June 17 – “Works in progress”

 

 

The church youth group did really well on their garage sale to raise money to pay for their transportation to camp.  I think they topped $500.  That just leaves them a few hundred left to hit their goal.  I hope we can do that today at church.  There were lots of people who came by.  Not everyone bought anything of course, but for the ones who did, we left how much it cost up to them.  It was truly a donation only garage sale.  Some folks gave as much as twenty dollars for just a few things.  Thank you to all who came by and pitched it.

 

In the afternoon I finished up one of the antique student desks we have had in our back yard since Hurricane Ike.  Cleaning and scraping rust and sanding and painting and filling holes and staining.  That was more of a task than I thought when I began this particular project.  But I guess it looks pretty good now.  I just wish I could have managed to get the screws out so I could work on the wood and metal separately.  But that one is done and moved to the garage to await its final fate – a trip to San Antonio if Christi decides she still wants it.  So that leaves one more desk to go.  For that one I may have to make a trip to the home improvement store for a new electric drill.  I have one that operates on a rechargeable battery.  I even have two batteries.  But it doesn't take long for both of them to be used up when I'm scraping rust.  And while I'm at Home Depot I might just pick up an electric sander.  Josh and Christi also want the little yellow table we were given after Ike.  Chris told Josh I was on a roll and volunteered me to sand it down for them.  That's when I played the "necessity card" and said I would need another power tool for that job.  Josh's response when she told him what I had said was, "Glad I could be of assistance."  Not "Oh, never mind," or "I can sand it myself."  That's my boy. 

 

Chris must have been inspired by my progress.  She joined me in the back yard and started cleaning up some of the other stuff that has been sitting around back there.  She even let me throw some stuff away.  Now the old wagon that used to be Nathan's (but now has rusted wheels and doesn't roll so well) is serving as a toy box for the dirt mover trucks and balls that we keep for outside play.  She plans to give the plastic toy box to one of our kids if they can use it.  And she plans to paint a little table we have out there so the little guys can sit at it in the little lawn chairs we picked up at a garage sale.  Very different look back there.  Won't be long and we'll be investigating how much it will cost to get the hot tub back in working condition. 

 

Psalms 4:4 says, "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent."

 

Father, thank you for calm nights of searching and silence.  Amen.

June 16 - "Wax and donuts"

 

Houston again.  This time for a hearing aid appointment for me and Mom.  Mine was easy.  She just cleaned them and handed them back to me.  Mom's case was a little different.  One of her hearing aids actually fell apart into two pieces a while back.  She hasn't been able to wear it at all.  Then her other one stopped working, hence the appointments.  Looks like her problem was all wax-related with that second one.  I obviously wasn't getting it cleaned well enough to get rid of the blockage.  Of course she also had to see the doctor so he could use his little medical tool pliers to remove huge clots of wax from her ears as well.  Nasty.  She could hear when she put the aid back in her ear though.  Now the other one apparently still works, but they super glued it together, so she's not supposed to wear it until tomorrow.  They didn't want it to stick to her ear.  Yep, they actually said that.

 

Chris went up to the church last night to help get set up for the garage sale today.  I stayed home with Mom and we watched the Astros game.  They lost to the Hamilton-less Rangers.  Jachin was happy, I'm sure.  For the Rangers victory, not for Josh Hamilton being in the hospital with a stomach bug.  I'm not sure how much stuff people brought up for the garage sale, but I sure hope we have some success.  On my way there now to see how it goes.  Have to stop and get them some donuts, though.  Better get on the road.

 

Psalms 4:1 says, "Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God.  Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer."

 

Father, give the kids success with their sale today so they can all get to camp.  Amen.

June 15 – “TNF”

 

 

Well then.  Yesterday was my regular three-month trip to the rheumatologist.  It's been a rough three months, honestly, in the pain department.  I do OK during the day when I can consciously focus on fighting it or ignoring it, but it has been waking me up at night, so I don't get as much sleep.  Which of course means Chris doesn't get as much sleep.  And as I told the rheumatologist, "When Mama's not happy, nobody's happy."  Actually, she does a great job encouraging me, even in the middle of the night. 

 

So the next step in treatment appears to be morphing into a strange new realm.  The new medication he wants to try is in the family of TNF inhibitors.  It stands for tumor necrosis factor.  Has something to do with counteracting the inflammation process, I think.  I couldn't just take it right away, though.  He had to do a bunch of blood tests – eight vials – first to make sure I don't have tuberculosis and then to make sure that my liver is not compromised.  And the tech who drew the blood had to stick me twice to get it all.  First time that's ever happened.  Ouch.  The other risks involved have to do with increased risk of infection and lymphoma.  So am I understanding this right?  It's a trade-off between less pain and greater risk of getting cancer?  That's one to think about.  Oh, and did I mention this new and improved drug is taken in a shot?  There are two possibilities.  One is a shot once a week that I give myself (read here "that Chris gives to me").  The other is a shot that she gives me once a month.  Oh, and the other "minor" detail he mentioned is that the shot "hurts like …" well, you get the idea without hearing his actual words.  Great fun to look forward to, right?

 

In the meantime I get to increase the dose of prednisone (a.k.a. steroids) that I take every day.  That was not good news as far as I was concerned.  I hate that drug.  It does give pain relief, but inevitably I don't sleep much.  At least the increase is just a slight one.  Maybe it won't keep me awake too much.  I'm wondering if the blood tests will come back and I'll start on the new stuff before or after camp.  It's always an "inspiration" to the body to spend a week away from home in a different atmosphere (literally – camp is in the mountains of New Mexico), following a different schedule (and camp schedules are always unpredictable), and facing different stressors (A week with teenagers.  At least our kids are the greatest).  Bring it on. 

 

Psalms 3:5 says, "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me."

 

Father, I like the simplicity of that.  Sustain me.  Amen.

June 14 – “Sumo mishap”

 

 

We had an interesting day with Mom yesterday.  She agreed to go to Libbie's Place.  That was a good thing.  She hasn't done the out and out rebellion against it like she did back when she was having those medication issues.  In fact she seems to really enjoy it now when she goes.  When I picked her up, though, she tried to buckle her seat belt … onto her sweater button.  I helped her get it done correctly, but as I looked closely at it, I could see why she made the mistake.  Her button was just about the right size to fit into the hole in the seal belt clip.  And the button was the first thing she came across on her way across her lap.  Made sense to me.  Think I'll remember that one.  I could probably use it someday.

 

Last night as I drove to church I got a text from Chris.  Apparently Mom got kind of upset that I left without her.  Not that she wanted to go to youth group with me.  She was thinking that I was going to take her home.  That's been a tough one to deal with lately.  She walks over to the front door and looks longingly at the house across the street where she used to live.  I think we need to become friends with the folks who live over there now in case she decides to pop in for a visit sometime.  She is doing really well physically, though. 

 

We had a bit of a crisis at the church the other night.  Not with anybody from Seaside.  One of the youth groups that is staying in our building for a mission trip had a mishap.  They rented some of those huge padded sumo wrestler costumes that you crawl inside of and bounce off of each other.  One of the girls was wearing one and she got bumped, just as was intended.  The problem came when she lost her balance and flew backwards.  The helmet she had on fell off, and her head cracked against the tile floor, just off the padded matt.  They rushed her to the hospital in an ambulance, and she stayed in ICU overnight for observation.  Her family rushed to Galveston to be with her, but had some trouble getting here.  Something about traffic coming onto the island.  The final diagnosis was a slight fracture and of course a concussion.  She is fine, but they have warned her to take it easy for a long time.  No more wrestling, sumo or otherwise, in her future.  I imagine that's all right by her. 

 

Psalms 3:3-4 says, "But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.  To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill."

 

Father, watch over that girl in the hospital.  Bring her healing quickly.  And show her youth group how to rally around her with encouragement.  Amen.

June 13 – “Baseball, politics, and garage sales”

 

 

And in baseball news … the Roger Clemens trial went to the jury yesterday.  Big time liar?  Innocent victim?  Or perhaps just too-big government?  Wait.  Was that a political statement?  Let's move on to the signing of Galveston phenom Billy "Nick" Williams.  He gets to play for his favorite team.  Drumroll here.  No, not the Astros.  They signed the other 17-year-old – the one from Puerto Rico.  Our guy goes to the Texas Rangers.  Well, after he goes to Arizona for instructional league and eventually down to Nolan Ryan's team near Austin – the one that used to be the Astros farm team.  So in three years he might get a chance to play in Arlington.  But he gave up a scholarship to A&M.  In three years he could have been almost done with a college education, then headed for the pros.  But he did get $500,000 to sign now.  Half a million dollars.  That's twelve and a half years of working at $40,000 a year.  And he hasn't even boarded the plane to Arizona yet.  But will he live like he's making $40 K a year so it will last that long?  Hmm.

 

Big garage sale coming up this Saturday at Seaside.  Nathan went with me to pick up some donated stuff yesterday.  Very nice cabinet with a 5-cd changer (that would be an antique ipod), a cassette player (that would be an antique cd player), and that contraption with all the little slide bars that controls the various aspects of noise that emanate from the two tall speakers.  Also some nice assorted dishes and even a box of books.  Good start.  Nathan and I talked about getting rid of some of the old bed frames we have as well, either at this sale or at the one they plan to have "someday."  Mom and Dad had a bunch of them stored up in their attic that we salvaged after Hurricane Ike.  Still kind of rusty, but definitely useful to someone.  We also have a box or two of stuff in the garage that I'm anxious to part with.  What would we do with some actual room to turn around in the garage?  Christi said she is interested in the student desks we have, so I may have to get serious about cleanup there instead of just taking them as-is to the sale.  I did decide as a result of my work thus far on them that I want an electric drill.  The battery one just doesn't last long enough.  So as I see it, this garage sale has the potential to cost me at least the price of a good drill and a lot of sweat.  Not a bad trade-off, I guess.

 

Psalms 1:6 says, "For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

 

Father, looks like some of your watching is needed over there in Washington … again.  Amen.

June 12 – “Recurring theme”

 

 

We had a great surprise visit yesterday from a guy who used to live next door to us.  We haven't seen James since not long after Hurricane Ike.  He's now driving a truck professionally, and he told u she prefers to deliver up North.  Something silly about it being cooler up there in the summer time.  He mentioned something about low humidity, whatever that is.  Of course when he showed us the picture of his car buried in three or four feet of snow, all that pipe dreaming about humidity came into clearer focus. 

 

Speaking of humidity, I spent some time cleaning up one of the antique student desks we have laying around.  It went through Hurricane Ike, so it has a lot of rust on it.  I guess I'll have to try out some of the anti-rust remedies I heard about the last time I attempted something like this.  We're waiting to see if josh and Christi want to use them or if they will end up in our big church-wide garage sale this weekend.  That would be Saturday, by the way.  Come buy stuff and help our youth get to camp.

 

We went to lunch with Nathan and April and Cailyn.  Very nice.  Not just because we were at Shrimp and Stuff, either.  We occasionally get together with them for no particular reason.  Kind of calls to mind the days when we lived together after Hurricane Ike.  I just realized there has been a recurring theme of Ike-mentioning throughout these few paragraphs.  Not that I'm nostalgic or anything.  But it is hurricane season again.  Guess I'll have to start paying closer attention to the Tropics.  Again.  Welcome to Galveston.

 

And in the spirit of the theme, Hurricane Cailyn spent the night with us last night.  Not that she was wild or anything.  Of course she is perfect when she stays with us.  Why would I admit to anything less?  All of our grandkids are perfect when they are with us.  How could they be anything less?  Makes it a lot easier to share with them my all-time favorite DadDad reply when they ask for something.  Yes.  No, I'm not daydreaming, looking into the nothingness that surrounds me with glazed-over eyes.  Well, I may be doing a little bit of that.  It is. After all, not yet six in the morning.  I just meant that is my favorite answer … Yes. 

 

2 Corinthians 1:19-20 says, "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not 'Yes' and 'No,' but in him it has always been 'Yes.' For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God."

 

Father, your yes is so much more satisfying than mine.  Help our little ones seek yours.  Amen.

June 11 – “Mama’s happy”

 

 

We had a great day at church yesterday.  It's summer in Galveston, so our influx of visitors has begun in earnest.  It's always exciting to see the building nearly full.  It was also one of those days when my plans for a teaching ran headlong into God's plans.  Guess who won?  The lesson turned into a time of directed prayer.  We followed the acronym ACTS, for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.  I read a psalm that fit each category, and then we spent some time praying.  I even read the general confession prayer from the episcopal prayer book I keep on my desk.  The visual verse was 2 Chronicles 7:14, the one where God promises to respond if his people pray.  Then when we started to sing in the response to the Word section, the songs the guys had picked out and worked on fit perfectly with the prayer theme.  Way to go, God.  It was a different experience for a lot of folks.  We also had a meeting of those interested in mentoring youth who are going to camp in two weeks.  One of our college students who is now in college, Kelly, led the meeting and the prayer time afterwards.  She did a great job.  Wish we could hire her as a summer intern. 

 

Later in the afternoon Chris and I tackled the yardwork for the week.  Kind of surprised me that she joined me.  She doesn't usually do anything she considers work on a Sunday.  I didn't consider it work, myself.  Just a chance to get all sweaty and accomplish something that is obvious to see by just looking at it.  That's one of the frustrating things about being in the ministry.  You can't always see the results of the work you put in from week to week, teaching to teaching.  The yard does look nice now.  I even spent some extra time trying to knock down some of the growth in between the fences.  The people in the house behind us built a wooden fence after Hurricane Ike so they wouldn't have to look at the yard next door to us (that house still hasn't been cleared out after the hurricane, by the way).  The problem was, they built it with about a six or eight inch gap between the wood fence and our chain link fence.  Just enough space to grow a bundle of weeds, and just wide enough that I can't reach it by sticking my fingers through the openings.  So I used our old weedeater.  The guard has long since fallen off, so it fit nicely into the space.  I had to stand on a stool to avoid getting stabbed by the barbs on top of the fence, and I had to constantly pull out more string, but it did the job.  Except for where Chris has been nurturing a wisteria vine (I think that's what she calls it).  It has covered a big area of the fence, so I couldn't get to that part.  Back to sitting in the dirt and reaching through with my fingers.  It's not quite as bad as it was.  And Chris said she was satisfied with it.  That's what counts.  Mama's happy, right? 

 

Psalms 1:6 says, "For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

 

Father, thank you for drawing all those people to worship even when they are on vacation.  Give them a fun week.  Amen.