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Winter Stagnation Salutations, Saints. Man, this weather pattern is just hanging around, eh? Same ol' same ol'. I'd love even some of the rain we got last Nov & Dec. Unlike some, I think, 'At least it's not three feet of snow!' In my reasoning, I'd rather have stagnation than shoveling. What are ya gonna do? It's the weather; all we can do about it is talk. But here's something we can do that's really productive.  Back in WWII when London was getting bombed regularly, someone

Mid-winter Greetings, People. I was reading in Leviticus this past week and something caught my attention. After a long list of sexual sins to avoid, God says this:  "'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.   But you must keep my decrees and my laws... And if you defile the land, it w

Brand New Year Greetings, folks! 2026... My my, the years fly don't they? Now I really sound old... but the older I get, the more they seem to race by. All this talk of a 'new year' seems to be sleight of hand. Yes, the calendar flips and one tax year is done... But it's the same old winter, same responsibilities. Does it make more sense to call September the start of the year? Those in school just might agree. Regardless, welcome to January. I'm pretty happy the winter's bee

Happy New Year, People! I trust you're recovering from all the festivities... or lack thereof. I identify with the image below. This time of year especially, I'm full of cheese. It's fortunate I'm not lactose intolerant, 'cause I do like cheese.    We have some great technology for you: it's the Instant Church Directory app. The icon is pale green/yellow in color with a church image on it. Download that app, and if your email address is in the directory, you can access it. N

Boxing Day Salutations, Saints! It sounds like me & my brothers when we were younger and had too much time on our hands. It was boxing day and someone usually got hurt. But this is a real holiday in Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand now associated with shopping and sports but was possibly once for employers to give boxes of gifts to their employees the day after Christmas. I'd always thought it was for boxing up decorations or all the left over crumpled wrapping pape

Christmas Greetings, Ye Loved by God! Christmases in the Sheild home seems to have gotten easier in these later years. We used to draw names for the adults: our kids and their spouses, AND get presents for all the grandkids. Now it's rare when Deb & I get a present for each other. The adults don't exchange; we just get gifts for the grandkids. Our emphasis is more on a family gathering, which is a pretty good gift. We're thankful that three of our four kids live nearby.  I ho

Soggy Salutations, Saints.  I just heard of flooding by the Clark Fork river in Idaho and landslides due to too much moisture in the Cascades... meaning I-90 has been blocked in a few places. My oh my! Whod'a thunk it during December? Some of you may want to adjust your dreams of a white Christmas. ( "I'm dreaming of a damp Christmas..." ). I don't mind as long as there's snow at the higher elevations for the spring runoff (and, I guess, for you skier-boarder-snowmobilers). A

Precipitation Greetings, People! I'm not sure at what elevation you reside, so whether it's rain or snow, it's still precipitation. Looks like we're gonna get a lot of it this year. Apparently, it's a La Niña winter, which I think means more precipitation. Don't put your boats away yet. And sharpen your snow shovels! Tis the season for lots of activities! Buckle up... What's Goin' On... *Tonight is the December Hymn Sing and Prayer time at the church, 6:30pm. Snacks will fol

Holiday Greetings, Saints! It's the Blast Thanksgiving Edition  early, so you don't have to plow thru it on Friday while you're shopping or eating leftovers (or sleeping in). I sincerely hope you have a great weekend whatever you're doing. I'll be eating turkey & dressing & gravy... mostly. There'll be celery casserole (made with cream of chicken soup!) and cranberry salad (with marshmallows and whipped cream, which is more dessert-ish but certainly isn't dessert) and other s

Near-Thanksgiving Greetings, People.  Do you have your turkey or ham yet? We're less than a week away from that day. I truly am thankful for all the harvest safely gathered in and all we have in this land of abundance. We may be in inflationary times, but we still have more than a lot of the world. We'll enjoy that with family next Thursday. We'll have kids & grandkids coming over to our place. I'll be making a double recipe of gravy. I'll encourage Deb to double down on the

Rainy Fall Greetings, Saints. There were about 38 men at the retreat last weekend, including a bunch from Fellowship Church in Spokane. Good food, good conversation (& Bible, of course) and good sports! Some shot guns at the range, others hiked up the hill and many participated in the corn hole tourney. Our own team of Jeff and Doug took the corn hole honors. I talked to a couple guys who just needed to get away from the pressures of life and relax for a weekend. I think that

November Salutation, Saints!  Fall has sure settled in. These days you may need a hat or an umbrella outside. I trust you've gotten all the outsides of your place buttoned up. Deb & I have finished winterizing most things. I still have to drain the gas out of the lawnmower and put up Christmas lights on the house. We got an estimate for those permanent LED lights... $3500 on just half of the roofline. No way!   There's stuff in scripture that's sometimes unexpected... or you

Happy... Fall Harvest, people!  Did you think I was going to say Halloween? We don't put up scary decor at the Sheild house but we do hand out candy. I'm not going to be the neighborhood candy Grinch! Candy was one of my all time favorite things as a kid...and I'm still trying to beat the sugar addiction. (I need help...) Missionary in India Paul W texted me the day after he visited us at C3: "Rob - I'm waiting for my flight to Seattle and am scheduled to leave for India tom

Greetings, People Loved by God. Isn't it amazing that we're God's kids? Children of the Heavenly Father? We certainly didn't earn that designation! It is freely bestowed on those who turn to Him for forgiveness. Hallelujah. "For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory." Psalm 149:4. And as further proof, aren't you enjoying the leaf colors? It seems as I walk thru the woods or drive around town, I come suddenly on another stunning scene, anothe

Mid-October Salutations, Saints. Well, it has definitely frozen at our house. Yours? Our garden hoses are drained and curled, the outdoor cushions put away and all but the mums on the front porch are toast. This weekend we'll winterize our trailer. Next weekend we get in some extra wood. THEN we'll be ready to face the cold with boldness. At least we get a break from mowing the grass!   What's Goin' On... *Thanks for praying! Looks like we've found our nursery worker. :-)  I

Fall Greetings, Saints! The leaves are in color now... And, if the weather forecast is accurate, this weekend will be the big fire season...

Welcome to October, Saints.  Man, wasn't it just July?? The year is flying by. Before you know it, we'll be in the mad fall holiday rush,...

Late September Salutations, People. I've been reading in Matthew's gospel (chapter 11) and I came upon this. It got me thinking. John the...

September Greetings, Saints! We're in that time (finally!) of cooler nights to accompany the warmer days. Fall falls officially this...

Rob is OUT camping – as such, Jeff E. will be doing the Blast this week. Let’s start with prayers for the family of Charlie Kirk.  I had...