December 4 - “Lights”

The plan for the day was to finish all outdoor Christmas decorations. That meant lights, first of all. We hang icicle lights in the front. Not too difficult, unless you include travails involving the ladder. Oh, I didn’t fall off or anything. It is rather heavy, but that was handled-able. My problem came on about the 98th time going down to move it into the next position. Smacked my knee hard enough to break the skin. The pain didn’t last but a few minutes, but it did bleed. And I was wearing my good jeans. Oh well. 

While up there I noticed the gutter was pretty clogged with Sycamore leaves and sludge runoff from the house shingles. Since I already had the ladder out, I got started on cleaning them out.  Nasty work, but somebody had to do it. 

We continued the Christmas setup with resetting the wooden cutout of Precious Moments nativity, and then the plastic Holy Family statues with the brand new lights inside. Chris got the front door wreath wired with lights and hung. We even got the big  plastic candy canes strapped to the deck. Next plan - finish up the inside when it starts raining. 

But first, I had a haircut appointment at 2. And Chris had physical therapy at 3:15. I grabbed a book for my part of the waiting. From there we made a quick stop at the urgent care to get Chris’ stitches removed, then on to Randall’s for a prescription pickup. 

Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬ says, Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.

Father, thank you for the way our medical needs have been fairly easy to come by this far. Amen. 

December 3 - “We’ll see”

Chris took off early again. This time she had a much-anticipated appointment with her foot doctor. On tap for this visit was … a shot. Yep. She got the same kind of shot in her plantar fasciitis foot that I got in my thumbs. Sure worked for me. We’ll see how hers goes in the next day or so. 

Meanwhile, I tried to reglue one of our dining room chairs. I couldn’t get it to come apart completely, so I crammed glue into the cracks and crevices. Again, we’ll see how that works out when the glue dries. 

We carved out a little bit of time to hang some ornaments on the tree. This year Chris chose to highlight the ones we made on our first Christmas together, 50 years ago. They are little wooden Christmas-themed figures that we painted. And they still bring that hint of a smile to Chris’ lips. Of course there are lots of others on there as well, including some representatives gathered on our travels. Oh, and she had to add candy canes. Always need candy canes. 

Last night we went to a dinner at the church to hear from Kenny and Lauren Humphries again. 

Our caterer extraordinaire, Suzann, was in charge of the meal, so it was great, as usual. Several of the men fried up a bunch of fish. Hard to go wrong there. 

Proverbs‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬ says, A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water.

Father, again, thank you for the Humphries and all the work they do in your name. Bless them for their efforts. Amen. 

December 2 - “Yep. Bananas”

Chris took off for Texas fairly early in the morning. She had another doctor appointment up there. She’s not done yet, either. She has another today and yet another tomorrow. She ought to be the healthiest girl in America by Christmas. 

I stayed home to get some birthday cards addressed. To make myself useful, I moved the newly-washed towels into the drier. Had to guess on the time, though. I figured 50 minutes to an hour should do the trick. I wasn’t brave enough to start the next load, though. Too many options. Time. Temperature. Additives. Way too many opportunities to mess up, if you ask me. 

When Chris got home we went over to Walmart. Yep. Bananas. Well, and a basketful of other stuff as well. And did I mention it was raining? And cold. Very cold. Somewhere in the 40’s. Brr. 

We stayed indoors the rest of the day. Chris made some vegetable soup. It never got any warmer out there. Or drier. Just an all-around miserable day. Outside. We were warm and dry on the inside, though. 

Psalms‬ ‭121‬:‭5‬ says, The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side.

Father, thank you for hot soup and a heater that works. Amen. 

December 1 - “Not exactly ‘at ‘em’”

Here’s one for you early risers out there. We stayed in a hotel in San Marcos after the game. Really nice Hampton Inn, by the way. But we really wanted to hear Kenny Humphries preach at Seaside. That meant an early start. No. I mean a really early start. Like … wake up at 5 a.m. early start. Not on Chris’ list of favorite things to do. 

However, she was up and - well, not exactly “at ‘em” but up nonetheless.  We didn’t hit our target departure time of 6, though. More like 6:30, but it was still dark out. I was proud of her. Of course the darkness meant that I had the first leg of the journey. And we were off. 

By first leg I mean about 30 minutes or so. That got us to the intersection of I10 in Lulling, and our switch drivers point - otherwise known as … Buc-ees. Perfect place to grab one of their world famous bacon, egg, and chutes biscuits. Chris got the sausage version and we traded top layers. My cheese and eggs for her sausage and eggs. Best biscuits ever. Way better than McDonald’s. We did switch drivers again at the Buc-ees in Katy, and I drove the rest of the way to Seaside. 

The way home was a LOT easier than the way there. We made it from San Marcos to Seaside in right at 4 hours (with two rather than the usual one stop at Buc-ees). That’s rather than the 5 hours it took to get there. 

Our Alaska missionary Kenny did a great job preaching, and his wife Lauren grasped everyone’s attention with her storytelling. She credited Chris with teaching her hospitality, and from what I have gathered, she has quite the gift of hospitality in her own right. Love those two. 

Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭42‬ says, Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.

Father, thanks for the safe trip home. Thanks for the rain, but more so … thanks for holding it off while we we’re driving. Amen.