November 14 – “Tightening the stranglehold”

Cailyn was with us all day today.  Her Mom and Dad went to the Renaissance Festival in whatever town that is that it's in.  They went with a bunch of their friends, so I'm sure they had a great time.  I know we had a pretty decent time here, too.  How could we not with that gorgeous little girl running around?    She actually didn't totally reject me this time.  That was a real plus about the experience.  She still preferred Chris when the going got tough, but we played together and she even came up to me and initiated play.  She was just tightening the stranglehold she already has.  That would be me around her little finger.   Chris was excited that the trash men actually hauled away the tree we cut down.  I was wondering if it would be considered too much or too heavy.  She said they did stand there for a very long time just looking at it.  I guess they were deciding if they could handle it.  I'm glad they took it, though.  Nathan said he found his harness, so now he wants to finish cutting down the magnolia tree.  He also said he would tackle trimming the pecan tree if we wanted him to.  I don't think his Mom or his wife will let him do that much.   Speaking of Nathan, he just called.  They are stuck in traffic.  It will probably be at least two more hours before they get here.  That means Cailyn may have to spend the night.  Ah, gee.   I did a wedding this afternoon.  It was a last minute, fill-in thing for one of the wedding coordinators at the San Luis Hotel.  We have become friends, and she and her husband have even been to Seaside.  The wedding was outside in the gazebo, and the weather was great.  The unity candles stayed lit just long enough for pictures before the wind blew them out.  Everybody was dressed to the hilt.  The reception spread was immense.  I didn't stay, but it was one of their best.  There were a few snafus, though – as usual.  One of the groomsmen didn't show up.  Nobody would tell the bride (would you?).  Instead, one of the other guys escorted two bridesmaids.  That guy was my favorite "character" in the wedding party.  He was funny, smiled all the time, and talked to anybody.  Oh, and he looked exactly like Magic Johnson, only shorter.  I didn't get paid for this one.  The wedding coordinator who called me would be horrified if she knew, but I think the couple thought the pastor was included in what they paid the hotel.  It's OK, though.  Other times I get a lot more than I would expect, and all the money comes from God, anyway.   Psalms 115:15 says, "May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."   Father, thank you for the blessing that Cailyn is.  And Caleb.  And Micah.  And Zakary.  And Jachin.  Amen.

November 13 – “Tilapias PooMoney”

Today was my first Friday "day off" since I started as interim headmaster – no, since we moved back to our house – no, since the flood.  I woke up at 5:30, so I got some stuff together and went fishing.  It wasn't like wade fishing.  I went over to my uncle's canal house and caught a few catfish.  Not a very successful day.  But it sure was peaceful.  I had three lines in the water catching nothing.  I actually fell asleep on the deck for awhile before my uncle came out to say hello.  It's been a long time.   Chris and I decided to do some yard work today.  And with Chris, that sometimes means some real yard work.  We decided to cut down the dead sycamore tree in our side flower bed.  Someone is giving away trees to Galveston residents next Saturday.  Chris wants to be first in line, and she has her eyes set on that Sycamore tree being replaced with something.  It'll give us some shade from the evening sun.  But to make room for the new and still alive, we had to get rid of the dead.  The chain saw made quick work of the top part, and we stacked the branches near the street.  But getting the stump out proved quite difficult.  We had to dig out roots and break them up in places.  Chris even let me use an ax.  Finally we got to the point where we needed to rock it back and forth to get it out.  On one of the "forths" the tree slipped out of my hands and smacked me right on top of the head.  It didn't knock me out or anything, but I sure had a headache.  And I have a knot up there.   That wasn't the hardest thing that happened, though.  The new medicine that I have been taking has a side effect.  It causes heartburn.  For some reason, the more we worked on the tree, the worse the heartburn got.  Chris finally made me quit and sit down.  I got to the Zantac as soon as I could.  I know what one of my first questions will be when I go back to the rheumatologist Tuesday.  Can I switch medicines?   Speaking of that … his office called today and said they had my blood test results, but they wouldn't tell us what they were or what they meant.  All they would say is, "The doctor will explain them to you at your appointment."  Then they said I had to take some kind of mega-dose of vitamin D for six weeks.    And here's a fun one to end with … we asked Micah and Jachin what their new baby's name was going to be.  Are you ready for this one?  Tilapias PooMoney   Psalms 112:1-2 says, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.  2 His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed."   Father, thank you now for little Tilapia PooMoney.  Amen.

November 12 – “A New Toy”

I have a new toy to play with.  This morning we went to Houston to get my new hearing aids adjusted.  I guess officially it was my "two week checkup."  But the exciting thing is, she activated the bells and whistles.  Well, at least some of them.  I now have a volume control switch.  That's one I've been waiting for.  If I'm going to wear a top secret mini-amplifier in my ear, I want to be able to use the thing for covert activities.    The "Mode" switch is my favorite, though.  When I push it, it beeps twice and enters "restaurant mode."  I'm not sure what exactly it has been programmed to do, but I tried it out on the way home when we stopped to eat.  The difference was like night and day from two weeks ago when we stopped right after I got them.  I could hear Chris when she talked in a normal voice, and the background noise didn't destroy my head.    Then if I push it again, it beeps three times and enters "Traffic Mode."  That one is not too much different from normal.  It seems to take out some of the whooshing from wind blowing through the tiny crack in the window, and the humming from the tires on the road.  Again, I could pretty much hear Chris without her screaming at me.  I stayed awake a little longer than I usually do in the car.  I realized Chris was carrying on a conversation with me.  Wonder how many of those I have missed?   The final mode is called "Normal."  That's when it only beeps once and settles into what the computer has determined is my "normal assist need" for hearing.  I can still make the "Robot Ear" sound just by holding my hand near my ear, but it is not as loud.  And, I can get closer before the alarm goes off.  It's enough to bother the dogs and amaze the grandkids, though.   Psalms 89:15-17 says, "15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.  16 They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness.  17 For you are their glory and strength"   Father, teach me to acclaim, walk, rejoice, and exult.  That's some pretty big words.  Amen.

November 11 – “Costa Rica”

I forgot to send my little a brother a birthday card the other day, so I decided I would get on his Facebook page and send greetings.  Don't I sound all "techie-like"?  Anyway, I tried numerous times to get to his page and I still haven't made it.  So finally I decided to downgrade to the old-fashioned style – email.  And this morning I saw his answer.  He is in Costa Rica tromping around in the bushes.  He said, "It was a good day."    I eavesdropped on two of our teachers yesterday and today.  They are amazing.  One of them said, referring to our elementary school teacher, "She's the most important here."  He said it in frustration with the high school kids, but he sure is right.  She is a great teacher for those guys.   Here are some tidbits of wisdom I heard: "You will be doing fractions forever.  You might as well start liking them." "After college it probably won't be as important, but from now until then, you just have to remember the formulas in math."   Remember those days?  Don't you wish you were back in high school?   Speaking of last days, since I have a doctor's appointment in Houston tomorrow, and since our awesome administrative assistant will be on duty to help our new headmaster on Friday, today was essentially my last day as interim headmaster.  I still have some meetings to attend with a few parents, and some questions to answer as they arise.  It's not like I will never be around ever.  But a few of the girls let me know today that they were going to miss having me around every day.  One of them even brought me a few Nestles Crunch bars and a few Three Musketeers bars.  My top two favorites of all time.    I surprised Chris this afternoon.  She was at WalMart when I got home, so I drove over there and called her from inside the store.  She told me she was at WalMart, but I couldn't find her, and I couldn't get her to tell me more exactly where in the store she was so I could sneak up on her.  She finally asked me about where I was, expecting me to say, "On the seawall."  I said, "Just passing the $5.00 videos."  We met up and finished shopping together.  Our best times of talking together have always been while we were shopping.   Psalms 84:12 says, "O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you."   Father, I trust you.  Help me understand, "blessed."  Amen.

November 10 – “Snake!”

Today we had one of those "never a dull moment" afternoons.  This morning was fairly serene.  The kids were tired, and several of them fell asleep.  One was out with pink eye.  Another left to help the vet tend to her horse (Yep.  We live in one of those small towns where you have to make allowances for stuff like that).  Another left early to accompany his mother somewhere.  It's fun not having to know where everyone is all the time.  The English classes were not quite as subdued as they were yesterday, but they were still no trouble.    The supervisor of the new building construction came in at one point and asked if I had a minute to talk.  Uh Oh.  Sure enough, he wanted to tell me that he had just killed a small rattlesnake over by the ramp to the new building.  He wanted to make sure the teachers knew to be especially careful.  I told some of the high school kids, and they immediately started talking about making the rattlesnake our school mascot.  Not a bad idea.   After lunch the new headmaster asked if we could talk privately in the office for a few minutes.  He closed the door and the noise level got gradually softer and softer until it disappeared altogether.  By the time we finished there wasn't a sound to be heard except for the scratch, scratch, scratch of one lone student at the keyboard.   The new headmaster and I headed out to look for them: in the bathroom, in the kitchen, in the nursery, outside under the new building, inside the new building, down the street.  They were nowhere to be found.  Until we walked back into the office room.  That's when I saw a brief glimpse of a white head.  That had to be one of the seniors.  All four were in hiding under the administrative assistant's desk.  I said, "Well, our options are to call the Jamaica Beach police or go back to my office and take a nap."  That woke someone up.  They got tickled, and as they laughed, they crawled out from under the desk.  It looked like one of those clown shows where they all crawl out of a tiny car.  We had a great laugh about that one.  So much so that the new headmaster decided to reward them with a walk to the park.    Psalms 1:1 says, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers."   Father, surround the walk of our kids with your protection.  Amen.

November 9 – “Trivia Ticket”

This is my last week as interim headmaster of Seaside Christian Academy.  I'm showing the new guy the final "ropes" this week.  Today I substituted for the English teacher.  In fact, I'll be doing that again tomorrow and the next day as well.  Her son is graduating from Officer Candidate School in St. Louis.    The new guy had a great idea today.  I have been reading a piece of trivia every day at the opening assembly.  "Did you know …?"  He and the social studies teacher are going to put together a plan to change the trivia fact into a question.  If anyone can answer it, they will win a "Trivia Ticket."  The ticket will be good for exchange at the end of the week.  Exchange for what?  The answer to one question on a quiz or homework.  And somebody already won one today.  He has big plans to win them all, save them up, and totally skip a quiz.   I showed the first part of Jesus Christ Superstar to the high school students today.  They have to compare it to the story of Jesus in Godspell and The Passion of the Christ after we see all of them.  Their consensus so far is something along the lines of, "This movie is weird."  They are not very impressed with the whole opera idea, either.  I'm just happy to be able to expand their cultural horizons.   Chris finished up the shelf she has been building.  It fits perfectly over the TV, and it makes the whole thing look kind of like an entertainment center.  I don't know what she plans to put on the shelf, though.  I asked.  She said, "We have several boxes of stuff in the garage to choose from."  We moved the little shelf that we had over by the fireplace.  She wants to put some pictures over there now.  We just have to decide if they will be of our kids and grandkids or of our grandparents.   I got a phone call from the wedding coordinator at the San Luis Hotel.  She said she had a couple who needed an "emergency" pastor for their wedding on Saturday.  The guy they had lined up can't be there.  That'll give me something else to do this weekend.  It's great being a pastor again.   Psalms 4:6-8 says, "6 Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"  Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord.  7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.  8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."   Father, please invade Seaside Christian Academy for the new headmaster.  Meet all the needs before he learns what to ask for.  Amen.

November 8 – “Neo the Alien?”

At the baby dedication this morning, the pastor had some serious competition.  Every so often Caleb decided it was time for him to put in his two cents worth.  Not crying, mind you.  He just let loose with an unintelligible word or three, then settled back down.  Of course his grandparents were more than happy to hear from Caleb over the pastor.  That's our boy.    One part of the service was a little girl who sang a song by herself.  She was amazing.  At the very end they had a special thing to salute veterans.  The choir sang each of the service songs – Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Marines.  During each song, those who had served in that branch were asked to stand.  Then one of the vets led in prayer.  It was quite emotional for a lot of folks.  I sure felt proud when I realized they were singing the Coast Guard song.  My Dad was in the Coast Guard.   After lunch at a barbeque place that had great ribs and played Christian music and gave us a ten percent discount because we had a church bulletin with us, we hit the road for Galveston.  I had our portable DVD player with us, so I watched two movies on the way home.  The first one was called The Secret Life of Bees.  I guess it would be considered a chick flick.  I wasn't very impressed.  The second one was a remake of the old The Day the Earth Stood Still.  The star was Keanu Reeves, so it was like watching Neo the Alien destroy, then save the earth.  Action packed, but the disc was damaged, so I don't know how much I actually missed.   I came up with another Visual Verses while we were gone.  Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."   Father, it's good to be home.  I just wish it felt more like home.  Amen.