December 13 – “A day in Paradise”

Ah, for yet another Monday of work. I’m not sure why I have made Monday the day that I spend feverishly typing at my computer and wading through papers on my desk.  For some reason I feel compelled to wrap up the past and step into the future all at the same time, on the same day.  Sometimes it’s a great thing.  I get lots done and the rest of the week I can concentrate on polishing the Sunday teaching and meeting with people and following up with other, more long-term projects.  Sometimes not so much.  Those are the days when something else comes up.  The tyranny of the urgent.  Someone is in the hospital, or a pipe starts leaking at the church some other emergency presents itself.  Fortunately yesterday was one of the former variety.  I did get a lot done.  Good thing, too.  This Thursday is our annual church party here at the house, so I know Chris will kick into cleaning mode here in a day or two.  I also have to plan some raucously fun games to go along with the white elephant exchange.  Oh, but I have some ideas …

And speaking of preparations, guess what I did on that fine December Monday afternoon?  I mowed the grass.  Yep.  Balmy, 70-plus degree weather makes it necessary to do really strange things when you live on a tropical island paradise.  Gotta love Galveston.  On the other hand, Nathan tackled quite a different task.  He and some neighbors and a fire fighter buddy have joined forces to chop down a tree in his back yard.  Now, I don’t mean just a tree.  I mean a TREE.  A really big tree.  He has several very mature oaks in his yard, and he decided one of them just had to go.  It towered over the roof and well beyond, so it had been there a while.  When I drove up there were tree limbs all over the curb in front of at least three houses.  It’s going to take a special call to that claw truck to pick up some of those trunk slices.  But they got it done.  I was especially impressed with the makeshift sled they improvised to haul the heavier pieces to the street.  I tried to get them to pull the last huge trunk piece with me sitting on it saying “Ho, ho, ho.”  It would have been a great picture.  But no one wanted to play the part of the reindeer.  My other idea didn’t fly either.  I suggested he save the trunks and turn them into chain saw sculptures and sell them at our craft fair next year.  He didn’t seem to want any part of that.  Guess my Christmas spirit was just getting a little out of hand.  Sigh.  Too many Hallmark movies, I guess.

Ephesians 5:19-20 says, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Father, thank you for the weather here in Galveston.  I really do love it.  Amen.