It was a simple day, today.

Like I said yesterday, an earlier day in that I left the house earlier than I do on other days. Up at 5:30, into the shower, and out the door to make it to the IHOP in Parker by 7 for Bible Study. We're going through Daniel. It's a fun book.

I guess the big news is that I took the van to Parker. Normally, I take my truck, but I need to replace the valve cover gasket. While I'm comfortable driving the two or three miles from one end of Elizabeth to the other with the truck, I won't be taking it on longer trips until the gasket is replaced. And I won't be replacing the gasket until the weather improves (I don't want to be taking things apart and doing this kind of work in freezing temperatures). So, for the time being, through the winter at least, when I have to leave town for business, I'll be taking the van.

Back in the office, and I worked on introit and gradual inserts through the middle of Lent. I had completed things through the end of Epiphany, so I got the three -gesima Sundays and through Oculi done today. Oh, and a little more reading for Sunday's sermon.

Time at home was pretty much uneventful.

A day at the office saw some preparation for the voters' meeting at the end of the month and some textual study for Sunday's sermon. I think I have a direction I want to go in, but i want to continue reading.

When I got home, I was able to create the last six players that I needed for my NHL 14 Olympics simulation and set that up.

This evening was spent at a church members' house for dinner. After they served us, they presented us with gifts for Christmas. I feel bad because I had to round us up so that I could get to bed for an early morning; not that I wake up any earlier, but that I head out of the home earlier than normal.

Finally, a day off! This felt like an especially long Christmas season, so it was good, after yesterday, to have a day off.

I spent the day doing most of the work on my NHL 14 Olympic rosters. Today was the deadline for them to be announced, and the bulk of the participating countries did so today. So, after some roster editing, adding in some created players from my Be-A-GM mode, and swapping out a few players who have injuries in my Be-A-GM mode, I have authentic rosters (as far as players on them...jersey numbers and line ups are a different story) for Canada, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA. I will add Finland, Russia, and Slovakia once I add a few more players that I have to create; I'm simply waiting to find out what to rate them.

Some pizza and the Matrix, and it was time for bed.

The morning saw me at the church office. I was working on some catechesis stuff, mostly. I also prepared the wax warmer to receive a cube scented like frankincense and myrrh.

That, of course, means that there was to be an Epiphany Divine Service tonight. There was. Before the service, we had a potluck supper. This is what I prepared the smoked pork for on Saturday. Today, I finally chopped the pork. It was probably the worst picnic roast I ever bought; very fatty.

A couple of teams were officially announced for the Olympics, so I spent a little time trying to recreate them for NHL 14. The Czech Republic and Switzerland announced their rosters. The Czechs were one of the six I was looking to recreate. The Swiss, because they announced, I did recreate; their roster was probably the easiest to recreate. Tomorrow is the deadline to announced the rosters.

So, it was a pretty normal morning, except that we took both vehicles to church. Bible Study was followed by Gottesdienst. Preaching was on the bloody text of Matthew 2:13-23, when Herod goes on a murderous rampage against the Christ, killing the young boys in Bethlehem. Then, and this why we took both cars, I stayed behind to begin catechizing a young lady.

I spent a little time at home, then. While the kids watched some stuff on Netflix, I looked through eBay listings at Märklin stuff. I wasn't looking for anything in particular—wasn't looking to buy anything—just wanted to look at stuff.

Then, we headed into Aurora on snowy and icy roads to attend an Epiphany Evening Prayer Lessons and Carols service at Hope Lutheran Church. The Concordia Theological Seminary Kantorei was in town on a tour to sing for the service. It's their service, essentially, that they lead at various locations on their tour. I used to do the same thing with the Concordia Seminary Chorus.

Now, it's a late night for all of us. A late supper will be followed by bed time, I think.

Sermon Audio

The Christmas season is winding down. Matter of fact, this is the 12th Day of Christmas—the last day of the season. The gifts are no longer under trees. If trees are still adorning our houses, they are likely beginning to drop their needles now more than before. People are putting away their manger scenes. The Christmas albums are beginning to gather dust again. And to close out the season at church, we hear this: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”

Joy to the world, the Lord is come, and Herod goes on a murderous rampage to end the threat to his throne, power, and glory—murder, politics, blood, the slaughter of innocents in the hopes of getting at the One. Soldiers are seen bursting into homes. The sound of swords being taken out of scabbards echoes throughout Bethlehem—young boys scream out in agony; parents wail in grief. The smell of death lingers in the atmosphere. The taste of blood tinges the air. The agony is palpable. Gone is the Silent Night, now Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.

In preparation for Monday's Divine Service...well, the preceding potluck, I smoked a pork picnic. Chopped pork is going to be delicious, as always!

While it smoked, I did more preparation for the NHL 14 Sochi simulation. The rosters I'm trying to make as close to the real things are the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Czech Republic. So far, I've gone off the projected rosters from NHL.com. Of course, the US has already announced theirs as of the first. I've got almost everything done, except that there are three players I would either need to create (if I can find the way to do that) or replace still. Given how quickly I've gotten through the six rosters I've done so far, I may add Slovakia to the teams I want to replicate.

We got about 6 inches of snow, and flurries and occasional showers are still possible through the night. So, out came the snow thrower this evening to clear the driveway and sidewalk.

All-in-all, it was a pretty productive day.

Another morning in the office. Couldn't get my head around the text for Monday, so I borrowed a sermon, making some changes here and there. I put the handout for Monday together. Then, I planned the hymns for March, except for the Mid-week Lent stuff. Can you believe Ash Wednesday is March 5? So close...

Back home for a bit. Did some more preparation for my NHL 14 Sochi simulation. I'm trying to make a few rosters as accurate as possible, adding my created players to their respective national teams if they "make the cut."

Since it's Friday, it's Bible Study night. Molly was felling ill, so the two older kids and I headed to Kiowa for study at the Plasters. We continued with our reading of the Apocrypha, picking up where we left off with Judith. Chapters 7 through 13 (or was it 12?) were certainly more interesting than the first 6 chapters. Judith is a talkative heroine in this extra-Biblical work of fiction.

Today, I went into the office and prepared a sermon for Sunday. Nothing like closing out the Christmas season with a bloody text. Other than that, it was back home to relax a bit. I played a little Gran Turismo 6 and continued to get frustrated with it. I'm not playing it tomorrow. I played a little NHL 14, too. I'm preparing a simulation of the Sochi Olympics, at least as much as I can do with this game.