February 18 – “The wrong shoes”

We had our little overnight guest on Thursday.  Mom and Dad found a new place for a creative date, so I picked her up from softball practice and she made a night of it.  Yesterday morning she got all ready for school with no problems … until she went to put her shoes on.  Uh oh.  Major crisis.  It seems Mom had packed the wrong shoes.  Now don’t ask me what the right shoes would have been.  In fact, don’t ask me what exactly made these the wrong shoes.  But there was absolutely no question that wrong they were.  And it was, of course, all Mommy’s fault, for she had done the deed.  She was the official clothes packer.  Oh, we have seen several incidents whereby Daddy had mis-packed in some shape, form or fashion, but that seemed so much easier to deal with.  After all, he IS just Daddy.  And what do Daddies know about fashion anyway?  This, however, was simply unacceptable.  The culprit was Mommy.  MOMMY.  How could that happen? 

Now understand, the shoes were the only ones available (well, we COULD have been ultimate super grandparents and run over to her house and let her pick out the correct shoes, but don’t tell her that).  She could see that her options were severely limited.  She wasn’t interested in wearing her softball cleats.  But she had to let someone know that she was more than a little displeased.  So she vented.  And ranted.  And raged.  (Actually it wasn’t that bad, but it makes for a much better story).  She did, however, stand right in front of Chris while she verbally accosted good ol’ absent Mommy.  Even wagged a finger a time or two.  Chris did her best to keep a straight face.  Me?  Not so much.  It was one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. 

Finally Chris could hold back no longer.  During one of Cailyn’s pauses for breath, Chris managed to ask, “Why are you mad at me?”

At that challenge to her behavior Cailyn made a clinic-worthy psychological breakthrough, one that would have made any psychiatrist worth his salt nod and say, Um-hm.  She blurted out, “It’s … It’s … It’s because you’re like Mommy.”  Whoa.  Complement?  Deep-seeded psychological breakthrough?  OK, all you psych students out there.  Run that one through your “Why do I act like I do” meter.  You make the call.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

Father, thank you for right shoes and wrong shoes and Mommies who care enough to pack at all.  Amen.

February 17 – “eleven o’clock?”

We embarked on a Texas journey yesterday with the knowledge in hand that we will soon be getting a refund.  No, not from the IRS.  I still have to put all that together, and I’m afraid that will result in the opposite of a refund.  This one will be from the electric company since we went off of balanced billing.  The purpose of our Texas Trek?  We decided to get a lawn mower.  We’ve been borrowing Nathan’s for quite some time now, and he hasn’t cut us off or anything.  We just decided it would be much easier to just wheel it out of the shed or garage and get started rather than having to go over to his house, load it on the truck, do the deed, then return it.  And on top of that, Sears was having a big sale.

Ah, Sears.  Times must be difficult for the retail Giant.  Why do I say that?  Did you know they have changed the time they open their doors?  Eleven o’clock.  That’s right.  Forget morning shopping at Sears, folks.  I guess it’s a new company perk for employees – sleep late every morning.  We arrived at around 9:30 to find the doors locked up.  Undeterred, we made our way over to Sam’s and then to the WalMart next door to kill some time.  Wow.  That WalMart sure put ours in Galveston to shame.  Much bigger.  Wider selection of goods.  And the people were actually pleasant.  We must have been greeted six or eight times.  that still wasn’t enough time to get those Sears doors open, though, so we went over to Whataburger to have an early lunch. 

Finally we made our way back to Sears to see if their employees of the day were awake yet.  They were, so we let one of them know what we wanted.  Exactly what we wanted.  I think it surprised her that we were so incredibly knowledgeable.  It wasn’t hard, actually.  Chris did all the inspection work online before we ever left the house.  They happened to have one on sale that fit every single restriction we were demanding.  Front wheel drive.  Larger back wheels.  Side mulching option.  We saw one that kind of made me start for just a second or two.  It had all the options, but it also allowed you to shift gears in the self-propulsion mode.  Several different speeds.  I wonder what that would be like … shifting into high and having to run to keep up?  In the end I decided it would just be something else to break down. 

We had another pleasant surprise when we checked out.  Just for yesterday there was a special of some kind where we got 15% off our purchase.  And then we had some points on a Shop Your Way promotion that knocked off another $8.  All in all, they ended up paying for all of the taxes and then some.  I’ll take that any day.  They loaded it into the car for us and we were on our way home.  The only thing now is … I guess I’ll really have to use it.  But it’s supposed to rain today, isn’t it? …

1 Thessalonians 3:13 says, “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

Father, thank you for the ability to get a lawn mower.  It would be helpful to hold off on the rain for a little while this morning, but we’ll receive whatever you send.  Amen.

February 16 – “Locating long pants …”

Headed out to staff meeting yesterday.  We did our initial look at the Ash Wednesday service coming up.  That’s always a fun and for many attenders educational experience.  We try to mix in some litany and ritualistic elements of worship along with the teaching on Lent and Ash Wednesday and Mardi Gras. 

After the meeting I hung around to wait for the arrival of the fire extinguisher inspector.  He was supposed to call me at 8 a.m. and then arrive before noon for sure.  He accomplished neither of those goals.  And I didn’t have a phone number with me to turn the tables back on them, so I finally left around 12:30 or so.  Guess if they ever call back we’ll just reschedule.  I did bring back some of the chorus books I had in my library at the church.  I’ll see if I can figure out any of those songs on my uke.

Chris had her Wednesday Club meeting at the library, so I spent the afternoon shuffling between working on the Sunday teaching and watching an old Nicholas Cage movie about the end of the world.  Exciting stuff.  Aliens and everything.  And the movie wasn’t all that bad, either.

When she got home we ran over to the vet’s office to pick up some heartworm medicine for Fritz.  He came up positive after Hurricane Ike, so we have had to watch him carefully over the last few years.  From there we stopped at Randall’s.  They advertised the coffee we like on sale for a pretty good price.  And of course as it happened, they were completely out of the kind we like (Sumatra).  Not really a crisis, though.  We still have a few bags of beans that were a gift from a Seaside visitor who does medical mission work in Haiti.  Also pretty good stuff. 

As often happens, since we were out anyway, we ended up at WalMart.  Strictly to pick up some fruit and do a little indoor walking, you understand.  It has been dreadfully cold here on the Island.  52 degrees the last two mornings.  I had to locate my long pants again.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 says, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”

Father, thank you for the brisk weather.  Keeps us moving.  Amen.

February 15 – “Our Valentine’s Day”

We’ve been married well onto forty-two years now.  At least we will be, come June.  So our Valentine’s Days might look a little different from some other folks’.  We exchanged gifts this year.  Chris somehow snuck around on the days that I was outside the house, and she made me a bag for my uke music and tabletop music stand.  The outside has an array of guitar-ish stringed instruments on it amidst musical notes.  The inside lining shows a collection of staffs and chord markings and even finger markings for plucking (an obvious nod to my frustrations with learning just such musical theory details).  Everything fits into it perfectly.  Nice job by my sweetheart there. 

The gift I gave her was one I have been working on for some time in secret as well.  It was a carving.  I know.  No surprise there.  But she still seems to like them.  I made kind of a reverse image of what someone might carve into a tree, except there was no tree.  It was a heart that intertwined within itself like a knot, with the initial “C” on one end and “K” on the other.  That piece then stood up next to a second carving of the letter “V”.  What can I say?  I’m a sucker for family.  I probably should have started with a thicker piece of wood so I could make it look like intertwined rope, but, hey, you use what materials you have, right?  Kind of like our whole Valentine experience together all these years.  We have learned to be at peace with each other and with whatever we have been blessed with around us. 

And speaking of using what materials we have been blessed with … we even went out for an early Valentine’s supper at Salsa’s using a gift card from some friends at church.  Mexican food is Chris’ all-time favorite.  The waiter was a sneaky one, though.  When he took our order he asked questions that involved choices – did Chris want red sauce or chili con queso, or did she want pico, for example.  Little did we know (we don’t eat out there all that often) that every choice he offered involved an extra charge.  He failed to mention that little detail.  No doubt a trick they teach in server school to up the total bill so the tip will be larger.  Oh, we didn’t withhold a tip or anything.  He was just lucky we had enough cash on us to cover the extra charges and give a tip. 

When we got home we settled back into our evening routine.  Chris started working on a quilt.  I checked on the teaching for Sunday, then joined her in the den to watch some TV.  You know what?  I love that woman.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

Father, thank you for the incredible gift you gave me in my wife.  She puts up with a lot of my wacky antics, yet still insists that she loves me.  Amen.

February 14 – “Boldly go …”

Last night we embarked on a journey.  We boldly went where no man has gone before.  Well, I guess a few have gone there before, but apparently not that many.  We turned on Netflix and started watching “Star Trek: Enterprise.”  It’s the prequel series to Jim Kirk and Spock and McCoy and O’Hura and Sulu and the rest of that gang.  It stars Scott Bakula (I think that’s the guy’s name) and a host of unknowns.  The plot centers around the adventures of the very first Starship Enterprise.  The ship doctor is an alien who uses “home remedy” applications instead of a lot of drugs.  He’s my personal favorite character.  He is positively giddy to be in this human atmosphere, learning culture trying everything, especially the blueberry pancakes.  The science officer is (Imagine this) a Vulcan woman.  I wouldn’t call her exactly Spock-ish, but you can tell she is trying hard.  Humans and Vulcans have a rather shaky relationship politically.  Seems the Vulcans were the first alien race to realize the human were beginning space travel and exploration, so they made contact.  Since that time they have acted like the overbearingly overprotective big brother.  In this series the humans are struggling to gain their independence like a frustrated teenager.  Oh, and I just remembered my other favorite character.  The captain has a puppy with him.  Can’t beat a puppy, right?

We also watched a remake of the classic Around the World in 80 Days.  I’m sure it’s been around for a very long time.  After all, it is on Netflix.  I have no idea who the leading man and woman were, but the perennial sidekick was none other than Jackie Chan.  Perfect movie for checking your brain at the door and just enjoying the Jackie Chan fight choreography.  I think I need to find a few more like that.  Any suggestions? 

1 Thessalonians 2:3-6 says, “For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.  On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.  You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed — God is our witness.  We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.”

Father, we could use a little weather protection today, especially up there in the Houston area.  Amen.  

February 13 – “A Day to Honor”

We had quite a full day of honoring yesterday.  Church, of course, started everything off.  Can’t beat starting off any day honoring and appreciating Jesus.  We had a pretty good crowd, and I’m pretty sure that everyone had been to a service at some time before.  That’s kind of unusual at Seaside lately.  We tend to have quite the entourage of visitors from all over the place.  The fact that so many locals are attending is a real boost in the arm.

Yesterday afternoon I officiated at the funeral of a gentleman who had been attending Seaside when I first came back to Galveston 21 plus years ago.  In fact I think he might have been on the pastor search committee that asked me to be Seaside’s pastor.  He had quite a career in law enforcement.  He was a past chief of police in Jamaica Beach and then became a sheriff’s deputy.  He became very close friends with the pastor who started Seaside, and was eventually baptized by him.  That pastor now lives in Delaware and has had some health problems, so he wasn’t able to make the journey to Galveston for the funeral.  He did send some words of remembrance that one of the family members read.  There was quite a crowd present to honor Clyde, too.  Fully a fourth of the room was reserved just for masons, who did the closing part of the service.  Probably the most interesting sight in the room, though, was the sea of fifty or so tie-dyed t-shirts worn by family and close friends.  I was even honored to be wearing one.  Clyde loved the tie-dyed look, and he wore a tie-dyed shirt pretty much every day he wasn’t in uniform.  It was quite the tribute. 

I have to say my favorite story shared about Clyde came from the woman who told about the time she was new to the area and drove through Jamaica Beach on her way to her new home in Bay Harbor.  She dutifully slowed down in Jamaica Beach, but suddenly noticed the flashing lights behind her anyway.  She pulled over, and Clyde approached her vehicle.  She asked if she was speeding, and he replied that she was not.  She asked if she was weaving or in any way driving erratically.  Again, he said she was not.  Quite confused now, she asked why, then, had she been pulled over.  Clyde replied, “You were the first car I have seen drive through here in four hours.  I was just bored.”  They had a cup of coffee together at the 7-11 and became friends from then on. 

From that and many other stories I heard, it sounded like Clyde had touched a lot of lives in a very positive way.  I know his family will hold onto the precious memories shared with them.

Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Father walk with the Batten family as they deal with grief and loss.  And meanwhile … welcome Clyde into your presence.  Amen.

February 12 – “Chili and drones”

I went over to the big chili cookoff in Sea Isle for a while yesterday.  Cailyn was staying with us, but she had softball practice, so Chris took her there.  There seemed to be a pretty good turnout.  At the cookoff, I mean.  They had tents set up with contestants hawking their chili-wares.  Many of the salespeople were dressed up as well.  I saw several in Mexican ponchos and sombreros.  At one tent everyone was wearing crocodile hats.  Their secret recipe had something to do with Cajun ingredients.  Another group was all dressed like pirates.  Before you could taste their chili you had to walk the plank (a 2X4 placed on the ground) and down a jello shot.  I actually never tried any of the chili.  I know, kind of strange to attend a cookoff and never try the goods.  But I know my stomach, and without knowing which of the concoctions were supremely spicy, I wasn’t about to put my interior health at risk.  Seaside’s worship pastor and his band were playing the gig.  Well, when I arrived it was just Jim playing.  His guys were taking a break by manning their tents.  I saw several Seasiders and met a few new folks.  It was a fun time.

From there I stopped by station 8.  A few of the guys were investigating the possible future uses of drone in waging war against a raging fire.  I am absolutely certain that’s what it was.  It never ceases to amaze me when your job has moments where it is actually fun.  I guess that means you have truly found your calling.  I have never watched the operation of one of those drones up close, so I was fascinated.  They showed me all of its ins and outs.  Oh, and it had a camera attached, too, so we could see what it saw on its journeys by watching on a cell phone.  I felt like I was watching Hodgins on Bones.  The little creature flew to the beach and back.  And when it got out of range, a voice declared, “Returning to home,” and it made its way back to the last place its GPS had indicated it was parked.  It could make a circle around the property, mapping the premises.  It even followed the guy with controller without him doing anything.  I asked if they ever hit high wires or anything.  He told me that some of them have built in obstacle avoidance systems, but his did not.  He was pretty good at avoiding wires and houses on stilts.  He did take it down the street where some workmen were on a new building site.  They obviously enjoyed the break and knew they were being watched.  Hey, there’s another drone usage possibility, all you straw bosses out there.  The battery had a twenty minute life span, and when it reached ten percent capacity it automatically returned to the home base GPS position to get recharged.  Wow.  Sounds like a commercial for an exciting new toy.  But remember, I’m describing a potential tool for work, right?

Colossians 4:5 says, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”

Father, thank you for the folks I got to see at the cookoff yesterday.  And thanks for the chance to take to the fire fighters.  Help them all to be happy today.  Amen.