October 31 – “Middle School Crisis”

We received a crisis text yesterday.  As we were enjoying breakfast (Well, Chris we enjoying breakfast.  I was done and had gone back to work at the computer), Chris began receiving texts from Cailyn and Nathan.  Seems a crisis of middle school proportions had struck.  Nathan and April were both at work.  Cailyn had just arrived at school when she realized to her everlasting chagrin that she had made a terrible mistake.  She thought it was Thursday, apparently a day when what she had on was completely acceptable.  But no.  It was in fact the dreaded Wednesday.  And on Wednesday one must be attired in nothing but acceptable school uniform.  She was horrified.  Imagine.  The only ten-year-old girl in the entire school who was not in uniform.  She called her Daddy in tears, too embarrassed to even enter the school’s front door.  What could she do?  Where could she hide?

Fortunately she has a Nana at home and a DadDad who also happens to be a pastor with an extremely flexible schedule.  Not to mention that it is part of his job to respond to crises of all kinds, even the middle school variety.  Chris gobbled down the rest of her eggs and we hurried over to their house to find some appropriate uniform-ish clothes.  Cailyn told Nana just where to look in her closet, so we went right there.  However … although the black jeans were there, we saw no shirt with the name of her school printed on it.  There were polos in there that were the right color, but none of them had the name on it.  Chris shot off a few texts, but by now Cailyn was in the building, a no-phone zone.  Nathan was apparently busy with some problem or other at the plant.  April still hadn’t answered the first text, so she was no doubt caring for a patient in the ER.  Nana and DadDad were on their own. 

We searched through drawers and in the dirty clothes pile and in the bathroom.  Still nothing.  We grabbed the pants and one of the polos and headed downstairs.  One final place to look … the laundry room.  Nothing amongst the folded clothes on top.  Ah, more clothes in the dryer.  I rummaged through them until … success.  I found a t-shirt with “Austin Middle School” clearly printed on it.  We added it to our pile and headed for the school.  As we pulled in and parked, a text came from Nathan that the polo shirts were acceptable.  We went with that, holding on to the t-shirt for later use.  The front desk lady was kind and understanding.  She knew right where Cailyn would be, so all we had to do was put a name tag on the clothes and entrust them to her.  Mission accomplished.

About thirty minutes or so after we got home, Chris received another text.  This one from April.  “Cailyn can wear a polo.  Does she need another shirt?  I don’t know what’s going on!”  Chris assured her all was well, and the shirt crisis had been narrowly averted.  Oh, and that afternoon, around 3:45, Chris got one final text.  From Cailyn.  “Thanks, Nana.”

Romans 1:17 says, “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”

Father, would you watch over the bikers who are headed into town this weekend?  Oh, and the youngsters going trick-or-treating as well.  Amen.

October 30 – “Sadly …”

We had an impromptu Astros watch party last night.  Sam came over and brought some pizza.  Jachin texted Nana and asked if he could come over.  Of course that meant he needed a ride, so his Dad had to come.  That meant his oldest younger brother wanted to come, because he likes the Astros, too.  And that meant the middle younger brother was not going to be left out.  And whatever her brothers do, sister is convinced she has the right to do as well.  That put them over the limit in Dad’s truck, so they had to take their suburban.  Since the suburban was going anyway, and who wants to be left home with no one to play with, Mom - er, I mean Ezra – certainly had to join the mix.  Brennan came over, too, since they are finally back from vacation at the Grand Canyon.  That meant his Dad and then Mom made an appearance as well.

We were also graced with text appearances from several sources.  Our Texas Rangers fan from Arlington checked in (Really hoping your boys wrap this up tonight!!  Go Astros!).  So did our St. Louis Cardinals fan friends in Missouri (We’re still rooten’).  Lauren from church kept up with us, if for no other reason than to send pictures of Ed doing his home run dance – always a treat. 

Speaking of home run dances …

We had quite a scare in the very first inning.  Springer was batting.  There’s the pitch.  There’s the crack of the bat.  The ball heads out to …

And sadly, our cable box chose to reboot itself.  We were all scrambling with our phones, desperately trying to find out where the ball went.  I decided to do a home run dance, just to make sure.  By the time we got the cable feed back, a run had indeed scored.  Not a homer, though.  Springer hit a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an Altuve sacrifice fly.  We saw Brantley take a called third strike on a pitch well outside of the zone.  As we finally settled in, Bregman upset the apple cart with his actual home run.  Here goes another dance.  Several in fact. 

Sadly, that was our last celebration.  Sam played the Altuve polka religiously.  Micah added the Springer Dinger polka.  Sam even found a song for all the Astros.  Kel kept us informed about what was trending on Twitter.  Sadly, it was all to no avail.   Sadly, the Astros lost the game.  They still have one more chance, though.  Go Astros.

Romans 15:5 says, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.”

Father, grant us that attitude towards each other, however hard it may seem to us.  Amen.

October 29 – “Curled-up noodles”

We were forced to do some yard work yesterday.  Yes, our grass is still growing.  Trials and tribulations of a tropical paradise.  Problem was, we are in the rainy season now, so we have to get in the work in between rain bands.  This time it was just mowing and edging.  Oh, and roping Chris’ evil long thorn bush off the ground and tying it to the fence.  She also cleaned out some flower beds and threw away some more old broken concrete blocks. 

Then it was back to the old Monday grind of computer work.  Still have to keep cranking out sermons and Bible studies and website articles and birthday cards.  Oh, and paying bills.  Can’t forget that one …

Chris made turkey soup for supper.  Had some of those long, curled-up noodles in it.  Not the little pipe-looking ones.  Who thought up all those different ways to make noodles?  And why?  Oh, well.  The soup had lots of vegetables, too.  And turkey, of course.  Good stuff. 

Last night we went to Jachin’s baseball game.  It was all the way in Sugarland somewhere.  Kel got off work about the time we were leaving so we hooked up with him and he rode with us to the field.  Jachin had hitched a ride with a teammate, so he was already there.  Traffic wasn’t all that bad, considering we were going through downtown Houston, and then getting on interstate 10 heading west, probably two of the absolute worst 24 hour heavy traffic locations in all of Houston.  The good guys lost this one, but they played a pretty good game.  Jachin has adjusted his swing at the plate.  He looks a lot like Kyle Tucker now.  Nice fluid swing through the strike zone.  He has the same problem Tucker does, though.  He tends to dip his body before his swing, which causes his bat to come through in an uppercut instead of level and straight to the ball.  Not that I’m one to call on for batting tips …

Go Astros …

Isaiah 64:8 says, “Yet you, Lord, are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

Father, thank you for our safe ride to Sugarland and back.  Please be with Jachin and his teammates for the game they have tonight as well.  Amen.

October 28 – “From the diamonds …”

We had another pretty good day at church yesterday.  Forty or so people, only one of which was a first time visitor.  That is pretty unusual for us.  He was a great guy, though.  He is building a house in Jamaica Beach, so he thought he would check us out.  Always room for one more. 

After church and a quick leftovers sandwich for lunch, we rushed into Texas – Santa Fe, to be exact – to watch Cailyn play in two softball games.  This Fall league is more instructional than competitive, and it sure showed.  I managed to do something I haven’t yet in my career.  I fell asleep on the bleachers during the second game.  Yep.  It’s just that the other team’s pitcher literally never threw a strike.  Our girls were either walked or hit by a pitch or had to bat against their coach.  There is some obscure rule in play where if there are three walks in a row, the last one who walked has to receive up to three pitches thrown by her own coach.  How many pitches she gets is determined by the count at the time of the walk.  If she had two strikes when ball four came across, she only had one pitch left from the coach.  If she had no strikes, she had three chances against the coach pitch.  Confused yet?  Very odd rule, if you ask me.  Especially if the coach is not all that great at getting pitches over the plate.  Needless to say, Cailyn’s team won both games quite handily. 

We got home just in time to watch the Astros game.  We didn’t know it when the game started, but by the time it ended we realized that we were actually at a watch party.  We received texts from Sam (of course) and Lauren (She had to let us know whether Ed was doing his World Series dances after home runs.  And we had to let her know that I was quite actively participating in said pursuit as well).  We heard from two different friends in the Arlington area.  The winners, however, were our friends who live in Missouri who let us know they were watching and rooting for the Astros.  It was fun to bounce our cheers over the airways.  The Astros cooperated as well, winning big and hitting three home runs in the process, giving me and Ed plenty to dance about.  One more win to go …

Galatians 4:6 says, “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’”

Father, thank you for that Spirit you sent to us.  It is hard to believe that you see us as you little kids.  Help us learn to love you like a child loves his Daddy.  Amen.

October 27 – “The Batmobile”

We woke up to 50 degrees with a wind chill of 42.  Ouch.  Not a typical day in Paradise, that’s for sure.  But at least the tropical storm went ashore somewhere east of here with nothing but a lot of rain to show for it.  I had a struggle to figure out what jacket to wear.  Couldn’t decide between my heavy Astros hoodie or my Alaska light jacket.  The sun came out, though, so Alaska won.

We decided against a freeze walk, so instead we went into Texas.  The goal was to pick up some study books for the ladies’ Bible study group. The books were on hold at Mardel’s, so we also wanted to see what church supplies they had on hand.  And since we were going to be there anyway, I asked what information they needed for Seaside to have at least our tax exempt information on hand.  Something about a letter from the comptroller’s office with their seal stamped on it.  They said “all you have to do” (never a good start) is go onto the comptroller’s website and follow the instructions.  We’ll see.  We did find some novels that were drastically reduced.  Now if we can just not read them until our Panama cruise we’ll be all set.

Imagine our surprise to see a Luby’s in the parking lot of Mardel’s.  We haven’t been to a Luby’s in years.  So early lunch, here we come.  Chris had her favorite there – liver and onions.  I had some fish, but my favorite is their chocolate icebox pie.  Good stuff.

We also made a swing by Lifeway.  That has always been our go-to for church supplies, but they are closing down the store and going to an all-internet approach.  They were selling everything – even the bookshelves.  We picked up some candles for the Christmas Eve service.  Not much else to choose from, though.  Everything was pretty picked over.

On our way home we saw the absolute highlight of the entire trip into Texas.  A Dodge Charger painted to look like the Batmobile.  It was even autographed by Batman himself. He got stuck behind us at the freeway on-ramp.  Needless to say he passed us up quite easily on the freeway.  Hey, I’m sure he was on his way to fight a horrible super-villain …

Last night we had a special treat.  Cailyn and Alexis spent the night here.  Their moms and dads were all at a fire department party, so they became our very own Astros watch party.  Seemed to work out well for the Astros.  Well, at least for Alex Bregman.  He came through with a massive grand slam home run.  Oh, and Chirinos hit a home run as well.  And Brantley got three hits.  And the rookie Urquidy did a masterful job pitching.  Series is tied now.  Ball goes to Cole again tonight.

Matthew 10:16 says, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.  Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

Father, thanks for watching out for us on our long journey into Texas yesterday.  It’s always good to remember that you are there, too.  Amen.

October 26 – “Pssst. Wake up …”

It was a dreary and rainy day …

I know.  Sounds like the start of one of Snoopy’s novels.  Well, sort of.  I guess he was all about dark and stormy nights.  We woke up to rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  Galveston was under a flash flood watch again.  We were also watching a disturbance out in the Gulf that was threatening to turn into a tropical storm.  And it was heading right for us.  That’s just crazy.  Hurricane season ends this coming Thursday.  And then, to make matters worse, the rains stopped and the blustery cold began.  This is tropical paradise Galveston.  We don’t do cold well. 

                                                     

We did receive our semi-regular Friday morning call from Josh.  This time he was pretty excited about starting the Doctor of Ministry program.  He was awarded a pretty substantial scholarship by the school, so that took one hefty worry off his plate.  His first seminar doesn’t actually start until February, but he received the syllabus, so he has already begun the reading and is well on his way to writing the first paper.  That would be Josh.

By late afternoon the stuffiness began rearing its ugly head inside my head.  I had hoped this stuff was gone.  The good side was that I didn’t really feel bad this time.  Just trouble breathing.  It made for an interesting array of snorts and coughs and nose- blowings that I am certain delightfully entertained Chris.

Of course we faithfully watched the Astros game.  Well, Chris was faithful until sometime in the seventh inning.  She got to see my home run dance when Chirinos connected.  We missed having Ed around so the two of us could go at it.  But by the seventh inning Chris was just worn out.  She didn’t go to bed this time, though.  She just snuggled up closer to Freddy and started sawing logs right there on the couch. 

I almost woke her up when Osuna was inserted into the game.  She refuses to be in the room when he starts pitching.  Her mantra at such time is something along the lines of, “I can’t stand the carnage.  I’m going to bed.”  Of course she would have been excited that her favorite Astro, Jake Marisnek, had been inserted into center field as well.  After the game I turned off the TV and then gently woke her up.  She immediately asked if the game was over and who won.  I started out slowly.  I said, rather disconsolately, “Well, they put Osuna in in the ninth inning.” 

She instantly replied, “Oh, no.  They Astros lost, didn’t they?” 

I answered, “Well … on a positive note, Jake made a good catch at the wall of the first batter’s really long smash to center field.” 

She cast a weary glance in my direction, “OK.  So what happened next?” 

This was fun.  She was absolutely on the hook.  “The next batter got a single.  Jake dove for it and Correa almost got to it, but it was a single nonetheless.” 

Sadness.  Dejection.  I couldn’t stand it any longer.  “But he struck out the next two guys.  Astros win.” 

Fortunately she was too tired to beat me up.   I’m not sure if she appreciated my humor at that moment, though …

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.  Do everything in love.”

Father, thank you for Josh’s excitement.  Walk with him and his family as they go through yet another chapter of their lives together.  Amen.

October 25 – “Praying for Officer Kristin”

One more indoor day for me.  Chris went walking again, but I stayed inside for further nursing on this cold.  I actually felt much better than days past.  Oh, and thank you to everyone who shared the myriad of remedies with me.  There were days when I would have tried all of them at once.  I know.  That would be counter-productive at best.  But I’m feeling much better today.

All of Jamaica Beach was a-flurry with worry when we heard about the high-speed chase and wreck involving a Jamaica Beach police officer.  She was set up in her vehicle as part of a roadblock when the 100 mile per hour speeding truck rammed into her patrol car.  She suffered numerous injuries.  Seasider and volunteer fire fighter Lauren responded to the call, so prayer lines were set in motion pretty quickly.  As of this morning it looks like Officer Kristin will recover, but she has a long road ahead of her.  Several community fund raisers are already in the works to help with medical costs.  Please keep her and her family in your prayers going forward.

Last night was an interesting one.  We started receiving calls from the different folks who come to home group.  For one reason or another, everyone was going to be staying away this week.  I think it was probably because they didn’t want to be around Mr. Sicko over here.  Mrs. Betty did make it, though.  We enjoyed chatting with her for a while until her grandson came to pick her up.  Guess we’ll pick up in Deuteronomy in two weeks, since next Thursday is the big Halloween party here.

Proverbs 29:4 says, “By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down.”

Father, thanks for bringing me through this nagging cold so far.  It was nice to sleep in my own bed and be able to breathe while lying down.  Amen.

October 24 – “at the end of the day …”

A three mile walk was indeed taken.  Just not by me.  I stayed at home and nursed my miserable cold.  Even had some stomach issues begin to arise.  Chris, however, was amazing as usual.  She made the trek on her own.

I did go with Chris to take Freddy to the vet for her check-up.  Rabies shot.  Blood test for heartworms.  Negative, by the way.  Heart worm pills and anti-flea drops to put on her back.  Chunk of change.  On the way home we drove by the body shop that has the truck.  It was parked in the back lot, so I guess all was well.  Can’t wait to see how it looks painted. 

We also made a quick trip over to Walmart.  Fruit and bread and milk and Benadryl.  Oh, and we stopped by Randall’s for some stamps and oranges. 

Last night Chris went to her ladies’ Bible study.  I stayed home, partly because I’m no lady.  Partly because I still needed some recuperation time.  Partly because the Astros were playing.  Things didn’t go so well for me or the Astros.  They lost.  Big.  12-3.  Looks like the Nationals are having one of those magical seasons.  The series isn’t over yet, though.  Anything can happen in baseball.  As for me, I struggled with those stomach issues some more.  Then when it was finally time to go to sleep, I found that my head was so stopped up I could barely breathe.  I finally gave in and took my last Claritin-D decongestant pill around 11:30.  I hate to take them at night because I never sleep well.  Knowing that little tidbit of history about myself, I elected to stay on the couch so my coughing and tossing and turning wouldn’t wake Chris up. 

That self-imposed exile worked well until about 2:30 in the morning.  That’s when Freddy located something in the back yard that she felt strongly enough about that she just had to announce its presence.  No idea what it was.  I couldn’t bring myself to get up and look.  But I was awake, for sure.  That round I stayed alert doing crossword puzzles for a few hours. 

Around four I decided to troll around Facebook a little bit.  Bad decision.  Have you ever been scrolling down and your finger somehow hits whatever mystery button it is that makes one of those random videos come to life … loudly?  Yep.  And before I could get it stop, Chris was in the room checking on me.  I assured her I was fine and apologized for waking her.  Guess what she asked about next?  The Astros.  I love that woman.  By the way she made a comment when we were at Walmart that is a good one for all of us to remember during the next few days, one way or another.  “It’s just a baseball game.”  Yep.  Lots of fun to cheer and listen to the Altuve Polka and stay up late to watch the games.  But at the end of the day … it will still be the end of the day.  Jesus will still be Lord no matter who wins the World Series.  Good call, Chris. 

I finally dozed off again and managed to make it all the way to 5:45.  Close enough to my usual wake-up time.  I gathered up my mini-travel-pharmacy and returned everything to its proper place.  Time to get ready for home group tonight …

Hebrews 10:35-36 says, “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

Father, thank you for being the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow … no matter who wins the World Series.  Amen.

October 23 – “Let’s all cheer …”

Well, we hosted another Astros watch party last night.  This one was for the opening game of the World Series.  Kel and his whole family came over.  So did Lauren and Ed and Sam and Cathy from church.  Sam is the one who loves Jose Altuve, the Astros’ second baseman.  Ed and Lauren gifted her with a t-shirt in honor of the occasion.  It has the image of a heart-shaped baseball on the front, emblazoned with Altuve’s name and number.  Perfect for Sam.  She immediately went and put it on.  She also faithfully played the Altuve Polka on her phone every time he came to bat.  That’s one smitten fan right there. 

The house was one constant stream of chaos, with Ezra and Noa playing on the floor and the ladies (except for Sam, of course) talking at the table, and the sound turned up on the TV, which didn’t really help, because I couldn’t hear it anyway.  On a positive note about that … at least I didn’t have to listen to Joe Buck try to be a commentator.  Ed left the room a time or two, and the Astros fell apart.  I left once to blow my nose and the Nationals hit a home run.  None of the ordinary superstitions were having any effect.  Not even Jachin’s rally cap efforts.  I guess we needed to have Sarah Anderson back so we could send her out of the room.  That seemed to work last time the Astros were in the Series. 

The snacks people brought were good, though.  I really like that seven layer dip stuff.  And you just can’t beat plain old French Onion Dip, Fritos, Doritos and Chris’ sweet tea.  And of course the whole point of a party is to hang out with great people.  We sure had that one covered.  Great folks to enjoy the game with, for sure.

We’ll more than likely host another game sometime over the weekend.  I hope to be feeling better by then.  I understand Ed and Lauren are OK with people watching tonight’s game at their house.  At this point I think I may just stay home and sip some hot tea and listen to the Altuve Polka and cheer on the offense.  Yordan finally got some hits last night, even if he did strike out with the bases loaded.  Hey … lots of pressure for a youngster.  So did Yuli.  Oh, and Tucker got a pinch hit off the bench.  Springer hit a home run – his fifth World Series game in a row doing that (a record), and narrowly missed a second.  Altuve was … Altuve.  Things seem to be coming around.  Keep ‘em coming …

Proverbs 22:4 says, “Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.”

Father, thanks for friends and family to share fun events with.  Amen.

October 22 – “Willy, the Wood Thrush”

We had an unexpected visitor yesterday.  I was watching TV and blowing my nose for the umpteenth time.  Yep, allergies.  Still.  Or maybe it has morphed into an actual Fall cold.  Chris was working on a quilt at the table.  Suddenly she heard a distinct bump near our all-glass back door.  I didn’t hear it.  Said extended allergy attack has made my hearing even worse than it was before.  All I heard was the hum of the TV.  No idea what was on.  Sneeze.  Snort.

So Chris was the one who rose from her seat and walked over to the door.  And what should she see lying still on the ground near the door?  Yep.  A bird.  Now it’s not all that unusual for birds to make the suicidal attempt to join us in the house.  It has happened before.  Occupational hazard in the daily life of a city bird, I suppose.  But ever since our resident hawk has moved on, we have begun to see more and more bird life in the back yard.  Add to that the fact that migration season has begun for many more species, and you have country birds who are trying to make their way through Galveston to greener pastures much further south. 

I joined Chris at the back door to check out the latest attempted interloper.  Poor thing was lying on its side.  I went on back there to check on him.  Chris held on to Freddy to keep her curiosity from being the death of the poor little critter.  I gently scooped him up in both hands.  He made a feeble attempt to flutter away, but was unsuccessful in even getting to a standing position.  I checked him over for any obvious signs of serious injury.  Now I’m not a vet, so I didn’t even know what I was looking for.  There was no blood anywhere though. 

Chris joined me and began taking pictures of the beastie.  He remained very groggy, but consented to nestle closely into my hands.  As is her expertise, Chris began googling to see just what kind of bird it was.  Our best guess was Wood Thrush.  And with that we had a name … Willy Wood Thrush.  Look it up.  His picture is right there under google images wood thrush.  I have no idea why they call that species “thrush,” though.  Isn’t that also some kind of disease you get in your mouth?

We decided to put him on the table out back to keep him off the ground and away from Freddy’s curious eyes.  By this time he was able to stand on his own, with just an occasional list to one side.  That was his preferred position for the next hour or so.  Chris discovered on the internet (And how could it be wrong?  They only allow verified facts on the internet, right?) that the best thing to do was give it a few hours to recover.  In the meantime, we played some videos of the wood thrush song for him to make him feel at home. 

Meanwhile Chris went to get Cailyn who texted us after school begging us to come get her.  Cailyn did her due ooh’s and aah’s when she arrived.  Then later we happened to notice that Willy was no longer on the table.  He had hopped down to a chair.  Guess it was more comfortable.  And then we didn’t see him on the chair, either.  Supposing he had recovered sufficiently to fly away, we went outside.  Whoops.  He was still with us.  He had just made his way to the ground.  Cailyn grabbed Freddy and I once again gently picked ol’ Willy up.  This time, however, he was alert enough to understand that a potential predator had him in its grasp.  He started twisting and turning and frantically singing his wood thrush song.  I slowly released my grip, and (Are you ready for it?) … I freed Willy.  He flew across the yard and over the fence and into the open sky.  So long, Willy.  Happy trails, my friend.

2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

Father, thanks for giving little Willy a new lease on life after his run-in with our door.  Amen.

October 21 – “just a heart …”

We had a good group of folks at church yesterday.  And for the first time in a very long time every one of them had been to a service at least once before.  It was like speaking to a group of reunion attenders or something.  And we did another of what has become one of our Seaside ministry things.  We passed around a “Thinking of you” card for the people to sign so we could send it to Ed, whose wife Pat died last week.  Again, that’s not unusual.  We send a lot of encouragement cards.  But this time we had to get two cards because the first one was already full before church even got started.  You would think someone was loved …

We got started into the book of 1 Peter.  Lots of word studies in this one.  But yesterday for some reason I ended up telling a lot of personal stories as well.  They just seemed to fit with the message of the first few verses.  Story-telling married with verse-by-verse exposition.  I’d probably flunk out of a seminary preaching class …

Lauren apparently got hold of a bushel of bananas.  She made a huge batch of banana bread loafs and brought them to church to share with whoever wanted one.  That little personal ministry project went over quite well.  Thanks, Lauren ….

I invited everyone to join us at our house for the Annual Halloween Outreach Party.  We usually bring in some pizza and then set up a ring of chairs for the children to walk through the gauntlet.  We give away candy, of course, but also DVD’s of three movies about Jesus.  And this year our friends in the biker gang that loves Jesus are coming back to give away biker-themed New Testaments.  Not that the words are different, of course.  They just have a cover acknowledging the motorcycle ministry.  Hey, come join us.  And bring along some candy or trinkets to give away.  OK, commercial over.  All that to say, after I made that invitation, a gentleman very quietly came over to me and handed me a $100 bill.  He said, “It’s for the party.”  No fuss.  No fanfare.  Just a heart for ministry …

Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

Father, thank you for the many hearts for ministry over at Seaside.  Bless them.  Amen.

October 20 – “Doggie Dance Partner?”

I had a bit of a rough night last night.  Combination of sneezing and not-breathing because of my allergies.  Flare-ups happen every time we go to Waco and bask in the wondrous smell of the cedars and invisible flittering of the dreaded ragweed, both of which were registering in the “high” end of the spectrum.  And of course we were there to watch some soccer, a decidedly outdoor sport.  Lovely.

It wasn’t so bad when we were up rooting for the Astros.  It didn’t bother me so much when Chris left the room just in time to miss Osuna blowing the save.  It was OK throughout the home-run-going-to-the-World-Series dance following Altuve’s walk-off home run.  A dance rivaled, by the way, solely by that of Ed and his doggie dance partner.  I was sent a video documenting that one.  No video evidence here.  You’ll just have to take my word for it.  My celebratory racket did bring Chris back into the room, though. 

Nope.  The problem came when I tried to gently ease my head onto the pillow.  Nope.  Stopped up.  Could not breathe.  I had already taken a Benadryl to stop the sneezing, so I really couldn’t take a decongestant on top of it.  Just had to grin and bear it.  Trolled FaceBook some to read the hilarious posts by Astros fans.  One friend of mine from the East Coast had been intermittently posting “Go Yankees.”  After the home run his posts abruptly changed to “Go Nationals.”  Another funny one was whoever took the picture of 5’6” Altuve standing next to 6”9” Aaron Judge.  After the home run they miraculously transformed it to where Altuve was now a head or so taller than Judge.  Hilarious.  I finally dozed off sometime long after midnight, propped up on two pillows to facilitate the flow of oxygen through my desperate nasal passages.  Fortunately I had the foresight to set my alarm, or I may have stayed in that state long past my usual 6 a.m. internal wake-up call. 

More about the Saturday Soccer Stuff tomorrow (if I remember).  Time to go over sermon stuff for church today …

Isaiah 60:3 says, “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”

Father, please help me to stay focused (and breathing) through the teaching today.  Amen.

October 19 - “Revisiting an old adventure”

We left the friendly confines of Galveston for yet another foray into the wilds of Texas yesterday.  Several reasons.  We left pretty early first so we could revisit an old. Adventure in Glen Rose, Texas. We wanted to check out the old antique store where I bought that stash of baseball cards.  Maybe look at a few other things as well.  As it turned out the old guy running the store is going out of business.  He was anxious to get rid of his inventory, so now guess who has another several boxes to go through.  I looked at one on the way to our next destination.  It was a bunch of cards of guys in the minor leagues.  Found Brad Ausmus and Mike Schmidt.  That was fun.

Next reason ... next week is Luke’s birthday.  Chris finished making his present.  She miraculously transformed an old raggedy pair of his favorite pajamas into a very cute stuffed whale, one of his favorite animals.  I for one was duly impressed.  He seemed to adore it as well.  He also like the light-up plastic football.  His comment there was, “A football ... finally.”

Third reason ... Caleb and Luke are playing soccer games today.  That was actually the overt reason for our visit.  Ah, did you sense a hidden nuance there?  You should.  There was also a rather covert reason for coming.  I can talk about it now.  The secret is out.

Fourth reason ... last night I was one of a group of secret super criminals who descended upon Waco. We were being sought after in the Waco mall by teams of pre-teen master detectives.  Josh called and asked if I would be interested in helping their children’s minister carry out the church event for Caleb’s age group.  Chris helped me fabricate quite the disguise.  I kind of looked like a guy who comes to Seaside some - Forrest.  Long hair wig.  Simple clothes.  Island shirt.  Cell phone in hand.  Head down watching the Astros game.  I was discovered by the first group within seconds of my arrival.  Came up behind me shouting, “PK!”  The other two groups found me fairly quickly as well.  Not so great at hiding, but we had a great time.  Good event, Shelley.

Isaiah 26:4 says, “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself, is the Rock Eternal.”

Father, thanks for the chance to see those youngsters I haven’t seen since camp back in July.  Bless ‘em.  Amen.

October 18 – “Back in hibernation …”

I started off my day yesterday by responding to a text request from the night before.  Kel texted to say that somehow Jachin had accidentally locked himself out of his own phone.  In a battle of technological access with his younger brother, Jachin suddenly found himself without access to the SIM card on his phone.  Kel did some online research and discovered that the only fix was to replace the SIM card, an effort only available at the AT&T store where he bought the phone.

Enter DadDad.  I drove over to the post office and met Kel.  He gave me the phone – along with the baseball card we ordered on ebay that completes the set I bought in Glen Rose.  Yeah for Orel Hersheiser (The guy whose card I was missing).  I headed over to the AT&T store right here by our house.  There were two tech reps on duty, and one was busy.  The other was seated at a table across the room.  I entered, expecting the usual cheery welcome and approach at the door, tablet in hand, ready to provide assistance.  This time?  Not so much.  The guy slowly looked up from his perch and said in a barely discernible voice, “Yes sir?”  Well, at least he said, “Sir.”  I sat next to him and explained the problem.  He never said a word, so I continued with the information that Kel had discovered about replacing the SIM card.  Still no response.  I listened carefully, because he never even looked up at me.  Yes, there it was.  He was breathing. But the breathing sounded like he was either snoring or had a severely restricted airflow.  I counted maybe twice that he glanced up.  Not at me, though.  ESPN was playing highlights from football games on the store television.  He had to check those out.  He finally asked for my ID so he could access our account.  But that was it.  Strangely enough, he suddenly rise from his seat and walked across the room.  OK, so he could walk.  I guess he’s not completely out of it.  And he returned with … a new SIM card.  Imagine that.  He replaced it, turned on Jachin’s phone, and it came right up.  I thanked him, and he nodded in my general direction, returning once again to his head-bowed, slumped over position at his table.  Back in hibernation, I suppose. 

Now all that happened in less than five minutes.  I guess when you don’t waste time on incidental things like customer relations, you can speed things up.  Anyway, I was able to get the phone back to Kel before he even left the post office to make his duly appointed rounds.  Enjoy your awesome Captain Kirk flip phone for another three years, Jachin …

2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we live by faith, not by sight.”

Father, thanks for the quick access to Jachin’s phone.  And would you watch over that tech guy?  I’m still kind of worried about his health.  Amen.

October 17 – “Lazy Litter of Lamentable Lumber”

More than half-way through October.  My, oh my.  That means just a few short weeks left of Daylight Savings Time.  Chris will be happy to hear that.  She is having a harder and harder time with waking up to darkness still looming outside. 

Speaking of waking up … we woke up to rain yesterday.  Lots of rain.  It was just a bleary, overcast, blah day.  And it lasted all day.  This was supposed to be a nice strong cold front.  You know, the kind that gets rid of mosquitoes and more importantly gets the flounder run started.  But it was just yucky all day.  Chris got a lot of sewing work done, though. 

At lunchtime we watched some Lifetime.  Yep.  It’s October.  The Lifetime and Hallmark Christmas movies have officially begun.  Well, the network’s new movies don’t start until next week, but we have officially started watching some.  The one yesterday we hadn’t seen yet.  That’s a miracle in itself.  Of course our focus last year was Hallmark.  We are branching out to Lifetime this year.  Should get some new takes on the same old themes.  Yawn.  I’m getting sleepy just thinking about it.  Warm and cozy … cup of hot tea (or a cuties orange) … gorgeous lady at my side … and a terrible, sappy movie on TV.  Doesn’t get much better than this …

Unless of course there is an Astros playoff game on TV.  Last night’s game was postponed because of the threat of rain in New York.  I never heard if it actually rained or not.  They apparently had to make the call to postpone in the morning, though, based on the forecast.  That way all the people planning to ride the subway into town (that would be everybody who was coming to the game) could make other plans.  That game was moved to tonight.  Greinke on the mound for the Astros.  Regular rest.  Not sure about the Astros bats.  They have had plenty of extra rest.  Too much rest.  In fact they have missed a game or two.  Time to wake up, you lazy litter of lamentable lumber …

Hebrews 7:25 says, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”

Father, thank you for the rain.  And the cooler weather is a pleasant change as well.  Amen.