January 3, 2016

January 3, 2016

Well, it was not all fun and sun in Southwest Florida today. It was a cloudy 66° when we left for church midmorning and mist was falling on and off. By late afternoon the temperature had fallen to 62° and we were comfortable wearing long pants and sweatshirts.

 

We were happy to worship at Hope Lutheran Church in Bonita Springs again. When the associate Pastor greeted me I told him that we two snowbirds had returned for the winter. He very warmly replied, “Welcome home”. The church is now offering an associate membership which is explained as for those who wish to retain their membership at their “home” church "up north” or wherever. Hope has a large increase in attendance during the winter months and I think this is an excellent way to embrace those who are more than just occasional visitors.

 

The entrance to the sanctuary has a beautiful Christmas painting. This is not pictures or photos.

 

 

The sanctuary was still decorated for Christmas and had three Chrismon trees.

 

 

A chrismon is a Christian symbol representing Jesus Christ. The term is also used in a wider sense to refer to ornaments that are "symbols for Christ or some part of Christ's ministry".

 

 

By the time we returned to the condo, rain had set in and it continued for the remainder of the afternoon. A look at the weather map showed that it was raining only in our part of the state. I feel like that rain cloud followed us all the way from Virginia.

 

 

It was really too chilly to sit out on the lanai today, so I had to be satisfied to look out the window. Hardly any birds were visiting the lake today.

 

 

We were all geared up to watch the Redskins play the Dallas Cowboys and were disappointed to discover that the game was not carried on any of the television channels we receive. Instead the Miami game was offered. But, we were able to listen to the internet radio broadcast from the game at home while we watched other games on TV.

 

 

Yesterday, I bought three lottery tickets with hopes of winning just a little bit of money. Two of them were losers in last night’s drawings. But I still have one for the drawing that will be on Tuesday. If I win, I am going to buy my own condo here and I will share it with all my good friends! Wish me luck—it didn’t happen last year.