Well, we got our tax refund this week; that's always nice--not a bad one this year. Of course, it never lasts long. There's plenty of bills that need to be paid with it. Maybe there'll be a little left for fun stuff.

I'm sick and tired of stupid winter and totally ready to move back down south. You'd think that since I don't have to work outside in it any more that it wouldn't bother me so much, but just the opposite seems to be true. And this winter seems worse than most of the recent ones. It's probably just because I have to drive so much farther in it that it bugs me so much. There's another batch of snow and crap coming through tonight and tomorrow. The girls were out of school Thur. and Fri. this past week. And I haven't hit a golf ball since early November; that really sucks. Especially since we didn't get to make our trip home for Christmas. I was planning on playing a bunch then. Oh, well...maybe we won't be trapped in the Midwest forever.

I'm starting to wonder if I totally misread the calling that I thought God gave me (not to totally change the subject or anything). It seems like I've been waiting forever for God to hook me up with a full time ministry job and nothing's happened. And I haven't just been sitting on my hands. I've applied at places and talked to people. I try to bide my time patiently and keep everything in perspective, but my age is becoming a factor as well. My current career is a good one, but I need/want to do some additional things--more education, for instance--to enhance it, but I don't want to invest a lot of money and time in it only to have to stop mid-stream and change course if God sees fit to hook me up. It's really very frustrating. I've tried to get something going at our current church, but that's a slow-moving vessel if ever there was one. And I also recently sent a resume to a church in northwest Florida, but they haven't even acknowledged that they received it. I have the skills and the intellect, but I can't get the opportunity. Did I mention that it's frustrating?

At least we know that the coming of Spring is inevitable. It will arrive and with it will come not only new life, but renewed spirit and hope. Winter is down time in more ways than one. Hey, at least we don't live in Seattle ('cause it rains so much--not because it's a bad place; I actually kind of liked it the only time I visited).

Pray for me that I'll stop being so whiny...and pray for peace. God knows we need it.
Mike