February 28 – “Catching up with Katie”

Last day of February.  No Leap Year.  Tomorrow is March.  That’s supposed to be Spring, right?  Except we’re supposed to get back down in the 40’s next week.  Can’t put my winter coat away just yet.  Hope it warms up soon.  We have a lady who wants to be baptized before she moves away from Galveston here in a few weeks.  And then there are the Easter Sunrise service baptisms.  The water is gonna be chilly.

Speaking of the water, I just heard the legislature is considering changing the bag limits on speckled trout from ten to just five.  That won’t go over well with the local fishermen.

We did our three miles yesterday, but we deviated from our usual course.  We ended up walking through Nathan and April and Cailyn’s neighborhood.  Didn’t stop, though.  Figured they were probably still asleep. 

I made a quick trip to the bank.  Got to see Tammy, the lady who used to work there for many years.  She is now manager of the “big” branch over on Broadway.  Congrats to her.

We had a surprise visit from one of our kids in the afternoon.  Katie spent some time living with us back when she was a young teenager.  She subsequently joined the Navy and had a successful career with them.  She returned to school and hopes to graduate in August with a Master’s in American Sign Language and Deaf Education.  She is also looking at nursing school.  Even started some of her college basics for that.  She told us she is just not sure yet what she wants to be when she grows up.  I know the feeling, Katie.  Well, the “when I grow up” part, anyway.  Not particularly interested in doing that anytime soon.  Oh, and it sounds like she is active in a church near where she lives.  Good for her. 

Luke 16:10 says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

Father, thank you for the chance to catch up with Katie.  Bless her in her schooling and in her ultimate career choices.  Amen.

February 27 – “Not life or death”

I got one of those notices on FaceBook today.  You know, the ones that tell you what you posted years ago?  This one was from 2012.  It was just an announcement of my blog post for the day.  The title?  Life or Death.  Wow.  What in the world was happening in February of 2012 that I would consider a life or death situation?  No, I didn’t go to the blog site to check it out, although that is not entirely out of the question.  It just struck me as interesting.  Mainly because I really don’t have much to write about at all today. 

Oh we did go up into Texas to help celebrate Kel’s birthday.  Christina made shrimp gumbo for the first time in her life.  And I must say, she did a bang-up job.  Apparently when they have had gumbo in the past, it has been Kel who has taken over kitchen duties.  This gumbo had loads of shrimp, plenty of shredded chicken, sausage, and the ever-present okra.  Jachin patiently removed all of the shrimp and okra from his bowl and placed it in its new home – Micah’s bowl.  Micah loves gumbo, and was a bit put out that we were even there to eat some of “his” dinner.  He did his part in coaching Josiah to try some of the odd-looking green stuff.  “It doesn’t really have a taste” was his go-to encouragement.  Nana tried to get Ezra to give it a try, but his two-year-old mind was too quick for her ruses.  Even when she hid it among a big spoonful of rice, he spotted the offending greenery and picked it out.  Noa did give it a try.  She wasn’t particularly impressed.  She agreed with Micah’s take.  No taste.  Why bother? 

After dinner we gathered around the couch where Kel sat to watch him open presents.  Each youngster gave him something.  He ended up with quite a haul.  Several Heroclix figures, a white Houston Texans cap, and from the two youngest … bags of Skittles.  He seemed quite pleased with the outcome. 

To close out the evening we listened to the kids explain Heroclix.  Not that it did us a lot of good.  We just don’t seem to have that particular geek gene.  Give me ERA’s and batting averages any day.  I just don’t understand the powers that a middle-aged, chubby “Daddy Spiderman” can have.  Oh, he’s a riot to look at, as are many of the other figures, but the whole gaming thing on Friday nights at the local Geek Shop is beyond me.  Sounds like they are good at it, though.  More power(s) to them.

James 1:19 says, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”

Father, thank you for the joy of a family birthday party.  Certainly not life or death, but nice.  Really nice.  Amen.

February 26 – “Transformation”

Well, happy birthday to the one who transformed us from happy-go-lucky goofballs into serious, stern-uous parents.  From what I am told, 42 years ago today our first son Kel was born in a Houston hospital.  Boy, did he ever open the door to a new way of life for us.  And on top of that, little did we know that he would eventually sire five children of his own.  Thanks for the memories … and the grandkids.

Meanwhile, we managed to get our walk in yesterday.  Significance being … three miles.  That would be for me.  Chris went her usual four or five.  I still did some steps afterward, but I passed on the lunges.  Last time I had some residual pain - in my old knee.  Chris said that was absolutely not allowed.  Can’t have that with the Alaska trip now in sight. 

Once back home I waded into my Monday work projects.  Then, in spite of some pretty hefty thunderstorms, we decided to float our way up to Sugarland to watch Jachin play baseball.  The coaches continued to assure everyone that the game was still on, so we fought the Beltway 8 traffic.  After … let’s just say “many” … traffic delays, primarily for construction, we finally arrived in Sugarland.  We made our exit off the freeway and onto the side streets.  And just as Google Siri indicated that we were two minutes from the field, we got a text from Kel.  Simple and to the point.  “Game canceled.”  Of course it was.  Apparently lightning struck not far from the field, and officials cleared the boys off in a hurry.  Jachin was none too happy.  This was the fourth or fifth time a game has been called on account of rain.  That, my friends, is why baseball is a summer sport.  February is just too early. 

I texted back to not leave yet.  We could at least say “hi” and give him a birthday present.  They waited for us, but we decided to stop by their house on the way home as well.  Had to get Chris her thirty minute grandkids fix before heading home. 

Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.”

Father, thank you for our oldest son Kel.  He really did open up a new world to us … and we love it.  Amen.

February 25 – “An unexpected blessing”

I had an interesting experience before church yesterday.  Before I share it, you have to understand one little tidbit of background.  Galveston has been shrouded in fog for at least a week.  Cold, foggy, often rainy, for the most part just plain yucky winter weather.  But yesterday was different.  The fog cleared.  The clouds drifted away.  And for most of the day we had absolutely gorgeous weather.  A little cool, but we can live with mid-60’s coolness.  Just a beautiful day all around.

Now back to the story.  One of our great laymen, Mr. Bob, asked me to join him in the Fellowship Room before we got started.  He led me over to a part of the room that faces Southeast.  He eased me around with my back to the blinds that cover a floor to ceiling window.  He reached behind me and slowly opened the blinds, allowing the sun to shine fully through.  I was still admittedly perplexed by this time, but certainly intrigued.  I fully expected him to just grab my hands and pray for me, as he does most Sunday mornings that he is in town.  This time was a little different. 

As the long-missing sunshine fell on my back, Bob placed his hands on my shoulders and quietly said, “Do you feel that?  As you feel the warmth of the sun flowing on your body, may you also feel the warmth of the Holy Spirit flowing over you and inside of you as you share God’s word with us today.”  Then he took my hands and prayed for God to use the words he had given me to touch some hearts.  Wow.  Certainly one of the best blessings I have ever received. 

Psalms 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Father, may you continue to bless Bob as well in his ministry with men’s Bible study in his home, with his wife, and with his fishing.  Amen.

February 24 - “Zookeeper”

Have you been watching that new show where they try to guess who is singing behind the weird masks?  Quite odd.  It is kind of captivating, though.  Not that I have done well at guessing who the singers are.  I have no idea who most of the people are, other than Terry Bradshaw, and that’s just because he’s an ex-football player.  I don’t even know who the supposed guest judges are.  Guess I’m living a sheltered life. 

Chris almost has the store room back to full again.  It certainly looks cleaner … crisper … now.  I have left that process to her discretion until she calls out for help.  Grunt work.  That I can do.  Meanwhile, I volunteered to do the difficult task of familiarizing myself with the controls and operation of the new television - cable TV – system.  I know.  That’s a tough job.  But somebody has to do it. 

We did make a WalMart run.  All this fog and nasty weather has really put a damper on our walking schedule.  So sometimes we just go over to the Big W and walk around the store.  Chris did get a storage tub for an old sewing machine she uncovered.  Unfortunately, the dimensions marked on the tub didn’t match the actual dimensions of the tub.  Unusable for our purposes.  We won’t take it back, though.  It will go into our stack of evacuation boxes.  On a positive note, we ran into a few Seasiders.  Joseph has a collection of snakes and other critters that they were picking up some food for.  He’s a  veritable zookeeper.  He shows the snakes at local pet stores.  It was a lot of fun to hear him talk about “my big girl” and how she and the others all have distinct personalities if you just take the time to get to know them.  Chris listened patiently, but I could see her hair beginning to stand on end.  Snakes are right up there with mice on her list of “Uh-uh” species. 

Colossians 2:6 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him”

Father, be with Joseph and Jenna and their zoo of critters.  Amen.

February 23 – “Installed”

Well, it wasn’t easy, but the creative AT&T technician finally figured out how to get us hooked up to their fiber optics system as well as to U-verse TV.  We played with the new remote last night.  The system is a lot more user-friendly than the Comcast system ever was.  At least for us.  And we can DVR up to four shows at once instead of just two.  It just seems like better technology all the way around.  The only difficulty we had was finding the channel that the Astros games will be on.  The tech and I were poring over the little handout he gave us of the stations available.  Chris calmly picked up her phone and googled it.  Had the answer in seconds.  100 mg/sec modem speed is a lot faster than 1.5 mg/sec.  That appears to have been a good move.

So what was the difficulty?  For him to get the wire run to where our TV is located, we had to completely empty out our climate-controlled storage unit.  Well, not completely.  The freezer and fridge and two storage cabinets stayed, but we had to move them away from the wall.  Chris said she had wanted to do Spring cleaning in there, but she hadn’t counted on doing it this weekend.  Once we stacked all the boxes and sewing materials and craft stuff all over the den, Chris immediately leapt into high gear, sweeping and mopping while the tech was working outside.  By the time he was ready to work inside, she had the place spotless and smelling clean as a whistle. 

Because of the different styles of technology, I suppose, we now have an extra box-looking thing on the wall near the TV, and the computer modem sits on the TV cabinet instead of on my desk.  The phones and fax machine still work as usual, but I have some extra room on my desk now.  Oh, and he told me the back-up battery that they installed for the old modem was no longer in use.  In fact he said they stopped using them a long time ago because they are kind of dangerous.  “But you paid for it, so it’s yours.  I’ll leave it and you can decide what to do with it.”  Well, alrighty, then.  Let’s get that baby unplugged right away. 

So today I get the honor of calling Comcast and canceling service with them.  I have to find out what they want me to do with their cable box as well.  It is a real dinosaur, so I know they won’t reuse it.  They probably don’t want it floating around for some pirates to make use of, though.  We’ll see. 

Psalms 139:17-18 says, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.”

Father, be with Edward the tech who did the install for us yesterday.  He worked really hard.  Amen.

February 22 – “In update mode”

I was chided a bit for mentioning yesterday that I had an appointment with my surgeon, but then never reporting on the visit itself.  Well, my question for her this time was twofold.  First, how long could I expect the soreness in my quads to last?   And second, was I maybe doing too much and that was causing the soreness?  I mentioned the two-mile walk/stair climbs/lunges three times a week regimen.  I also let her know we had been on one semi-challenging hike.  She laughed at me.  Not rudely or anything.  She just said, “Let me say it this way.  I have patients – a lot of patients – who come in for their three month post-surgery check and they can’t even bend their leg.  Whatever you are doing … keep doing it.  And as for the soreness, that varies from person to person.  Remember how after the surgery you couldn’t lift your leg off the bed?”  I interrupted her.  “Well, I did lift it.  But that’s because I heard horror stories about the quads, so I worked on strengthening them beforehand.”  She shook her head, turned to the medical student with her and said, “See?  I told you.”  (Wait.  She told him what?).  Anyway, she said it often takes a full year from the time of surgery for the soreness to go away completely … “but it WILL go away.”  I’ll take that as a promise.  I don’t go back again until my six month anniversary, and then if all is well, again at the one year anniversary.  So there’s my report.  Next up on the rehab list … chair jumping?

Since I’m in the update mode, here’s the update on our AT&T saga.  A tech came out Monday because we had zero internet all weekend.  He fixed it.  Well, until Monday night.  That’s when the service became spotty at best, kicking in and out at random times, and when it was son, it was way slower than we had before Monday.  I called back and set up another appointment.  Tech number two came yesterday.  She was quite helpful, actually.  As her diagnostic equipment ran, she explained that the other tech had purposely lowered our internet speed from about 6 mg/sec to 1.5 mg/sec. according to their protocol.  Apparently our antique copper wires can’t handle any more than that unless they are brand new.  She joined the other tech in recommending fiber optics, but she was willing to try to track down the difficulty.  Her machine showed multiple points of failure along the line, either between us and the main box or somewhere beyond the box.  Guess what?  We have another tech coming this afternoon to install fiber optics and Uverse TV.  So long Comcast.

Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Father, thank you for the good report on my knee.  It’s frustrating to live with the soreness, but knowing it’s to be expected – and that it will go away in time - does help.  Amen.

February 21 – “We have arrived”

We have arrived.  Of course it was a rocky road getting there.  Well, it’s not so much that the road was rocky.  It was all the negative feedback I got.  What’s that?  Oh, from my grand and glorious singing to Cailyn on the way to school.  For some reason she insists that I give her a headache.  I keep assuring her that it is my singing that is gently hugging her head and making all her cares float away.  Yeah, she’s not buying it either.  But in spite of the musical turmoil, we have arrived.  See, when we dropped Cailyn off at school, Alexis, one of her good friends and neighbors and a fire fighter’s daughter, saw us.  She waved and called out, “Hi, DadDad.  Hi, Nani.”  Recognition among our granddaughter’s peers.  Yep.  We have arrived. 

We are still having internet troubles even after the tech left the house on Monday.  It was off more than on, and at the most inconvenient times.  Like when I was attempting to coordinate the sermon I typing on the laptop with the cloud file storage.  Apparently you need internet to do that.  It finally popped on for long enough to get the sermon sent over before crashing out again. 

So I called AT&T.  Again.  They ran all their tests.  Again.  They assigned a tech to come out and check it.  Again.  We were already just about convinced to switch over to their fiber optics version of internet and add their version of TV.  At least that would release us from dealing with Comcast.  Save us a lot of money, too.  We’ll see.

Oh, a quick knee follow-up.  I had my three month checkup with the surgeon.  I got there and was sent immediately to radiology for an x-ray.  When I returned and had a seat, one of front desk guys came out and announced that Dr. S. was running 45 minutes late.  He offered us coffee or juice, except that they were out of juice.  (Hmm?  Why offer it, then?).  I started to text Chris to let her know as the door closed behind him.  But before I could get three words typed the door suddenly opened again, and the nurse called out, “Kelley?”  Fastest 45 minute wait in my career.  Didn’t send the text. 

Isaiah 40:28 says, “Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”

Father, thank you that really “arriving” is not based on the whims of a human relationship.  “Arrived” means having a relationship with you.  That’s the one that matters.  Amen.

February 20 – “… emitting a horrifyingly evil glow …”

We took our little charge to school first thing in the morning.  It was chilly.  We knew it was cold when even Cailyn wore her light jacket under her heavy coat.  I think it finally maxed out at around 49 degrees amidst lots of fog.  Just a stay-inside kind of day. 

I used the opportunity to work on Sunday’s sermon.  Oh, and we made a WalMart run, so we did get some walking in.  Chris didn’t park in the farthest-away slot, though.  I guess she wasn’t too excited about the prospect of traipsing through a fog-encased parking lot in the cold.  As it turned out, we ran into Mr. Bob from Seaside.  He’s the one who played master of ceremonies for the Body Life service while we were watching Ezra get dedicated.  He was still on cloud nine.  He remembered more and more about the different things that were shared.  And he remarked at how blessed he was to be the one there to live the excitements with people who gave their hearts to Jesus and want to follow it up in baptism.  He commented, “That’s what you’re supposed to be here for, pastor.”  I retorted, “That’s how you get to feel as the Associate Pastor.”  Not exactly what he expected to hear, but true, nonetheless.  Well, true in the sense that you don’t have to be in “The ministry” to enjoy the blessings of seeing someone get right with God.

Last night we enjoyed several rousing hands of Kings in the Corner, Slapjack, and War (Card games, if you are among the uninitiated).  I was summarily smoked in all of them. 

At family worship we had a brief discussion on Islam.  Cailyn has run into some things at school that have been confusing to her.  Some questions have come during her studies.  They saw a movie about a young Muslim girl who was shot in the head and survived.  She also has some classmates who are experimenting with what are obviously their parents’ beliefs and philosophies.  We ended up reaffirming the importance of Jesus and a personal relationship with him.  Good talk.

Chris stayed in bed for a while as Cailyn went on to sleep.  I returned to the den to watch the Baylor vs. Iowa State basketball game (Baylor ended up winning a thriller, by the way).  I also mindlessly scrolled through FaceBook.  That’s when I saw “It.”  Someone recommended using the heads off of old dolls as … ready for this one? … a nightlight.  Just place the head over the bulb and the light shines through … the eyes.  The mouth.  Sometimes the nose.  All the while emitting a horrifyingly evil glow throughout the severed cranium.  Awful, just awful.  I hurriedly sent a copy of it to Kel, Josh, and Nathan.  Each one responded with an appropriate meme, indicating their varying levels of terror, from outright screaming and running to internalized disgust, to one other, slightly more graphic expression of fear.  I assured them that I would make sure they each had access to the doll Mom has set aside for them – dressed in the very baby clothes they wore as tykes.  Glad I could brighten up your evening, Boys.

Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”

Father, thank you for Bob’s exuberance, for Cailyn’s hunger to learn and ask the hard questions, and for my three boys who still enjoy a good joke.  Amen.

February 19 – “Hallelujah”

Yesterday we were hosts again.  The festivities didn’t begin right away, though, so I spent the best part of the morning toiling over a hot … computer.  I wanted to get as much of my Monday stuff done as possible since my concentration level was destined to shrink when our guests arrived. 

And as for those guests … Cailyn was among them.  Yesterday was a school holiday, so instead of taking her there, her parents brought her here.  Also among the guests were not five … not four … not three … but two of the LaMarque Vaughans.  They were having some logistical problems with birthday parties and baseball games in Cypress, Texas.  We ended up with Ezra and Josiah, which worked well for us.  Cailyn had a little one to nurture and one about her size to actually play with. 

Speaking of Ezra … he entertained us all, as you can imagine a two-year-old doing.  Non-stop movement and often a lot of talking as well.  I couldn’t always understand what he was saying, though.  And when it became evident that I didn’t know where he was coming from, he would quite patiently repeat what he said … over and over and over.  Sometimes I got it and sometimes I didn’t.  And when I didn’t he kept going until I could formulate an appropriate (to him) “Uh-huh” or “OK” or even “Got it.” 

Two-year-olds do eventually run down though.  Chris and I were talking about how much more we have to have to pay for our trip to Alaska.  Not the most exciting conversation when you are two.  He crawled up in my lap, and before I knew it he was limp as a dishrag.  Fast asleep.  Made me proud.  And a little jealous. 

The best surprise of the day came, however, after he woke up.  He was obviously groggy, and when he finally eased down off my lap, he stumbled around the room, looking at … nothing in particular.  Finally his eyes locked with mine.  Just the hint of a grin came over his face.  And in his clearest voice of the day, he proclaimed, “Hallelujah!”  Well, I gotta tell you, that was unexpected.  Certainly welcome, but unexpected nonetheless.  So what could I do, but reply with a little “Hallelujah” of my own.  And that became our family mantra for the rest of the evening … spontaneous declarations of “Hallelujah.”  Great evening.

Revelation 19:1-2 says, “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God’”

Father … Hallelujah.  Just Hallelujah.  Amen.

February 18 - “Kind of a Rule”

We didn’t attend Seaside yesterday.  Instead we were in Texas City at First Baptist Church there for Ezra’s child and family dedication.  I for one really missed being at Seaside, though.  I sent a text of blessing and encouragement to our two leaders of worship, Bob and Jim.  Bob responded with a blessing of his own, and the day began for us both.

The dedication was simple, but nice.  Ezra’s other grandmother was there as well.  The pastor called on the church to welcome him into the fellowship, and then he prayed over him. The church gifted him with a Bible ad a letter to be opened by Ezra on his 12th birthday.  That was an interesting addition.  I am curious what they put in that letter.

The sermon was from none other than Ephesians, the same book I have been teaching through.  His take on chapter two focused on the idea of “Peace.”  Mine leaned more toward “Unity.”  Same Scripture, different slant.  Same power.  In the words of the pastor (which he said numerous times), “I find that very interesting.”

Their worship pastor, John, and I served together at South Oaks Baptist Church in Arlington many ... many ... years ago.  He has made his way into Ezra’s heart.  I was holding Ezra in my lap after the dedication, and he said, “Go stage with John?”  Hmm.  Was it John he wanted to be with, or was it the limelight?

After church the family and a couple friend of theirs met together at their house for lunch.  Chris had made some brownies, so we made a quick trip over to the local WalMart for some Blue Bell.  Kind of a rule.  If you serve brownies in Texas, you have to have Blue Bell ice cream on top.

Oh, and is heard from several Seasiders after church.  They had a really big crowd.  Ten kids in the Kids Class.  Sounded like close to 70 again in worship.  Three tables full of food at dinner on the grounds.  And best news of all?  Bob called and said, “I don’t mean to barge in on your family time, but my head is about to bust wide open if I don’t tell you this.  You have two more precious souls who want to be baptized when you get back.”  That’s some news I don’t mind hearing.  Not at all.

Ephesians 2:19 says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citiizens. With the saints and are of God’s household.”

Father, thank you for those fellow citizens who are watching over our little ones up in Texas City.  Amen.

February 17 - “Classy”

Just a quick mention this morning concerning the funeral I briefly mentioned earlier.  The services were to honor what I can only describe as a truly classy lady.  It was fitting then, that the funeral experience was handled by some very classy individuals.

The representative of the church where the service was held was a young man named Ryan.  He was the site youth pastor, and I’m sure this was one of those delegated tasks that fell to him, almost a “short-straw” or “low man on the totem pole” kind of situation.  But Ryan contacted me on the phone several times before we met to iron out details.  And on the day of the service he was a consummate professional, handling preparation details flawlessly.  And the church musicians were excellent.  The vocalist was powerful, and the pianist was one of the best I have ever heard.  Thank you, Second Baptist Church, Katy Campus.

The Schmidt Funeral Home staff was classy as well.  They provided for whatever need came up with the family, and their handling of the funeral details was professional and caring.  And I have to add the cemetery staff in that one as well.  A few of the family stayed until the casket was lowered and the grave covered, so we stayed as well.  The cemetery staff showed grace and poise - and class - with their handling of some difficult tasks.  

I was even impressed with the string of four police officers who escorted us from the church to the cemetery.  In an hour-long drive through back streets and country roads to avoid freeway traffic, they showed a true respect for the funeral caravan.  In fact they demanded respect for the caravan from the vehicles of the opposite side of the road.  Often they would drive right down the center of the oncoming lane and force cars to the side of the road until the hearse had passed.  Of course, many people had already pulled over themselves, a reflection of a classy Southern gesture of respect.  

Sharon’s life was honored by lots of folks on Friday.   I appreciate that all was done to reflect the type of lady we were honoring ... classy.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Father, thank you for the privilege of knowing and ultimately being a part of honoring Sharon.  And thanks for welcoming her with open arms.  Amen.

February 16 - “Fifty cents”

We decided to spend the night in Katy.  The visitation for the funeral was from 5-8 p.m., and the funeral itself started at 10 the next morning, so it made sense to get a hotel room.  Kind of a Valentine’s getaway, maybe?  Yeah, not so much.

We have one of those Great Scott moments when we went to Subway for supper.  We ordered our usual - 12 inch Subway melt on wheat, cut in half, make it a meal with chips and a drink.  Should be simple, right?  Cost of the sandwich, and as the sign clearly says, “Make it a meal.  Add $2.75.”  Their computer did fine on the cost of the sandwich.  But the “make it a meal” kind of threw it for a loop.  It added $3.25 instead.  I pointed out the discrepancy once we got our receipt.

Now ... I can understand some of what ensued.  The young girl waiting on us was obviously in her first day of training.  She had to look up ingredients for the sub, and she asked if I wanted it toasted (seems a silly question for a sandwich called a Subway MELT.  How else will you melt the cheese?), so I wasn’t too surprised when she had some trouble with the computer.  But I thought a simple point to the sign and back to the receipt should be plenty of evidence to get the overpricing overturned.  Silly me.  It took almost fifteen minutes for them to wade through the receipt (remember, we ordered one sandwich).  They just couldn’t seem to make sense of the problem.  They finally picked up the phone to call the manager to ask what to do when we made a suggestion.  “How about just giving me a chocolate chip cookie and we’ll call it even?”  They took me up on my compromise suggestion, but they continued poring over the situation.  They even said they were still going to call the manager and next time we come in they could make it better.  Chris rather dryly said, “Oh, we won’t be coming here again.”  But maybe the manager can make things clearer so the next guy won’t have the same struggle.  Ah, the trials of being a pioneer in the world of sign/receipt matching.  What a mind-boggling profession.  Sigh.

Psalms 37:5 says, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this”

Father, be with that new young lady who was trying so hard.  Grant her peace and success in her new job.  Amen.

February 15 - “Be my chicken ... er ... Valentine”

I got our Valentine’s Day started by presenting Chris with her gift.  Well, once she woke up.  I let her sleep in, of course.  It was an 8-inch tall chicken.  No, not a real one.  But this one was very colorful.  Very.  I told her it was to help remind her of me, since for some reason I always seem to notice those huge, gaudy, chicken monstrositical statues that people have out in their yard.  There was also a bag of Garditos in there.  That’s one of her favorite snacks.  And don’t forget the biggest accomplishment of all.  See, I got all this marvelous stuff at Hobby Lobby, a place I almost never go into without her. Why?  So I could get three skeins of the thread she needed to complete a project she was working on.  That one was kind of overkill.  Apparently she didn’t need three, but this kind of purchase was certainly out of my wheelhouse, so I just got all that they had to be on the safe side.  Oh, and I used the 40% off coupon I found on their website.  The checker and the ladies in line behind me told me my wife would be very proud that I remembered that little detail.  I hope she was.

Chris told me that she had not been able to get to the store because of our incredibly hectic schedule, but that she had planned to get me ... a chicken.  Hey, we’ve been together a long time.  It’s normal that we start thinking alike, right?  Instead she fixed me a chicken enchilada pie for lunch.  I’m good With that.  But wait.  As I was scrolling through Amazon looking for something else, I came across a book that I have been looking for.  It’s the first part of a two-part series.  One of those “what if” fiction books about a guy who finds the actual Noah’s ark.  I used to have it.  Still have the second book, in fact.  I think I must have lent it out to someone.  Anyway, I have checked numerous times for it (Probably why it showed up when I went to Amazon.  They DO keep tabs on you, you know), and it has never been available.  But there it was.  I told Chris the exciting news.  Know what she said?  “Order it.  Happy Valentine’s Day.  I love that woman.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 says, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

Father, thank you for my wife who loves Garditos and silly gifts and ... me.  Amen.

February 14 – “… the oldest one in the building”

We made another quick trip to Academy yesterday.  They are having a most amazing sale right now.  So amazing that Chris actually went clothes shopping twice.  That just never happens.  She hates shopping for clothes.  And now we should not need winter clothes for a very long time.  Oh, and we are set for Alaska. 

Yesterday was also “take Cailyn to school” day.  Mom and Dad were both working.  I offered to skip hand in hand with her up to the front door.  She rather bluntly refused.  Chris reminded her, “But you used to skip to the door with your DadDad.”  Without hesitation she retorted, “Yes, but I’m not a little pre-K kid anymore.  I’m now the oldest one in the building.  I’m in FOURTH GRADE.”  Well, I suppose I was put in my place.  Sigh.  I want to skip merrily hand in hand again.

Our next stop was a hospital up in Texas.  Jennifer was having another surgery.  But this one wasn’t on her foot.  This time it was to repair some damage to her knee.  And just as we were preparing to walk out the door, Nathan called.  Both Cailyn and her teacher had already called him.  Cailyn was in the nurse’s office … sick.  We needed to go pick her up.  Chris headed on over to the school and I went on into Texas to the hospital.

Jennifer came through the surgery with flying colors.  And as a big plus, she was calmer than I have ever seen her before a surgery.  And I have seen her before a myriad of surgeries.  She wondered if that might be a God thing.  You think?  Oh, and Rita came up to see her while I was there.  It was great to see her again. 

On the way home I made a clandestine stop at Hobby Lobby.  Chris is doing a cross stitch thing and ran out of thread.  We were going to try and work out a Hobby Lobby run in the midst of all of our funeral activities, so this way I could get the thread and something else fun for Valentine’s Day.  The “something else fun”?  I found a chicken.  Very colorful.  Hung the thread out of its tail, put it in a Valentine’s bag, and added a bag of Garditos (one of her favorite snacks, and way healthier than chocolates). 

By the time I got home Cailyn seemed to be feeling much better.  Chris said she had been eating well … all day.  Her Mom managed to get off a little early in case she had to take Cailyn to the doc (a lot of kids in her class have tested positive for flu).  Once they left Chris and I decided to do our romantic Valentine’s Day dinner a day early.  We went to Whataburger.  Great way to end the day.

Psalms 139:17 says, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!”

Father, thank you that Cailyn bounced back from not feeling well.  Keep her and all of our Littles well.  Amen.

February 13 – “Installation 101?”

Yesterday I spent a lot of time on the phone and at the computer.  The computer work was pretty much funeral-related, as were the phone calls.  We have to coordinate venues, since the funeral is at a church and the visitation is at the funeral home, and the graveside is in another place still, another town, even.  There are still some details to work out, so I’ll probably be chatting on the phone a lot today as well.

We did get the call back from Ideal Lumber Company.  That’s the outfit that we bought our patio door from back in 2009 after Hurricane Ike.  They were checking on the price of replacing the door that was shattered last week.  The first words out of his mouth (after the obligatory pleasantries, of course)?  “Are you sitting down?”  Never a good start to a conversation.  Sur enough, he quoted a pretty hefty price.  I suppose it was comparable to what we paid back in ’09, with inflation and all.  Still pretty hefty.  I assured him we weren’t mad or anything, and we really appreciated the help he had given us.  We would just need some time to think about whether we could handle that much money.  I guess he appreciated our appreciation, because he paused a moment, then said, “Wait a minute.  Can I call you back?  I want to make one more phone call.”  Puzzled, I hung up and waited for his call.

And it came almost immediately.  This time his first words, without pleasantries, were, “Mr. Vaughan, I think you should go out and buy a lottery ticket.  Right now.”  Well, that was a bit more encouraging than “Are you sitting down?”  Excitedly, he proceeded to explain that whoever he talked to had cut the price by 73%.  They have to order it, so he asked if he could come over and verify all the measurements within the hour.  Whew.  That’s some fast work.  As it turns out it will take between three and five weeks to get here from the manufacturer.  Then we have to figure out how to do the installation.  He said it was “Door installation 101.  Easy stuff.”  Right.  Chris immediately suggested a call to Nathan when it gets here.  Sounds like a plan. 

So … lottery ticket?  I think not.  I think maybe it’s more that my Lord might be taking an interest in the little things.  He does that, you know?

Psalms 139:15-16 says, “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Father, thank you that we can trust you even in the little things that don’t seem to matter all that much in the grand scheme of life.  I appreciate you being a “Little Things” God as well as the “All mighty” one.  Amen.

February 12 – “Surgical precisions”

Our day certainly filled up quickly.  It started pretty early when I got a call that the little girl who I was going to visit in the hospital before her surgery at 11:00 was now going into surgery at 9 instead.  Not a big problem.  I just had to shift into a bit higher gear.  I made it in plenty of time, in spite of the pea soup fog blanketing the Island.  And as it turned out, they didn’t take back into surgery until … ready for this one? … 11:01.  Of course.  Oh, and she came out of the surgery just fine.

My next task was to knock out some glass.  I know.  Sounds … fun.  Well, doesn’t it?  Actually, our back door had the outer pane of a two-pane panel broken by an errant flying rock last time I ran the weedeater.  Full door-size panel.  That’s a lot of glass.  And it was all still intact within the door frame, albeit shattered to a million pieces.  The door guy at the lumber company that installed it said it would be a good idea to remove the glass as soon as possible, especially if we had children around.  Also …. Don’t slam the door.  Often the two come together, and since we were hosting the LaMarque Vaughan kids last night, we deemed it an opportune time to get the glass out.  We taped some of the glass to try to avoid too much scattering.  Yeah, that didn’t work.  This would be a task requiring surgical precision.  We gathered together Nathan’s old fire glove and a knife and a screwdriver and a garden spade and a broom and the wet/dry vac.  And finally we dug in.  It took a lot longer than we anticipated.  Oh, the middle glass came out easy enough, but that panel of glass extended well into the frame of the door itself.  No wonder to replace it, we have to replace the entire door (We are still waiting to hear back from the door guy on a price.  We may just live with one frame for the next ten or fifteen years).  It took forever to chop and cut and scrape enough of the edges to keep sharp remnants from being available to small hands.  I think we’re good, though.  We filled up a good sized garbage bag with diamond-like particles of glass.  And the patio has never been as clean as it is right now. 

Ah, and in the midst of it all, Chris was washing clothes.  And what to our wondering eyes should appear … but a backed up sewer and a plumber with his gear.  Yep.  About once a year we have to have our friend Jimmy, the Plumber come over and, with surgical precision, run his heavy-duty snake through the system to clear it out.  And it has become more and more apparent that the issue is really on the city’s side of things rather than ours.  But we are clear once again, hopefully for another year.  We like seeing Jimmy.  Just wish it was in Home Depot or at church …

Remember the performance of basketball skills Luke gave at Zak’s basketball game when we were in Waco?  Well, last night he and his group of Tremendous Tots reprised the action … at a Baylor University men’s basketball game during their halftime.  We watched the game hoping for a glimpse, but of course the network just knew we would much prefer seeing talking heads than our delightful grandson showing up all the college players with the skill of, well, of a surgeon (Which he, of course actually did.  His Daddy sent us a video).  Baylor did win the game, but we know who won the halftime show, don’t we?

Psalms 139:13-14 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Father, thank you for being with little Haisley and her docs.  Help her as she recovers from the surgery.  Amen.

February 11 – “White board wisdom”

It was really heartwarming yesterday to see the Seaside folks rally behind each other and spread the comfort for the grieving going on for the missing smile of the already deeply-missed Mrs. Sharon.  Two little girls who were especially close to her wore Mardi Gras beads in her honor and left these messages on the whiteboard in our fellowship area. 

“Even though it’s hard to let go it’s very hard to miss people that you love.”

“God thank you for all you have done for us.”

“We miss you Ms. Sharon but we know that you are in a better place with God and Jesus.”

And using a series of heart images a younger one wrote “God loves you” and followed with a self-portrait holding hands with their dear friend.  Very sweet.  Nice commemoration Emmalee and Sophie.

Our teaching was from the fourth chapter of Ephesians.  All about practical application of Christianity in daily living.  The key verse (and the Visual Verse as well) was Ephesians 4:32 (see the verse below).  I gave some homework this week.  I challenged everyone to go out of their way to love someone in a practical way.  I already heard that a few folks were putting together a care package for a family in the hospital. 

Oh, and a final note on our white board was from little Elena.  Here’s what she wrote:

“be cib to one an ubr.  owas preiv.” 

I know.  That one in particularly difficult to translate.  But I’m pretty sure it says “Be kind to one another.”  I think the rest might be an attempt at “Ephesians.”  Do you think youngsters aren’t listening to what’s happening in worship?  Think again.

Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Father, thank you for the expressions of love I saw yesterday, both on the white board and in people’s lives.  Amen.

February 10 – “One of ‘those’ calls”

We had one of “those” calls yesterday.  The kind you can’t prepare for and never hope to have to deal with.  A very sweet lady in our church died.  Sharon went to be with Jesus in the presence of most all of her family.  She assured them over and over that she was ready and they shouldn’t worry about her.  Always thinking of others, even as she lay dying.  That was one special lady.  She will be missed.

We got the text that she had been taken to the hospital in Katy, Texas, around 10 in the morning.  We bundled up and headed out soon thereafter.  Being a Saturday, we hoped for little or no traffic.  I guess we got the “little” option.  We ran into one pretty bad slowdown on I10 just before the hospital exit.  Construction had blocked off two of the lanes.  We still got there shortly after noon. Around three we decided to go get a bite to eat.  Outback was nearby, and neither of us could remember our last visit there, so we gave it a whirl.  I had fried shrimp.  Chris had chicken on the barbie (Hmm.  Spell check keeps insisting I capitalize “Barbie.”  Should we have expected a hint of melted plastic on her chicken?).  The food was pretty good, but we remembered why we hadn’t been in a while.  The prices are a bit steep.  We did like our waitress, though.  She was doing double duty as the bartender as well.  That can’t be easy. 

We made it back to the hospital shortly after getting word that Sharon was gone.  The family stayed for a while, but finally started trickling back to their homes.  We waited with Doug until his son arrived to give him a ride home, and then we stayed a bit longer to greet the funeral director when he arrived to pick up the body.  Further arrangements are yet to come, of course.  Please lift a prayer or two up for this family when you get a chance.

Revelation 21:3 says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be among them, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’”

Father, thank you for Sharon’s life and the positive influence she had on her husband and on the folks at Seaside.  Please walk with her family now.  Amen.