Have you been invited to anything lately? A wedding? A party? Most hosts want to know whether you are coming or not so they ask you to RSVP.

RSVP is an abbreviation for some French words - répondez s'il vous plaît, which means "Respond, if you please." The host is expecting a reply. Are you coming? Or are you not?

Ignoring the RSVP in an invitation is rude. Someone was nice enough to invite you to their event. The least we can do is respond to the invitation.

Some people never respond to invitations. No response IS actually a response they think. And they are right. Not to decided IS to decide. Not responding however is not very nice to the person who thought enough to invite you in the first place.

Jesus has invited everyone to join Him in heaven. Most people don't respond. They let their actions do the answering. Sadly, their lack of RSVP'ing will ultimately lead to their death. But they're too busy not RSVP'ing to care about that.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests." - Matthew 22:2-10

Jesus ends this parable in verse 14 with a dramatic statement.

“For many are called, but few are chosen.” = Matthew 22:14

We all have been called (invited), but have you been chosen? Did you RSVP? Are you excited to attend the wedding feast? You should be. You are the bride! If truly will be a glorious day!