I am drained.

I think I have been wound tighter than a drum the last few days. Friday was the day from you know where. Saturday was better but Saturday night ended up being a long night in some ways and a very short night in others.

Friday morning was when I was drowning in cotton. We had an entire night's run plus the current day's production to deal with. It wasn't pretty. Lots of people hear how far you are behind but they never think about having to maintain shipments as they stack behind the backlog. Catching up is extremely difficult.

On Friday morning I had made my early morning round and returned to my trailer to use the land line (the low humidity and high static is killing cell phone coverage out here). I was making some calls building some fire under people, basically trying to get things moving.

Krl's new glasses had arrived at the optometrist's outlet but they were closing at noon. Hourly payroll needed to be generated, so our day was filling up quickly. Krl got 'round and ready and we made the mad dash to town, ran our errands and returned to the compound. I did a quick drive through before going to my trailer and picking up my laptop and heading in the office.

When I walked in the office I found that my co-workers had been waiting all day long. They had planned a surprise birthday party for me. Cake, coffee, cookies, candies, grapes. It was scrumptious. They all told me how hard it was not to dig in!

My on the ground employees had joined together and purchased a cake for me as well, so Friday night we were surrounded with left over cake. Saturday morning I took one of them in for the early morning coffee drinkers and later in the day combined what was left of it with the other cake and took it into the plant for the guys. Food doesn't survive very long in there!

Once again they are running the Great American Race, the Daytona 500, in honor of my birthday. I hope to have the major portion of my weekend work completed by the time it comes on the tube! By the way, I will take Jeff Gordon with Jimmy Johnson as an alternate.

I had calls from Kali, Ollie and Pat on Saturday with birthday greetings and just moments ago I had a call from Jeanetta wishing the same. She says it is 10 degrees in Indianapolis and they had returned early from a trip to Kentucky because of the pending ice and snow.

I guess I'd better hop to it. Be the real deal!

FATHER, thank YOU for all the blessing YOU pour down on us. I continue to ask for Krl's healing and renewal. I pray for safety for Adam and his men in Iraq. I lift up Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, Frances, Douglas, Jack, Lillie, Aimee, Ashlyn Kate, B., Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, K.C., JBCjr, Hope, and Kristy and her baby. I ask YOUR care and YOUR miracles of healing for them. I pray for those hurting and filled with grief. I ask YOUR comfort for them. I pray for those of us who are struggling to follow YOU. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray for Richard, Anastacia, James and Terah. That they would accept YOU as the truth and the light and as their salvation. That they would be secure knowing that if YOU are on their side who shall they fear. I pray for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan, that we would purify ourselves with YOUR truth having been born again not of perishable seed but imperishable, YOUR living and enduring word. Amen.