April 30 - “Suddenly it changed”

We had quite the excitement early yesterday morning. Right around six I heard what I thought was a car alarm. Not surprising. We have had somebody trying to break into neighborhood cars lately. But this was different. It was intermittent, and random. And then …

Suddenly it changed. No more alarm sounds. I heard a loud “Boom!”  Then came a voice over a loudspeaker. And loud enough to be heard all over the neighborhood. Yep. Police action in Gulf Village. I couldn’t make out all of what the officer was saying. I thought I heard the word, “warrant” at one point. But one segment was clear enough. “Come out of the house with your hands up.”  Then, “Walk toward me. No! Back up. Back up. Now walk slowly. No! Walk between those two cars right there.”  Someone was having trouble following instructions. We heard that the infraction was related to child pornography. Maybe it’ll be in today’s newspaper. 

Speaking of infractions recorded I the newspaper …  

The day before we had another neighborhood incident. The newspaper filled in the details. Seems a lady who was well over the limit (alcohol and speed) lost control of her car in the curve on Stewart Road. She smashed into our neighborhood sign and utterly demolished it. The car kept going and smashed into a truck parked in its driveway, pushing the truck into the garage doors and seriously damaging them. She’s in jail now, by the way. And no bond. Sounds like there might be a prior history involved. 

I gotta say … this is taking neighborhood drama to all-new heights. 

Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ says, For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory, as the waters cover the sea.

Father, thank you the no one was hurt in the car wreck or the police. action. Please watch over our little neighborhood. Amen. 

April 29 - “Shrimp”

Chris had her regular cancer checkup yesterday. All looks great. Come back in three months. 

We stopped by CVS to pick up the vitamins Chris has to take that are only sold there. We even signed up for their nifty app. We supposedly now have $9.75 in coupons loaded on our account. Of course we have to use it within the next two weeks. Probably not happening. 

Next we stopped for gas at Randall’s. Pretty good price right now. $2.45 a gallon. Sigh. I remember when it was just 45 cents a gallon. Of course, I also remember when it was $3.45 a gallon. 

While at the gas station we got a notice that one of Chris’s prescriptions needed to be refilled. Typical notification from the Randall’s pharmacy. But this time, when I agreed to the refill request, the reply was from Albertson’s. Hmm. The takeover has begun. 

Back home we tried to make some hotel reservations for our summer trip. The Hilton app (for Hampton Inns) kept messing up and apologizing for an error on their side. We shut it down and planned to try again after some lunch. That wasn’t long enough, I guess. Still no go. We’ll keep trying. 

We did run one errand. I had to sign yet another piece of paper related to Sam’s will. That didn’t take long. But the most important part of that errand run came next. We went over to Katie’s Seafood Market and bought some shrimp. Best place in town for fresh seafood. And then Chris grilled up some of them to add to a salad. Yum. Great supper. 

Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ ‭says, Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.

Father, thanks for you for creating shrimp. Sure tastes good. Amen. 

April 28 - “Miserabler”

Great day at church. Always good to worship with our home folks. We especially enjoyed chatting with our friends Dale and Debbie. He’s a pastor of a small church who has been vacationing in Galveston and attending Seaside when in town for years.

We got home and had just finished lunch when Chris had one of those “aha” moments. She remembered that Cailyn had a soccer game at 2 in Pearland. Location was important, because that’s as close to us as these club soccer games get. So we jumped up and into the car and headed out. Getting used to this every day freeway driving. Feels like we’re constantly on vacation. 

As far as the game goes, the 87 degree weather did a number on the players and the spectators. We were roasting on the sidelines, so I’m sure the girls were “miserabler” than us. Cailyn’s team list by two goals, I think.  But I considered it a win that no one passed out.  Way to hang in there, girls. Proud of you. 

Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭38‬ ‭says, The King who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!

Father, thank you for watching over those girls in that extreme heat. And us spectators, too. Amen. 

April 27 - “Scores”

About 8:30 Friday night we had an unusual conjunction of planets. Well, maybe that’s not exactly the right analogy. How about an unusual visitation from a mysterious wheeled vehicle? OK. OK. Chris heard some faint screams from the front yard. As she approached the door she realized the screams were forming her name. “Christi! Christi!”  

Yep. Unmistakable. It was our next-door neighbor on her motorized wheelchair sitting in our driveway. She needed someone to pick up her medications from the pharmacy down the road. And since it was already dark, that meant I got to drive. 

The trip was easy.  No co-pay, so no money owed. They were busy, so we had to wait a bit. And they required an ID because there were apparently pain pills among them. But other than that, all went well. Oh, and we did find a bottle of the turmeric I’m supposed to be taking. And because I signed up to be part of their favorites program, I got a second bottle for just a dollar. Score. 

So our neighbor was appreciative and we saved a trip elsewhere. Score number two. Sadly, that’s two scores the Astros could have used to tie their game. 

Yesterday turned into a road day. We drove up to Willis to attend the funeral of Christi’s grandmother. Josh officiated the service. It was a really sweet time of fond memories and encouragement and favorite hymns.  

Next on our list (well, after a quick stop at Dairy Queen) was a dramatic performance by Ezra and his subsequent piano recital (not necessarily related). 

Actually, the roles were reversed. He did the piano first. And he was amazing. So much so that he received an award for most outstanding student. Proud of you, Ezra. And then he portrayed some bushy haired, unkempt bearded, mountain man looking Dad in a drama skit.  Very cute stuff. Again … proud of you, Ezra. 

We stopped off in Santa Fe to tell April Happy Birthday. They were having a mumu party. Sadly I left mine at home. From there we stopped in LaMarque to continue celebrating with Ezra. Kel was grilling burgers. Yum. We watched some Astros baseball and munched on cheeseburgers. 

Isaiah‬ ‭9‬:‭2‬ ‭says, The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.

Father, be with Candy. Ease her pain. Amen. 

April 26 - “That was enough”

Woke up about five. That’s a check on one more day in the life. 

Two miles. Done. Check number two. 

Chatted with Josh. He was taking care of his weekly Friday phone call. Sounds like all his brood is doing well. Check. 

After some lunch we finally made our way outside. Chris was determined to finish weeding another flowerbed. Now she only has one left in the backyard. I wanted to do a little hand scraping of the house paint just to see how difficult that task might be. 

So … scraping. Nope. I can definitely sense a round of power washing coming in my future. Otherwise I’ll be scraping just before we have to leave for Ezra’s high school hook graduation (Ezra is eight).  

Abandoning the scraping, I chose instead to help Chris fulfill another of her yard goals. We picked up dry and brittle leaves on the side of the house. It was quite the productive excursion. Along with clearing out leaves, I also found the last missing, un-found Easter egg. Eureka!

That was enough of a hot afternoon for both of us. We crashed on the swing and even talked to Nathan for a while on the phone. He was doing yardwork, too. 

Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭19‬ says, Many adversities come to the one who is righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all.

Father, thanks for you for one more day with Chris. I sure do like her. Amen. 

April 25 - “That was enough …”

We started our day at the hospital. Now, don’t worry. Nobody was hurt or anything like that. Well, unless you include the needle that stuck Chris. She had her regular bloodwork at the lab. 

From there we stopped by to pick up my hearing aid. I asked about changing the tip protector to a smaller size. That was enough to get the audiologist to come out and see me in person. She had me show her how I generally put it in. Yep. I struggled. And she nodded knowingly. She then taught me two different ways to do the insertion. So far so good. 

From there we went straight to Walmart. Well, not exactly straight. We pulled over at one point to let an ambulance pass. Then we couldn’t get back into the flow of traffic. So Chris got creative and took another route. 

The Walmart run started as a fruit fulfillment task. Bananas, of course. Oranges, too. And tomatoes. And an avocado. Oh, and milk. And toilet paper. Sigh. A hundred and fifty dollars later, we finally got out of there. 

Last night we were back at home group again. Missed Sandy. She was recovering from surgery, so she got a begrudging pass. As usual, it was great to see everybody. 

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬ says, So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Father, thank you for the friends and strangers we get to see at Walmart. Makes it fun. Amen. 

April 24 - “With a side of Luby’s”

Big breakfast yesterday. Pancakes and bacon. We had to make sure those youngsters were well-fed when we took them home. And they were awake quick enough (thanks to some remarkable singing they may or may not have had the privilege of waking up to) to watch another episode of Ryan Trahan on YouTube. Strange kid. 

We hit the road around 9 a.m. or so. About the time it started raining. After dropping the kids off in LaMarque, we went on into Webster for Chris’ appointment. 

She was having the same test I had many years ago that uncovered neuropathy in my feet. Not very fun, as I recall. Now, I have had bukoos of tests over the years. Gotta say, that was one of the few seared in my memory as particularly painful. Felt like a brick being scraped across bare bones on my feet. I tried to warn Chris. She didn’t really want to hear my rendition. As it turned out, it didn’t seem to be as painful for her as it was for me, though. Guess that’s a good thing. 

After the appointment we ran a few errands while we were in Texas. Mardel’s. Michael’s. Hobby Lobby. With a side of Luby’s thrown in for good measure. All in good fun. Until …

On the way home the bottom dropped out of the sky. It rained, and rained hard. I mean the kind where you drive 35 on the freeway with your emergency flashers going, because, well everybody else is doing it, and you can’t see any farther than the car in front of you anyway. 

We finally got past the worst of it, only to run into another round, not quite as drastic, but still pretty heavy. I’m thinking maybe someone ordered this up to check out the drainage for the new freeway construction. Or not. 

Once back on the island we had two more errands before home. First we dropped off one of my hearing aids at the shop. Just stopped working. I was afraid it was one of those $150 receivers again. Or even … “You need a whole new set.” But no. We got a phone call around five informing us that the doc had fixed it. And since it was the same issue as a few months ago, no charge. You don’t hear that very often. 

Then we stopped in at Randall’s. I had a few prescriptions to grab, and Freddy needed some more dog food. Only place in town that carries it. Gotta feed the “kid,” right? Sadly, they were completely out of her brand. We picked a smaller bag of a different brand. She’ll probably love it just because it’s different. 

‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬ ‭says, Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Father, thanks for Chris’ good report on the one hand. Now that that one is checked off, help them find out what to do next. Amen. 

April 23 - “A couple of extras”

We got those two miles in this time. Overcast, almost cool day. Or if you are Chris, it was cold when we started. 

The so-called cold definitely did not last.  By mid-afternoon it was almost 80 and pretty humid. 

We accumulated some extra hands around the house in the afternoon. Noa and Ezra came over to spend the night while all the older people in her family went to a lecture event in College Station. 

We watched some YouTube videos they knew about starring a guy in Austin who does weird things (that’s the definition of YouTube videos, isn’t it?). This guy started out with one dollar and challenged himself to double it every day. He made it through ten days. Made almost a thousand bucks, but fell short of that day’s goal. The challenge was over, but he found a young guy he had met earlier in the week who was making a living doing Door Dash. Gave him all the proceeds from the challenge. Good kid. 

Ezra and I played catch in the backyard for a while. He’s got quite the arm for a little guy. Lefty flame-thrower. Watch out, future batters. 

Noa and Chris went to Walmart to check out whether or not they had any quilting material. Sounds like Nana was doing a little recruiting from the karate ranks. Ezra and I stayed at the house and watched an exciting movie. Then, after a spaghetti dinner, we settled in to watch the Astros game. 

Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭25‬ ‭says, God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.

Father, thanks for our two house guests. Bless them with a fun life. Amen. 

April 22 - “Storms”

We got paused out on our walk yesterday. Severe thunderstorm alert. We probably could have snuck in under the wire before the weather got wild, but better safe than sorry, I guess. 

Instead Chris started in on washing clothes. I found me a corner of the house and started scraping paint. That will be an incredibly time-consuming task if I continue it by hand. We may be scraping from our cruise ship next January at this rate. 

The winds and eventually the rain finally caused Chris to come get me and insist that I adjourn to the interior. Just in time, too. The violence blew in in a hurry. Temperature dropped. Wind increased. Rain fell. Definitely indoor weather. 

That meant jigsaw puzzles and quilting again. It’s been a while …

Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭says, Therefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices; my body also rests securely. For You will not abandon me to Sheol; You will not allow Your Faithful One to see decay.

Father, thank you for the rain. And thanks again for holding it off until after the service on the beach. Amen. 

April 21 - “Resurrection Day Retrospective”

Our Resurrection Day got started around 4:30. And by then Greg’s set up team and praise team were well on their way prep-wise. At least that’s when the alarm sounded. Some took a little longer than others, but by 5:45 or 6:00, our house was emptied. Well, of humans, at least. Freddy stuck around. 

The Easter Sunrise service on the beach at Seaside was once again amazing. 7 pelicans flew by in formation. Seagulls were making more than their share of racket, no doubt nature’s expression of praise for the Creator. A beautiful, clear half-moon decorated the sky. The surf was pounding, yet the rain held off and the sand remained relatively packed under the onslaught of a pretty serious wind. 

 

Around 800 people gathered to sing and pray and worship together. And then we witnessed 33 baptisms. Yep. You read that right. And Glenn’s prayer team was busy, busy, busy. I met a retired firefighter. His wife was among those being baptized. I videoed her baptism for him and texted it to him. He seemed really appreciative. 

And then we invited them all to come by the church and grab a bite of breakfast. Sure. Breakfast for 800. Why not? Suzann and her crew did a great job with that. No idea how many took us up on the offer. We did have some left over, too. 

That excess was relocated to the worship center to feed those arriving for brunch and the 9:30 service. 75 more folks arrived for that service. And a couple with a cute dachshund expressed their desire to join what God was doing at Seaside. 

Then at 11:00 we started up again for the third service. This one was a much abbreviated version for the 21 folks there. Basically, singing, scripture and prayer. 

All in all, I would say the Holy Spirit did a right excellent job once again … wouldn’t you agree?

John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ says, I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.

Father, thank you for moving in such an amazing way. You are awesome. Amen. 

April 20 - “Goofy looking”

Yesterday we went to the annual Jamaica Beach egg hunt. The city asked Seaside to bring our sno-cone machine. 

There were hundreds of people there. Once we ran out of ice, but that was an easy fix. We just sent someone out to grab some more. Some of the other vendors ran out of hot dogs, popcorn and the like. 

I saw some old Seasiders and made the acquaintance of some new ones. On the old guys’ side, I haven’t seen Mark in a long time. He was walking his bulldog named Mister. Goofy looking, but awesome-tempered critter. So was the dog. Lol. Sorry, Mark. 

Folks I didn’t know, but who knew me, came by to ask about the sunrise service. I met Matt, the new police chief. They are ready and even excited to help out with traffic control. Met a few of the people who are getting baptized today. Heard about another who told one of the Seasiders that “Pastor Kelley” led him to the Lord.  Come on, Mikey!

When everything was pretty much shut down (thanks in large part to the help from those Vaughan boys, Micah, Josiah, and Zak), we headed over to the Shrimp n Stuff food truck across from the church. Had to expose them to some more fine Galveston cuisine. 

Last night Cailyn came over to spend the night so she could come to the sunrise service with us. We had pizza and a rousing game of Galveston-opoly. Talk about wheeling and dealing …

John‬ ‭16‬:‭20‬ ‭says, I assure you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

Father, be with us at the services today. Especially bless those getting baptized. Amen.