January 17 - “Wrapping up”

I took advantage of the beautiful sunshine to  … wrap our pipes in preparation for the alleged impending freeze next week. I had done of those fabric caps for the faucets, but for the pipes? Good ol’ newspaper and duct tape. Should hold us down to the high 20’s, anyway. At this point our worst actual temp is predicted to be 35. But, oh those wind chills. Down close to ten at one point. Nope. Just nope. 

We took further advantage of the great weather and made a trip to Walmart. I know. I know. We were inside. But we had to walk to the car and back, didn’t we? 

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭10‬:‭12‬ says, Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground. It is time to seek the Lord until He comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain.

Father, looking ahead to that cold snap … would you show us how best to stay warm?  Amen. 

January 16 - “Gettin’ loaded”

After staying up until after midnight hearing all about Caleb’s game and giving them highlights of Luke’s game, we slept in until seven. That’s burning some daylight for me. It didn’t take us long to enjoy some of Christi’s famous pancakes (I like the regular style, but I’m pretty sure Luke and AnnaGrace were munching on the chocolate chip version), and we were loaded (meaning, we had the car packed, not that we had succumbed to an alcoholic stupor, Christi) and on the road by ten. 

We stopped briefly at good ol’ Bucees, the Walmart of the Road, for some lunch and a bathroom break. Chopped beef, hot apple pie (for me), and hot peach cobbler (for Chris). Then back on the road again. Had to hurry up so we could enjoy some of the wet sunshine we were hearing about down in Galveston. 

And wet it was. Not sure about the “enjoying” part, though. There was a brief lull just as we arrived home - long enough for us to unload the car (gettin’ unloaded) and throw in the three propane tanks that belong to Nathan. There was a reason for that maneuver. He needs them to power his propane heater for the party Cailyn is having for some friends this weekend. 

Last night we were invited to Cailyn’s sixteenth birthday dinner celebration. She just wanted a family dinner of white chicken chili. And we were included in the “family” designation. Good food. Good brownies for dessert. Thanks for gettin’ born, Cailyn. 

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

Father, thank you for the safe trip, especially the part that involved all that rain. Bless Cailyn as she embarks on her next 16 years. Amen. 

January 15 - “Here tomorrow, gone today”

You’ve heard of “Here today, gone tomorrow“? Well, we kinda got that backwards. We were “Gone today, here tomorrow”. Well, that’s sort of confusing. We were home yesterday … for an hour or two. Then gone. But we are headed back home today. So we’ll be “here today” again. Got that?

We hit the road on one of our overnighters. Flying trip to Waco to watch Luke’s opening day basketball game. They actually needed some help ferrying kiddos around. AnnaGrace had dance. Luke had basketball. Josh and Caleb had an out of town basketball game. Zak had to work. So our presence was going to be a real help for them. Hey. What are grandparents for?

Luke’s game was a real exciting one. The bad guys came out on top, but just barely. 22-18. Luke hit a couple of 3 pointers and played some amazing shut-down defense against the tallest and most talented player on the opposition. Also, Luke is the youngest one on his team. Kind of like a freshman playing on the junior varsity. Proud of that guy. 

Caleb’s game was about an hour and a half away, so we didn’t get to see it. The good guys were victorious in that on, though. Caleb almost fouled out, but he hung in there to the end and was an integral part of the stall offense that held the lead. Proud of you, too, Caleb. 

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭13‬ says, For I, Yahweh your God, hold your right hand and say to you: Do not fear, I will help you.

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Father, thanks for watching over the guys on both courts. Please ride with us back home today. Amen. 

January 14 - “Off-Island”

We spent some time yesterday working on our New Years newsletter. Yep. New Years. Too late for  Christmas. Almost too late for New Years, too. Maybe we’ll get it out by Valentine’s Day. 

In the afternoon Chris left the island. She made a special trip to the quilt shop on the mainland. She has at least three quilts on her list that she wants to make. So, the first one has step one checked off. Material is in hand. 

While she was gone, I hand kind of a busy afternoon myself. First off, I went straight to Walmart. Couldn’t pass up that opportunity. I needed some bananas. Gotta get those bananas. 

When I got home, I got started back on the jigsaw puzzle. And after a while I heard a knock at the door. Robert, one of our home group denizens, came by. He was trying to get a document sent, and he needed to use our printer. No problem there. It took us a bit to figure out, but we got it all printed and ready to mail. So back to puzzling for me. 

When Chris got back we watched a movie about a lady who lived well over 100 years, but never aged. Fascinating premise. 

We are heading north again today. Not that far north, though. We are making a flying trip to Waco to help Josh and Christi with some taxi service. They have three places they need to be, and only two available drivers. We were wanting to come up and watch one of Luke’s basketball games anyway, and that was one of the needed destinations. Win-win. 

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ ‭ says, Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.

Father, please give us a safe journey today. Amen. 

January 13 - “The Master Organizer”

We had a really full house at church. Fifty plus folks gathered to do some praying and singing and listening to the Word. Basically … worshipping. Lots of regulars. Some new folks. I met a guy from Missouri. Always great to connect with a new believer, wherever they are from. 

Best part of the afternoon … we didn’t work. Well, at least I didn’t. I “worked” on the crossword puzzle and watched a movie. All the good football and basketball games were the day before. Chris, on the other hand, did get her craft cabinet all straightened out. It didn’t take her very long, though. Especially considering the length of time it took us to do those closets. But then, she IS a master organizer. 

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭ says, Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life that you were called to and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses.

Father, bless the couple from Missouri. Give them some good days here in Galveston. Amen. 

January 12 - “Strewage to Storage”

We finally checked something off of the list. All of the pictures we had in an array of broken frames and random stages of strewage have now found a home somewhere, either in a box in a closet or carefully filed away. A few are even on display. Imagine that. 

In my few spare moments between packing boxes and hauling them to their resting places, I managed to fit a puzzle piece or two into the jigsaw currently on the table. This one will probably take a while. Outer space. Lots of dark. 

We also fit in portions of two different college basketball games. Texas Tech was the most impressive. They took number 3 Iowa State to overtime before losing on a last second shot. Very exciting stuff. 

Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭8‬ says, Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

Father, thanks for our little taste of success with our 2025 list of tasks. Good to see those checkmarks taking shape. Amen. 

January 11 - “Worked like a charm”

We were back at this major Spring cleaning project. It’s beginning to feel never-ending. 

The first plan of attack had us back in Chris’ closet again. This time we installed the extra- support brackets for the clothes rod. It took a bit to discover the studs, but once that was done, we were golden. Chris finished up by rehanging all her clothes. 

Next we attempted the really hard project. The sliding closet doors in both of the spare bedrooms have been falling out of their supports regularly. The floor guide was obviously the culprit. Well, at least one of them. I ended up repairing the existing guide rather than installing the new one. I also had to tighten all the screws in the track for the wheels at the top of the doors. One was still hard to push, so I did what any knowledgeable homeowner would do. I sprayed it with WD-40. Worked like a charm. It’s a temporary fix, but it’s great to have the sense of urgency gone. 

Once we could slide the door open, we were able to file a lot of the photos and genealogy stuff Chris came across in her closet. I used some of the down time to box up several years’ worth of income tax papers. 

Christina and Jachin stopped by and chatted. Great to see that youngster turning into a fine young man. We are proud of you, Jachin. 

Last night we went to over to Ball High (my Alma mater) to watch Gavin play again. Interesting position to be in, huh? We sat on Santa Fe’s side of the bleachers. As it turned out, they needed all the cheering they could get. Ball High ended up winning by about 30 points. Tough one.

Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭20‬ says, For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.

Father, be with those boys who lost so badly last night. Help them find a life lesson in it. Amen.