February 15 - “Ash Valentine??”

I convinced Chris to take a few days off from her intense walking regimen. That combined with the twisting and stretching courtesy of her physical therapist has left her back in knots. She’s ok just sitting. It’s the standing up and starting to walk that gets her. 

But allow me to back up just a bit. I did take my usual very early morning (6:30 a.m.-ish) Valentine’s Day trip for flowers for Chris. And while I was there, I also got Sam some sweets for the Sweet. Hey, I have two lovely Valentine ladies to spoil now. 

Speaking of spoiling, Chris gave me a brand new pair of black pants. She’s always after me to wear black pants because they go with anything. I love them. That way I don’t have to try to match anything. 

Last night we had an Ash Wednesday service at the church. I did one for years when I was pastor, primarily as an opportunity to teach folks from the evangelical tradition more about what happens in churches of a different tradition. We had a lot of new people there who have never heard the teaching before. Thats what makes it all worthwhile. 

We are heading out extremely early this morning. We’re going to watch Zak and Caleb play in a big regional basketball tournament. Yawn. Is it my turn to drive yet?

2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬ says, For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Father, please keep us safe on the trek today and our return tomorrow amen. 

February 14 - “So-called smart watch”

I think we had a third party join us on our walk yesterday. As the two of us strolled along, my so-called smart watch spoke, as it is wont to do. “One mile pace,” it began. But there was no expected numerical valuation to follow. Instead, a brief gurgle was followed by, “Black eyed peas are …” and a definition. First of all, since when does the smart watch answer itself? That’s more of a smart-ALECK watch to me. And secondly, how does he get “black eyed peas “ from “one mile pace”?

Smart indeed …

I had a surprise phone call yesterday. My dentist asked if I could come in to get my crown installed and my cavities filled at 1 pm instead of waiting two more weeks for my appointment. Yay. 

Chris had a physical therapy appointment at the same time, but we worked it out for her to drop me off, go get twisted and turned by the therapist (her back is killing her) , then come pick me up. 

The dentist jumped right in. That’s what it felt like, anyway. First she had to cut out the temporary crown. She had glued it pretty good, because it was supposed to last three weeks, not just one. After that extended process, she fixed the first cavity, which was in the tooth next to the crown. That one went well, so she moved quickly to the other. Not so quick there. The cavity was deeper than she anticipated. No problem, but it just added a long time. Once that was finally finished, she switched back to the other side and finally installed the crown. 

Meanwhile, Chris had long since arrived. She parked out front and enjoyed the warmth of the car in the sunshine. I paid the bill and we headed home. Phew. The doc said I don’t have to come back until my next cleaning, six months into the future. Woohoo. 

Last night we went to another of Cailyn’s soccer games. Sadly, the good gals lost this one 1-0 on a fluke goal right under the goalie’s outstretched hands. Cailyn did her usual great job of holding down the center midfielder position. 

Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭43‬-‭44‬ says, You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

Father, thank you for the chance to get the dental work over with so much sooner. Amen. 

February 13 - “Dancin’ Heroes”

We started our morning off with a trip into … no, not Texas, exactly. We had a meeting in downtown Galveston. Guess I’ve been associating with West Enders too long (26+ years?), but it sure seemed like a long way. And of course we caught just about every red light on the way. 

The meeting with our financial advisor went well. All of our questions were answered, and I guess we are good to go (in more ways than one?). 

We stopped in at Walmart on the way home to grab some bananas for me and a prescription and some ice cream for Sam. We saw Jim and Cathy White while there. They come to Galveston every winter and stay a while. They are our dancing heroes.  They can dance anywhere. I can, too, but Chris won’t let me. It was great to talk to them again. 

Nancy brought us all some lunch from Red Lobster. Seafood - yum. She stayed to eat as well, so we had a great time talking. 

After lunch Sam and I started on the dreaded spiral jigsaw puzzle. It just took us about an hour to get the outside edges all done. Maybe it won’t be as hard as it looks. 

Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ says, Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Father, thank you for the chance to see Jim and Cathy again. And bless Nancy for taking care of us at lunch. Amen. 

February 12 - “Super Day”

Small crowd at church yesterday, but we sang our hearts outs in worship. Great song choices, Greg. Pastor Kel continued the trek of the Israelites under Joshua. They are learning that before they can actually “Do” anything of import, they need to “Be” right with God spiritually. Sounds like a pretty decent way to approach life now, too. 

Last night was our Super Bowl Commercial Party. Games included the usual Bingo of commercials and of game events, a Super Bowl trivia game, and the brand new Who $old That?  We had almost thirty people squeezed into the house. Some were decked out in their team’s gear. Some were here to see the commercials. Some wanted to hear the halftime show. Some just wanted to hang out and talk. 

The football game was pretty exciting, too. Overtime. Congrats, Chiefs fans. Kel is certain the Texans will be there next year. And Sandy is convinced their opponent will be the Cowboys. We’ll see …

Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭14‬ says, Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Father, thanks for all the folks who came last night and for the fun everyone seemed to have. Amen

February 11 - “The Bachelor Meets Green Acres”

I didn’t join the walking party yesterday. Wanted to give my back a day off. Chris plodded right into it, though. She did the walk and the stairs and her weights, then added her pt exercises. That girl puts in some work. 

After finishing up the last loose ends for the party tonight, I spent most of the rest of the day, well, sitting around. Oh, I wasn’t wasting time. Not at all. I was actually engaged in some serious work. Hey. Somebody has to scout all these college basketball teams that are presuming to be a force during March Madness. 

Houston really had me worried. They were playing non-ranked Cincinnati and had to take it to the wire before finally pulling out the win. Then number 13 Baylor fell way behind number 4 Kansas before settling down to make a pretty decent game of it. In spite of a million turnovers, Baylor only lost by a few. And later Texas A&M took down number 6 Tennessee. Love that college basketball. 

We took a break from basketball to watch a new show that Sam wanted to see. Four farmers are hosting five women each at their farms to see if they want to marry one of them. Yep. “The Bachelor Meets Green Acres.” Or maybe it was “Hi Ho, the Derry-O, The Farmer Takes a Wife”?

Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭ says, Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Father, be with us at church today. Amen. 

February 10 - “Not one. Not two. Almost three…”

We had a little bit of excitement yesterday. As we were arriving home from our mile-and-a-halfer, we noticed a police car parked in front of the house next door. OK. That’s not such an unusual occurrence, but it has been a while. Chris went on to the back to get her steps in, but I got some water and sat on our front porch bench to cool down. This time there was no yelling as is the norm (We might have just missed it this time), but before long a second police car drove up and parked and joined his comrade. And before long a third one drove by oh-so slowly. He didn’t park, though. He must have seen the all’s OK sign or something. 

Actually, this turned out to be one of the calmest escapades we’ve seen over there. Just as soon not know who called the cops or why, though. Let us live in peace in our quaint, safe little corner of the universe. 

We made a major excursion happen in the afternoon. Walmart. We had three different lists we were operating from. Our needed groceries. Sam’s list of stuff. And my list of prizes for the Super Bowl Commercial Party Sunday night. The checker was impressed that all of the prizes were going to be advertised during the game. And it was not necessarily an easy task, by the way. One thing in particular I had never heard of. I googled it, and found that it could reasonably refer to two radically different things. Not so helpful. I picked one and went with it. Now I just have to assign a random number to the prizes and print out a corresponding list of numbers. The numbers will go into a hat , and the winners of the games will draw for which prize they will receive. Sounds more complicated than it is. 

Last night we left the island to head into Texas City. Cailyn’s soccer team had a game there. Their last few games have been drenchers (rain), and at least one was canceled. Last night the weather was great, though. And even better … the good guys won 2-1. And that center midfielder (AKA Cailyn) was amazing. Go Santa Fe!

Oh. And in the stands I got to reconnect with an old friend, James. He was there to watch his daughter MacKenzie. And in a fun side plot, when MacKenzie saw me in the stands, she commented about “my Pastor Kelley.” Cailyn said I was her grandfather, and as a result, the two of them remembered their old not-quite-forgotten softball days together. 

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭ says, But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Father, be with our neighbors. It can’t be good for them when a visit from the police is old hat. Amen. 

February 9 - “Gettin’ prepped”'

I got some more work done on the SuperBowl party for Sunday night. Rumor has it there will be a brand-new game to unveil along with some old favorites. That is, if I finish putting it together. It’s a can’t-miss good time, even if you don’t really care who wins the Big Game or even what’s on TV at all. Bring along something to eat and we’ll throw it all on the table to share while we ponder commercials and strategies and who that is up in that multi-million dollar luxury box. The game starts at 5:30, so come anytime near then. 

I think I forgot to mention that not only did the kids help with the latest puzzle, they actually finished it. Well, to be honest, Chris actually finished it. Can’t break her unbeaten streak of completions, you know. 

I also helped Chris clean house some. I did the vacuuming, which I’m technically supposed to be avoiding like the Black Back 

Plague. But I wanted to try it. I finished all right. I could definitely feel the strain in my back, though. Not severe pain or anything. Just muscles indicating they were upset that they received no advanced warning. 

Micah‬ ‭7‬:‭18‬ says, Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.

Father, thanks for all the unsung work Chris does. Amen.