January 7 - “Early early morning”

I had a whole new definition of “early morning” yesterday. I got up at 3:45. A good friend was having open heart surgery, and his check-in time was five. I got there at 4:45. See? Early morning. 

After praying with them I hurried back home. Well, I did make a quick stop to fill up with gas. Why the rush? We had to be in Waco by 1:00 for a funeral. That meant wading through Houston traffic really close to rush hour. 

We made our way onto the Causeway around 7:30. 

We hit downtown Houston around 8:30. It was slow going for a while. The map app insisted we were on the fastest route, though, so we stuck it out. That slowdown added about 20 minutes to our ETA, but we were on the road again and moving, 

The regular Buc-ees stop went off without much of a hitch. They still had bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits, so I was happy. But then I started an intensive search for those amazing cinnamon rolls. Nowhere to be found. We located a stocker and asked her what was going on. Sadly, the icing had not been delivered. What? That’s the best part of those things. Oh well. Guess I’ll try again on our way home today. 

The funeral went well. It was great seeing Lanny and Joyce. Several Gideons were there, including the guy who runs a Galveston Funeral home. We even saw the guy who was pastor at FBC Galveston before the guy who was pastor when I started going there as a senior in high school (55 years ago). He was a pretty old dude. 

Afterwards we went to Whataburger for a late lunch. Chris really wanted a vanilla shake to go with her Whataburger Jr. Sorry. No shakes. The machine was down. We got our burgers to go and went back to the house. 

Luke had basketball practice at 5, so I went with him. The varsity (Caleb’s team) was supposed to play their first home game of the season, but the other team canceled the night before. So they had practice instead. Of course I stayed for that, too. It wasn’t the same as a game, but I enjoyed it. I even got to operate the clock for the drills. 

Caleb got home well before Josh and I. And I could see why when we walked in. Caleb’s girlfriend, Chaselyn was there. She hung out for a long time before she headed home. We gave Caleb the first part of his birthday present - a book about the American revolution. That was about all any of us could handle. We went to bed. 

Isaiah‬ ‭60‬:‭1‬ says, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over you.

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Father, thanks for our safe trip up here. Could you ride with us back now?  Amen. 

January 6 - “Up in the Attic”

Only one night story to tell about yesterday. Well, if you don’t count the notice I received that I forgot to sign the check I sent in to pay for flood insurance. They sent another bill, but I guess right now we don’t have flood insurance. Lord, please keep any freak winter hurricanes away until the replacement check clears. 

Now back to the action part of the day. As you may have read in earlier blogs, over the last few days we have been packing up our Christmas decorations. Well, yesterday was the day for moving them ask back into the attic. 

Two issues there. One, that is a major Tetris situation. And major Tetris situations call for Up in the Attic. Yep. I crawled up there. I rearranged boxes and opened up as much space as possible. Finally, I was ready for the Christmas stuff. 

Which brings me to Issue Number Two. Chris assured me she could slide the boxes up to me, and she did manage one or two of them. However … Chris started having back pains and shortness of breath. Nope. That stopped her longshoreman-esque contribution in its tracks. But what could we do now? 

That was about the time she mentioned that earlier in the day she had seen Kel and Micah and had asked them to come help. She wasn’t for sure that they could come, hence her Herculean efforts. But they came. 

Micah easily hefted box after box to me, as I Tetris-ized the area as it grew smaller and smaller. But success! Between us we managed to squeeze in every box. 

Kel and Micah had to leave fairly quickly, but not before  Chris handsomely rewarded them with fistfuls of divinity. They munched happily right through the remainder of the candy. Chris was happy to be emptying out yet another vestige of Christmas. On to … umm … I think the next big thing is our cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. 

Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ says, Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Father, bless Kel and Micah for helping us out. It would have taken days without them. Literally. Amen. 

January 5 - “A Monterey Connection”

I met a visiting couple from Iowa at church. I commended them for coming so far just to come to church.  They were fascinated by the church’s history. Guess I was the best one to talk to them. I think they probably got more Seaside history than they bargained for. 

I also met two guys from Monterrey, Mexico. One of them spoke really good English. Not so much the other. He used Google Translate to communicate. They were both very excited to find a Baptist church to go to, especially after spending a cold night at the State Park. One of them was particularly proud of a clam shell he found on the beach. He was planning to sell it when he got home. Apparently, “people in Monterey will buy anything.”  

The guys are members of a Baptist church back home. We gave them a Seaside t-shirt (that’s all one of them wanted) and a mug. Before they left, they asked to take a picture with me. How’s that for a Galveston souvenir? 

Back home we continued our un-Christmasing task. We got all the outside lights and decorations down. All that is left is putting the tree into its box and hauling it all up into the attic. Now … what’s next?

Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭4‬ says, I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in His temple.

Father, be with those guys from Mexico. Bless them. Amen. 

January 4 - “Un-Christmasin’”

We started the day with walking two full miles. We did it, admittedly, kinda slow, but we nevertheless, we did it. 

Next we hit the back yard again. Chris watered every plant in sight. I put together our new hose holder. It does work, but I think we may need to replace the faucet next to the house next. It leaked pretty bad from the connection there. Of course there is also the valid possibility of operator error. I also tried one last time to disconnect the other hose back there from the old faucet we replaced and from the sprayer at the other end. Neither would budge. So the trash can received a larger than usual deposit. Put that one on the Walmart list, I guess. 

The rest of the afternoon Chris was in un-Christmas mode. Take down decorations around the house and begin filling up boxes. We even got all the ornaments off of the tree. We are still a ways off from loading the boxes back into the attic. The tables and some of the chairs are full of stuff. To be continued ..  

Mark‬ ‭2‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ says, Then He told them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Father, thanks for Christmas. I really love that time of year. Amen. 

January 3 - “From Pick-up-Sticks to Basketball”

I played the Pick-up-Sticks - Outdoor Version yesterday. That sounds so much cooler than just picking up the dead branches that the wind knocked out of the Sycamore tree. It didn’t really take all that long. I thought there would be more. 

After lunch we ventured off the island. Cailyn’s boyfriend Gavin had a basketball game in Santa Fe. When we arrived the game had already begun. Four minutes into the game the score was tied 7-7. By halftime the score was 37-31 in favor of the bad guys. And then everything fell off the rails. I think the bad guys ended up winning by around 23 points. Gavin played some good minutes, but the opponents’ speed proved too much. 

After the game we stopped by Cailyn’s house. Mom and Dad were out running errands, so I helped myself to one of those Hostess cupcakes. Chocolate with cream in the middle and sugar (er, icing) on top. Haven’t had one of those in a long time. 

We gave the girls a hug and headed home when Chris’ Freddy alarm went off. Time for her seizure meds again. I was late with the morning dose, so the timing was just about right. Technically, however, that meant we should have stayed up until midnight for the next dose. Nope. Didn’t happen. 

We are rewatching Stranger Things from the beginning before starting the last season (no spoilers, please!). We took in a few episodes of that, then watched Liberty University basketball. Fun game. Liberty won. Micah was pleased. 

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ says, Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.

Father, thanks for watching over the guys playing basketball. Keep them all healthy. Amen. 

January 2 - “Playoffs”

We started out the new year on a determined note. We walked a mile and a half. Hey. It’s a start. We also watched some of the Rose Bowl parade. Haven’t seen that one in a long time. 

We were getting hungry around eleven, so we pulled out some leftovers. Fortunately, the college football playoff game began at the same time. Texas Tech vs. Oregon. Had to root for the home team. Sadly, only the defense showed up. The quarterback played like he had the flu. Sorry, Tech fans. 

And next up was Indiana vs. Alabama. I confess. I rooted for Indiana in this one. Alabama always gets to the “big game.” Indiana hasn’t been there since sometime early in the last century.  Go underdogs … sort of. Technically, Indiana was favored as the higher seed, and their quarterback won the Heisman Trophy. But it felt like they were the underdogs. Well, Indiana didn’t disappoint. 

I really didn’t care who won the last game between Georgia and Ole Miss. So we watched The Christmas Chronicles 2 instead. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn Russell - they are married) are great as the Clauses. But then I made the mistake of checking the score of the game. Close one at the half. We watched through the third quarter, then Chris went on to bed. By this time I was really rooting for the underdog, Ole Miss. and I was hooked. I stayed up to see how this one ended. Glad I did. It was really close, but Ole Miss kicked a field goal with six seconds left to take the lead. Georgia tried a trick play on the kickoff reception, but fumbled a long backwards pass out of the end zone for a safety as the clock ran out. Phew! 39-34 final score. Exciting stuff. 

Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ says, Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.

Father, thank you for the really nice weather the last few days. Cool and clear. Nice. Amen. 

January 1 - “Happy New Year!”

Cold again yesterday. The temp was 42 with a wind chill of 37. Somebody take this stuff back north!

Josh and his crew did their part. They departed around 10:30 with a van load of kids and Christmas presents and full bellies (at least until they see a Buc-ees). 

We came back inside, made the bed, and … sat down. Just for a minute or two. Chris texted our friends David and Mona and their daughter Cami who are in town for the holidays. The two ladies have been in touch several times since just before Christmas. The plan didn’t take long to fabricate. Shrimp n Stuff, of course! The food was great. The company even greater. They came over to the house for a while after we ate, and we continued our reminiscing. Great times. 

Last night we just crashed on the couch. We watched A Christmas Carol and some football. We tried to catch the fireworks at Moody Gardens from our front porch or the deck, but the explosions were too low behind the house across the street. So it was back to our quiet New Year’s Eve. And it was … nice. 

John‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ says, That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.

Father, thank you for your protection over Josh and his family on their drive back to Waco. And thanks for the chance to hang out with David and Mona and Cami. Bless them. Amen.