August 31 – “Are we on?”

I tried something a little sneaky and different at church.  I turned on the FaceBook Live feed about three minutes earlier than usual.  I whispered a little introduction to what was happening.  No one on site knew that they were on camera, so the folks at home could get a sense of what was happening before worship.  I thought it would be a fun experiment.  What I failed to consider was that it wasn’t a taped broadcast, so people tuning in never saw my intro that explained what was happening.  We started getting comments asking what was going on, and where was everybody, and did we forget to start.  It was kind of funny, actually.  But I think we’ll forego the pre-church experience for now. 

 

After church we went out for barbeque with some Seaside folks.  The restaurant had all their protocols in place for Covid.  We were some of the very few there at the time, although by the time we left the crowd seemed to be growing.  It was good food and all, but the thing we realized we had been missing was just being with people in a fellowship, fun setting.  Thanks, Lauren, Cathy, and Mark for joining us for the adventure. 

 

In the afternoon we had to make a WalMart run for some groceries.  Why on Sunday?  Because we are a little crazy.  Well, that and we are babysitting the five LaMarque grandkids this week.  Four of them are growing boys who like to eat.  And Noa is so active she needs her nourishment as well.  And why a week?  Their Mom went to DisneyWorld.  No, really.  She is on a special 40^th birthday trip with her Dad.  Something special he likes to do with his kids.  The kids have all done really well so far, so don’t worry, Mom.  Go ride another roller coaster …

 

Hebrews 9:28 says, “Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

 

Father, thanks for the fellowship over some barbeque.  We really needed that.  And please be with the kiddos this week.  Help them have some fun, but still get their schoolwork done.  Amen.

August 30 – “Not done yet”

I finally decided to brave out the back issues and get the boards down at the church.  Fortunately Corey, Jim, and Ray were available as well, so they took care of most of the heavy lifting.  And it took us less than an hour to get it done.  Nice job, guys.

 

Back home I joined Chris in putting more stuff back in place.  I thought emptying would be easier than packing.  Not so much.  The biggest issue was putting pictures back into frames.  I left that part to Chris.  I just came when called to help hang them on the wall.  PRN.  That’s a nurse word I learned from being married to Chris.  No idea what the letters stand for, but it means “as needed.”  I think.

 

The widow who lives across the street from us got back into town from her evacuation.  She was going to try to take down the boards from her windows by herself.  Nope.  Not how this works.  Nathan came over and we got that chore taken care of.  It didn’t even take all that long.  It was hot, though. 

 

So … I guess my back just needed to move around some.  It lasted the whole day without giving out completely.  I’ll take that as a win.  Well, at least a tie.  I AM pretty sore today …

 

1 Corinthians 12:25-27 says, “so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

 

Father, be with the part of your Body that meets at Seaside today.  Bless us with your presence.  Amen.

August 29 – “Putting it back”

So Friday.  My day off.  Not.  I had to try to catch up on my sermon prep that I have missed for the last three days.  I’m praying the folks are kind in their assessments on Sunday morning.  You know, listen for scriptural content rather than get distracted by presentation.

 

I also helped Chris begin the process of putting the house back together.  It is almost as much of an ordeal to put things away as it was to pull them down for evacuation.  We put plants and backyard furniture back in place first.  That was kind of a necessity since they were all filling up our den and dining room.  The main project, though, was putting away all the photos albums.  More than 35 of them.  Each one as heavy, or heavier than the last. We didn’t end up taking them with us, but we had already put them into plastic crates.  And did I mention that they are heavy? 

 

We still have seven or eight of those tubs to empty, but today I’m supposed to go to the church and take down the boards over the windows there.  A group meets inside tonight.  And then, that’s where the bathrooms are for the Sunday morning service.  Even though we are meeting outside, we still need the building to look less like a dungeon inside.  The hardest part there will be carrying them inside and getting them stashed. 

 

However, I was awakened this morning at 5 a.m. with a really sore back. Worse than after we put up all the boards and loaded the cars for the evacuation.  And as I type this around 6:30, it hasn’t eased up much.  I am re-evaluating the church situation.  That may have to wait until tomorrow after worship.  Maybe some strong backs will show up …

 

Hebrews 8:10 says, “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

 

Father, thank you that we have a house to come home to and a place to put things back.  Some don’t.  Please be with the folks in Louisiana.  Amen.

August 28 – “Almost Made It”

The LaMarque crew left around 10:30 or so after a few rousing rounds of some video game.  It was really noisy in there, so I assume they were having some last-minute cousin fun.  When they were safely on the road, we loaded up as well, hoping for an uneventful return to Galveston.  Little did we know …

 

Actually things started out really well.  We stopped for gas in Waco so we would have plenty to get to get us to Buc-ees, our traditional stop.  No issues there.  Freddy rode with Chris again, this time she was a seasoned veteran traveler.  She curled up and made herself comfortable for the long haul.  I grabbed a pop tart and a root beer for my trip back.  I should be able to stay awake.  All seemed well.  Let’s roll.

 

And leg one was completely … boring.  Nothing went wrong.  We pulled into Buc-ees and filled the truck up with gas.  The pump Chris pulled up to didn’t work, though.  But she didn’t really need any, anyway.  I went to the bathroom and grabbed a barbeque sandwich while Chris took Freddy for a walk.  Then Chris took her turn, and Freddy and I sat in the truck air conditioning.  Chris ate some chicken salad, and pretty soon, we were off. I have to say I was more than optimistic.  And very ready to be home.  What do I know …

 

All went well for a time.  Even getting into Houston was not at all difficult.  Very little traffic.  All looked well for us to be home in plenty of time to pull the wood off our doors and windows before curfew at 8 p.m.  I mean, after all … we left at 11:30 a.m.  What could go wrong?

 

Just as we changed lanes to make the exchange from I10 to I45, one of those TXDOT signs warned us of a stalled car that was causing a backup.  It wasn’t kidding.  Before long traffic skidded to a halt.  We moved, but ever so slowly.  Time stood still.  And then …

 

I think I noticed the smell first.  Not exactly something burning, but something.  I checked the gauges.  No real change.  The temperature seemed to be a little high than usual, but that happens in stop and go traffic.  And then I noticed the tiniest bit of steam wafting from beneath the hood near the windshield.  Uh oh.  About the same time that pesky temperature gauge made an appearance.  Slowly it crept, hotter and hotter.  Then it dropped back down again.  Then hotter and hotter.  The problem was, the “drop back down again” never got as low as it was before.  Yep.  I was in the middle of a full-blown overheating situation.  What to do?

 

All of those little tricks I have learned over the years flashed through my mind.  I turned off the AC and rolled down the windows.  I stopped short of the other trick I have used before – turning on the heater.  Not sure why that’s supposed to work, but … not today.  I called Chris to let her know what was happening since she was in front of me.  We finally decided to take the next exit and try to find some place to stop and let it cool down. 

 

It took a while to get all the way across the freeway, but we made it.  And then we found ourselves on the streets of downtown Houston.  No idea where.  Was this a part of town we wanted to be in?  Oh, there were very few people in evidence, what with Corona and Laura joining forces.  But was it safe to stop and sit for an hour waiting for the truck to cool down? 

 

After a random turn or two, a police car pulled in between us.  I was now in front, and Chris suggested I just get out and ask the officer for help.  I have to admit I did feel a little safer with him back there.  Then a second one pulled up to the stop sign on a side street.  Then another.  And another.  Why the big police presence?  Did we miss something?  Is this THAT bad a part of town to be in?  And then we turned another corner.  We just happened to be right in front of the downtown police precinct.  Safe …

 

But still overheated.  And no place to park.  Turn another corner.  Look!  Several random places over there in front of that big building.  Yes, that one.  The … Chevy dealership … service department … that is open.  You can’t make this stuff up.  We parked and I went inside to see if they could help.  One of the desk service reps said, “Let’s go take a look.”  Come to find out, he just started working at the front desk.  For the previous five years he had been … a master mechanic. “Just got tired of slinging a wrench.”

 

OK, I’ll shorten this massively long missive now.  He checked everything out and came up with several possibilities.  After it cooled down – and he stayed with us the whole time – he found out that our problem was actually the least expensive of all.  The radiator was almost completely empty.  Thing was, there was no evidence of a leak anywhere.  “Doesn’t mean there isn’t one,” he explained.  But very strange.  He took me to the parts department so I could buy some antifreeze.  He even poured that in for me.  And then he went back to get some water, because it wasn’t full enough for him.  And then he went back and filled the can up again so we would have some on hand in case it happened again.  The truck started up and the gauge stayed right where it belonged.  To top everything off, we asked him what the best way was to get back on the freeway headed to Galveston.  He looked at us a little quizzically.  He pointed to the road the dealership was on.  And he said, “Follow that road.”  Cryptic instructions until we realized that all we had to do was literally follow the road for less than a mile, and it became part of I45 South.  No turns required.  The guy’s name was Mark.  At Knapp Chevrolet.  Gotta recommend them highly. 

 

We had no further issues on the way home.  Just the specter of removing boards from our windows after standing around in 100 degree heat in inner city Houston for an hour.  And as we turned onto our street … the boards were gone.  Already down from the windows and stowed in the garage.  Thanks to our son Nathan for that one.  You have no idea how much that meant to us. 

 

So, folks, it’s good to be home.  And now we watch the ocean for the next one … Hurricane Nana.  Really?

 

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

 

Father, thank you for the road you blazed through the freeway traffic so we could escape and seek help.  Thank you for the comforting presence you showed by dropping us right in the middle of police-ville.  Thank you for giving that Chevy dealership the good sense to build right where they did.  Thank you for Mark and his expertise and willingness to help.  Thank you for Nathan and his heart for doing good.  Thank you for home.  Amen.

August 27 – “Evac Day 2”

Once we arrived at Josh’s house we got all set up in our evacuation room.  Chris and I were blessed with the grandparents suite.  Well, us and Freddy.  She slept in her kennel near the bed.  The LaMarque crew took over the big family room with an air mattress and sleeping bags. 

 

Breakfast was clean out the two refrigerators of the evacuees day.  Coffee and bacon and eggs and cinnamon rolls.  Nice.  The kids took off outside – and inside – and back outside – playing all sorts of games and exploring the woods.  Freddy found a best friend.  No, Not Kel’s dog Leia.  She and Luke were inseparable.  Noa and AnnaGrace played dolls a lot.  Ezra occasionally joined them.  He was allocated the guy doll.  Not a problem.  See, he was “that guy” who wanted to jump off the roof of the doll house.  Yep.  His name is Vaughan.  We even took a walk.  All 15 of us.  We went the few blocks over to the stream park and hung out for a while.  It got too hot to stay very long, though. 

 

All the guys except Ezra went on a field trip.  Seems Waco has a sports memorabilia/comic book store that Kel found online.  As luck would have it, they had a box of individual singles of the baseball card set I have been working on.  1961-62 Fleer greats of the game.  I told the shopkeeper that I would have to get my list and come back.  Then on a whim I texted Chris and told her about my find.  Amazingly, she just happened to have a copy of my list, and she texted it to me.  I thumbed through what they had and bought a few.  Then we went next door to a gaming store.  The kids knew a lot of the paraphernalia in there.  So did Kel.  Then they headed for the Dollar Store a little further down.  And that’s where I decided to head the opposite direction – back to the baseball card shop.

 

I ended up buying some more cards.  I started to tell the shop owner my story about the Lefty Gomez card I have in that set.  When I was a kid, just nine or ten years old, my Mom heard that Lefty was going to be in town making an appearance at one of the local sporting goods stores.  She asked if I wanted to go, and of course I did.  By age nine I had already read just about every book on baseball that the Rosenberg library had in stock.  I was as much of an expert as a child can be on the great players of the game throughout its history.  I remember when we walked in that we were the only ones there.  Lefty looked … sad.  He just looked like a tired old man.  Strange that I would remember that.  Guess I expected him to be the vibrant, athletic jokester I had read about in books.  I cautiously approached him, with the encouragement of my Mom.  Slowly I held out the baseball card I had with his image on the front, from that 1961-2 set.  His eyes brightened when he saw it.  His whole demeanor seemed to change, in fact.  He took the card from me and said, “Well, hi there.  What’s your name?”  Then he signed the card, smiled, and handed it back to me.  Good ol’ Lefty became a prominent member of every all-time greats team I concocted from that point on.

 

But back to my other story.  I figured the shopkeeper didn’t have time to listen to my prattling about childhood memories.  Other customers and all.  So I just dug in and pulled the cards I still needed.  I got all they had of the ones I still need.  In fact I could have bought the whole set.  Just $900.  A real steal.  But that would have been difficult to explain to Chris.  All this action must have taken me a … bit.  Josh joined me at some point, but he didn’t say anything.  Then Chris started texting him and telling him to drag me out of there.  I told him she was the one who sent me the list.  That made all this her fault.  Josh identified it as a classic case of codependency.  After I paid for the cards, we returned to the van where I found an amazing surprise.  Micah had bought me a frozen lemonade cup.  My favorite.  Best friend for the day, to be sure. 

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming (for the Littles) and video gaming for the Olders.  The Most Seasoned of us all tried to work a little on his sermon, but he was too tired from previous days’ exertions.  It didn’t work out so well, productivity wise.  Too much dozing and not enough grammaring.

 

We went to their church for supper.  The Littles played on the church playground.  The three teenagers stayed for their youth group, which is meeting outside.  Josh told us they are planning to have their first monthly Sunday night drive in worship this Sunday.  Everyone stays in the car, and Josh and their praise team project from an outdoor platform.  That would have been interesting to see. 

 

We stopped on the way home for some pizza.  I know.  I said we went to the church to eat.  And a few of us did.  But not every was particularly excited about the vegetable alfredo lasagna the church chef had prepared. 

 

Last night I was given the honor of reading family worship from their children’s Bible.  And I may or may not have added a little drama to my vocalization.  As I read AnnaGrace crawled up in my lap.  As I turned the page one time she whispered, “This is so exciting.”  Made my whole trip …

 

And now it is time to return home.  Back to taking down window coverings and cleaning up whatever branches might be littering the yard.  Further updates tomorrow … from Galveston.

 

Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

 

Father, thank you for giving us a comfortable and safe place to be for this.  Please ride with us back home.  Amen.

August 26 – “Evacuation Day”

We woke to a 5:05 a.m. phone call from the City of Galveston.  The Island was now officially under a Hurricane Watch.  That was an upgrade from the Tropical Storm Watch of earlier.  It was in the Gulf and expected to strengthen into a category three hurricane before making landfall.  Oh, and Tropical Storm Laura had shifted its course a bit and was heading closer to us.  Time to kick into evacuation mode. 

 

Nathan came over and helped board up our windows.  We already had boards cut to fit, so it was just a matter of clearing away all of our typical garage junk so we could get to them.  Once they were within reach Nathan commented, “You know, I’m glad they are numbered and all, but I don’t remember what the numbers mean.”  I chuckled.  Chris replied, “You do recognize the handwriting, don’t you?  It’s yours.” 

 

As we finished up and Nathan was getting ready to leave, we saw the widow who lives across the street and her daughter-in-law trying to board up their windows.  Nathan and I looked at each other.  I told him, “You go on.  I’ll get Corey and we’ll help them.” He looked at me and without missing a beat replied, “Dad … you know that’s not how this works.”   Corey joined us and we got theirs up in no time.  Well, once they decided to let us just screw them in instead of using the clips they had.  We couldn’t figure them out. 

 

Core and Janell headed out soon afterwards for their place of evacuation.  They heeded the warning we got from Christina about a big wreck on Interstate 45, though.  They altered their route. 

 

We then moved into our final phase – finding a place in the truck and car for everything.  It’s harder than you think when  everything has some sort of sentimental or useful value, or it wouldn’t be in the house anyway.  In fact that became the criteria for our first wave of cuts – if we could buy it again, leave it.  I was proudest of Chris, though, when she decided it would be OK to leave our actual physical photo albums behind.  45 years of pictures.  Actually, I have already scanned and transferred all of them to our external hard drive anyway.  When she made that decision, our load got smaller … much smaller.  The only thing in the bed of the truck was my tool kit and our suitcases. 

 

We finally finished loading up everything except the frozen and refrigerated foods.  Hey, we had four pounds of shrimp in the freezer.  Not leaving that.

 

So … all ready.  But … we had to wait for UTMB to call in their emergency crew.  April was scheduled to work today, but she is not on the crew that works during emergencies - like when a hurricane is approaching.  A little detail named Cailyn and a husband who is considered an emergency worker.  So April couldn’t evacuate with Cailyn until that decision came.  The plan was for Cailyn to come with us if April was forced to go into work.  So we all waited.  And waited.  And Mama April was … not happy.  She even called in to check the status.  They hemmed and hawed around, so she “gently” reminded them, “I am under a mandatory evacuation order.  My in laws are about to leave, so if you don’t make this decision right now, then tomorrow my daughter will be forced to stay at home all alone with a hurricane coming through.”  Wow.  That’s my daughter-in-law.  I’m proud of you, April.  They finally called around 5, so they headed to Corpus Christi to see April’s Dad, and we left for Waco.

 

So … on the road.  Chris had Freddy.  And Freddy was not exactly the most ideal of traveling companions.  She was … excited.  Before we even left the house she was sitting on Chris’ back.  Sounds like the two of them had a wild ride.  When we got to Buc-ees I had a long talk with Freddy and instructed her to behave.  And she did really well on the last leg.  Well, except when Chris turned on the blinker.  That was kind of scary …  Oh, and me?  All I had to do was follow behind and stay awake while driving the truck.  It wasn’t that hard.  I just watched the doubleheader on my phone app.  Hmm.

 

We arrived in Waco somewhere around 10 p.m., pretty much exhausted.  Kel and Christina and the LaMarque cousins were already there, so the Hurricane Laura Evacuation Craziness had officially begun.  De ja vu.  Back to 2008.  Hurricane Ike.  Nooooooo ……

 

Jeremiah 31:25 says, “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

 

Father, thank you for getting everyone to their designated safety points.  We’ll be trusting you over the next few days … a lot.  Amen.  

August 25 – “Preparations”

We started actual preparations for evacuation yesterday … just in case.  Chris cleaned house, of course, and then she washed every piece of clothing we owned.  Meanwhile, I did some computer work and other church-related stuff.  Once I got a handle on that particular Monday madness, I transferred my attention to the other Madness of storm preparation.

 

I was responsible for gathering all of our important papers into the small file cabinet.  Insurance documents, utility bills, medical records, and the like all made their way into the two cases.  I also gathered the items in my office that were destined to join us on the journey.  Chris used her time in between loads of laundry to gather together the quilting stuff she wants to take.  She also made a round or two through other room to see what else she might want to sneak into the car or truck.  Next we turn to those items that were already designated and remained in a state of readiness for transport all year.  Things like my baseball card collection and the old photo albums. 

 

After some supper – Chris made her fabulous shrimp gumbo – I joined Jim, Corey, and Bob at the church to board up the windows there.  Sam stopped by as well to offer some moral support.  I also got a phone call right after we finished up from Suzann offering to come help.  The four of us got the job done, though.  Well, as done as we could.  All the big windows in the worship center are covered.  A few of the smaller ones didn’t have a designated hunk of board, so we just left them open.  We didn’t board up the retreat center.  Too tired, I guess.  I’m really praying we get missed by the worst of this one. 

 

Last night we watched the Astros game.  Well, I watched it while Chris took a nap.  Yep.  A nap.  At 8 p.m.  She finally woke up in time to go to bed around 11:15.  The game ended not too long after that.  Astros won 11-4.  Lots of hitting.  Good stuff. 

 

Hebrews 7:27 says, “Unlike other high priests, [Jesus] does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people.  He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.”

 

Father, thank you for the folks who helped with the boarding up at church, and for the others who expressed a desire to.  Bless them for that.  Guide our decisions today about what to do with this storm.  Amen.

August 24 – “Eyes on the Gulf”

Well, I managed to sneak in under the radar at church yesterday.  It was my 25^th anniversary at Seaside, but with so much action going on in the Gulf we had plenty of other things to think about.  It has been a memorable quarter of a century for us at Seaside, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  I have really learned a lot about the Lord and people and life on a tropical island paradise. 

 

I was talking to a couple after church who were visiting from Dallas.  They kept their masks on, explaining to me that “We want to protect you guys.”  The guy said they would be tuning in on FaceBook Live to follow the new series on Esther that we started.  He appreciated the historical background and wanted to make sure they didn’t miss anything.  It was a real encouragement to hear from people of God in other places and assure each other that God is still God no matter where you are or what crazy circumstances you face. 

 

And speaking of life in the tropics … we are indeed watching not one but two pretty major storms out in the Gulf right now.  Neither one is a hurricane yet, but we have learned over the years that tropical storms, depressions, or even tropical waves can wreak lots of havoc with rain and wind, especially when combined with high tides.  We ambled through our hurricane list last night, making sure we have a handle on what to bring if we have to evacuate.  We also talked about who we could call to help us board up our windows.  Know what we decided?  Don’t make it a problem until it becomes a problem.  We’ll watch the National Hurricane Center website throughout the day today and decide what to do based on their data.  Gotta love this tropical life. 

 

Hebrews 6:1 says, “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God.”

 

Father, please watch over us and all who may end up in the paths of these storms.  Amen.

 

August 23 – “Pretty cool wedding guests”

We ventured into a whole new realm of experience yesterday.  We took Freddy shopping with us.  Well, actually she took us shopping with her.  We went to Pets Mart to get her a new harness.  It was all part of our pre-hurricane possible evacuation planning.  Even though it doesn’t look like Megastorm Megan, the Fujiwhara effect monster storm of the century (but just the next ho-hum of 2020) will come into existence after all, we are still inside the cone of uncertainty for both of the approaching tropical storms.  And they both have the potential to grow into actual hurricanes with the nice 90 degree bathwater we have in the Gulf right now.  We also made a quick stop at WalMart to get a few more plastic evacuation tubs to put photo albums in.  Good thing that’s all we wanted.  The place was packed to the gills with Saturday shoppers.  Surprising that so many were in there, since the beaches were wall to wall people as well.  We noticed they were out of bottled water, so I suppose there was some hurricane preparedness already happening.  But we got all we needed and I guess we are ready for whatever happens to come our way. 

 

We had to rescue Cailyn on our way home.  Well, I’m not sure if the rescue was for Cailyn or their dogs.  She spent the night at a friend’s house, but when she went home to take care of the dogs she discovered all the doors locked.  We have a spare key, so we let her in and the dogs were happy to see her. 

 

Last night I did a wedding on the beach.  Very small affair, maybe ten people.  Pretty sweet young couple, though.  The groom stopped me ahead of time and asked again (we had already talked several times) if the ceremony was going to be pretty short.  I assured him my part wouldn’t take long.  They wrote their own vows, and he assured me that they only took about a minute and a half.  So it was with totally assured pastor and groom that we entered into the ceremony.  Always a good thing.  When it came time for the vows, however, the groom made it through about two sentences when he paused, then stopped altogether.  He turned to one of the youngsters and asked if he could get him some water.  He also asked if everyone could please put their phones down for a few minutes.  About the closest I’ve ever come to losing a groom.  The water and brief interlude helped, though.  He made it the rest of the way through without incident.  The bride handled her vows with some heavy emotion, but she made it through as well.  They took lots of pictures after the ceremony, even though it was dark by that time.  But the moon was up in the sky, and my Sky View Lite app told me that the two suspiciously large stars were actually Jupiter and Saturn.  Pretty cool wedding guests.  Way better that Marco and Laura would have been …

 

Hebrews 5:11-14 says, “You are slow to learn … You need milk, not solid food … Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

 

Father, walk with Matt and Sheela now as they begin their journey together.  It was a great start.  Amen.

August 22 – “staying busy in a pandemic”

We got a call from Josh yesterday morning.  I had just texted him a little ditty about the two storms converging in the Gulf.  He was understandably concerned about the effects of soon-to-be Megastorm Megan on our simple sandbar life here in Galveston.  One is supposed to be a tropical storm when it hits.  The other may be a full-fledged hurricane.  Or both will be hurricanes.  Or one or both will peter out.  Or they will join forces and become Megastorm Megan.  Guess we’ll find out sometime early next week.  Stay tuned on Monday or Tuesday …

 

We had a visit from the LaMarque crew.  They were supposed to just go to the library, but a minor rebellion occurred.  Seems they expected that a stop at Nana and DadDad’s house was also on the docket.  “What?  No Nana and DadDad’s?  Then we don’t want to go to the library.”  Mom gave in, so we pulled out frozen pizza and root beer floats. 

 

Just as they left, we had to run over and pick up Cailyn from a friend’s house where she spent the night.  Then Chris took her over to the Middle School to pick up her school issued computer for remote learning.  Classes start Monday.  Then Chris took her to the pediatrician’s office to get the second half of some booster shot.  Apparently she handles shots like a trooper.  She was more upset that the nurse had pinched her so hard than she was at the shot itself.  Finally we took her back to her house to get changed for softball practice.  They practice in Santa Fe, but she already had a ride lined up with a teammate to get there. 

 

Whew.  Now I have to get ready for a wedding tonight and go over the sermon for tomorrow.  Sigh.  What better way to begin my 26^th year at Seaside than staying busy in a pandemic …

 

Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

 

Father, please be with us at this wedding tonight.  And we could use some protection next week from those storms.  Amen.

August 21 – “Reignited, so to speak”

Chris received a phone call yesterday morning.  Totally unexpected.  No, it wasn’t bad news … exactly.  Not that I would consider it especially good news, either.  The caller simply asked her a question.  “Would you like to come in to the dentist’s office for a cleaning?”  As out of the blue as that seems, it really was not.  See, Chris had an appointment scheduled back in February some time.  It got canceled … well, postponed  indefinitely.  If she could get there by 10:30 she was in.  Reignited, so to speak.  Chris took it.  She said there were quite a few odd new protocols, but hey, it’s a dentist’s office.  People have to open their mouths …

 

Meanwhile I received a call from the fire chief asking if I had heard about the tough call one of our crews had been on.  I appreciated him keeping me in the loop when that happens.  Makes it possible for me to check on the guys before they go on their four days off break.  It was actually the first call like that since Covid first hit.  I went by right away, but the crew was in one of those long required meetings.  I ended up talking with one of the drivers for a long time.  I did go back later in the day and met up with the ones who made the call.  They were all doing really well.  I am constantly amazed at their resiliency.  Very proud of those guys.

 

We did get to watch some Astros, and even a part of a Hallmark movie.  All in all, it was a pretty stable afternoon and evening.  I’ll take a few more like that. 

 

Hebrews 3:1 says, “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.”

 

Father, please be with people like dentists who have to work with open mouths every day.  Maybe give them a little added protection.  Amen.

August 20 – “A madcap romantic adventure”

We went on one of our madcap romantic adventures yesterday.  We decided that instead of walking around the block, we would find someplace new and different to go.  So we jumped in the car and headed … drumroll here … Academy.  Yep.  I know that’s a real stretch into the unknown, but we were determined to take that dangerous leap.  We strapped on our respective required masks and walked inside.  Actually the primary purpose of this little jaunt, aside from the romantical being together and all, was to get Chris some new shoes.  Her walking shoes have a big hole in them.  Together we managed to find just the right size.  And as a bonus, they were on clearance.  Brand new shoes for around thirty bucks.  Nice. 

 

Next we made our grocery stop at WalMart.  Can’t do a Romance Run without going to WalMart.  That’s where we picked up the groceries we needed for the rest of the week.  But the romance never stops.  We still had one more stop on our list.  Office Depot.  I had a message from our printer that we were almost out of toner again.  Running the copies for church every week is really taking its toll.  It was with great fear and trepidation that I entered this place.  Chris stayed behind in the car to protect the groceries (AKA keep the air conditioner running).  My fear was almost well-founded, too.  They had one more box of 64XL toner.  And that section wasn’t alone in its loneliness.  The shelves were almost completely bare, with little signs encouraging me to order online and have it shipped to your house.  I scooped up the last, lonely little box and headed for the checkout center, eager to return to my romantic escapade. 

 

Later in the afternoon we topped off the day-long decadence of deep romanticism with none other than a Hallmark movie.  It was … typical.  We guessed the ending by the time of the first commercial.  But I have to report that when I typed in this little tidbit on my phone’s notepad so I wouldn’t forget its monumental significance to our day of romance, something odd happened.  The Spell Check Patrol attacked with a vengeance.  The word “Hallmark” was changed to “y’all ark.”  Hmm.  Perhaps it was a nod to our (hence the plural “y’all”) six months spent cooped up together in the “ark” of each other’s presence.  Yep.  That’s it.  Like I said … Romance all the way around.

 

Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”

 

Father, thank you for the romance overload.  I wouldn’t want to experience it with anyone else.  Amen.

August 19 – “A glimpse of Rome”

The birthday celebrations just keep on coming.  Yesterday we were treated to lunch with Nathan, April and Cailyn.  We went to a place we had never been before called Katie’s Seafood.  Actually I have been to their seafood market, where they sell fish and shrimp fresh off the boats.  In fact, after we ate we went over to the market and bought some shrimp.  Chris has been craving some shrimp gumbo.  Coming soon to a kitchen near me …

 

The lunch was really good.  Chris had some kind of seafood wrap and I had fish and shrimp.  The fresh fish of the day was tile.  I think it’s some kind of sea bass.  I’m pretty sure it’s a deep sea variety like red snapper.  It was good.  The shrimp were good too.  We tried some of their chowder as well.  I thought it had kind of a fishy taste to it.  Next time I’ll ask them to cut the fish and toss in some extra shrimp. 

 

We even got presents.  Chris got a nice shirt and some chocolate-covered almonds.  I got a new cast net and a Nestle Crunch bar.  Cailyn told me she was instrumental in choosing the bar.  What can I say?  My girl knows me pretty well. 

 

When we got home we had a slice of watermelon for supper.  I for one was stuffed.  And then the Astros game went into extra innings.  Miles Straw won the game on a walk-off single in the eleventh inning.  Exciting stuff. 

 

Speaking of exciting, we started another crossword puzzle.  Gotta get these birthday presents going.  This one is images of the city of Rome.  A real glimpse of Rome.  Lots of color.  Lots of tiny little people.  The pope is on there.  So are Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.  Oh, and Caesar.  And a Roman guy on a chariot.  Go figure.  Lots of the iconic buildings, from the Colosseum to some pizza joints, dot the landscape.  It has already been a fun one.  Only has 500 pieces though.  It’ll be over all too soon …

 

Philemon 4-5 says, “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.”

 

Father, thank you for celebrations that just keep on going.  Amen.