Behold the Lamb of God …

… Who Takes Away the Sin of the World

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." (John 1:29-31)

τη επαυριον βλεπει τον ιησουν ερχομενον προς αυτον και λεγει ιδε ο αμνος του θεου ο αιρων την αμαρτιαν του κοσμου (John 1:29 Wescott & Hort)

Greek meanings of the words in John 1:29:

Behold = see

Lamb = masculine lamb

of God = the Supreme Divinity

who takes away = to raise up, elevate, lift up; to take upon one’s self and carry what has been raised up, to bear; to bear away what has been raised, carry off; do away with; cause to cease

the sin = missing the mark; that which is done wrong, an offence, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act; collectively, the complex or aggregate of sins committed either by a single person or by many

of the world = the world, the universe; the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family; the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ; the aggregate of things earthly; any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort; the Gentiles as contrasted to the Jews
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Behold ...
This passage is so awesome! I have been thinking about it all day. John the Baptist sees Jesus. He had already been shown who Jesus was by a visible revelation of the Spirit of God (what a privilege). Next day, he sees Jesus, and in excitement, (I imagine) John proclaims “Behold!” This word is also translated in the newer versions “Look!” He tells his followers to direct their attention to the theanthropic being – the eternal Godhead in bodily form. This word echoes down through the ages … off the pages of Scripture … and right into my ear: Look!

... the lamb of God …
I don't think this means the harmless one from God. This hearkens to the fulfillment of the types that these animals are in the OT (that was the only Bible around at this time.) Lambs were there at passover as their blood on the doorposts was used to save the Israelites from death. They were sometimes used for sacrifice in the temple. Their close cousin, the goat, was used to signify carrying away of the sin of the people on the Day of Atonement. This is a special lamb, though ... He is the lamb of God.

... who takes away the sin …
This lamb of God raises up, takes upon himself and carries off the sin … the missing the mark, the violation of God’s law in thought and action … the whole mess of it! He does away with it; it has no eternal consequence once he lifts it up and carries it off. When His ministry is carried to its ultimate, He will do away with sin for good. Some day, there will be no more sin at all. This is a certain and sure future … only because of the lamb of God who takes away the sin...

... of the world!
If this word means all the inhabitants of the earth, the human family, the ungodly multitude, the whole mass of men alienated from God ... then this is quite a feat that this lamb will perform. Will he take away all that sin, all that missing the mark and violating of God? What a wonder if He takes it on for the whole world! But, even if He only takes it on for “a collection of the particulars of any sort" … the “world of the elect” … it is still such an amazing endeavor for one person, just one lamb.

Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Look at Him!

Toledo Reformed Theological Conference

This event is taking place at my church this weekend. We are "hosting" the group. I think this means we allow them to use our facilities, but we are not in charge of the event. This church is the church of origin for this conference. I think their facilities are smaller than ours? I am not really sure how that all works.

Their Pastor, Greg Withrow is a very nice guy. I print things for him from time to time and talk to him when he comes to pick things up or drop them off.

Toledo Reformed Theological Conference

A pdf of their brochure

Where's my flyswatter?
;~)

Why did Jesus say those things?

Why does Jesus seem to give two opposing views of those who are not in His following? In Luke 11:23, He seems to say that if you are not on His side ... if you are not His follower ... if you are not "with Him," you are against Him. Then, in Mark 9:40, He says everyone who is not "against us [Him?]" is "for us [Him?]." One statement is very exclusive, while the other is very inclusive.

Luke 11:23
19"And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. 22 But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters. 24 When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' 25 And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first."

Mark 9:40
38 John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us." 39But Jesus said, "Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.
40 For he who is not against us is for us. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward. 42 Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea."

Does anyone have any thoughts or insight into this?

I like Big Buts …

No, not “butts.” I like the BUTS in the Bible wherein hopelessness and hardship is contrasted with God’s provision. Here are some very big BUTS!

My flesh and my heart may fail, BUT God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)

That is so true. Without God, I am an utter failure, BUT He is strength to me and always will be ... forever and ever.

He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. BUT you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:7-8)

In this age of the church, we don’t always know what is just around the corner. Unlike some “teachers” who have tried to set dates, God doesn’t give us the dates of the events of the future that we may or may not live to see. … BUT We have POWER (!) because of the indwelling Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Jesus Christ ... everywhere!

You killed the author of life, BUT God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. (Acts 3:15)

Jesus died. Our sin was the reason. There were some particular men that participated in the deed, BUT God raised Him from the dead! He was dead … stone cold dead … for three days, BUT He came back to life, never to die again. This life He offers to mankind – resurrection life! It wouldn’t be resurrection life if not for the death ... and the BUT.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. BUT God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! (Romans 5: 6-9)

No human being is worthy of the death of the Son of God. None of us could have commanded such an act of sacrifice: the laying down of the life of God on our behalf. As people in our respective societies, we would probably not be inclined to offer our life for someone else. If it was a good and righteous citizen who was threatened, we might give it a thought. However, it is highly doubtful that any of would trade our life for a disgusting pervert. This is what I see here. We were that repulsive rebel, BUT God put His love on display by releasing His life as ransom, even when we would not have been the slightest bit interested in knowing Him, but hated Him.

Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, BUT the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. (Romans 5:16)

We were all condemned, BUT the gift brought justification! Hooray!

The law was added so that the trespass might increase. BUT where sin increased, grace increased all the more … (Romans 5:20)

We should realize we have transgressed God’s perfect standard for human conduct, BUT He poured out Grace! No mountain of sins is higher than the Grace available!

For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

This is my favorite BUT. We have earned death; we have worked for it. It is our “just reward.” BUT!!! God gives us ETERNAL LIFE instead! We receive the benefit of Christ’s work by grace through faith in that which He finished!

...We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, BUT not crushed; perplexed, BUT not in despair; persecuted, BUT not abandoned; struck down, BUT not destroyed. (2 Cor. 4:7-9)

We continue to struggle through life as a new creation in Christ. We are still in the body (and with the old man?) that is prone to sin, decay, sorrow and perplexity. We are in a world that is contrary to our Lord and we are not immune from persecution, BUT … we are not crushed! BUT, we are not in despair! BUT, we are not abandoned! BUT, we are not destroyed! Praise God.

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God … Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, BUT only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Rev 21:10 & 27)

Someday, after this age is over, God is going to bring something magnificent to pass! The New Jerusalem will be seen. Reading about it gives us a hint of what a fabulous place it is.

In this world, all the trouble, sin and sorrow that we have seen has been pitiful. There is wicked evil in man in this world … BUT not in the Holy City! There will be no brawlers there … no terrorists … no murderers … no child molesters … no thieves … no disobedience to parents … no drunkards … no jealous thinkers. No evil! These things will be gone because they are antithetical to God … who will be present there! There will be no deceit or nothing shameful left in those who enter it. We will be clothed in righteousness ... because our names are now in the book of Life.

I like the Big BUTS of the Bible.

Update - Fugitive Caught

For those of you who have prayed for my husband's nephew Chad after his beating, we thank you.

He still has the feeding tube and the colostomy. The great news is that shortly after the removal of the tracheotomy tube, (his breathing had improved greatly) he turned to his sister and whispered "I wanna go home."

This means that he can form thoughts and put them to words. No one was sure about brain damage until that time, so this is a really big PLUS. We thank God!

Since then, I hear that he has been able to recognize his name written on a piece of paper and has said some more things to his dad and sister and he knows who these people are. He apparently doesn’t remember from one day to the next what happened the day before, but perhaps this will subside with time. Chad has now been moved to another hospital for rehabilitation/physical therapy.

If you are so inclined, please pray for the many needs, spritual and emotional etc.. in this family, the family of John's brother, Larry.

Oh, by the way, they caught the last participant in the beating (the one who ordered it, from my understanding.) You can see a short article here.

Every Blessing in Christ

You may have seen a certain enigmatic character around blogdom. He calls himself “Dyspraxic Fundamentalist.” This character first came across my path on my second or third post after I started my blog, I think. I am not sure I remember how he happened upon my blog, but it has been interesting. From the beginning, he would leave a comment on just about every post of mine. I did not go to his blog but maybe once or twice, for the first couple of months. I would read his comments every day I posted. I must be dense or something, because I did not even notice the phrase he left at the bottom of every comment until after quite a long time.

Every Blessing in Christ

When I first noticed that this closing remark was on most every comment, on every blog, his own and others', I thought: “how delightful.” It is a very nice reflection to send to other Christians. As the months have gone on, though, my eye has been drawn more and more to this phrase. I believe it is based partly on the passage directly below. This is so full of wonder!

Ephesians 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will -
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment - to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory.
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Wow, there is quite a lot in that passage alone! What I love about that passage is the phrase In Christ. I suppose that is what I love about Matthew’s closing. In Christ is where it all lies:

Grace (v. 2)
Peace
Being Holy (v.4)
Being blameless
Adoption (v.5)
glorious grace (v. 6)
redemption (v. 7)
forgiveness
Riches of His grace
Wisdom (v. 8)
Understanding
Knowledge (v. 9)
Being Chosen (v. 11)
Being predestined
Having hope (v. 12)
Being included in Christ (v. 13)
Being marked with a seal
The Holy Spirit
Guarantee of inheritance (v. 14)
Riches of his glorious inheritance (v. 18)
His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms … (v. 19-20)

I feel so amazingly blessed, especially when I think of the last item on that list. Truly, if God is for us, who can be against us? The same power that raised Christ from the dead is on our side! What do we lack? God has provided Himself to us through our wonderful Savior, Jesus.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:13-15)

Christ took up our curse on the cross and redeemed us. Now, we are privy (through faith) to the very life of God. God inwells the believer in Christ. The promise of the Spirit, the indwelling of the life of God, has been realized by the church, who is in Christ. We are fully equipped to have blessed fellowship directly with God. We have no spiritual need that cannot be met … because we have been redeemed … and have received the promise:

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature … (2 Pet 1:4)

Every Blessing in Christ!

Thank you, Matthew, for reminding us of this in your coments.

Spanking or Beating?

Proverbs 13:24
He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.

Proverbs 22:15
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

John and I went to see his nephew Chad today. It is a very “iffy” time. Some kind of a sheath that covers the brain separated from the brain and if it does not re-attach, then there will be permanent damage. It has a 10% chance of re-attaching. Also, it is believed that he suffered a stroke during this event.

Nothing can be known about his prognosis until time passes.

He was sitting up in some contraption. He looked a lot better than last Sunday. His eyes opened and his mouth smiled. His eyes look very vacant. He is conscious, but with a tracheotomy, one cannot speak. He did seem like he was wanting to speak. However, his dad does not know whether he will be able to speak when the tracheotomy comes out. No one is able to tell him anything about the future of this 20 year old boy.

He will go to a place for respiratory therapy as soon as he is more stable. It is still unclear how his brain has fared. He will need to undergo tests etc… His dad said it is not even clear that he can see. (Maybe that explains the vacant look).

My husband, John, lamented the fact that his brother did not believe in spanking his children when they were young. He wept that Chad had to be beaten with guns. “Wouldn’t a spanking have been less painful?”

This is very hard for the Cole family. Please pray.

I have two ideas for new posts. I plan to do at least one early in the week. Please come back.

anti-itch meditation: Wasted Effort?

anti-itch meditation: Wasted Effort?

Jeff gives us his unique perspective on the parable of the Sower, the death of Christ and John 3:16.

Doulogos: Just the facts please...

Doulogos: Just the facts please...

Daniel has a good question. Go give him an answer.
Calvinists and Non-Calvinists alike!

Update on Chad

In case anybody had read about John's nephew CHAD and wanted to know what was up with his condition:

He had a colostomy, a feeding tube and a tracheotomy surgically applied on Tuesday, I believe. It remains to become clear how permanent these things will be. Obviously, we are hoping that he will wake up completely and have a normal physical existence again. He is very heavily sedated and it is just not clear how his brain fared in the beating. They are still looking for the main suspect.

More email jokes

Brain Test

Below are four (4) questions and a bonus question. You have to answer them instantly. You can't take your time, answer all of them immediately. OK? Let's find out just how clever you really are. Ready? GO!!!

First Question:
You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?

Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second!

Try not to screw up in the next question. To answer the second question, don't take as much time as you took for the first question.

Second Question:
If you overtake the last person, then you are...?

Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?

You're not very good at this! Are you?

Third Question:
Very tricky math! Note: This must be done in your head only. Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.
Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000 Now add 10. What is the total?

Did you get five thousand? The correct answer is actually four thousand, one hundred. Don't believe it? Check with your calculator!

Today is definitely not your day. Maybe you will get the last question right?

Fourth Question:
Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono.
What is the name of the fifth daughter?

Answer: Nunu? NO! Of course not. Her name is Mary. Read the question again.

Okay, now the bonus round:
There is a mute person who wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing one's teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done. Now if there is a blind man who wishes to buy a pair of sunglasses, how should he express himself?

Answer: He just has to open his mouth and ask.

This blog is really improving, isn't it? :~)

Left and Right - the difference

One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you I'm doing community service this week."

The florist is pleased and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open, there is a thank you card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill, the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The cop is happy and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open up, there is a thank you card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Later a Republican comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept moneyfrom you; I'm doing community service this week." The Republican is very happy and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open, there is a thank you card and a dozen different books such as "How to Improve Your Business" and "Becoming More Successful."

Then a Democrat comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week. The Democrat is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open up, there are a dozen Democrats lined up waiting for a free haircut. And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between left and right.

A little comic relief - not meant to offend.

Pray for Chad Cole

John's Nephew, Chad, really needs help from God. He has been in and out of trouble since he was a pre-teen. In the last few years, he has been into some serious drugs (the kind that addict you after one go at it).

Chad was badly beaten by 7 people (from my understanding) last weekend and has been in the hospital, in intensive care ever since. These people beat him with guns (I'm glad they did not shoot him). They were trying to make him an example as he owed them $40 and his brother owed them $60. So ... basically, you have a person beaten, almost to death, over $100 for stupid drugs! It makes me sick.

He has not awakened completely yet in the whole week and 2 days since this happened. However, today, John and I went to visit him and he was moving around and squeezed the hand of his father. He may be OK, but there is no way to be sure until he wakes up completely.

The entire time I looked at him today, I thought of how hard this must be for his father. I can't imagine knowing that my son had been so careless with his life and now he lay there almost dead ... and very possibly brain damaged ... over stupid drugs. I am very sad for all of them.

I pray that the Lord will use this event in his life to show him of his need for a relationship with Christ. I hope that all of his family will see the foolishness and vanity of life without the Lord. Chad once made a profession of faith when in jail, but did not move forward any with the Lord. Who knows? Please pray for this young man and his family, as they are all in great spiritual need.

You can read a few short articles about it from the local news if you want by clicking the links below. Thank you.

Here and here.

The Lamb is the Light!

Below is an excerpt by J. Vernon McGee from his Revelation studies.

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (Revelation 21:22, 23)

God lights the new creation directly by His presence. After the entrance of sin into the old creation, God withdrew His presence, and "darkness was upon the face of the deep" (Genesis 1:2). Then God made use of the physical lights in His universe. He put them up like we put up street lights or lights in our homes. However, in the new creation sin is removed, and He again becomes the source of light. Today the Lord Jesus Christ is the Light of the World in a spiritual sense: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12).

In the new creation, He is the direct physical as well as the spiritual light. In the tabernacle there was the golden lampstand, which is one of the finest pictures of Christ. In the New Jerusalem, He is the golden lampstand. The nations of the world will enter the Holy City as the priests entered the Holy Place in the tabernacle for the purpose of worship. The nations of the earth, as well as Israel, will come to the New Jerusalem as the high priest of old entered the Holy of Holies. Instead of the blood being brought, the Lamb is there in person.

The temple, which supplanted the tabernacle back in the nation Israel, was an earthly enclosure for the shekinah glory. It was a testimony to the presence of God and the presence of sin. Where sin existed, God could be approached only by the ritual of the temple. However, in the New Jerusalem sin is no longer a reality but is like a hideous nightmare, even locked out of the closet of memory. The actual presence of God with the redeemed eliminates the necessity for a temple, although the whole city may be thought of as a temple. In the city of light, God is present and sin is absent; therefore, an edifice of a material substance is no longer necessary, The physical temple was a poor substitute for the presence of God. The New Jerusalem possesses the genuine article – God in person. It is probably the first place where God will make a personal appearance before man. What a glorious prospect this is!

New Jerusalem will be independent of the sun and moon for light and life. What a contrast to the earth, which is utterly dependent upon them. It may be that the sun and moon will even be dependent upon the celestial city for power to transmit light, since the One who is the source of light and life will dwell within the city. Neither will light be furnished by the New Jerusalem Light and Power Company. The One who is light will be there, and the effulgence of His glory will be manifested in the New Jerusalem unhindered.

From Edited Messages on Revelation by J. Vernon McGee

DEAD

Shaky legs run to isolation
Gasping for breath, then collapse
Tears in eyes squeezed shut
Wails scrape throat as they pass
Hands clench pillow
Shaken heart thumps

Earth is gone
Only this couch remains

Desperation turns to emptiness
Body worn, tired, spent
Looking through salty eyes I see
The DEAD branches of early March



(Rose Cole, 1989)

I Love March 1

Warning: this post is all about my feelings and contains nothing profound or objective. What's new, right?

There is something about
March 1 that makes it seem like it should be a holiday. I have a great feeling of relief to see this day come in Ohio. I have this feeling every year on this day.

Do you ever regularly run or walk for long distances? Do you know the feeling when you have been walking or running for so long and then, you get to the point where you are no longer running away from your goal, but you are moving toward it? This feeling of anticipation is then magnified when you can actually see the goal ... and you are on the "home stretch."

The dawning of March is like that in Ohio ... for me.

February is depressing. There is nothing good about February ... or January for that matter, in my mind, except for the fact that my son's birthday is on 2/4. Other than that, January and February are just full of snow, darkess, cold and snow. I don't like cold, darkness and snow and snow. March, however, is a different animal than January or February. It starts to get lighter earlier and darker later. While it still may snow, there is the hope that it will melt quickly and/or we could have a very warm and spring-like weather. Spring is the goal. Spring is a good thing. I like Spring. I feel hope.

Having said all that about March 1, March 2 is not my favorite day of the year. My dad died on that date in 1979. Tomorrow I intend to post a poem on that subject, which I wrote in College, and for which I received recognition. If you don't have an appreciation for that kind of thing, don't visit tomorrow.

the END