March 31 - “He is risen!”

Well, the big Easter weekend festivities have officially begun. Yesterday Seaside was asked to play a big part in the Jamaica Beach community Easter egg hunt and party at the park. We arranged to use the Galveston Baptist Association block party trailer. It has all sorts of things in it: bounce houses, popcorn machine, sno-cone machine, grill, even a variety of outdoor games. We also had folks helping with the egg hunt as well as just hanging out at some of the stations to help as needed. And we had the biggest turnout of people ever. Thanks and kudos to Seasider Sandy for being the go-between with the city. 

Also happening were the early preparations for Easter Sunday. Suzann and her crew were getting tables set up and decorated for the breakfast for the community that happens after the sunrise service. Greg had his team of musicians all tuned up, and the ones who plan to be on hand at 4:15 a.m. for set-up were fine-tuning their schedule of operations. Pastor Kel was busy with last-minute touches to his three sermons for the three different services: sunrise on the beach at 6:30, then 9:30 and 11:00. The ones scheduled for baptism in the beach were getting excited (as were the ones doing the baptizing).  The Jamaica Beach Volunteer Fire Department and police department were preparing for their respective roles overseeing operations for traffic and safety. And hundreds of people from the community and beyond were setting alarms to get there on time. Cailyn even made her way down to Galveston to spend the night with us so she could go to the sunrise service, too. 

All of that culminates today! Come on down to the beach (at Jamaica Beach) if you’re already awake. If you missed the 6:30 time, come on over to Seaside for some breakfast, and stay for the 9:30 service. Or if you slept in a bit, get here by 11 for the third service. See you soon!

Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭ says, For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Father, be with us this morning for all of the services. Especially be with those getting baptized and those who meet you for the first time. Amen. 

March 30 - “In the bushes”

Yesterday was for sure an outside kind of day. We started it off with our two mile walk. Back home, Chris decided that it was time to go ahead and plant the new azalea bushes we bought a few days ago. 

But that meant we had to take a preliminary step. There were three of the old kind of bushes still in the ground. All three were on the chopping block, so to speak. I got out the shovel. Yes, Chris allowed it to happen. Of course, some of the time she had her back turned. But wait. No. I didn’t get hurt. At least I don’t think so. I managed to use the shovel as a lever and my legs to apply the necessary force with as little as possible strain on my back. They actually came up a lot easier than I expected. 

Planting the new ones was the next challenge. As I still had the shovel in hand (I had been practicing my road worker leaning stances), I stepped up to dig the holes. Fortunately, most of the old roots had left the area with the old bushes. Holes were dug. Bushes dropped in. Water was applied. 

Now, while that extra-curricular activity was being accomplished, I snuck into the shed and got out my loppers. Way back after Hurricane Ike the city gave away some trees. The only requirement was that we had to agree to take care of them. We planted one in our front yard. It died. We planted the other in the neighbors’ yard. No one was living there at the time. Ever since then it has been one of my adventures - sneaking over there and keeping it trimmed. Now the present residents are fine with me doing it. On this particular day … Chris, not so much. She assured me that such actions and bodily movements were not on my surgeon’s approved list. I stopped. Well, actually I was already done with what I planned to do. Positives all around, right? Well … my back may or may not have gotten sore. Sigh. I see the neurosurgeon next Friday. Maybe he’ll just turn me loose …

Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ says, Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Father, thank you for Spring. It really is Chris’ favorite time of the year. Amen. 

March 29 - “Welcome back”

I took my regular day off yesterday. Chris plodded on with her walk and stairs. Then she attacked cleaning the house. Talk about commitment to one’s health. She’s my hero. 

I was forced to hang out indoors in the afternoon. Seems that it was OPENING DAY for the Astros. Had to watch what I could of that one. Sadly, the good guys lost. There were some sparks of good things to come, though. Welcome back, baseball. 

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭14‬ says, If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

Father, please be with all the folks who are playing a role in preparations for the sunrise service. Amen. 

March 28 - “Another one”

It was a little chilly at the start of the day. Down in the fifties. Not very promising for warming the water for the Easter Sunrise Service baptisms. It wouldn’t be so bad if I was just watching from a cruise ship like I did last year. But come Sunday I actually have two baptisms who have requested my presence in the water. Brrrr. 

Speaking of being out in the cold, we walked our two miles. And as usual, Chris kept going. She walked some stairs. She worked in her flower beds. She even did all her exercises. Amazing. 

We had to make yet another trip to … drumroll … Walmart, of course. This time it was to gather the supplies for the dishes Chris plans to make for the breakfast on Sunday after the Sunrise Service. Gonna be some good stuff. The breakfast will be good, too. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭24‬ ‭ says, The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.

Father, thank you for calling out these folks to follow you in baptism. Bless them mightily in their spiritual walk. Amen. 

March 27 - “Wing Ding”

I woke up at 4:30 yesterday. Yep. In the morning. Best I can figure, it was the Lord’s doing … so I could spend some time praying for my friend Bobby who was having surgery on his shoulder. I texted him to let him know I was praying, and he sent back a selfie of him in the hospital bed, all gowned up and ready to go for his (his words here) “Wing Ding.”  Very creative, my friend. 

Speaking of wing dings … Nathan came by. He was heading to a lunch date with his lovely wife. Stopped by our house to drop off some bed slats he had in his garage for us to use in Sam’s room. No problem in there. Just an upgrade. 

Nathan did alert us to a big shirt sale over at Academy. That would be a big sale on shirts. They had little ones, too. On top of that I had a coupon for $10 off any purchase of $10 or more. Of course the shirt I got came to $9.97. That meant I was forced to buy a Kit Kat bar to make the coupon effective. Ah, the sacrifices we make …

Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭24‬ says, Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Father, please continue to be with Bobby and Nathan in their recoveries. Amen. 

March 26 - “Damsel”

We made it through our two miles before the rain struck. The wet stuff didn’t really last all that long, but I wouldn’t have been all that excited about walking in it. Now, dancing might have been another story …

In the afternoon we headed “out east,” meaning to the east end of the island. Chris had her regular oncologist appointment for a checkup. All was well for another three months. Mine wasn’t exactly an appointment. I just had to show up for x-rays on my back to make sure my metallic implants are still holding everything together. The technician seemed to think all was well back there. Woohoo. 

Last night we watched a movie on Netflix. “Damsel.” It starred one of my favorite actresses. Don’t know her real name, but she played Ebola Holmes and Eleven in other roles. Lots of action. And … a dragon. Who doesn’t love a dragon?

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭8‬ says, For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.

Father, thank you for the good news from Chris’ appointment. Keep those coming. Amen. 

March 25 - “Sneaky Candy”

I have another anecdote from the Hike for Hope on Saturday.   

It starts when I realized that The Galveston County Satanists had a booth. They were shaping and giving away balloons. Black and red balloons. Apparently, Satanists are among those groups that tend to have a lot of suicides.  

One of the local Galveston churches requested a booth next to them. Great try. They didn’t get it though. In fact they were across 

the field from them. But the Christians went over and chatted with them. They loved on the Satanists and showed them great kindness. Very Christlike. Nice job. 

After church yesterday we had six of our grandkids (and their parents) come over for a little family Easter celebration a week early. Chris had a big roast in the crockpot, and she and April and Christina added rice and green beans and a tray of vegetables and a salad later. Good stuff. Oh. And special thanks to April for two things. She washed all the dishes and more significantly … she brought sopapilla cheesecake. That one is a real favorite. I tried to hide it, but once it was discovered, it was devoured. 

After lunch the kids all gathered around the table and dyed some Easter eggs. While that was going on, Jachin joined his uncles and good ol’ DadDad outside in hiding a bunch of those plastic eggs. He’s just old enough to be too old to hunt eggs, but not old enough to refuse his chance to set aside a handful for himself. Hey. We insisted. He’ll always be Nana’s little grandbaby. Those eggs, by the way, were filled with sneaky candy and even some actual change. Sneaky candy. That’s the kind that sounds like money when you shake it. You know - jelly beans and the like. Hey. Those youngsters are getting slick in their old age. Gotta at least try to stay a step ahead of ‘em. 

John‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬ says, So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

Father, thank you for the example of that church at the hike. Bless them for that. Amen. 

March 23 - “Hike for Hope”

I had to uniform up yesterday morning. It was time again for the Hike for Hope. It’s a 5K walk to raise money and awareness for suicide prevention. The organizers asked me to pray as the fire department chaplain. There were several hundred walkers plus untold others who came to be encouragers and to check out the food trucks and wares of the vendors. 

The fire department brought the brand new ladder truck out both to show it off a bit and to provide traffic control. The beach patrol had a truck out, and the police department provided a vehicle as well as their honor guard to open the ceremonies. 

Nathan brought Cailyn and a friend down for the walk. Sadly, Cailyn has had more than her share of experience with suicides. She’s had to grow up way too quickly when it comes to dealing with such a difficult situation. 

After a quick stop at Walmart for some groceries we needed for today’s Palm Sunday family lunch, we spent the rest of the day watching college basketball. Things are really heating up in the tournament. 

‭‭Esther‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ ‭ says, For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Father, please be with all the families who have to deal with the suicide of a loved one. Even years later, it has to be hard. Amen. 

March 23 - “More and more pictures”

I gave Texas Tech every chance at a comeback on Thursday, but I finally gave up when they fell behind by 15 or 16. No sense staying up til midnight for a debacle like that. And the massive upsets in other parts of the bracket (read here, Kentucky and BYU) have busted more brackets than just mine. Oh, more basketball to come. And then … Go Astros!

We hit the road again. Two miler to start us off. Then when we got back home, it was out to the back yard to attack some yard work. I got to use my favorite non-power tool - the loppers. Trimmed up some baby trees back there. Next I took a chance and raked some leaves. Probably not a great idea. My back did tighten up for sure. The backyard does look great, though. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon  going through pictures of Zakary. He is graduating in May, and his Mom asked us to send her our favorite 10 or 20. We have it narrowed down to 76. And we have to send them to her later today. It’s tough being grandparents. 

Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬ says, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Father, thank you for Zak. It was amazing watching how he has grown into a fine young man. Amen. 

March 22 - “Hundreds of thousands …”

We stayed in the house yesterday. Primary (read here, “only”) reason? Any one of hundreds of thousands. Hundreds of thousands of … raindrops. The weather finally cleared out in the late afternoon, and we ended up with a beautiful evening. 

All three of us spent some time working on that massive jigsaw puzzle (the 2000 piece one).  We are making some very slow progress. Hey. As long as I get one piece a day, I’m happy. 

After a supper of some tuna fish, we settled in to watch University of Texas play some tournament basketball. And pretty soon the home group folks began to arrive, so we switched gears to focus on 1 Samuel and the Life of David for a while. 

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬ ‭ says, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. 

Father, thank you for ensuring that we can read about and learn from a guy after your own heart. Amen. 

March 21 - “Truck passed”

I got an earlier than usual start yesterday. Well, I don’t include the 5 am wake up call from nowhere. I mean actually getting started outside the house. I had to take the truck in to Dennis to get an inspection. He forgot to tell me that he planned to sleep in, though. I ended up waking him up. Sorry about that, my friend. He says he is enjoying his semi-retirement. Oh, the truck passed. All ready to go grab the registration sticker. 

Our next stop was Chris’ doctor appointment. They had to draw some bloodwork as a preliminary to her other appointment with the cancer doctor next week. Praying that all is still well on that front. 

We did swing by the old courthouse downtown to get that sticker. I’m glad they kept these offices there. Gives people an excuse to experience at least a part of downtown. 

Oh, and while we were there we drove by the Cordray’s newest project. We saw an episode of their TV show (Restoring Galveston) the night before where they had begun working on the exterior. The structure is called The Mansard House. Not sure about its history. We missed the first part of the show. But they do a really good job restoring rather than demolishing old homes. And from the sounds of it, they plan to actually operate the house as an inn for tourists. More power to ya, guys!

Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭49‬ says, for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Father, thank you for Dennis and his willingness to get out of bed and inspect the truck. Bless him. Amen. 

March 20 - “Into the Twilight Zone”

Our yard man arrived around ten in the morning. Kel dropped off Josiah on his way to the church. Kel moved the battery into the truck for me before he left. Those things are heavy. Josiah attacked the yard, mowing and edging and even giving it all a blow-dry. Looks good. 

In the afternoon we somehow got hooked on a Twilight Zone Season One marathon. Actually, Josiah wanted to watch Quantum Leap, but I couldn’t find it being streamed anywhere for free. But the Twilight Zone black and white classics were a lot of fun. 

My work for the day involved some palm branches that I got from Walt and Mary at church. Yep. This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, so it’s gonna be a long week, even for allegedly retired PK. I got started on my goal of at least 100 palm crosses. They’re not that hard to make once you understand the folds and tucks, but my arthritic thumbs are really killing me now. 

Isaiah‬ ‭25‬:‭1‬ ‭ says, O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

Father, thank you for Josiah and his heart to help. Be with him as he works to make money for his karate stuff. Amen. 

March 19 - “Trudged …”

We trudged through another two miles yesterday. I say “trudged” because we had to walk against a 60 mph freezing wind. Uphill both ways. And it got worse every time we turned a corner. OK. So maybe it wasn’t 60 mph. And maybe it wasn’t freezing.  But the roads in our neighborhood do shift a little higher toward the middle. Drainage and all. Bottom line … we walked two miles. Check. 

After lunch I broke out a new puzzle. It’s a 2000 piece. Sam joined in the fun and started work on the perimeter while Chris and I went to Walmart to get some groceries. We finished the edge around 7 pm. That was enough. We retired to watch the Astros for a while, then switched to the cooking Tournament of Champions. 

Acts‬ ‭10‬:‭43‬ ‭ says, To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. 

Father, thank you for the cool weather for our walk. Felt really nice. Amen. 

March 18 - “Great God, you know”

We had a busy morning. Sam stayed home from church because she still didn’t feel very well after her treatment. Cailyn was with us as we took off, though. 

First we stopped off at Seaside to drop off our contribution of food for dinner on the grounds. Then we hopped back in the car and went over to the Jamaica Beach RV Park. They have a brief praise service on Sunday mornings, and I was filling in for the guy who has been doing a teaching for them. It was good to see the folks I haven’t seen in a while, and it’s always good to have another chance to share the gospel. 

We left after the service in kind of a hurry, both because it was beginning to rain and so that we could get back over to Seaside. After Kel’s teaching from Joshua, we enjoyed dinner on the grounds and hung out for the meeting detailing all the needs for the big Easter Sunrise Service. Gonna be another great one. Great God, you know. 

At home we got Sam something to eat, then took Cailyn back up to Santa Fe. We stayed for a while and chatted with Nathan and April. She was about to make some fresh bread. Wish we could have stayed longer. 

Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭ says, In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.

Father, thanks for you for being in control. Been hanging onto that truth this week. Amen. 

March 17 - “Transcending iPhones”

We were back to our old ways to kick the morning off. We walked two miles again. I hesitate to say that it’s getting any easier to actually do, but it is getting easier to say OK when Chris brings it up. 

Lunch was an easy one to put together. We both had leftovers from our Mexican food dinner the night before. I think Chris still has another meal left of hers, too. 

One highlight of our morning was our weekly phone chat with Josh. We were able to listen in as he and Luke and AnnaGrace dug up a bush in their front yard. They eventually dug up another one and then replanted them in the back yard. A lady in their church is a landscape designer, and she made several recommendations for them. And of course that means more chores for Josh. Oh, and he asked us to send them ten or twenty of our favorite Zak pictures for his senior slide show coming up. He said Zak was “pre-iPhone” so they didn’t have a lot to choose from. Of course Nani ‘s camera has always transcended iPhones. 

The other highlight of the day followed a different phone call. Cailyn asked if she could come over to spend the night and go with us to church today. Well, of course. We ate some ice cream, watched University of Houston lose, and played some Uzzle and Kings in the Corner. Cailyn worked on a cross stitch project, then she got out her stash of material and 

Chris helped her get started on another sewing project. Busy night. 

Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭28‬ ‭ says, “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Father, thank you for another chance to spend an evening with Cailyn. Gotta live that girl. Amen.