April 7 - “Catching up … twice”

Yesterday morning was spent doing final house preparations and ultimately … packing. Finally. I think it took until this point for Chris to really start getting excited. My main concern was where on the ship can I get some coffee in the morning before going to breakfast. I think we got that figured out. Oh. And sloths. When do we see the sloths?

In between packing and checking out the latest eclipse news, we watched NC State come through with yet another upset victory in the NCAA final four game. It was actually a replay of the Elite Eight game last week, but we didn’t get to see it all then. Fun to watch, but not as fun as the women’s game was the night before. Paige and UConn lost a tight one to Caitlyn and Iowa. Best game I have seen all year, guys or girls. 

For lunch we went over to Shrimp n Stuff. Not on a whim, mind you. We went to meet up with some good friends from Midland, Texas. We knew them from our time living in Denver. Jeff was in the church youth group. Alicia was on the girls’ basketball team I coached. I ended up baptizing her here in the Gulf and later performing their wedding ceremony up in Denver as well. 

They were in town speaking at a marriage seminar. Great to hang out with them again. 

Our cruise mates Larry and Diane arrived not long after we got back home. We picked up a pizza and caught up with the last few years. 

Diane told us all about the time she did a dam jump on water skis. Diane … Language!

Speaking of cruises … we are on our way out of here shortly. First stop - Honduras. I’m planning to hold a sloth. When that happens, I’ll be happy.

Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭17‬ says, “and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,“

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Father, thank you for the chance to catch up with Jeff and Alicia. Be with them tomorrow at their sharing session. And please join us on this cruise. It’ll sure feel safer with you around. Amen. 

April 6 - “Screwed up”

I had my four month post-back-surgery checkup yesterday. We got to see the x-rays they took on Monday. Everything looked perfect as far as the hardware was concerned. And the rest of my back is still, well … messed up. The images, however, gave new meaning to my mantra “my back is screwed up.” I guess now I can say, “My screwed up back is screwed up.” 

Of course, the main reason we were there was to get his official word on what’s next. What can I do? What should I not do?  And he had essentially the same answer as the nurse practitioner. There were some differences in delivery, though. He came up with six (I counted them) different ways of saying, “Don’t be stupid” without actually saying “Don’t be stupid.” The nurse minced no words. She pretty much said, “Don’t be stupid.”  Of course she added, “Do what your wife tells you.”  And when the doc heard what she had said, he was quite quick to agree. Something like,”Most of the time they are right, you know?”  Yes, Doc. We’ve been married almost 50 years. Believe me … I know. 

On the way home we stopped at Best Buy to pick up a case for the new laptop. Not planning to go anywhere with it any time soon, but it never hurts to be prepared. Hurricane season and all. 

From there we drove to Buc-ees. All the way in Texas City. Yep. Not even on a road trip. This one was on me. I wanted some of their glazed cashews for my snack on the cruise. That meant I had to make another label for the professional packaging we got from Christina. It has to look professionally done to get past security. Maybe we should add a tiny radio transmitter to the bag. That should block any errant communications… Wait. Whaaat?

Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬ ‭ says, In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one

Father, he please me live out that “Don’t be stupid” command it did sound eerily familiar. Amen.

April 5 - “but his legs were just hanging out the back!”

When Chris and Sam left for Texas yesterday, Chris texted and suggested that I make a fire station visit. She always has the best ideas, so I garbed up and decided to visit Central Downtown. The chief hasn’t been there the last four times I have visited, and yesterday was no different. Meetings, meetings, meetings. 

As it turned out, just about every on-duty fire fighter was there. They had just completed an active shooter drill. They were also loading up equipment to take over to station four for the practice agility test that happens later today (The real test is coming up on the 19th). 

Among the equipment was the full size 200 pound dummy used for the emergency rescue drag. And I gotta say … I was more than entertained by their attempts to dress the guy in bunker gear. Poor guy’s shoulder had to have been completely twisted out of socket. Made me think of Nathan and his recent shoulder surgery. After numerous aborted attempts and a final restart from scratch to twist the arm back into socket (ouch), they got the gear on. 

They dragged him to the pickup truck for transport. But by the time they got there, the pants promptly fell down. Finally, with five of them working together feverishly, some expertly applied duct tape served as a much-needed belt. And since the tape was right there, they strapped on the boots as well. Ingenious, if you ask me. 

But it gets better. When the dude was finally fully attired, and after I got some photos, they tossed him into the back of the pickup truck. Except … his legs were still hanging out over the rear of the truck. As far as I know they left it that way for the drive to station four. Oh, the phone calls the department could receive. I can hear them now … “but his legs were just hanging out the back! And one was twisted at such an odd angle. What was wrong with him?”

Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭ says, Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

Father, please be with the potential recruits who will be trying out the course today and then doing the actual agility test on the 19th. 

April 4 - “Come on, Brain”

Well, I had another 4:30 a.m. start yesterday. I think my body thought we were back on Sunday for the sunrise service. Come on, Brain. At least catch up to the Daylight Savings Time routine. 

Once Chris joined me, she mulled over her options for the day, all of which included some form of manual labor. Mowing. Edging. Flowerbed clearing. House cleaning. All valid tasks for her pre-cruise satisfaction. After careful consideration … we headed out for the two mile walk. Not exactly on the list, but since when have we been slaves to a list?  Besides, in her mind, she still had the whole afternoon for her list. Yay. 

She was quite serious, though. After some lunch she was ready to break out the mower. I helped her get it pulled out and gassed up. She even let me start it for her. That’s as far as it went. She knocked it out. She did, however, get chewed out. Oh, not by me. Our good neighbor Corey took care of that one. He has offered to handle mowing for us and has done a great job a time or two already. But Chris just likes doing it. She likes being outside. She did say she would consider letting him edge, though. Hmm …

Last night we settled in to watch the Astros again (and they won, by the way). The idea was to get a little rest before our next few busy days begin. The next two days are doctor appointments. Sam has today all locked up. Tomorrow I head into Texas to check in with my neurosurgeon. Anxious to see what that restrictions list looks like going forward. 

Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭13‬ says, Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Father, please be with Sam and Chris on their Texas jaunt today. Amen. 

April 3 - “It rained”

It rained. Not a whole lot, but certainly enough to soak the lawn. And just enough to stall any effort at getting in a walk. Instead we got started on gathering together all the stuff we need to pack for the big cruise on Sunday. 

Speaking of which, we did make a quick errands run. We went to the bank so we would have some cash for incidentals on the trip. We also made the obligatory stop at Walmart. Sam had a list of stuff she didn’t want to run out of. We needed Tylenol and Claritin. Oh, and Freddy requested dog treats. Can’t run out of the “doggedly” important stuff. 

Last night we watched some more Astros baseball. And we sporadically worked on the jigsaw puzzle as well. Those Houston boys sure have started this season out in a terrific slump. Last night was no different. Every game so far they have been tied or ahead in the seventh inning. Results? A 1-6 record. Sigh. Brings back memories of the Old Days. But it ain’t over till it’s over. 

Today the plan is yard work again. Mowing and edging. Gotta get one last sweep in before we leave. 

Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭ says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Father, please keep us safe doing the yard work today. And thanks in advance for one more thing checked off the list. Amen. 

April 2 - “Sticky bushes”

We made our two miles. It was, however, a much slower pace than usual. No doubt my fault. Just a little back soreness is all. Probably from all that exercise at the beach on Easter. I’ll do that any day, though!

Chris went right to work on one of the back yard flower beds. She even asked me to be involved in the process as well. I got to do some trimming of a bush. No idea the name of it, but it had little tiny stickers all up and down the stems. Always happy to clip sticky bushes. 

Last night we watched Iowa beat LSU in the women’s basketball NCAA elite eight. And during time outs we switched over to see the Astros dominate the Blue Jays. Score was 10-0. And the icing on the cake? The pitcher tossed a no-hitter. Wish it would have come against the Yankees, but I’ll take it. Good sports night.

Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ says, Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Father, help us to get everything done for this cruise next week. Amen. 

April 1 - “But it was Easter”

Easter Sunday began as a cloudy day. Of course it was also 4:30 in the morning, since it was … well, dark. But it was Easter. And that meant a lot of things were about to happen. 

Chris was up. Cailyn followed soon thereafter. Sam told us she had just stayed up all night. But we all piled into the car by around 5:30 and headed out. 

The sunrise service on the beach was once again amazing. Check out this quick list of what all appeared. 

A drone. That was a new one. Hope they got some great pics. 

A few pelicans and the requisite horde of seagulls watching over us. 

Dogs. It has really become a thing to bring your dog along, from pit bulls and labradoodles to those little tiny little critters that fit in your pocket. 

Golf carts by the dozen. We even set aside an entire lane near the water for all the golf carts. And because of golf carts, Sam was able to make her way down to the beach for the first time in a long time. Thanks, Sandy and Ron. 

A ton of people, from teenagers and toddlers to young couples and retirees. Estimates ranged from 500-700 in attendance. People who have been to the service 20 times and others who were first-timers. 

The Jamaica Beach police chief and at least 3 other officers were there helping with traffic. I also  saw some representatives of the Jamaica Beach Volunteer Fire Department. Thank you to them for the use of their folding chairs. Oh, and the mayor even came up to me and chatted for a while before introducing herself. Calvary Church from in town (Galveston) also partnered with us, and sent their prayer team, which did an amazing job. 

The climax of the event were the baptisms. We knew about eight of them ahead of time. But once we were in the water, another came. And another. And another. And … before we finished there had been no less than 20. Of all ages. From a little boy about six to an elderly lady who looked older than me. Pretty mind-boggling. 

One little boy stepped up for his turn. Kel asked his usual pre-baptism question, “Why are you here?” Kid said, “Jesus is Lord.”  Well yep. That’ll do it. 

After the service, we opened up the retreat center and fed breakfast to about 250 of the folks who had been at the beach. 

And then … 

We had another service at 9:30 for those who were not exactly super-early risers. To our surprise, there were 100 brave souls who made it then. 

And then … 

We had a third service at 11:00. This one was for those folks who were by no means getting up before the sun to go sit on the beach. Well, those folks as well as some others who hadn’t heard about the early service. Just 49 people there. Didn’t seem like many, but that’s actually not bad at all. 

And the pervasive theme of the entire morning? Jesus is alive and well and calling us to follow him. Or to put it another way …

“Christ is risen! 

He is risen indeed!”

Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭6‬ says, He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

Father, thank you for all the folks who were baptized. Bless them and walk with them. Amen.