May 7 – “Not a nobble”

OK.  OK.  I bowed before your encouragement.  One person wished me better weather.  Another offered to loan me waders.  I have never worn waders.  I understand some pastors do that when they are baptizing.  But fishing?  Never have.  With all the pushing I received, I had no choice but to go fishing yesterday. 

And the conditions were absolutely perfect.  The water was clear enough to see the bottom.  It was cool.  Not cold, just cool enough to be comfortable.  There was a very slight breeze from the southeast.  The tide was moving.  I could even see schools of mullet and other bait fish and even some bigger predators as they swam around me.  A dolphin made an appearance early on.  Pelicans flew by.  Perfect.  Just perfect.

Now let me say up front, I did what I usually do fishing.  I used the down time to take a deep breath or two and pray.  That is especially effective when I don’t have to worry about leaping over crashing waves, of which there were none.  The water was calm.  Perfect.  Just perfect.  Except for one thing.  Someone forgot to remind the watery denizens that they were supposed to eat shrimp.  I cast out little ones.  I cast out really big ones.  Didn’t matter.  Not even a nibble from those little guys who like to eat the legs off the shrimp.  Very strange.  I was just about to call it a day when I got one strike.  Pretty nice one, too.  Hit hard like a spec and took off.  Sadly, however, he didn’t have all of the shrimp in his mouth.  So that bit of excitement ended as quickly as it began.  A few casts later, however, I did land a good sized whiting.  Slid him into the catch net with the trash I had picked up as it floated by.  That would turn out to be the only company that old whiting would have for the rest of the trip.  Not a single other nobble.  Oops.  Spell check didn’t catch that one.  Nobble.  I like that word.  Think I’ll just leave it.  So, I didn’t have a nobble or a nibble. 

Chris was happy that I cleaned the fish outside.  I did bring in the remaining bait, however.  I decided it would be awful to waste, especially the really big ones included in the batch this time.  So I cleaned the shrimp and packaged them up as well.  And I have to say, I have a profound respect for whoever it is that cleans the popcorn shrimp I like to order at Shrimp and Stuff.  Those things are hard to get skin off of.  They’ll taste good, though.

Hebrews 6:19-20 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Father, thank you for the quiet peace of the time in the water yesterday.  Amen. 

May 6 – “All or nothing?”

All or nothing?  I haven’t completely given up.  It still may happen.  Right now it’s not looking very promising, but my inherent optimism is struggling mightily to burst through to the surface.  OK, OK.  So what could I possibly be talking about so early on a Saturday morning?  Fishing.  I want to go fishing.  The water is flat.  The wind has died down.  Yesterday the pelicans were working the beach front in massive numbers, so there is apparently a lot of bait running.  What could possibly keep me out of the water?  Weeellll … it is 67 degrees outside.  Let me rephrase that.  It is cold outside.  Hence my dilemma.  Fishing should be enjoyed in a pair of old shorts and a raggedy t-shirt, wading out about waist deep and casting into the warm Gulf waters.  You should have to put on a layer of sunscreen to keep your face and arms from sun burn.  You should be able to get all the live shrimp you need without having to drive to six different bait shops.  And you should be able to do it without shivering.  So, will I go fishing today?  I don’t know.  Let me check the forecast one more time …

Hebrews 6:12 says, “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

Father, I could use a little bit of a warmup in the next few minutes.  Thanks.  Amen.

May 5 – “National Day of Prayer”

I went to the National Day of Prayer celebration at the Galveston County Courthouse yesterday.  The crowd wasn’t all that huge or anything, but they sure were ready to pray and worship together.  I saw a few Seasiders there.  

It started at noon out on the main steps leading into the building.  It has really become quite a big deal over the years.  The homeschool performing arts co-op group that meets every Friday at Seaside started things off by leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance.  A smaller group led in singing the National Anthem.  And one girl “officially” began and ended the proceedings by blowing the shofar.  I saw the guy who brought the shofar while people were gathering the girl looked particularly interested in it, so the guy asked if she wanted to give it a try.  He never expected her to be able to get such a big sound from it.  He was so impressed that he asked if she wanted to be the one to blow it for the ceremony.  Classy gentlemen.

A worship pastor from a local church played guitar and led in some songs.  Other local pastors and even a police officer then took turns leading out in praying for specific areas of government and country, including schools, city and county as well as national officials, those serving in the military, and those in the police department.  Others prayed for repentance and reconciliation. 

The mayor was scheduled to attend, but he had to be in Washington, D.C. to do some lobbying for city needs.  He sent the mayor pro-tem in his place to express his support.  Another guy was supposed to read a proclamation of some kind, but when he got up he decided to forego the reading and preach for while instead.  Interesting.

The one disappointment of the day for me was the lack of mention of fire fighters and EMS workers.  I was in uniform standing in the back, so I lifted up some silent prayers of my own for that particular segment of the city and county community.  Gotta keep them covered in spiritual protection as well.  

Hebrews 6:1-2 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, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.”

Father, thank you for the ones who supported the day of prayer.  Help all of us do some coming together and praying more than just once a year.  Amen.

May 4 – “IVSP”

After staff meeting yesterday I called the church sign parts supply company to ask about the parts we need.  I was able to negotiate their website fine until it came to the very end and said, “For tax exempt orders call this number.”  Could have led with that one.  The other issue was their cost for shipping.  The lady in Alabama who I talked to was very nice, but she couldn’t do anything about the cost of shipping.  Seems that is the lowest possible UPS rate for the odd sized materials we are purchasing.  She did, however, offer us a ten percent discount off the price of the order.  I sent her the tax exempt form and what we wanted to order.  She is supposed to craft an “official” order form for me and email it back. 

We took Cailyn to her softball practice yesterday.  All-star season has begun.  She did great until she picked up a ground ball one time that had a stickerbur in it.  That evil interloper transferred to her finger, and she was down for the count.  I went over to help her out.  She regaled me with details of how she fielded the grounder, how she reached into her glove for the ball, and how the sticker bur impaled itself into her unsuspecting, innocent finger.  The bur was gone, but it had left behind a splinter, as many of those horrible seedlings do.  She wouldn’t let me touch it as she alternated between holding it out for me to see and sticking it back in her mouth to suck on.  Miraculously, after one such IVSP (internal vacuum surgical procedure), the finger came out of her mouth completely splinter-free.  I applauded her medical expertise, and after a quick water break she rejoined the team. 

Last night we went to Jachin’s game.  He texted me and told me they played at their home field at Hitchcock High School, so we headed on over there.  2004 and Highway 6.  Not a soul in sight when we arrived.  Chris called up her calendar that Christina so meticulously updates, and found that the game was not scheduled for this field at all.  Instead it was at a field in somewhere on the east side of Texas City.  Hitchcock versus Bay Shore at a Texas City field.  Of course.  Silly us.  We only missed the first inning, and Hitchcock was ahead 1-0.  The good guys scored several more runs after that, but the big news was the encroaching … thunderstorms.  And when they encroached, boy, did they encroach.  The umpires were determined to make it an official game, though.  One half-inning was all they needed to complete, so play in the rain they did.  Sadly, with Hitchcock ahead 4-0 and Bay Shore at bat with one out and runners on first and third and rain now pouring down in sheets, the lightning began.  That was all it took for the parents to start calling for the game to end, and after an especially bright flash, the umpire finally agreed.  The game was officially a rain out.  Not many people heard his official declaration, however.  They were all running for cover.  Chris and I were already safely ensconced in a fairly dry area near the concession stand.  We waited to say goodbye to Kel and Jachin and finally headed home.  We got back in time for me to watch the last few minutes of the Astros’ rout of the Rangers.  Great to see them figuring out a way to defeat them … finally.

Hebrews 5:11-14 says, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

Father, thank you for the rain once again.  And thank you for protecting those guys during the thunderstorms.  Amen.

May 3 – “WalMart Express”

We walked two and a half miles to start our day yesterday.  We’re shooting to increase it to three.  Gradually.  We have a problem this morning, though.  It has been raining off and on.  That sometimes means the air is getting cooled off.  Not so much in Galveston.  It is still hot.  Now it’s extremely humid as well.  77 degrees and 94 percent humidity.  At 6:30 a.m.  Ah … Galveston.

We also did our errands run into Texas.  We needed to pick up some supplies for the church Retreat Center at Sam’s.  No problems there, other than an overly zealous greeter who stopped us to “get all that trash out of your basket for you.”  There was a small piece of paper in the basket.  Nothing we had even noticed.  We thanked him for his kindness.  Strange. 

On the way home we stopped in at Palais Royal.  Chris is looking ahead for some clothes for our Alaska trip.  And what better day to search than Club 50 Tuesday.  That’s the day when old people get an extra discount just because they are old.  Bring it on.  Well, we didn’t find anything.  Although I almost bought a battery operated bug zapper shaped like a badminton racket.  I decided Chris probably wouldn’t want me playing fly or mosquito badminton in the kitchen, though. 

Of course we had to stop at WalMart, since we were so close and all.  Besides we were out of fruit once again.  We noticed right away that the checkout lines were unusually long.  Obscenely long.  I had to check my calendar to make sure it was really a Tuesday.  In May.  But we soon realized the problem.  There were only three or four lanes even open.  Now that’s more like our good ol’ Galveston WalMart.  I selected one of the 25 items or less lanes and settled in for the wait.  Great opportunity for people watching, anyway.  About that time an older lady (that would be older than us.  No idea how old she was, actually) rolled up and kind of gasped at the long line ahead of her.  Chris encouraged her to take a spot in front of us when she saw a package of those small little cartons of ice cream.  Hey, we can’t have Blue Bell melting before she could even get it home.  Not that it helped all that much, time wise.  We were still in the “express” line for fifteen minutes.  Chris timed it. 

Thoroughly enjoyed the Astros game last night.  So much so that I didn’t tape Chicago Fire so we could watch the whole game.  We can only tape two things at once.  And one of those has to be what you are watching at the time (A conflict I have yet to figure out).  Since we also tape Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. we were stuck with a decision.  Superheros and the Astros won out over fire department soap opera drama.  And talk about a thrilling game.  The Astros came back from a 5-0 deficit with a grand slam home run plus a run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth put the Astros ahead by three.  Rangers hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth before the final out was made, stranding a runner on third base.  Phew.  Great stuff, this baseball.

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Father, we thank you for the rain.  So does our lawn.  Amen.

May 2 – “Silver linings”

We have a young female superstar on our hands.  Nathan texted me yesterday that he had just received an email from Cailyn’s softball coach.  He had finished all the team statistics for the year, and Cailyn came out as the top hitter on the team.  26 hits in 30 at bats.  That’s an .867 batting average.  Oh, and zero strikeouts all year.  Wow.  I think I’d pick her on my team any day.  Nice season, Cailyn.  Looking forward to all-star season.

Speaking of baseball … we went to a few games last night.  Jachin’s game was postponed because the high school field they use was going to be in use by the high school team that made the playoffs.  Josiah played his coach-pitch game first.  He was all over the field.  And not just randomly racing about searching for butterflies, either.  He knew exactly what to do and where to go with every ball that came anywhere near his area … and then some.  My favorite of his plays, though was on a grounder that he fielded cleanly at his shortstop position.  He started to race the runner to first base as so often happens on this level (and as he had already been successful at several times during the game).  Then he realized he couldn’t win the race, so he fired a sidearm strike to the first baseman’s midsection, impossible for him to miss.  I’m not sure if he made the catch with his glove or his gut, but either way, the runner was out.  Nice toss, Josiah.

At Micah’s game we witnessed a nailbiter.  Neither team could muster a run for four innings.  Then Micah’s squad went ahead.  Then the other team tied it up.  A three run fifth put Micah’s guys up again, but again, tied in the bottom of the inning.  Finally, the outburst of scoring in the top of the sixth proved too much for the opponents.  Victory.  Micah did a great job at bat.  He was safe on a fielder’s choice and drew two walks.  And he scored every time.  Nice job, Micah.

Lest you think baseball/softball is all that is happening in our world …

We have our car back.  Kel and the gang returned it the other day and gave us a look at their new tank.  Actually it’s a Ford Expedition.  Big ol’ car.  Plenty of room for the kids, even tall, lanky Jachin.  Very nice selection, Mom and Dad.

And there was some action on the Island as well.  We had a runaway barge threaten to crash into the Pleasure Pier.  Fortunately the Coast Guard and some more tug boats arrived in time to save the day.  Nice job, Coast Guard. 

Endings weren’t so happy, however for the drunk driver who was driving the wrong way down the seawall.  Ended up hitting a pedestrian lady and her daughter, crashing into a parked car, and dragging both cars over the seawall onto the sand.  The pedestrian suffered a broken arm.  Not sure about the driver.  Not the kind of activity we like to see here in Paradise.  Nice job, first responders. 

Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin.”

Father, heal that lady’s arm quickly, and help the driver to learn from the incident.  Amen.

May 1 – “On the move”

We had more people stay for discernment meeting at church yesterday than we have had in literally years.  Not that there was any kind of pressing, hot topic issues to discuss, either.  People are just really excited about what God is doing, so they want to be close at hand to be in on whatever it is he does next.  The only two issues yesterday concerned our sign and our playground equipment. 

The sign had already received a fresh coat of paint, courtesy of one of our incredibly generous members.  Our next step is to order the plastic panels and the pieces to hold them in.  I had all the figures available.  But the reason I never pulled the trigger on the order was their cost for shipping.  It amounted to well over half the cost of the items just to ship them.  That just seemed a bit exorbitant to me, so I wanted to get some feedback first.  Sure enough everyone there agreed that the cost sounded way too high.  One person even jokingly suggested that we could send someone with a pickup to the company’s factory in Florida for less than that price.  We had several volunteers on the spot.  I’ll call the company and see why shipping is so high before we continue the order.

The playground issue was actually another good thing.  Our tenants and friends in the homeschool music co-op that uses our buildings every Friday approached us about repairing or replacing our playground equipment.  There are quite a few metal pieces, and they simply don’t last in the salt air.  They have offered to join with us in a fund-raising effort to get the repairs or replacement done.  Once I presented that proposal, the Seaside folks immediately jumped into high gear.  Within ten minutes they had planned a pancake breakfast on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to coincide with the Jamaica Janes’ bake sale.  I could barely keep up with the whirlwind of ideas that were flying about the room.  Gotta love it when people are motivated in the name of the Lord.  Can’t wait to see what the equipment looks like this summer.  And I really can’t wait to keep doing ministry with these Seasiders God has sent our way lately. 

Hebrews 4:14 says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.”

Father, thank you for the excitement and willingness to work among the Seasiders.  Bless their desires to serve you and their efforts.  Amen.