October 14 - “Missing piece”

Chris took off without me on her morning walk that without me slowing her down turns into just a shade short of a jog. I tried a second night without taking a super-Tylenol, this time after a 2-mile walk, and it was … restless. I kept waking up with the back pain. For the most part I was able to doze back off, but the interruptions didn’t make for a very restful night. Ah, well. One more week … steroids are on the horizon. 

So, while Chris walked, I worked on birthday and anniversary cards for next week. It felt weird getting back into the swing of things after being gone for so long.

Chris went back to her sewing project for the afternoon. I spent a lot of that time working on the jigsaw puzzle. Got it down to the six or so pieces that Chris could finish. Also found out that there was a piece missing. That’s two puzzles in a row with a missing piece. Hope these new ones we got on vacation are all present and accounted for. 

Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭11‬ ‭says, No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Father, again, please give me patience with my back to last until next Monday. Amen. 

October 13 - “Sheared”

I joined Chris for her 2-mile walk yesterday. I figured if I could make it through some of hikes we’ve been taking, I should be able to handle a flat surface for 20 or 30 minutes. My back did complain, but I made it all the way. I just keep telling myself that I’m a week or so away from another mega-dose of steroids back there. 

After lunch I made my way to a visit to Suzann. Yep. That’s my hair stylist. Barber. Sheep shearer. Whichever is necessary at the time. And since it’s been since August that I was last in, I think the latter was pretty appropriate. I was admittedly shaggy. She worked her magic though. I now have a nice, cool head. 

We had a great resumption of home group last night. Even Dennis and Pedrameh showed up. It was good for the group to get to meet Dennis’ new wife. 

Isaiah‬ ‭60‬:‭3 says, Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Father, thank you for the great relationships we have among our home group. Amen. 

October 12 - “Rain”

Rain. 

That’s good news. 

Our grass loved it. 

Our car needed it. 

We enjoyed it. 

As a result of the dampness, we just stayed inside. We watched some TV. I worked on the jigsaw puzzle. Chris had some sewing going on, as well as her usual book in hand. And we closed out the day watching the Astros clinch a trip to the American League Championship game against the Rangers. Pretty nice day all around. 

Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭35 says, For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

Father, thank you so much for the rain. And for a really calm day to go with it. Amen. 

October 11 - “Doctor Day”

Doctor Day. No, that’s not the MD’s name. I mean it was a day to go to the doctor. And this one would be for me. It was my follow-up to the alien ray gun treatment on my back from about a month ago. 

All looks good on that lower back thing. The ray gun did its job. That one is supposed to last a year or so. However …

Back to the mid-back issues. That’s what has been giving me problems over the course of our trip. It is where I had a steroid shot about 3 months ago that was supposed to last … um … three months. Rats. Yep. I’m now signed up for another big shot of steroids in the back here in a few weeks. 

Well, it was back to Walmart for groceries and Randall’s for Chris meds. Time to get back in the swing of things quickly, I guess. Of course after the last few weeks,  we measure financial output in terms of how many hotel stays we could have had. I’m afraid to figure that out. Yikes. 

The rest of our afternoon was spent doing something productive. We watched the Astros. Productive? Sure. Without our support the good guys wouldn’t have won big. One more win to go to advance. 

1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ says, Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Father, give me some patience to wait out this next back shot. Amen. 

October 10 - “Accidental Encounters”

I guess I failed to mention yesterday that we are home. Made it back in the early afternoon to a houseful of LaMarque Vaughan’s and a few Geran’s as well. The Vaughan’s were hanging out in town waiting for the afternoon class that Kel teaches at church. Brennan and his cousin were over getting in on the back yard kids’ fun time. 

Yesterday we started out in different directions, but ended up together. Chris went for her walk. I went to the back yard to mow. Our  G.N.A.T.S.(Great Neighbors Across The Street) mowed the front for us. Thanks so much, Corey. That was really a great gift. 

After mowing and weedeating, I grabbed the clippers and attacked the evil gorganzola bush (ok. That’s probably not right. It’s the one with all those wicked thorns and leaves that turn purple and Chris won’t let me chop on it if there is a purple leaf so I have to take whatever opportunity I can get). Meanwhile, Chris got back. She finished up her workout routine and immediately jumped into flower beds and started weeding. Then she did the sweeping up of grass clippings. Have I mentioned lately that that woman is amazing?

I had one of those God kind of afternoons yesterday. I had three things on my list to do. First was to make a hospital visit. Then I planned to stop at the glasses place to get a minor repair taken care of. And finally, a stop at Walmart for some milk and fruit. 

All set, right?  Well … 

For some reason I really felt like I was supposed to switch my order and get the glasses fixed first. No idea why. Things went smoothly there. Fixed em up and didn’t charge me anything. 

From there I headed on to the hospital. And just outside the door I ran into the mother-in-law of one of the kids that grew up at Seaside. Seems her son had been admitted. I assured her I would stop in on him. Never would have seen her if I hadn’t stopped for the glasses fix. 

I went on in and stopped at the office of the parking validators. They were out to lunch. That becomes significant later. 

So I headed on up to Daniel’s floor. But on the way I felt like I should go by Dale’s room first. He’s a Seaside guy. Dale was awake and alert. I prayed with him first. Then, as he dozed back off, I chatted with his family. They had been following our vacation on Facebook and wanted to hear all about our trip (thanks, Facebook). It was a great visit. Before I left, I prayed with them as well. 

Next I headed back to see Daniel. In the hall I ran into a lady I know from Jamaica Beach who is volunteer chaplain. Talked to her for a while. 

Then in Daniel’s room, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his wife Jennifer (the one who grew up at Seaside) and father-in-law Jim were there. Great to see them. We talked for a while and prayed. 

Then it was back down to the office of the parking validator. And on the way there, I ran into another old Seasider, Melissa. Would have missed her if the office hadn’t been closed when I came by earlier. We shared a big hug and spent a few minutes catching up. Oh, and I did get to see the validator finally. 

My final “accidental meeting“ came at Walmart. As I wheeled my fruit and milk to the checkout, I saw an old neighborhood / baseball friend. We chatted a bit about Halloween in the old neighborhood, and he said he was going to try to come by this year. 

“Accidental encounters.” What I anticipated as a quick three-pronged trip turned into a whole afternoon of ministry encounters. Way to go, God. 

Psalms‬ ‭9‬:‭1 says, I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

Father, thanks for giving me the chance to accidentally encounter some folks that I hope I helped in some small way. Amen. 

October 9 - “The elevator incident”

Breakfast was a time of relative calm yesterday. I did see a few remnants of Red t-shirts with something akin to Okla-something on them. No orange, though. Guess they all went home early. We did see several families who were at the wedding. Really nice folks. 

Speaking of this nice folks, we had a bit of an elevator snafu or two. As the doors were closing in us, we saw someone running to catch it. I turned to the button panel … and froze. I have never been able to figure out which one is which on those door open and door close buttons. Sadly, the guy missed us. 

As we reached the first floor, I pulled out the luggage cart, as usual. But before Chris could get out or get to the door open button, the doors slammed shut. She was trapped. 

Sensing her predicament, she hurriedly punched in the floor we had just left. Chuckling, I walked on over to the desk to check out. I just figured she was heading back up to pick up the guy we shut out seconds before. 

She did indeed allow that guy back on, as well as a frazzled mom with a toddler. And the toddler immediately became busy doing what toddlers instinctively do in such situations - pushing buttons. It took a while to even get the door to close, but they all eventually arrived safe and sound. Gotta love opportunities to bond with new friends. 

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ says, Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

Father, thanks for the new friends we met at the wedding and in the elevator. Amen.  

October 8 - “A Wedding Conglomeration”

Now this was the first truly do-nothing day we have had since we left Galveston back last month sometime. We had a very nice hotel room. The wedding didn’t start until five. There were college football games and major league playoff games all set to be played on TV. Let’s just crash. 

We did run over to In and Out Burger for lunch. Other than that, we stayed put. The hotel emptied out. At breakfast there had been an influx of strangers arrayed in either burnt orange or red. One would think a big football game was about to happen. Yep. Texas vs. Oklahoma in the matchup played in Dallas. That’s where they all disappeared to. We turned on the game and settled in as well. It made it easier to watch when I realized the Rangers vs. Orioles game was delayed. Pretty exciting game, as it turned out. Last second touchdown by Oklahoma. I’ll finish the sports page first. Astros win. Rangers win. Those are the two I’m watching. 

Last night we attended the wedding of our good friend of many years, Dennis Allen. I gotta say, it was probably the shortest wedding I have ever been to. All they did was exchange vows. That’s it. Then came the “I now pronounce you.”  Interesting approach. 

We sat behind some other Seaside friends from a long time ago, Mark and Camille. Haven’t seen them in a while, so we had a lot of catching up to do. We continued catching up at the reception. The whole evening was a delightful conglomeration of Hebrew and Iranian and Christian customs. We were proud to be invited and excited that we were able to attend. 

Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭8‬ says, Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Father, please be with Dennis and Pedrameh as they begin this new phase of their life together. Amen.