March 16 - “Let’s go!”

We had a real-live discernment meeting at church. That’s Seaside code for a business meeting. It’s been a while since we have been in town for one. The church made four basic decisions. Didn’t really have to vote. We just reached a consensus and moved on. I love it. Feels so … biblical. 

We left pretty quickly (especially for us - we’re still usually among the last to leave). But we had to get home and get changed so we could race out to Cailyn’s soccer game in Deer Park. As it turned out, we were ten or fifteen minutes late. Sadly the bad guys were ahead 2-0. But on a positive note, they didn’t score any more after we arrived. Guess the goals were our fault for not being present. That ended up being the final score. Sorry for not getting there sooner, girls. 

From there it was back home to enter the final stretch in our preparations to leave for the big boat. A few more loads of clothes to wash, then laying out which of those would make the cut. And finally, of course, cramming it all into suitcases and backpacks. I think we’re ready. Now we wait for our ride to the dock. See ya in a few weeks. Let’s go!

‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬ says, Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.

Father, please hop on this boat with us. Amen. 

March 15 - “Underdogs”

We had an early stop to make yesterday morning. Just a quick pop into the bank to get a notary signature for some paperwork for a friend. Fortunately the manager was there, and she knows me. She took us into her office and got it done quickly. Thanks, Brandi. 

Then we hit road for our trek north to watch Ezra play football. We gave it an hour lead time for the twenty minute trip. Why? The roads were closed for construction. And the resulting traffic was ridiculous. Wonderful. We averaged a brisk 2 miles per hour for a long time. 

But we did make it - just before halftime. And we were glad we did. After an entire season of frustration, the good guys entered this postseason tournament as the massive underdogs. 

But wait! Somehow they won their first game. And since there were only four teams entered, that miraculously put them into  the championship game against the team coached by two ex-football players. The coaches had consistently shown bad sportsmanship in every game all year, loudly gloating over every victory. And their team WAS very good. 

This final game was no exception. Add to that a pretty bad ref, and you have a not so good combination. For example, the ref at one point called a safety against the other team- not once, but three times in a row. For some reason he kept giving them another chance. Our assistant coach even got kicked off the field for “politely requesting a more in-depth explanation for the strange calls” (I see you, Jachin). Fortunately, head coach Kel managed to keep a cool head. 

In the end though, the outcome was … Champs! The unheralded Cinderellas snatched the trophy.  Ezra played a few great games, at quarterback, center/receiver, and defensive back. He even had a pick six - an interception for a touchdown. We are proud of you, Ezra! (You, too, Coaches). 

‭‭Esther‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ says, If you keep silent at this time, liberation and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s house will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.

Father, thank you for those little underdogs today. Always fun to see them having fun. Amen. 

March 14 - “The Nana and Dad Pantry Caper”

We started our day with a trip into Texas. Chris had to pick up one of her medications that had to come from the specialty pharmacy. That one was no problem. But they told her that the other med she gets from them will cost $900 next time she needed it. Nope. Needless to say, she asked them to start proceedings to update our status to needing the maximum assistance possible. Waiting to hear from them. 

On the way home, we stopped at Walmart. Just a few things this time. Dry mouth drops, part for the toilet that broke, and food for dinner on the grounds tomorrow. 

Our packing is progressing. And all the last minute adjustments to scheduling are falling into place. We had to decide whether to move back our hotel-to-airport pick up time from 7:30 to 6:30. We took the earlier time to give us the full three hour lead time before our flight. 

We had a surprise exciting visit yesterday afternoon. Cailyn and six or seven (I see you, Ezra) of her closest friends stopped by on their way home from a day at the beach. They didn’t bring any food with them, so of course the Nana and DadDad Pantry was the logical stopping place. It was a lot of fun watching them devour an entire box of fruit snacks and a roll of ritz crackers and an entire roll of summer sausage. Not to mention the comments they made looking at our pictures on the wall and the stuffed animal horde.  And one of them (I see you, A.J.), spent the whole time snuggling with Freddy. Oh, and then there was one of them (who will not be named) who is convinced that a marriage to Zak is in her future. And yes, she knows he is engaged. Ah, what a tangled web …

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Father, be with those young ladies who were here for a visit. Draw them close to you. Amen. 

March 13 - “Palm Prep”

H&R Block finally called back. Sam’s final tax return was ready to be picked up. Well … almost ready. The very first page the preparer showed me had my name spelled wrong. I thought she was gonna check out right there. 

Come to find out she had worked hours to get the computer operations to accept this kind of return. In fact, she had spent three or four hours the night before with a retired preparer who was the resident expert before her retirement. Together they had figured it out, so me pointing out a simple typo was devastating. She got it changed, though, and I finally walked out with a completed form ready for mailing. Glad to be done with that phase. 

Chris had the dentist appointment this time. She made a point to inform me that hers was “just for a cleaning.” She didn’t have to call off the x-ray / doctor visit dogs like I did. Go ahead and rub it in. 

While she was gone, I made palm crosses for Palm Sunday. We will be somewhere in Spain when Palm Sunday hits, but I thought it would be fun to have some to give away. Also, I made a bag of extras in case Seaside wanted to have some on hand.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ says, Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Father, thanks for Chris’ good report from the dentist. Amen. 

March 12 - “The Clean Tooth Caper”

I had a dental appointment scheduled for yesterday. Just for cleaning - no big deal. But I have to take antibiotics an hour before because of my enhanced knee. And of course … I was out. I called first thing to offer a solution. Call the meds in to the pharmacy. I would flip my appointment with Chris’, which is today. Sounded like a good plan to me. 

But they called back and assured me that the prescription had been called in. Sure enough, I went over to Randall’s. They had the notification, all they had to do was drop 12 pills in one of those nifty little jars. 

I even made it back home in time to get a goodbye hug from Zak and Lindsay. They suffered no ill effects from their shrimp dinner or their extra 24 hours or so with Nana and DadDad. 

As far as I was concerned, the dental trip was a good one. The tech did the cleaning. Didn’t hurt much at all. She let me postpone the inevitable x-rays and visit from the actual dentist until the next visit. Phew! A six month reprieve. 

After some lunch we ran a few last-minute errands. Well, OK. Maybe middle-minute errands. I’m sure there will be more before we leave. Pets Mart for some chew sticks for Freddy. Walmart for some mouthwash and Tide, but a handful of “miscellaneous” suddenly appeared in the cart. Surprise, surprise (Actually, no surprise there at all).

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭11‬ says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Father, thanks for our extra time with Zak and Lindsay. Walk with them as they prepare for the wedding and subsequently their life together. Amen. 

March 11 - “A go for the pickleball?”

I got to play tour guide yesterday. I went with Josh, Josiah, Zak and Lindsay up to Seaside to check out the repair work going on at the retreat center building. It’s looking really good. A lot of the new flooring is down. And they were there working on the sealing and painting of the underside of the entire building. Pretty impressive stuff. We even had a mini-tour of the plans for the worship center conducted by worship pastor. Thanks for taking the time, Greg. 

The Waco bunch (except Zak and Lindsay) left for the Northlands around 1:30. Me and Chris left shortly thereafter for her doc appointment. I assume the LaMarque crowd was shortly after that. 

This appointment was to get one of those steroid shots in her hip. Our hope was that it would magically remove the pain she is having before we take off for Spain (and open the door for our pickleball lesson). 

After his examination, the doc asked us a very unusual question. He wanted to know if we had any plans for the rest of the afternoon. If not, he wondered if he could “steal of that time.” Not what you want the doc to say. Basically, he said the x-ray he had showed a distinct difference between the two hips. One looked nice and smooth. The other looked kinda wonky. And the wonky one seemed to have some extra lines. In a nutshell, he wanted her to go get another x-ray, then come right back. He mentioned looking to make sure there wasn’t a hairline fracture. If there was, they couldn’t do the steroid shot, because it would hinder healing. 

So we drove over to the clinic that has the x-ray machine. The tech that took the pics was pretty amazing. Very kind and outgoing. Even offered to let Chris take home a stash of the stylish blue paper patient shorts she hooked her up with. 

No fracture. Choice of muscle relaxers or two shots. I knew she would decline the meds. So she chose the less invasive shot to start. Should see some results by Thursday. If she can handle it, she can go for the pickle ball. Hmm. If it doesn’t help, she goes back when we get back from the cruise for shot number two - the invasive one. We shall see …

For dinner we took Zak and Lindsay out for some good ol’ seafood. Where else but the original Shrimp n Stuff? They have been to the food truck and to the hotsy totsy version downtown. Now the trifecta is complete. 

After dinner we took them on a drive around town to see some of the sights in Galveston. Not the usual tourist stuff. They wanted to see some of the early architecture and old homes. Always fun for a proud Galvestonian. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭30‬ says, Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.

Father, thanks for the relatively good news Chris got (that there is no break). And thanks for the time we have with Zak and Lindsay. Amen. 

March 10 - “HCU”

Part of our Waco entourage left around eight in the morning to head into Houston. Caleb and Josiah were making a college visit to Houston Christian University (Cailyn is making a visit there later with some of her friends). Yep. The old stomping grounds for Josh and Christi and Kel and Christina and of course, me and Chris. Quite the legacy for those three if they decide to go in that direction. That meant the rest of the crew came over to make it a sort of younger cousins camp. Apologies for hanging that monicker on Luke and Noa. After all, they are both just about to turn 13, so … more teenagers in our midst. Woohoo!

After working on the current jigsaw puzzle for a while, during which time Luke used my desk and computer to do his online Latin class, I paid a few bills that we didn’t want hanging over our heads while we were gone. Most notable among which were income tax and property tax. Yuk. But at least they are covered - for a while. 

Christina took the kids over to the park to run off some steam. It sure got quiet in a hurry. Christi texted that their HCU visit went well. They even drove through the financial district in a nod to Zak’s interests. 

I also spent some time working. Yep. Actually working. I put together a few sermons just in case they might come in handy over the course of the two Sundays we will be at sea. If not needed … no problem. I just like to be over-prepared. 

We did some outside cooking for supper. Beef and chicken fajitas. I’ve never attempted that particular dish on the grill before, and Josh was sleeping like a baby. Fortunately, Kel arrived just in time to take over. He done good work. 

‭‭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 care on Him, because He cares about you.

Father, thanks for that rousing evening with all those kids. Sure missed having Cailyn there. Amen.