April 30 – “Almost time”

Sorry so late.  Long morning already.  More on that tomorrow.  Maybe.

 

Yesterday we decided it was finally time to get the Weed and Feed out on the yard.  It’s not that hard a chore.  Well, the way we do it is kind of old school mingled with a touch of the new.  I wear surgical gloves.  Someone gave us a few boxes of them back after Hurricane Ike.  The I get a bucket full of the product and walk around the yard in carefully construed lanes until I finish scattering the seed.  Or I guess, the opposite of seed.  And of course, I ran out with about a fourth of the back yard still to go.  You know what that means.  WalMart!

 

We also needed some dog treats for Freddy for her to “earn” while we are gone.  And speaking of Freddy, Chris got her all bathed and flea and tick medicine applied.  Another item on the “we’re going out of town” checklist.  Check.

 

And speaking of checklists, Chris accomplished another check-off item that I had on my list.  She finished the superhero crossword puzzle I have been working on.  It was a tough one.  Lots of dark.  Pretty cool picture in the end, though.  The star is obviously Batman.  Superman is making an appearance in the background, as are Wonder Woman and the Joker.  There are a few others too, but I don’t recognize them.  Must be some of the new generation.  Check.

 

We have gathered up most of our stuff for the trip.  Chris wanted to go to Academy for some shoes, but when we left the house, the traffic was ridiculous.  We turned around after just a few blocks and came on home.  Yup.  It’s beginning to look a lot like summer on the Island …

 

Psalms 19: says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

 

Father, thank you for the chance to do some more traveling.  Please watch over Dustin and the other fire fighters.  Walk with them.  Help them to know they are not alone.  Amen.

April 29 – “An entirely new word”

Kel and Noa came by yesterday in the morning.  They were assigned the enviable task of delivering a dog and a couple of hamster/rat types.  The animals will be spending the next week in our neck of the woods.  The dog, Leia, will hang out here with Freddy, with Corey and Janell tasked with caring for them.  The little rat-beings will head on over to spend their holiday with Brennan and his brood of much-bigger rodents.  All are accounted for and doing well.  Check.

 

But there was something different about the two humans.  Noa was wearing a dress and looked absolutely gorgeous.  Well, she’s always gorgeous, but she was dressed-up as well.  Kel was pretty dressed-up, too, in a Galveston sort of way (i.e. no tie or anything drastic like that, but nice).  So why dress up just to make a pet delivery?  Well, the delivery was actually just a side gig for their real purpose.  The two were headed out for a very special Daddy-Daughter date.  Noa had no idea where they were headed – it was a surprise for her.  The destination?  Kel was taking his date to a performance at the Grand Theater in downtown Galveston.  Very ritzy stuff.  If I understood them correctly, the show was to be a kids’ theater production of Alice in Wonderland.  Sounded like great fun. 

 

When they left, I took my date out as well.  We took a walk.  A two mile hike, to be exact.  Not exactly a romantic encounter, and certainly not a dress-up occasion, but we were together, nonetheless.  After the hike Chris cleaned house.  I worked on a jigsaw puzzle.  I was trying to finish it before we leave for Florida tomorrow.  Achieving that goal doesn’t look promising at this juncture, but maybe …

 

Last night we had home group again.  Now we are off again for two weeks.  We had a new attender.  Helen from church joined us.  It was kind of a different teaching approach this week.  We were finishing up a study of angels.  We’ll begin the Book of Ruth when we get back.  We did learn an entirely new word last night, though.  No, it wasn’t some obscure Hebrew derivation or Greek oddity involving some angel’s name or duties.  At least I don’t think it was.  I had her repeat it to make sure I heard it correctly.  Yep.  She said the same thing twice in a row, so it must be real.  Sam was describing to us the results of her eye scan to determine if she is a candidate for cataract surgery on her other eye (she just had one done and is ecstatic with the results).  But apparently the x-ray images of that eye showed a problem.  Instead of it being perfectly round, hers follows a roundish track, then goes (to quote Sam’s technical jargon), “Bluuurrurrooruup.”  I don’t know.  I’m not sure about the spelling, but I’m certain it’s not Hebrew or Greek.  Maybe Eastern European or Scandinavian …

 

Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

 

Father, thank you for new words from old friends and Daddy-Daughter experiences.  Amen.

April 28 – “Welcome to the family, BeauBo”

Yesterday was all about getting to Cailyn’s soccer game on time.  The discussion started before nine that morning.  We always figure before we leave how much time it will take for travel, and based on that, when we have to actually leave.  Then we add fifteen or twenty minutes just to make sure.  Then we leave pretty close to when we originally said we needed to.  It’s all a head game … on ourselves. 

 

So why the road trip planning?  This particular game was in Angleton, a little community between here and Bay City.  At least that’s how we used to describe it back when we used to go to Bay City.  Now it’s just … Angleton.  Siri informed us that it was a 57 minute drive, his way.  Oh, I forgot to mention, with my new phone we have another new Siri voice.  Not George anymore.  And still not the cute little thing that Chris just couldn’t get along with.  The new guy seems more edgy, somehow younger.  And definitely from the South.  His name is Beauregard – Beau, or Bo, for short, of course.  Or maybe BeauBo.  His shortcut proved effective, so Chris grudgingly accepted him into the fold.  We’ll see how he does on extended trips next week.  Welcome to the family, Bo.

 

The soccer game was the best we have seen Santa Fe play all year.  They seem to be figuring it out.  Of course the season is pretty much over.  But in this game, although they still lost, they showed some real promise, especially Cailyn.  She made some pretty incredible defensive plays, and she even took several shots on goal.  Couldn’t quite make them go in, though.  And the girls also seemed to be playing more aggressively than ever before.  At least the penalty calls seemed to confirm that.  Cailyn starts play with her club team this weekend, so she should be getting better and better.  The coach is from somewhere in Eastern Europe, so he has played the game his whole life. 

 

We stopped by on the way home to drop off April’s birthday present at their house.  We gave her some stinky lotion Chris picked out.  Peach flavored, I think.  We also gave her a Seuss book.  Something about not wanting to get out of bed.  We may or may not have heard stories as to the appropriateness of said title.  Not throwing anyone in particular under the bus here …

 

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

 

Father, thank you for the chance to watch that group of girls grow in skill and knack for the game.  And thanks for the special gift you gave us in April.  Amen.

April 27 – “Half empty? Half full?”

Out in the yard again.  Sounds like a sad, old country music song, doesn’t it?  This time we attacked the side of the house and its accumulation of sycamore leaves from the Great Fall Fall.  Since we had the rake out anyway. we also moved against the grassy area of the back yard.  Or at least what is supposed to be the grassy area.  All of that means we were pulling weeds and raking weeds and filling up trash cans with weeds in a desperate attempt to finish before the garbage truck arrived.  And we did pretty well.  In fact we thought we had it all in and done, ready to start our next trip with a clean slate and an empty garbage can.  Well … then the garbage truck arrived.  And those menacing mechanical arms shot out from the side and grabbed the can, just as it was designed to do.  However … when I went out to bring the can back to the backyard, it was still half full.  Or maybe half empty.  Which, by the way, poses quite the philosophical conundrum.  If you are an optimist, the glass is always half full, right?  But if we are talking about getting our trash can dumped, wouldn’t it be more of an optimistic statement to say it was half empty?  Now my head hurts.

 

We still have one flower bed in the back that has some rogue weeds still sprouting and taking up valuable space.  We also need to spread Weed and Feed on the grass.  I think Chris wants to do that before we leave on Saturday for Florida. 

 

We were planning to go watch Jachin play baseball last night.  But because of all the rain, the City of Houston canceled all games on their fields.  The game was moved to Thursday.  Of course it was.  We won’t be able to catch that one now since we have home group that night.  We will get to have some outside time tonight, though.  Cailyn has a soccer game in Angleton.  Road trip …

 

1 John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

 

Father, again … thank you for that rain.  I know Jachin was disappointed.  I know I always was when a game was rained out.  But we sure needed some of that wet stuff.  Amen.

 

April 26 – “Tracking the code”

Yesterday was a fire department day.  It has been a while since I had a chance to check in with the different stations all at once.  Well, almost all.  It started out because I needed a code from the Central station admin office to activate the app on my new phone so it will receive alerts when calls go out.  I touched base with the big chief and the other top dogs as well as the crew that was on duty.  They offered me a homemade chocolate chip cookie.  Couldn’t refuse that, now, could I?  The crew had to leave right away to install some smoke detectors, so I headed out as well.  Next stop was station 2, out East.  The crew there was chatting outside about politics and such, when the Central guys pulled up to borrow a ladder.  That was my first chance to see one of the new trucks in action.  Well, not in fire-putting-out action, but being driven, at least.  Really nice vehicles.  Then at station 5 I had a long chat with the captain about our vacation trip to Utah.  Seemed to be some interest there in duplicating some of our action.  I also got to see the other new truck and hear some of the specific difference between the new and old.  My final stop was at station 4.  That’s my neighborhood station, so it is always great to see those guys.  Even got to talk about Jesus.  Always a plus.

 

Back at home I helped Chris out a little in the yard.  She had the front flowerbeds almost totally cleaned out.  I went in behind her and trimmed the bushes in there.  A little more work, but definitely needed.  Then we tag-teamed raking the front yard.  We wanted to get that done before the rain started.  And start it did.  And then continued raining hard off and on for several hours.  Our grass and bushes and plants sure needed that one. 

 

We closed out the evening with watching the Astros lose to the Rangers’ two new half a billion-dollar shortstops.  I’m not sure I understand the Astros manager’s pitching decisions in this one.  Bringing in not one, but three pitchers who are essentially minor leaguers when the score is just 2-1?  Sigh.  Guess that’s why he gets paid the big bucks. 

 

Romans 5:3-5 says, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

 

Father, once again I ask that you watch over our fire guys as they carry out their day-to-day shifts.  Keep them safe and healthy and happy.  Amen.

April 25 – “Mama Llama”

Ah, Sunday.  Just a little bit quieter for just a little bit longer, right?  Well, not when you have a five-year-old over to spend the night on Saturday night.  Ezra joined me in the office around seven or so, ready to start the day.  Chris was busy getting ready for church, so he and I had a chance to chat. 

 

We had a long conversation about the huge pile of travel buddy critters he found next to my desk.  He seemed quite fascinated by all of them.  Even had some really good questions about the actual critter behind the critter.  That is, when  he was not schooling me on what he had already learned about them.   But by far, the two he was most interested in were not in the pile yet.  They were still on the table basking in their position as “Most Recent Acquisitions.”  Which ones?  Bowlee the Squirrel (Which he named, by the way).  And Ronnie Ray, the Raven.  He did have a hand in naming that one as well, but I think he just wanted to see up close what a raven looked like. 

 

While we continued our discussion, he got himself dressed for church, all before Nana even entered the scene.  We even heated us up some leftover pigs in a blanket for breakfast.  Hey.  Us guys can be self-reliant every now and then, right?  Well, for a while, at least.

 

We stopped by the donut shop on our way to church.  Haven’t been there since January.  They recognized me right away, and started to fill my “usual” order.  I had to stop her and tell her what I wanted this time – just the box of donut holes.  And by the way … those holes sure didn’t last long. 

 

Ezra was happy to seek out and discover his family when we arrived at church.  We deposited him in their care.  But after church I looked back into the back seat, and lo and behold … we were coming home with two kids.  Cailyn and Josiah were back there.  Hmm.  Two for one trade.  Who got the better end of this deal?  Actually we were all going to Noa’s birthday anyway. 

 

And speaking of the party, Christina had told Noa that she didn’t have time this week to plan a full blown party, since she had to plan everything for their trip to Florida and for Jachin’s graduation.  Noa assured her that she would take care of all the details.  And by golly, she did.  She invited the guests – something like 30 personal invitations - a few more than her Mom expected (A few dozen more!).  She established a theme (Llamas), created some games (Like “Mama Llama” says instead of “Simon Says.”  She’s quite the little Mama Llama, herself).  She had a llama cake.  Even filled up a pinata with her leftover Easter candy.  Pretty impressive.  Most importantly, though, the kids all seemed to have a great time.

 

We went over to their house afterwards for dinner.  Some kind of pasta with meatballs on top.  Pretty good stuff.  We also tracked the Astros progress through their latest attempt at failure.  They were looking like they had another defeat in the bag after losing a 5-2 lead, but pulled off a miracle and tied the game to send it into extra innings.  Then in the bottom of the tenth, none other than the new rookie shortstop crushed a home run to win the game.  Go Astros!

 

John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

Father, thank you for Noa.  She has all the makings of a beautiful and quite talented young lady.  Watch over her as she grows.  Amen.

April 24 – “Heeee’s … safe!”

Chris spent some time yesterday working in the flowerbeds again.  I worked, too.  Inside.  On a jigsaw puzzle.  Teamwork.

 

We left around noon for Jachin’s baseball game in Pasadena.  Actually it was supposed to be two games for him.  He played in the JV game at one o’clock.  Played first base.  That’s his natural position, and he’s really good at it.  His at-bat was an interesting one.  He got hit in the back with about an 85 mile per hour fastball.  Ouch.  That one left a mark.  No, really.  It literally left a mark.  He is branded right now with a baseball-shaped bruise.  He turned it to his advantage, though.  He worked his way around the basepaths until he made it to third.  Then his coach made the observation that the third baseman was sure standing a long way from the base.  And Jachin noticed that the pitcher and catcher really weren’t paying very close attention to him.  So, the next time the catcher nonchalantly tossed the ball back to the pitcher, Jachin took off for home.  And he was safe!  Yep.  Stole home.  Exciting stuff.  He was supposed to pitch in the varsity game that followed, but after that hit-by-pitch, his coach wanted him to wait for his pitching appearance until the game on Tuesday. 

 

Ezra came home with us after the game.  What should have been a 30-45 minute drive took us well over an hour.  We avoided the I45 major road detour.  But then we got stuck in road construction on our alternate route – 146.  We made it. Though.  The hardest part about the trip wasn’t the road construction, though.  Chris is experienced with that stuff.  Th heard part was keeping Ezra awake through the whole ordeal.  It was already around 5:30, so we didn’t want him napping and then staying awake until really late.  He handled our efforts to keep him awake like a champ.  He especially enjoyed my singing.  That came in a very close second to my reaching back and grabbing his foot (all I could reach). 

 

Back home, he had a slice of pizza, and Chris got him in the bath right away.  We watched some goofy baking shows on TV, and Chris and Ezra played some of the wacky games we have around here.  Twister.  Connect four, 3D Edition.  Gum Guys.  After family worship he and Chris went into the bedroom to read a book and hit the sack.  In a few minutes I got a phone call.  From Chris.  Seems she had sent me a text, but it didn’t come through right away.  She wanted me to come get Freddy out of the bedroom so she would stop pacing and whining and trying to jump on the bed.  It was just a bit distracting.  I headed back, and the text came through.  Of course.  I grabbed Freddy and we snuggled in on the couch.  It took Ezra just a few minutes to settle in himself, and he was out like a light.  Chris and I followed shortly thereafter.  Ho Hum.  Call it a night.

 

John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

 

Father, thank you for the safety we experienced on the road yesterday.  Traffic was pretty crazy.  Amen.

April 23 – “And finally …”

As you might have gathered … I made a return trip to the AT&T store.  But not after doing one of those computer chats with a technician online.  Not helpful.  They simply referred me to one of the articles I had already read that didn’t deal with the issue at hand.  But by yesterday morning the phones had been supposedly pairing for 20 hours and … nothing. 

 

This time at the store I was greeted by a young lady.  I figured I was in good hands.  She was certainly young enough to be my granddaughter, that garnered her all the tech respect she needed as far as I was concerned.  Come to find out, when I left the store the day before and exited the store’s wifi, the pairing process actually stopped.  It did not resume when we got home, as we were told it would, in spite of the fact that both phones were plugged in.  It would have, however, had I started everything from scratch.  That’s what she did for me at the store.  I decided to leave the phones in their care this time.  As I walked out the door, the girl said, “I’ll call you when it’s ready … umm … uh …”  I just grinned.  Suddenly realizing the futility of her statement, since my phone was sitting next to her on the table, she did her best to backtrack.  I bailed her out, though.  I just assured her that I would be back. 

 

Back at home, I helped Chris with some yardwork.  She was cleaning out one of the flowerbeds.  Yep.  That is one of those never-ending tasks.  I trimmed some bushes.  Teamwork and all that …

 

After about two hours, I went back to check on the phones.  Found out that it finished updating the operating system about an hour after I left, but they couldn’t continue because they didn’t have my Apple ID or password.  I entered that, and the actual transferring of everything began.  She assured me it would only take ten minutes or so.  In fact, the screen said it would be eight minutes.  It finally finished with the operable stuff about twenty or thirty minutes later.  The rest of the apps still had to download, but that could happen anywhere.  I came home and hooked back up with our wifi to get that done.  And finally, I have a new phone. 

 

Well, except for the fact that now I had to enter in my passwords in all the apps that I use all the time.  Oh, and I tried to use Chris’ charger last night to get it up to 100 %.  Nope.  Somehow it decided that 49% was all I needed.  Very strange.  I have it hooked up to the new one I got for free with the purchase of the phone.  Almost done already.  Super speed.  I’ll get it figured out soon enough.  Maybe by the time it is paid off in three years?

 

John 1:29 says, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”

 

Father, thank you for people like that young lady who helped me out at the store.  I guess we all understand different things.  Amen.

April 22 – “Transferring data”

We finally took the plunge.  My phone just wouldn’t hold a charge for very long, so we headed in to the AT&T store and bought a new one.  Great phone … I guess.  At least it looks nice on the outside.  I hit the “transferring data” switch to get the stuff on my phone over to the new one.  Let’s see … that was at 11:50 yesterday morning.  It’s now 6:15 the following day.  Still says “transferring data.”  Is it possible that there is that much data to be transferred?  Seems like it could have transferred everything two or three times by now.  I have no idea what to do now.  Guess I’ll be making a quick trip over to the AT&T store.   Unless somebody out there has any ideas …

 

We did get in a walk yesterday.  Two miler.  It felt kind of strange to be walking on totally flat ground after our mountain hiking experiences in Utah and Colorado.  We both did fine, though.  Eased right into a steady pace.  Chris didn’t have any trouble with her breathing or heart rate.  Guess she’s an Island girl at heart (see what I did there?  “At heart”?).

 

It was also our day to clean house.  Hey.  I helped.  I did the vacuuming.  We had to get the place “presentable” for home group last night.  After all, it’s been three weeks since we last met.  And we did have a pretty good session.  We are doing a quick repeat of a two session series on angels.  We have done it once before a long time ago, but the subject has come up several times in our recent Old Testament study.  After next week, we will be gone again for two weeks, then we’ll get started on the book of Ruth. 

 

Just checked … still “Transferring data” …

 

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

 

Father, thank you for the folks we get to see regularly at home group.  Help them continue to grow in their knowledge of you and your word.  Amen.

April 21 – “Great breakfast!”

Great breakfast!  No, that’s not a new cussword going around.  Chris fixed me an actual bacon and cheese omelet for breakfast.  Greta stuff.  Sam had some scrambled eggs and a banana.  Chris just stuck with scrambled eggs.  Well, her version of it, complete with all of her veggie-additions.

 

The two ladies took off for Sam’s follow-up appointment on her eye.  All is well there, so far.  She goes back in a week to get checked again, but in the meantime she only has to wear her eye guard at night while she sleeps.  Meanwhile Chris did some shopping.  Hobby Lobby may or may not have been involved, but no money was spent at that location.  She did, however, find a pair of sandals at J.C. Penney’s.  She’s been searching for a certain style for months, and these were on sale to boot (See what I did there?  Shoes on sale “to BOOT”?  Yuk. Yuk). 

 

While they were gone I did some work here, but the highlight for me was my walk to the bank.  No big deal or anything.  Just making a deposit.  But taking a walk with an actual purpose at the end?  Priceless.  Plus, it felt like I was getting some actual exercise again.  Not that I have particularly missed the 400 foot incline hikes, or anything.  Besides, I haven’t been inside the bank lobby for a long time.  They actually remembered me, though.  Even asked if I was still working at the church.  I’ll have to stop by more often. 

 

After lunch, Sam headed on home.  Chris and I got started watching the new Batman movie on TV.  We had no idea it was a three hour movie, though.  I guess it was pretty good, though.  Kind of dark, but it was interesting to see the development of the criminals, especially.  Catwoman and Penguin had key roles.  My favorite character, however, only had about a thirty second part, and you never could see his body – just a small portion of his face.  But, oh, that laugh.  Couldn’t be anyone but … The Joker.

 

Last night we watched some of the Astros game.  Odorizzi gave up six runs in the first inning and only got two outs.  And Ohtani had a perfect game into the sixth inning against the ‘Stros.  Poor guys.

 

John 13:14 says, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”

 

Father, thanks for the good report for Sam.  Please keep on healing her eye.  Amen.

April 20 – “Eye see …”

It was up and at ‘em early once again yesterday.  This time the reason was that we had been enlisted to take Sam in for her cataract surgery.  Gotta take care of family, you know. 

 

It was cold and blustery outside.  Better than being cold and blustery inside, I guess.  It felt kind of like a typical “Easter sunrise service on the beach weather” kind of day.  Boy, Kel sure doesn’t know how lucky he was for his first one.  It was downright warm for him.  And the water was actually quite pleasant. 

 

But back to yesterday.  Sam arrived at our house a little before 6 a.m.  She handed me a package to be put in the fridge right away.  Could it be?  Yes.  She had made one of her key lime pies for later in the day.  That’ll be worth the wait.  We loaded her right into pour car and made the drive into Texas to the Victory Lakes version of UTMB.  We arrived a little before 7 a.m.   Hey.  If you’re on time you’re late, right?  The surgery didn’t take very long at all.  In fact, we were back in the car right around 10 a.m.  She was wearing her pirate eye patch with pride.  Only this one wasn’t a real pirate patch.  It was a clear plastic deal taped to her head that did cover her eye, but it also allowed her to see the eye.  Well … of course she would have to look at it through a mirror.  Kind of hard to look at your own eyes otherwise. 

 

Sam spent the night with us last night.  She spent most of the afternoon and then last night sleeping off the anesthesia.  She made her way in for lunch and supper, but she didn’t even want to watch the Astros game.  Not a problem for us, though.  She is always welcome here.  She has a follow-up appointment this morning, so Chris will take her in for that one.  If all goes well, she should be released for all activity.  Back to that wild and crazy life of hers, I suppose. 

 

James 1:2-3 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

 

Father, please continue the healing on Sam’s eye.  And give her some relief of the other pain she experiences every day.  Amen.

April 19 - “Off with honors”

I spent my morning working on some Thursday Bible study prep. We have two meetings before our next trip. Possibly a study on angels? Or just continue right on into Ruth?  

 

Late morning, we left to go to a funeral for Ed Jackson, a longtime Seasider. The service was at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Houston. Ed was honored by a live playing of taps (not an easy task), a folding and presentation of an American flag by the Navy, a presentation by a veterans’ group, a presentation of a Texas flag by Pasadena police officers (Ed was a policeman there for many years), and another presentation that came from a lady we had no clue who she represented.  Me and the other pastor chose the same verse from John about Jesus preparing a place in heaven for us and coming back to get us. Good thing, since we were only allowed 20 minutes for the entire service. I just prayed, then closed with what Ed always said to me … Go Astros! 

We went to his daughter’s church for lunch after the ceremony. That was all the way up in Tomball. It made for a long way back south to home. 

 

On the way back, we kept track of Jachin’s baseball game. Bad guys won 7-1, but he got to pitch a few innings.  Then we stopped in Friendswood to watch Cailyn’s junior high team play soccer. Bad guys won there, too - 5-0.   Cailyn played the whole game at center midfielder. No matter the outcome, I am still proud of my Vaughan athletes.

 

John 14:1-3 says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

 

Father, please watch over Ed’s family as they walk through grief. Welcome Ed into one of those special places you’ve been working on. Amen.

April 18 – “all the bluster I could muster”

As I briefly mentioned yesterday … Happy Resurrection Day!  Well, Day After, anyway.  We had quite the day yesterday, too.

 

Cailyn and Noa had spent the night with us on Saturday.  I went in with all the bluster I could muster, all prepared to flash on the light and sing “I’m a Nut” to assist them in their waking up process.  Wouldn’t want to disappoint them or anything.  Imagine my surprise when I pushed open the door to reach for the light switch … and there sat the girls, already awake.  In fact, Cailyn was busily braiding Noa’s hair for her.  At 4:15 a.m.  Huh.  Rats.  I must be slipping.

 

Around 700 people gathered on the beach for Kel’s first Easter sunrise service as the new pastor.  It was very cloudy, so we didn’t get to see the actual sunrise.  That was a disappointment.  But we did get a visit from quite a few seagulls, only a few pelicans, and two dolphins who peeked their heads up briefly to see what was going on over on their beach.  We had four baptisms.  Kel asked me to join him in the water, which was not all that cold, by the way.  Always an honor.  There was one child, one teenager, and two adults.  Welcome to the family. guys.

 

Around three hundred came over to the church for breakfast.  It was the most we have ever hosted for that meal.  As a result, there was not a lot left over this year.  Oh, and we also had 60 more at the 10:00 service.  Most of them had not been there at 6:30.  Pretty exciting stuff.

 

Cailyn and Josiah came over after church.  They ran across the street and enlisted Brennan's help to play some kind of wacky football/soccer/kick the ball over the neighbor’s fence kind of game.  They were outside most of the afternoon. 

 

We took our two kiddos home around 3.  That gave us a chance to give the families their souvenirs from our trip, but we did just barely miss Nathan.  He had to leave for work.  Kel and the rest of his crew were all home when we got there, though.  We left there when Ezra and Noa disappeared outside to go off chasing the ice cream truck.  Talk about old school.  Yep.  That’s still a thing, though.  At least it is in their neighborhood. 

 

Romans 3:23-24 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.”

 

Father, thank you for drawing all those folks to the services on Sunday.  Always amazing.  Amen.

April 17 - “Resurrection Day!”

I began the day trying to itemize my new critters into the proper file box on the computer. That’s a lot of doing for 18 newbies. I didn’t finish all I need to do with them, but I at least have pictures and names. The last thing I did with them was arrange them on the table as a centerpiece. Gorgeous. 

 

For lunch Nathan and April and Cailyn as well as Kel and Christina and all their kids came over for our family Easter celebration. Chris had a big roast cooking in the crockpot. Corn and green beans and rice on the stove. The girls brought salad stuff, raw vegetables, and even some chips and salsa. Everybody threw something together and we had a great feast. After the meal, the kids dyed some Easter eggs, another family tradition. Then they all filed out to the front yard (after Chris’ photo op, of course), and had a big egg hunt. 

 

The families began heading home soon thereafter. Well, except for Noa and Cailyn. They stick around and spent the night with us. Girls’ night at Nana’s. They couldn’t stay up late, though. We had to get up around 4:30 this morning. Why? Easter sunrise service on the beach. Starts at 6:30 with breakfast at the church to follow. Kel asked me to help him with the four baptisms he has scheduled. Here we go …

 

Matthew 28:6 says, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” 

 

Father, thank you for the resurrection. It changed everything. Amen.

April 16 – “5,000 mile checkup”

It took a while, but I finally managed to get all of our retirement vacation critters together in one place for a welcome home photo.  I haven’t posted it yet, but they are all still sitting around on our dining room table.  All 18 of them.  Quite the addition to the family, don’t you think?

 

We took our car in to the shop for its 5,000 mile checkup.  Yep.  Chris figured up that we drove 5,000 plus miles this trip.  Is that even possible in three weeks?  Dennis said that after an oil change and new air filter, we are good to go again.  So we will.  Give us a week or two to recuperate first, though.

 

Back at the house, we decided to wash the car.  Well, Chris decided to vacuum out the inside, and I did have washing it on my “eventually” list.  So, we dove right in.  That thing was pretty filthy.  It was fun, though.  Chris tried to spray me with the hose at one point, but I had my secret weapon all prepared.  I was wearing my hearing aids.  That would be my “can’t get wet” hearing aids.  I offered to go take them off if she really wanted to play that game.  She made a split-second decision.  Nope.  No water fight today.

 

One of our neighbors walked down to check on us.  Seems several others have been asking about our whereabouts.  How about that?  I suppose it’s good to be missed, even by people we don’t know all that well. 

 

Last night we went to the Good Friday prayer service at Seaside.  It was a pretty small crowd, but Kel did a good job putting it together.  He played videos of several songs that were brand new and did a directed prayer time not just for the Easter service, but also for many other concerns from family physical needs to national and international political situations. 

 

We ended the day by watching some of the Astros game against Seattle.  Chris bailed early.  I made it through until the score was 4-0 bad guys.  Glad I went to bed when I did.  Final score was 11-1 bad guys.  At least our boys didn’t get shut out.

 

Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

 

Father, please be with the services on Sunday.  Draw those folks there who you want to be there.  And be with the ones getting baptized.  Amen.

 

April 15 – “Feelin’ like a Monday”

Hmm.  April 15.  Isn’t that supposed to be some kind of special holiday or something?  Guess I’ve been out of pocket for too long.  It’ll come to me …

 

Well, yesterday felt a lot like a Monday to me.  Not in a sad, back-to-the-old-grind, bluesy kind of way.  It’s just that we were back at home, so I had to catch up on all the little Monday chores I have missed so desperately for the last three weeks.  I guess paramount among those was paying the bills.  We did have a few in the mail pile that I also had to wade through.  You don’t realize just how much junk mail you get from day to day until you have three weeks’ worth of it to cull through.  We also had to make a trip to WalMart.  Nothing in particular unless you want to include … food.  Our cupboard was pretty bare, so we had to make a full-size grocery run.  Guess that counted as our hike for the day.  We did run into Stephanie from church.  She had her grandson Grayson with her, and he ran over and gave each of us a hug.  That’s a fine way to be welcomed home. 

 

We were also blessed with an opening in our hairdresser’s schedule.  For me, I guess she would be a stylist or even a barber.  For Chris, she is hairdresser.  I don’t know what she likes to be called, other than Suzann.  She is great at what she does.  And she was especially appreciated yesterday when she found openings for both of us in her schedule.  Sure feels great to have short hair again.  It was really driving me crazy.  I guess it was fine for the cold weather we have been experiencing, but back here on the Island, I want it short.  Thanks, Suzann, for making a welcome home spot for us.

 

While we are on thank you’s, here’s a shout-out to our great neighbors, the Gerans’.  They took care of Freddy until Kel came and took her home with him.  But they came over every day and got our mail and newspaper.  And as an unexpected bonus, they mowed our grass.  That was a big task, too.  Not so much because we have a big yard.  It’s just that the weeds were being particularly aggressive.  Thank you , Corey and Janell, for being careful watchmen while we were gone. 

 

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

 

Father, thank you as well for the great friends and family you have blessed us with.  Amen.

April 14 – “Being Home”

We stuck around Waco for a while yesterday, but we were getting a little anxious to get back home.  We finally got on the road around 10:30 or so.  The trip itself was, for the most part, uneventful.  About the most exciting part was the fact that it actually rained on us some of the time.  Our car sure needed the rinse-off after all that time in the red dirt.  It is filthy.  Oh, and we stopped at Buc-ees for some gas and lunch.  That’s always a treat, I guess.  We had our usual.  Chris had a chicken fajita taco.  I had a BLT.  Well, half of one.  I ate the rest for supper last night.  They put lots of bacon on those things. 

 

We stopped in LaMarque to say hi to Kel and his family.  And to pick up Freddy.  She has been staying with them while we were gone.  They found out that the coyotes were really on the prowl in our neighborhood, so they took her to their house to be safe.  She was waiting at the door for us.  And when we sat down, we couldn’t keep her out of our laps.  It’s good to be missed, I guess. 

 

We finally officially arrived on the Island around 3:30.  We were gone for almost exactly three weeks.  We celebrated by crashing on the couch and watching some of the shows that taped while we were gone.  Missed the Astros game because of their noon start, but I’ll download their schedule today to stay on top of that.  Now to look toward Easter and then our next trip – to Florida – in a week or two. 

 

Matthew 26:38 says, “Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Stay here and keep watch with me.’”

 

Father, thank you for a safe trip back home.  Always good to be here.  Amen.