April 12 - “Fighting Evil-ity”

Chris disappeared out into the backyard yesterday. That was my cue to follow, so I could help with the more difficult manual labor she might have in mind (read here: So I could keep an eye on her. She’s been known to pass out back there).

She was raking dead grass with a plan to get some Weed and Feed to treat the yard. Not sure when that will take place. 

I went right to our ornery old shed. I was gonna give it another try to get it to close properly. I didn’t time my efforts, but let’s just say Chris came over to see if she could help. I got out the level. No help there. It read perfect with the shims I have under it. I tried different orientations of said shims, to no avail. I even pounded on the top of one of the doors to get it to fit right. If it had been made of wood, I would have just planed off some of the top. I finally got it to at least close. Of course, next time we open the doors … they will fall off. 

My second task was a little more risky, but had much greater rewards. I got to trim back the booger villa bush. That’s the evil one with huge thorns. It mercifully died back when it got cold. Problem was, there was a mass of dead branches covered in thorns sticking out into our walkway. That’s what I was called on to chop down. 

There was another problem though. The thing wasn’t really dead. Deep down beneath all the protective, helicopter mom-ish thorns was new growth. Aaarggh! That meant I had to be careful not to cut new stuff, but to still make sure I nabbed all the dead stuff. How did I do? Well … sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good. In the process I got stabbed multiple times. Chris had to go sit down more than once - managing those impending pass-out spells. We got it all done, though. Filled up both of our trash cans with that evil-ity. 

While chopping down that dreaded thing bush, I began pondering the trials and travails of certain tragic songs. One in particular kept running through my head, over and over and over. Do you remember the classic, “The Fly Has Married the Bumble Bee”? Tragic. So tragic. 

Imagine. They get engaged. They share glorious protestations of everlasting love.  Sounds so romantic. But think about it. I checked. A bumble bee typically lives about 6 weeks. A fly, however, is lucky to make it 20 days. So when the bumblebee made his ardent plea, I hope he did it early in the first week. And I hope the poor fly wasn’t well into her less than a month lifespan. 

Sigh. Tragic. Fiddle-dee-dee. 

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ says, Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s sanctuary and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

Father, thanks for the work we got done in the backyard. Help us sleep tonight. Amen. 

April 11 - “Computer challenge”

My computer challenge for the morning was to figure out how to change my Microsoft Publisher documents into Word docs. Formatting. Margins. All the things. Microsoft announced that beginning in May, they will no longer provide the publisher platform. Sadly, that’s where all my wedding and funeral files have been generated. So … guess Zak and Lindsay’s wedding will be my template for all future ceremonies. 

I also got some birthday cards addressed for the next few weeks. 

Meanwhile, Chris worked with her plants, but when she went outside that upper respiratory gunk really hit her hard again. 

I gotta admit, somewhere in there we both took a nap. I think we’re still catching up from that Spain jet lag. 

After lunch we had some important business to attend to. Bananas. There were some other things involved as well, a prescription for Chris among them. But we all know the bananas were at the top of the list. Mission accomplished. 

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭18‬ says, The Lord is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity.

Father, again I ask that you heal Chris quickly. Amen. 

April 10 - “Easier said than done”

I was back at the computer again. We had a home group photo watch scheduled for last night, so I was trying to combine the photos from our two phones and the actual camera. Easier said than done. With a break for lunch, it took until 4 pm. I don’t know how together they really are, but at least they are separated into which day on the cruise they happened. 

We almost called off the home group photo party. Not because the pictures weren’t ready. Chris was having a terrible time with allergy symptoms. Sneezing. Sniffling. Eyes watering. Sounds like a TV commercial. She decided to stick it out, though. We have been off for several weeks, and we won’t meet again next week, either. So we dove right in. 

Most of the folks seemed at least a little interested in all the photos. We enjoyed sharing them and getting to talk about them, so thanks guys, for putting up with us. Thanks for the pizza and chips and watermelon as well. 

‭‭Acts‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ says, There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.

Father, please heal Chris’ head stuff quickly. Amen. 

April 9 - “Drag and drop. Done”

I had the desk work task again yesterday. I was downloading our photos from the trip onto b the computer so we could have a big picture party for home group Thursday night. The easiest one was copying the camera card from the big camera. Point. Select. Drag and drop. Done. And my phone cooperated fairly well. Plugged it into the computer and found the extended files. Point. Select. Drag and drop. Done. 

But the came Chris’ phone. For whatever reason hers wouldn’t cooperate at all with the computer. That necessitated several extra steps. First I had to air drop the pics from her phone to mine. That was an ordeal in itself ended up having to do it two or three at a time, over and over. 

Then I plugged my phone back into the computer. Should go just as smoothly as the first time, right?  No such luck. The phone and the computer were having all sorts of issues with each other. They just didn’t want to play nice together. 

Suddenly, an error code popped up on the screen. Never what you want to see on a computer, especially when you are nowhere near nerdy enough or young enough to have a clue what to do. Fortunately, this message anticipated my ignorance and spelled out the issue. The USB port I was using had failed. Just no good anymore. 

Surely it couldn’t be something as simple as that. I unplugged the cord and switched it over. Bam! Worked like a charm. I found the files that kept going missing and got them transferred over. 

Now the only issue is dealing with three separate sources merged into one. Not really looking forward to attempting that. How about we leave it and explain as we go along?

As it turned out, Chris was ready to dive back into the dress shopping scene anyway. So back up into Texas and back to the mall again. Two days in a row. That’s gotta be a record. For me, anyway. But hey. She found a dress. Success! 

Since we were in Texas … again. We had to swing by Nathan’s … again. And to no one’s surprise, they were absent … again. But this time we let the dogs out. And relaxed on the back porch and watched them run. The rest of the family eventually got there.  It was great to just hang out and talk. 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬ says, So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

Father, thank you for giving us a safe trip (and for helping Chris find that dress). And thanks for the chance to hang out with the Santa Fe bunch. Amen. 

April 8 - “On the hunt”

How’s this for some catching up? Yesterday I read through all of the newspapers that arrived while we were on our trip. It was quite the stack. Most of the national stuff I had already heard about. There were a few local stories that grabbed my attention. No real hot gossip, though. Our beloved newspaper is really good at hot gossip. 

Now there is no connection to that last topic here, but we had back-to-back appointments to get our hair cut. Had to get that wedding look down.

And speaking of wedding … we did something we haven’t done in years. Maybe longer. We went to the mall. Not the little strip mall, either. Baybrook, the biggest one around us. I don’t count our stroll through that bull fighting arena turned mall in Barcelona. No real purchase intent there. 

This time, though, we were actually on the hunt for something. Chris was determined to get a dress to wear to the wedding. And I needed a cowboy-ish looking long-sleeved shirt to go with my jeans. I was also thinking about checking out a new belt. You know. The kind with the buckle big enough to cook a pizza on. Maybe even some full-on cowboy boots with motorcycle treads on the bottom. 

Well, OK. No boots.  But I did need a new pair of SAS shoes. Those things last me at least a full year. Better than any other brand. I got my last two pair in Waco. But we did find a store in Clear Lake. I walked in, held my foot up, and declared, “I want a pair of these.”  They looked at them, asked what size, and within minutes I had them on my feet. Even got an extra pair of shoelaces and a shoehorn to boot. 

Sadly, we didn’t find a big belt. Or a cowboy shirt. Or a dress for Chris. I’ll happily give up my belt and shirt for her dress. Maybe another day. 

Since we were off-Island, we decided to swing by Nathan and April’s to see if by chance any of them were at home. Just wanted to say hi. They weren’t home so we waved to their boxer named Tilley (she was guarding the front window) and settled for texting to say hi. 

‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭24‬ says, I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.

Father, help Chris to find just what she needs for the wedding. Amen. 

April 7 - “Dyein’ for Easter”

I spent the morning at my desk. Haven’t done that in a long time. Felt almost like I was back at work again. I was actually trying to catch up on stuff that has piled up while we were gone. 

The LaMarque Vaughan’s came over for lunch. Me and Jachin grilled some burgers and chatted outside while things were getting made ready inside. 

Then after our burgers, the kids dyed Easter eggs. I know. We were a day late, but it was still fun to watch their interactions. Ezra even co-opted the camera, so we do have some pictures of the day. 

It feels weird to stop the blog there. After writing so much each day over the last few weeks, it seems like I ought to have more to say. But … that’s all. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ says, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Father, thank you for blessing us with grandkids. They are pretty special. Amen. 

April 6 - “HE IS RISEN …”

Well, it was up super early again. 11 am in Spain. But we’re not in Spain anymore, are we? I’m pretty sure the clock read 4 am. So why so early? HAPPY EASTER! Of course. 

Seaside’s Easter sunrise service on the beach began at 6:30, so we had to get in gear at dark thirty. For us it has become like the Palm Sunday parade through town was for the tens of thousands of locals and tourists in Málaga. Just a really special time to celebrate Jesus and what he has done for us, as well as to join together with an incredible community of believers and seekers alike. And it’s all done out on the beach. 

I have no idea how many people were there this year. It wasn’t Málaga’s tens of thousands.  But it was definitely in the hundreds. There was rain all around Galveston. However, for the period of time we were on the beach, no rain. It was cold, too. Pretty strong north wind. But still, to put it scientifically, lots of people came. The music was powerfully. Kel shared the story of the resurrection. The pastor of the church that goes in with us on the event did an altar call. And then came the baptisms. 

We were blessed to witness 12 baptisms. Kel knew of about 4 of them. So God called 8 more people of all ages to identify themselves with him. One big strong guy kind of panicked as he was going under, grabbed Kel, and took him under with him! Another was confined to a wheelchair. Kel adapted to that situation by pouring some water over his head. 

It was pretty awesome. 

After the service we hosted a few hundred people for breakfast. The breakfast team put together an incredible venue in our retreat center. Many brought breakfast dishes. About 800 breakfast burritos were available. Everyone had plenty to eat with plenty left over for the rest of the morning services. 

And then … some of us hung around for the next worship service. And how many were at that service? 100. Pretty much maxed out the building. And God didn’t stop there. We had a third service with 90 more people. And those last two services were full of families with little kids. That’s some God doin’s. 

During one of the services I noticed a little guy, maybe six or seven seated between two teenagers. He was giving them fits. Mom was seated behind them. She tapped the little guy on the shoulder. When he turned to receive the anticipated corrective measures, instead she gave the boy who was cutting up a handful of candy. His eyes lit up and stared at candy, then at Mom. Not what he expected. Slowly he turned and went to put it in his pocket. She stopped him and signed that he should eat it. Now his eyes got even wider. He started eating and was quiet the rest of the service 

Here’s one about a little girl and her mom. Mom was getting some coffee. The cute little girl simply stare at a huge pile of candy in a dish. It was all I could do not to tell her it was fine for her to get some. Mom apparently noticed my struggle. She let her get some. As the Mom grinned at me and started to reach for her now-finished coffee,  I told her, “I think I need to leave this room. I am a grandpa, and my answer to everything is yes.” She chuckled knowingly and kind of sighed, “We know about grandpas.” Yep. We are a species unto ourselves. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭6‬ says, He is not here! For He has been resurrected, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.

Father, thank you once again for all those folks you drew to the three services. Amen.