February 14 – “Valentine’s Day”

Today was our day to clean the church.  But first we got to play with Jachin and Micah for awhile before their parents showed up.  They were very excited about the "privilege" they had been afforded of sleeping on the floor in Nana and DadDad's bedroom.  I can't remember the last time I saw sleeping on the floor - or the ground in the case of camping – as a privilege.  Must have something to do with being young.   We went by the house to pick up the mail.  It was kind of exciting to walk around and look at all the plumbing stuff that has been done.  We have a faucet on the outside that wasn't there before.  Then there's that little refrigerator icemaker box.  And the bathtub and shower parts are all in.  They're still not finished, though.  The backyard faucet hasn't been connected yet.  And they haven't even begun the gas line work.  I don't know what all is needed there.    We drove through the rain to the church.  Not bad rain.  That came later in the day.  Just enough to make it feel miserable.  There was someone on the church grounds when we arrived.  We didn't recognize him at first.  His car didn't look familiar, either.  That made us think he was one of the guys working on the school building.  We went on inside so Chris could get started.  I had to go pick up the mail.  That's when I realized who the guy was.  Ned and his wife have been coming to Seaside for several months.  Great family.  Ned was following through on a call he received from God to do something.  Not something dramatic or newsworthy.  He was filling up a wheelbarrow with dirt and filling in holes around pilings.  All by himself.  Slow work.  One shovel full at a time.  He didn't have to be there.  He didn't broadcast that he was.  He just did it.  What he could, when he could do it.  We talked for awhile, then he invited us over for lunch.   Philippians 2:1-4 says: "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."   Father, bless Ned.  He was being like you today.  Amen.

February 13 – “Elbow Grease”

Today we went to the house first thing to work on stripping the fireplace again.  We were ready this time, too.  I borrowed Kel's power drill and we picked up two attachments made to wire brush rust off of cast iron.  Can it get any better than that?    The plumbers were there when we arrived.  Also a pretty good feeling.  We showed them the pictures of the cabinets.  Turns out what they really needed was a layout detailing measurements.  He said he would talk to our contractor about the questions he had.  He also told us he would do something that might help us avoid having our washing machine drain get stopped up so much.  Oh.  Did you know that if your refrigerator has an icemaker, and your plumber knows about it when your house is being built, there is probably a little box in the wall with the water hookups all ready to go?  Amazing.    We got ready to hook up the drill.  Extension cord.  Drill case.  And no wire brush attachments.  They were in the Explorer.  We were in the truck.  Back to the basics.  Elbow grease.  That's a code name for "pain."  We weren't very far in when Chris volunteered to go to Home Depot and get an attachment.  I hesitated for a moment.  Then I kissed her goodbye.  Thing is, when she got back and we got the drill going, we couldn't decide if it was doing any better than we were doing by hand.  I used it, though.  Clear up until it was time for us to go.  I'll compare later.   This afternoon we went to our neighbor's funeral.  It was at one of the local Catholic churches.  I was excited when I found out which priest would be doing the service.  He is a Franciscan, and wore the brown robes just like the pictures of St. Francis of Assisi.  And his theology was pretty good, too.  The church was packed.  Mom was loving it.  She saw friends and neighbors, and they all hugged and laughed.  It was quite the social event.  It fit the life of Walt, too.  He was nothing if not fun-loving.    As I type this I'm waiting for Jachin and Micah to get here.  They are going to spend the night with Nana and DadDad.  Their Mom and Dad are going to a show that doesn't start until 9 p.m.  This means we'll have three of our five grandchildren here.  I wonder if Jacob ever felt like this.  He had twelve boys and one girl.  I have a little way to go to catch up.  But these little ones are sure special.   Proverbs 17:6 says, "Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children."   Father, thank you for these little crowns.  Help me leave them a legacy of loving you.  Amen.

February 12 – “On Showers”

We went back to Lowe's this morning.  Chris must have had a bad dream or something.  She woke up and wanted to return one of the shower fixtures we bought just yesterday.  She wants to have a separate handle for the hot and cold water instead of one of those hotel-type things.  You know, it's round with one big handle.  You have to turn it until the water gets hot, then figure out which way is hot and which is cold.  Sometimes they have it marked.  Sometimes one side is red and the other is blue.  If you're lucky, the red side is hot, because that's what any normal person would expect.  But sometimes they get it hooked up backwards, so you really don't know which way to turn it.  And most of the time it is right in the middle of the stall, so you have to lean into it and get wet with all the cold water that is in the lines until the hot water heater kicks in.  Then it's too hot and you have to jump back out of the way and scream like a girl.  Not that I've ever had any experiences like that.    I felt OK, so I went on to Galveston to teach at SCA.  When I walked in, a little girl about 6 years old came up to me and handed me a Valentine she had made herself.  It had her name and "Pastor" written in her own handwriting on the back.  That was quite a treat.  She even gave me a hug.  As she walked back to her class, one of the high school guys asked me how to spell my name.  Then he handed me a little heart he had cut out for me.  Sweet.  Not to be outdone, one of the high school girls came up with a valentine she had just made with glitter glue.  It's nice to be remembered on such a major holiday.    I had the kids sit in a circle today for our lesson.  It worked well.  Or maybe it was just that it was different.  But they listened and participated.  At least for about 50 minutes.  That's all they can take at a time.   After school I met Chris at the house.  I met the plumbers there too.  They were going great.  They needed the plumbing, inside-the-wall part of the fixtures we are putting in the bathrooms for the bathtub-shower in the hall and the shower in the master bath.  Strangely enough, we had them with us.  When our contractor found out we had already brought them to the house, he couldn't stop talking about how we were the fastest homeowners he had ever worked with.  I guess that's a good thing.  Chris said it's just because we want to get into our house.  Yesterday.    Psalm 84:2 says, "My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."   Father, I want to want you as much as I want to go home.  Amen.

February 11 – “Design Department”

We have plumbers.  They aren't finished yet, but there is pipe in the attic and hanging down into the walls all over the place.  There is no access to any of it right now, but I have faith in these guys.  And I understand that the electricians are scheduled to come in pretty soon.  Progress.   Our contractor called this morning and needed to speak to the "design department" again.  That's his code for, "Let me talk to Chris.  You have no idea what you're talking about."  He's right.  He gave her some very specific tasks to do today.  They relate to the plumbers, so there is not much time to get it done.  That meant we had to go to Home Depot and Lowes today.  So much for a day of doing nothing to recuperate.  I still can't breathe.  I'm still sneezing.  My nose is still driving me crazy.  I'm about to call Christina and borrow some of her allergy stuff.  She squirts it up one side of her nose and it comes out the other.  Grosses her children out.  Kind of grosses me out, too.  But if it clears out the passages, I'm willing to try anything.   We did find the fixtures for both bathroom vanities and the shower and tub.  Then we ordered the cabinets for the buffet.  That's one of the areas we decided to take care of on our own instead of turning it over to the Amish cabinet guys.  Saved us a bunch of money.  The lady who took the order was new.  She had to ask about everything, but it sure helped us.  She managed to get the delivery fee completely waived.  Then she suggested we ask at the service desk if they would honor a credit promotion that just ended.  Twelve full months with no interest and no payments.  Now that will be a big help.  We'll get a few more dollars interest if nothing else.   I was exhausted when we finally got home.  Chris and Mom went on to church.  I'm staying around the house.  And around Cailyn.  Hey, she's the one who started this whole sick thing.  I don't think I'm going to give her anything.    I am pretty sad to have missed our little trip to Mansfield to see Caleb and Zakary, though.  Maybe we can fit in some time next week.     Psalms 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."   Father, that's some design department.  Amen.

February 10 – “Iron oxide exacerbated …”

My own personal version of Ike-induced influenza, exacerbated I'm certain by my flagrant disregard of mask etiquette when creating tiny particles of iron oxide dust in a relatively successful attempt at reclamation of our cast iron fireplace, has resurfaced with abandon, resulting in tenderness of throat, stuffiness of nose, and achiness of body.    I'm sick.  I didn't wear a mask when I scraped rust off of our fireplace.  And I'm sick.   We were supposed to go to Mansfield tomorrow to see our other brand new grandbaby, Caleb and his big brother Zakary (oh, yes, and their parents).  My current medical status places that trek on hold in an effort to protect them from Ike-germs.    I did try to go in to teach at Seaside Christian Academy today.  In fact, I got there.  But I couldn't stop sneezing.  And my nose wouldn't stop running.  So I decided the better part of valor would be to protect the kids there.  I did go to the school board meeting tonight with Chris.  Found out a lot of the younger kids already have it – whatever it is.  I tried to be helpful at the meeting – it was a pretty stressful one - but I couldn't concentrate very well.  For one thing, I had to keep blowing my nose.  And struggling to breathe.  But the biggest problem began after we arrived.  See, right after we got there I had a phone call.  The man who lived next door to us when I was growing up – and across the street from us now – died in his sleep last night.  Walt was a great guy.  Always had a smile.  Well, more like a sly grin – like he was up to something.  And he usually was.  He was the guy who dressed up like a toilet one Halloween.  Scared me.  He has been doing poorly since Ike.  In fact his wife told me, "Ike killed him."  He's the guy who spent hours and hours after the storm cleaning his tools to try to salvage them, only to have burglars steal them all.  He was pretty shook up by that.  But she did say he died peacefully.  "It was beautiful," she said.  The funeral is Friday.  It would be a tough trip under the best of circumstances to go up on one day and return the next.  But with the funeral Friday and the possibility of spreading Ike germs all over Texas, our decision not to go was the best one.   Revelation 20:6 says, "Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years."   Father, receive Walt into your care.  And comfort his family and friends.  We'll miss him.  Amen

February 8 – “Ike Flu”

Sunday.  Church day.  It's always really good to see the people who I know care about me and my family.  It's been especially good at Seaside.  It's one of those rare places where you can go ahead and be yourself and know that the people around you will love you anyway.  That's what the church is supposed to be for everybody.   This afternoon I worked on a new version of church bylaws that reflects what Seaside has become.  Several years ago the church asked a group to come up with a new set of bylaws that describes the separation of the covenant community's operations from what has in America become a protected administrative organization.  I'm fascinated by the church anyway, so this has been an interesting study for me.  Maybe someday we'll get Seaside to officially adopt it.  In the meantime, maybe I can include it in the next edition of my book (A Seaside Saga) – if that ever gets written.   I spent several hours on the couch with Chris trying to crunch numbers and see what part of the cabinets we can actually order and still have enough money left to get into the house.  It is extremely frustrating to try to stay on budget when you want to use whatever extra there might be (like there's going to be extra) on the cabinets, but we have to order them by Wednesday if we want them to arrive by the end of March.  This is one of those times when we're supposed to learn about taking a leap of faith, I guess.   One highlight of my day was when I got to hold Cailyn for awhile.  She has a cold.  Bad cough.  Everybody says it's rare for a newborn to get sick like that.  Somebody today said there's something going around they are calling "Ike flu."   Unexplained virus.  High fever.  Vomiting.  Dehydration.  Cody Allen has something like that and it put him in the hospital.  He's doing better now.  Supposed to go home tomorrow.  I pray Cailyn's OK.  We heard from Josh and Christi yesterday.  They were on their way to the emergency room up in Fort Worth with Caleb.  He was running a fever and was listless.  Sleeping all the time.  They said he had a cold, too.  Thought that was supposed to be rare.  And he couldn't have Ike flu, could he?    In Matthew 19:14-15, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."    Father, take care of our little guys.  And protect our island from that Ike flu stuff.  Amen.

February 9 – “Fasting”

No plumbers today.   But we found out something.  We took our brand new wire brushes to the house and went on the attack.  Chris started trying to scrape out several iron skillets and an iron iron that were all underwater.  She said she didn't get a lot done.  My job was the Franklin stove that bravely stood its ground through the flood.  I had no idea where to start or even if it was going to be worth it.  Well, I sure found out something.  Cast iron stoves are pretty resilient creatures.  I scraped off the entire top and it actually looks good.  Then I also tried to unscrew the stovepipe top so I could get to it better.  No such luck.  One screw came off with a lot of elbow grease, but the other absolutely refuses.  I put some of that rust remover stuff everywhere I could reach, but it still didn't help.  I guess I'll let it soak in for … ever.  It does look like we can salvage it, though.  That's exciting.   While we were hard at work we got a call from our contractor.  He had a few questions about the windows and patio door.  He said he would call back in thirty minutes or so, and then come over.  After about an hour it was 12:20 and we were getting hungry.  Chris decided to go get us a hamburger.  In fact she even offered to bring back one for the mailman.  He politely declined.  But as she started out the door, the phone rang.  The contractor was on his way.  That was when we "decided" to fast.  Actually we didn't know it would be a fast right away.  It just kind of turned out that way.  I know there are certain rules about fasting.  It's giving up something and replacing it with something else that you have determined you want to focus on.  That sure happened.  No lunch.  Replace it with talking about our house with the contractor.  For four hours.  He and Chris went over everything at least three more times.  I sure hope we have it nailed down now.  The plumbers are supposed to be there on Wednesday or Thursday.  We'll be out of town.  Not that we need to be there.  I just thought it would be fun to be around for the grand opening of their Sycamore job.   As soon as we got home … well, after I ate some pizza … I emailed the Amish cabinet guy.  We are going to order the cabinets for the kitchen only.  We'll do something else for the buffet and the bar cabinets.  Speaking of something else, we found out the regular framers could build a linen closet in the bathroom and save us several hundred dollars.  Always a nice thing to hear.    Isaiah 40:28-31 says, "Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."   Father, thanks again for little victories.  They remind me of the big victories that have been and are yet to come.  Amen.