September 11 - “Sympathy pains”

I had my sympathy pains physical therapy appointment yesterday. Actually I have had a bit of a shoulder issue since back when I moved those massive flower pots up on the deck. I just put it off because Chris’ issue certainly trumped mine.  

I had the same therapist Chris has.  Very sweet girl. Kinda mean with the exercises she gave me, though. I did them when I got home. They are tough. I don’t have to go back in to see her anymore. That’ll save us another copay every week. Sigh. I guess I just need to commit to actually do them. My plan is to walk one day and do the strength exercises the next. Then I’m off on Sundays. 

After watching the Astros’ afternoon game, we were back at it for home group last night. Oh, by the way, the Astros won 2–1 on a home run by Cam Smith in the top of the ninth. Exciting. 

‭‭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, thank you for our physical therapist. Bless her. Amen. 

September 10 - “Cleared”

Got my official clearance from the jury pool office. They first said the fact that I have a pre-paid trip planned should be enough, but they would have to check with the judge. In a second email, however, they added that, because I am over 70, I am automatically exempt. All updated with the jury clerk. Solves that Alaska problem. 

Chris had an appointment up in Texas in the morning. This one was her dermatologist. Just a yearly checkup to check on the places he has frozen off and to see if any more have developed. 

What we anticipated would be a fairly short appointment turned into a long one. Long enough that I was able to walk my full two miles. As it turned out the doc did a biopsy on the spot on her cheek that she’s been watching. Now we get to wait another week or so for results. Sigh. 

We had a really special treat last night. Chris made shrimp gumbo. It’s been a long time. It wasn’t the same collection of spices we usually use, but we couldn’t find that one (Mam Papal’s). It was still some good stuff, though. 

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭30‬:‭5‬ ‭says, For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor, a lifetime. Weeping may stay overnight, but there is joy in the morning.

Father, thank you for working out the details so I can be excused from just dirty and go to Alaska without worrying. Amen. 

September 9 - “Boring excitement”

Chris did a 30 minute walk here at the house before heading to physical therapy. Then she succumbed to the stretching and tugging of the therapist for about 45 minutes. She also recommended highly that Chris notify the surgeon about her run-in with the wall at Whataburger. She took care of that when we got home. Tough morning for Chris, right? 

I, on the other hand, didn’t have to deal with the therapist, but I did manage a two mile hike indoors, walking around the clinic hallways about 8 times. Always fun to people watch while doing that. They usually seem either impressed or annoyed. 

Speaking of people watching, we stopped at Walmart on the way home. Bananas. OK. There were other things as well, but I was just detailing the first item on my list. And we walked around a little bit. Added a few dozen steps to our count for the day. 

That was pretty much the extent of our day’s excitement. We saw two or three hummingbirds engaged in their typical turf wars over access to our feeder. Watched a movie. Emailed the county to let them know I’d be out of state when they want me to appear for jury duty. Watched the Astros. Full day. 

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ says, Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.

Father, thank you for making hummingbirds. They are really fun to watch. Amen. 

September 8 - “Gettin’ blessed”

Labor Day was workout day for us. Chris did all of her arm and leg exercises, then walked a mile and a quarter. I did the weights part of the arm exercises. Then I walked two miles. Guess it all averages out. 

We did have a visitor in the afternoon. Our incredible hair stylist, Suzanne, came over with her big bag of haircut tricks. Yep. She blessed us with a house call. We both really needed a haircut, too. Well, especially me. Chris always looks great. It’s nice to let my head breathe better now. 

Monday is also laundry day, holiday or no. We had five or six loads (or maybe it was 6 or 7, Ezra). Can’t say I’m getting any better at folding, but at least I can haul the wads of dirty clothes to the machine. 

The Astros were off for the holiday, so we turned to those old standbys - recorded shows. You know … like Hallmark movies. Nothing new there, of course. Even if the movies themselves were just made, plots remain the same. 

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭32‬ says, You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Father, bless Suzann for coming over here and cutting our hair. Amen. 

September 7 - “Nice job”

The blog site was apparently down for a while yesterday. I tried numerous times to post, but alas, to no avail. I even posted an apology on Facebook to all 10 or 12 people who usually read it. But I tried one more time on the way to church, and bingo! There it was. I hurriedly threw my blog on there, so if you’re interested … feel free to catch up. 

We had another great day at church. 80 people came to worship. I met a new guy who just moved to the area. He was invited by one of the Seaside couples. Nice job, Bonnie and David. 

I got an interesting email yesterday. Sunday afternoon of Labor Day weekend. It was a warning of sorts. It said I was going to receive a jury summons. That’s a new one. Never have been pre-notified before. But here’s the rub. My report date? Right when I’ll be in Alaska. Fortunately, one of the excused absences is pre-paid travel arrangements. I’ll have to call them when I get that actual summons. 

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭121‬:‭2‬ says, My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Father, bless Bonnie and David for their inviting efforts. Amen. 

September 6 - “Two Unthinkables”

After a pretty good (for hotel food when they don’t have one of those nifty waffle makers) breakfast of eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and a really good cinnamon roll, we hit the road for home around 9.30. How’s that for including a ton of early morning info in one long sentence?

We did the unthinkable on the trip home. Well, actually, it was two unthinkables. First, Chris insisted that she was driving home. One, she just wanted to try it on the freeway, and two, I had to take an antihistamine. Lots of post nasal drip, drip, drip. I sound worse than I feel. 

Our second unthinkable was just as significant. We did NOT stop at Buc-ees. Neither of us was hungry, and we didn’t have to go to the bathroom. Nevertheless, it felt like a sacrilege. 

We didn’t find a place to stop. Chris realized that we were in Texas, after all, so we might as well do some shopping. So … first stop. Duluth Trading Company. Big sale. Yay. Seriously though, she did get a great deal on some more hiking pants and a warm shirt. Alaska, here we come!

We also made a quick stop at the LaMarque Walmart. Rumor had it that they carried Mam Papal’s gumbo mix. Nope. Chris chose a different brand to try. We’ll see. 

Finally made it home around 1:30. Freddy was happy to see us. Always good to be home. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ says, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Father, thanks for you for riding with us on the trip home. And thank you for being with Chris as she drove. She needed to know that she could do it! Amen. 

September 5 - “This was a day”

Well this was a day. We started out for Bryan, Texas. Plenty of time, to be sure. Luke’s game was set for 3:30. About two and a half hours to get there. We left at around 10:30. Why so early? Food! 

The “interesting” thing about this start-of-the-day was this … Chris crawled into the driver’s seat. First time in three months. I told her she was good to go down the street to Whataburger. Then we would re-evaluate. 

Well … while we were standing in line at Whataburger, one of their employees was carrying one of those huge traffic cones. Yep. Indoors. Apparently the weight shifted, throwing her off balance into one of those large floor sign ads. Somewhere in there Chris’ legs were swiped from under her. Fortunately, she smacked against the wall and managed to break her fall. Unfortunately, she smacked against the wall … with her right shoulder taking the full brunt of the smack. 

Needless to say, she … hurt. She turned pale and tears welled up in her eyes. She assured everyone that she was OK (just “OK” - not “fine”). But she did go right over and sit down. After a bit we received our food and headed to the car. And NO. She didn’t get in the driver’s seat. Didn’t even argue. She did make me promise to let her take over if I got sleepy. 

Well, I didn’t. Made all the way to Buc-ees, then on to our hotel in College Station. Add to that description … through horrendous thunderstorms with torrential rains. It was a mess all the way until we were almost in College Station. And then …. Blue skies and lots of sunshine. 

Luke’s junior high team played at 3:30, right in the heat of the day. No shade for the fans, except for the umbrellas we had in the car. Did I mention that it was hot? I don’t think it hit triple digits, but boy was it close. We did meet up with Josh and Christi and sat with them in the visitor stands on the hill (closest to the sun). Through it all, Luke played a fabulous game (of course). And the good guys won, 38-19.   

After the game we went to Chik-fil-A for supper. We split a grilled chicken wrap. Good stuff. While we were eating, the junior varsity also won their game in a big way, 55-7. 

Great lead-in for the varsity. They scored on their second play from scrimmage. Caleb was defensive captain for the game. That’s my boy. 

The game was pretty exciting. At least for our guys. The final score was 61-16. Our guys scored with 8 seconds left in the half to stretch our lead to 45 points. By league regulations, if one team leads by 45 points after a complete half, the game ends by the mercy rule. Not bad. Not bad at all. Proud of you guys. 

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

Father, thanks for watching over these boys playing football. It was awfully hot out there. Amen.