July 30 - “Company Coming”

Well, we had company coming, so you know what that meant. The big thing was, of course, cleaning house. Sweeping and vacuuming, primarily. At least I didn’t have to mop this time. 

We also had to make a major outdoor decision. Mow the grass or water the lawn. It wasn’t too hard to talk myself out of mowing. Of course, that meant I also had to follow my lovely mentor around the yard watering plants as well as grass. It’s hard to try to live up to someone with such a green thumb as Chris. 

And there was still one more major task on tap before the House could be deemed “ready.”  Freddy needed a bath. Not my favorite activity in the world, but Freddy is really chill about the whole thing. 

Finally we were able to take a breath. I used the opportunity to add a piece or two to the

jigsaw puzzle. And I may or may not have dozed off. Just for a minute … or twenty. 

Our final task of the afternoon was errands. Just two. First was Pets Mart. Freddy has been out  of her chew sticks for a while now. We grabbed an extra package. 

Finally, we went to Randall’s again. We each had a prescription to pick up. And believe it or not … we drove right past Walmart and didn’t go in.  

After all that preparation, it was great to welcome Josh and Christi and their kiddos. Well, Zak and Lindsey and Owen (a friend) won’t get here until tonight sometime. Beach today.  Let’s go. 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬ says, Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.

Father, thank you for the safe journeys. Amen. 

July 29 - “The Duct Tape Drive”

Chris had a PT appointment yesterday. As we were driving in, I saw something in the parking lot that caught my attention. It was one of those smaller vans. And it had apparently been through the wringer. I have no idea of the extent of its injuries, but the thing that grabbed my eye was … duct tape. 

Yep. Duct tape. The entire roof was nothing but duct tape. And to make sure it didn’t fly off, there was strip after strip after strip wrapped around and around the middle of the vehicle, resulting in a massive, four foot wide anchor strip of duct tape. Looked like some little kid’s favorite hot wheels car got stepped on, so Dad volunteered to take care of it. Hey. You can’t beat duct tape. It’s a miracle. 

Speaking of duct tape, the physical therapist who had Chris indicated that there was some kind of confusion in the doctor’s orders. He specifically told Chris no strengthening exercises yet. That was even in his most recent notes. But apparently in his “usual protocol” for shoulder surgery, strengthening exercises should have already been happening. 

Nope. That was NOT happening, however, on Chris’ watch. She was determined to follow what the doc told her no matter what. The therapist acquiesced, grudgingly. But she promised that her boss would contact the doctor to get everything clarified. 

After some lunch we made a quick trip to Walmart. Bananas and some hamburger patties for one of the meals when the Waco bunch is here. They should be in sometime late tonight. Here we go. 

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭4‬ says, He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away.

Father, thank you for Chris’ determination to follow doctor’s orders. But thanks too for the therapist’s commitment to ask questions when something was not clear. Bless ‘em both. Amen. 

July 28 - “Awarded”

Our Great Northern Wasteland dear friends stopped by the house on their way home. We thought maybe they got lost again. But no. They came by on purpose to tell us goodbye. And they also had a presentation to make. I received an award for Husband of the Year. They just appreciated me taking care of their sweet friend Chris. Hey. I’ll take encouragement wherever I can get it. Seriously, though … Thank you, Guys, for the gift card. It will be put to good use real soon. 

The rest of the afternoon we texted back and forth with Kel and Christina. They were finalizing plans and commitments for our trip to Virginia next month. I think that one’s gonna be a lot of fun. 

‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭19‬ says, My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

Father, thank you for the encouragement from our friends. They are really special. Amen. 

July 27 - “The Dedication”

Over 100 folks joined us at Seaside yesterday. It was our big 30th anniversary celebration. Some were Seasiders past. Others were current (or maybe future Seasiders). The mayor and city manager were both there. Even a representative from the office of our Texas state house representative came. 

After the regular worship service, we heard from the dignitaries (and one not-so-dignified … that would be me). Kel then explained the dedication of the retreat center and the opportunity to give to the Sam Criswell endowment fund. All that was followed by a great barbecue lunch. Great job, volunteers. 

Our Northerners tried to get back to their Air B&B, but somehow found themselves in the swamps somewhere near the Bay. They ended up just coming back over here. We talked and laughed the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening. Great friends. Great love. 

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ says, Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.

Father, thank you for the many folks who made it out to the service and dedication. Bless them. And thanks again for our good friends. Be with them on their ride back home. Amen. 

July 26 - “Happy 30th Anniversary, Seaside”

Super clean house day. Not meaning that the cleaner of the house was anything special. Just that expectations were running high. We were expecting. No, not a baby. Well, our wives might have something to say about that. 

But nope. It was the Winkles and the Huntley’s. They were coming down for Seaside’s big 30th Anniversary celebration, which is today, if you haven’t heard. Looking for a place to go to church in Galveston this morning? Can’t beat this one. Great service on tap (is that something you can say about church services?). People coming back to visit from eras past. Big dedication of the renovated retreat center in honor of long-time Seasider, Sam Criswell. And to top it all off … barbecue lunch provided! I for one can’t wait. 

Last night we met up with our Northern compatriots. First order of business … a Galveston supper. Well, at least we ate it in Galveston. Not seafood, though. We went for Mexican instead. Salsa’s. Hey. This one was all about Chris, so that was her choice. Our wait was about 20 minutes going in, but when we left there were people everywhere waiting to get in. Welcome to Galveston on a Summer Saturday night. 

We all went back to our house and enjoyed chatting about life and Alaska trips and ice cream. Yep. Blue Bell may or may not have made an appearance. The new lava cake extravaganza was certainly popular. 

Just as everyone was leaving for their air B&B, I got a text from our friend Jim Stone. It was my introduction of sorts to his newest granddaughter. She is gorgeous, of course. So tiny. Many congrats, Grandparents Jim and Laura and Mom and Dad Jimmy and Mary. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭17‬:‭17‬ says, A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.

Father, thanks for watching over the Northerners on their journey. And thanks for that brand-new, beautiful little baby girl. Walk with her parents (and grandparents) as they guide her in your ways. Amen. 

July 25 - “… at work all around”

I picked up some more duties. Well, just some repeats from last week. It was time once again to water Chris’ plants. She mixed up the plant food and pointed me in the right direction. So … check. 

I gotta say, by the way, that she is doing a great job rehabbing that shoulder. She does the exercises faithfully, leaves the sling off around the house and makes sure the physical therapist follows the doctor’s directions to avoid strengthening exercises so far. She doesn’t see him again until September. 

Josh gave us his weekly Friday call. Said he’s had a really good week. He’s seen God work a miracle in two different people’s lives. He really needed that. It’s always a good thing to be reminded that God is always at work around us, even if we can’t see it. 

In the afternoon we live-streamed the Worship Lab concluding service. That’s where Caleb has spent the week. It was great to see teenagers so excited about leading worship with their many different skill sets. Meanwhile, Christi sent us videos of AnnaGrace dancing. She spent the week at Broadway Dance Camp. Lots of fun to watch the kiddos rocking out to tunes from Wicked and High School Musical. 

Needless to say, we are getting excited to see those Wacoans here next week.

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬ says, No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.

Father, thank you for the miracles you worked in Waco this past week. Josh really needed to see that you are in control all the  time. Amen.

July 24 - “The Eye of the Storm”

Tropical Storm. Bearing down upon us. Closer and closer. What havoc will it cause? What horrendous devastation will it bring? Gale force winds? Rapidly rising flood waters? Dangerous rip currents? 

Oops. Sorry. That was the opening line of my application to work at the Weather Channel …

Just kidding. Well … there was a really nice breeze as I mowed the grass. And edged.  And swept. Three and a half hours. Only real issue as of my morning chores was … mosquitoes. Lots and lots of mosquitoes. 

We did make a quick errand run. CVS for some of Chris’ vitamins. And while we were out, why not Walmart? Bananas. 

Oh, and Tropical Storm Bertha finally came ashore. It was kind of hard to notice. The light wind stopped blowing altogether, and it got eerily still. That was it for the eye of the storm. It did finally rain a little bit. Not hard or anything. In fact it was weird. Kind of like walking into a room that was just … water. Soft, pillowy, embraced you with a wet hug. This storm has been strange since day one. But it’s over now. Moving on …

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭32‬ says, And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

Father, thank you for your protection during what we did get of this storm. The rain was especially nice. Amen. 

July 23 - “Chattin’ with the Ed’s”

Yesterday was another PT day for Chris. And she wasn’t the only one back there. Ed from church came through at one point. He was there following doctor’s orders to get in his cardiac rehab. He showed me a selfie he took with Chris in the back room. I cautioned him against spending too much much time with my bride. 

 After he left, another couple arrived. The guy (another Ed) was a retired fire fighter for Galveston. Somehow he knew who I was, so he struck up a conversation with me. And, boy, could he ever talk. He had story after story about his time with the department. Old school. He also knew Nathan. Remembered him well, in fact, because Nathan was so well-trained when he joined Galveston. He was quite impressed. Thanks for the chat, Ed. 

Back at home I began the process of figuring out a discrepancy with one of the charges on our Discover bill. Whatever the item was, it came through Amazon. Started there. All they could tell me was that it was from another vendor who was just registered through Amazon. They suggested I contact Discover.  So … no help there. I moved to Discover. Problem there was that they are in the process of transferring over to be Capital One. Website it’s down indefinitely. Great. I’ll keep searching. 

We are still keeping an eye on the Gulf. Most reports said Tropical Storm Bertha was not going to amount to much. It weakened when it went over Louisiana, but then it eased back into the Gulf again. Now we just have to wait and see. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭25‬ says, This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Father, be with the Ed’s. Keep them safe and bless them. Amen. 

July 22 - “Pulleys and broomstick”

Chris had her big six-week checkup with the surgeon yesterday. He seemed very pleased with where she was in her physical therapy. He said she needed to keep working on the “Pulleys and broomstick.” Must be some sort of code.

He said she could lose the pillow part of the sling, but to hang onto the sling itself. It would come in handy with groups of people, reminding them to be careful. It would also remind her to behave herself. 

He said we were OK to go on the trip to Virginia. I told him that was good, because we needed her to carry all the suitcases. She was quick to assure him that we had three six feet tall grandsons. He mentioned something about having our own pack of Sherpas. Is that a good thing?

On the way home we stopped by and chatted with Nathan and Cailyn. He was getting ready for work. She was using a day off to rest and recuperate. She apparently had had some light-headedness issues at work the day before. Sounded like she could use the break. 

I guess I haven’t even mentioned our latest good friend. She is from … ummmm … Florida? Fun name. Goes by Bertha. Tropical Storm Bertha. At this point it doesn’t look like she will be paying us a visit. Well, maybe a little wind and rain. But it’s still too early to nail that in stone. 

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭31‬:‭25‬ says, “for I satisfy the thirsty person and feed all those who are weak.”

Father, be with those who have to deal directly with the storm. Amen. 

July 21 - “Two big questions”

It kinda felt like a Thursday around our house. Why? Because it was suddenly clean house day. Sweep and vacuum duty for me. Chris cleaned the bathrooms. Had to get it up to snuff for when Suzann came over to cut my hair. 

Yep. We once again engaged the services of “Have Scissors. Will Travel.”  She’s amazing to do that for us. It always feels so … cool. 

But first … physical therapy. Chris had two scheduled for this week. And sandwiched in between? The follow-up visit to the surgeon. That’s today. Two big questions for today: 

1. Will she be allowed to drop the sling? 
2. What can he do about her knee?

That knee has been giving her some real trouble. Sneaks up on her. Sometimes locks up on her. Last time that happened she almost fell. Then it was a good 30 minutes before she could more effectively move again. And that was after we applied some heat. Other times she said it felt like a tendon or nerve or something in there had tried to move, but seemed to get caught on something. Then it released, and snapped back into place, causing great pain. She needs some relief, Doc. 

But before we leave the wonderful world of physical therapy, after we got all the way home, and I was well into my fabulous haircut with “Have Scissors, Will Travel” Suzann, Chris had a phone call from the PT office. Seems they forgot to have her sign a form that had to have before they can request the next round of therapy from the insurance company. 

That meant it was back out into the heat for another foray into the therapy dome. Actually not a dome, just an old refurbished mall, but dome sounds cooler. Chris got the paper signed and returned in record time, and we were back on the road again. 

On the way home we stopped at Randall’s to get some ice cream for us (read here, grandkids). We also picked up four chickens for the church anniversary barbecue lunch. Got a great deal on the whole thing, too. Gotta love coupons. Even digital ones. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭14‬ says, How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

Father, thank you for the two workers at Randall’s who went out of their way to get us the deals on our stuff. Bless them. Amen. 

July 20 - “Bye Bye World Cup”

It was once again the Third Sunday. Happens every so often. And when it does, Seaside celebrates. That’s our regular dinner on the grounds day. And our folks didn’t disappoint. Lots of great food after worship. And great fellowship, too. In fact, we were happy to see John and Taylor and Gus. They used to come to Seaside a while back, before they moved to North Texas. They have developed into quite the family of Messi fans (Argentina).

Speaking of which, it was really interesting to listen in on discussions about the World Cup. It was funny to hear just how many had never even watched soccer before this year’s World Cup. Now they are rabid fans. I’m sure they all really enjoyed the final game. The youth movement in Lamine and his Spain teammates took over World Cup domination from old-timer Messi and the reigning world champions from Argentina. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭21‬ says, Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.

Father, thanks for the chance to see Gus and his parents. Bless them. Amen. 

July 19 - “A random, gravy packet aisle moment”

The other day we were just minding our own business, doing some much-needed grocery shopping at Walmart. As we paused on the gravy packet aisle, a random lady stopped and asked if she could pray for Chris’ arm.  All was fine until she lit into some tongue speaking. And then she asked Chris to move her arm up and down. Nope. Not happening. Thanks for the prayer though. 

We spent the morning yesterday (after an amazing night’s sleep - I didn’t wake up until 6) at the martial arts studio (or gym or facility or whatever they call it). Noa and Ezra were in a tournament. They both did their karate kata. That’s where they have memorized some movements designed to scare their opponent into submission. Then they did some actual sparring, where they wailed on each other. They both did awesomely, of course. Proud grandparents’ moment. 

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ says, And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Father, thank you for that Walmart lady’s heart. Bless her. Amen. 

July 18 - “Texas Grand Slam”

My body must have heard my mouth talking about getting up early yesterday. I started rousing off and on around 1:30. I finally gave up and got up at exactly 3:50. So what was so significant that my body’s morning alarm system went into overdrive? Fishing. 

Yep. The day had arrived for Ezra’s (and his brothers’) fishing trip. Not that we went deep sea. Or even out in the Bay. We just planned to do some casting over at the little park in Jamaica Beach. 

I grabbed some bait around 5.30. The gang arrived about 6, and we were off. 

It didn’t take long and we started catching fish. I caught a nice speckled trout. Kel caught a flounder. Josiah reeled in a redfish. There it was. Between us we had the coveted Texas Grand Slam.  Woohoo! Of course however, the flounder and red were too small to keep. So back into the drink they swam. That didn’t deter the efforts of the boys, though. They kept casting and pulling in specs and sand trout and croakers. It turned into quite the little mess of filets once that part of the day rolled around. 

Oh, and as a bonus for the boys, Terry from church joined us. He calmly and coolly tutored the boys on everything from holding the rod up when you get a fish to the finer points of throwing a cast net. Kel said Terry reminded him of how Uncle Jerry taught him about some fishing highlights. He reminded me of how Mr. Ken did the same with Josh and Nathan. It’s awesome how God places just the people we need into our lives … just when we need them. Thanks for letting God use you, Terry. 

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭59‬:‭16‬ says, But I will sing of Your strength and will joyfully proclaim Your faithful love in the morning. For You have been a stronghold for me, a refuge in my day of trouble.

Father, bless Terry. And thanks for those fish! Amen.