April 21 – “Barbeque”

Well, my brain feels like it has been barbequed right now.  Or at least properly fried.  There was so much information to absorb in this conference that it will take me weeks to sort through it all.  I guess I’ll be sharing a little bit at a time as I go through it all again.  I am officially a member of the Texas State Fire Chaplain Corps, and I’ll be joining the National Federation of Fire Chaplains when I get home.  I have to have a letter of endorsement from the church and a letter from the fire chief indicating that he did appoint me before I can send off for that one.  I did make a lot of contacts for future assistance, though.  I was amazed at how much help there is available.  Good thing, too.  I predict that I will need a lot. 

I went with a few of the guys over to the seminary cafeteria for lunch.  It was closed, but there was a little snack bar area open.  The girl asked how she could help me, so I said I wanted a sandwich.  She said, “OK.  Get a bag and fill it out.”  A bag.  Nowhere did I see a bag on the counter.  She sensed my perplexity and pointed to a rack on the wall nearby.  Sure enough, there was a stack of bags.  “Don’t forget to fill it out,” she reminded me.  On the outside of the bag was a list of the options for sandwiches and ingredients.  It was like going to Starbucks, but filling out the info yourself.  Of course filling it out would require a writing utensil.  Again I looked around.  “There’s a marker with the bags,” came the patient response from the girl.  I had to look a bit harder this time, but I did find a magic marker stuffed among the bags.  Filling it out was easy, I just had to make sure there wasn’t a box marked “Barbeque.”  Nope.  Just “Club.”  Good enough. 

I planned to offer to treat my hosts to supper that night, but it was already almost ready when I arrived back at the house.  Guess what they did for supper?  That’s right.  Barbeque.  Well, it was actually grilling, and I did have my choice.  Some of it was marinated in some kind of Italian stuff.  Some of it was in barbeque sauce.  I took the barbeque sauce, of course.  On a pork chop.  It was really good.  I don’t think I’ll order that for lunch today, though.  It is so great to have friends that seem to enjoy opening their home to the likes of me.  That can’t be an easy thing.

Psalms 86:12-13 says, “I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.  For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.”

Father, thank you for Cary and Kay Lynn and for their hospitality. Bless them mightily in all they do.  Amen.

April 20 – “Day One”

Well, I made it through the first day of the chaplain training.  I am definitely not used to sitting that long.  The whole left side of my left foot was numb by the time I got back to the Winkle’s house.  I took a hot shower and that helped some, but I will most assuredly sit where I can stand up every so often for the last day. 

The conference has been really good so far.  I bought the national organization’s notebook that the conference is based on so I have some resources to take home.  I have received a lot of good tips for getting started as a chaplain.  Probably the best thing, though, is doing some networking to have someone to call for help when I need it.  We have also had a window into the relief efforts from the disaster in West.  The organization putting on the conference is also coordinating chaplaincy efforts there.  That has been fascinating as well. 

I had lunch with my good friend Mike Wilson and a colleague of his, Tom.  They are both professors at the seminary in Fort Worth.  Mike does field education and Tom teaches archaeology.  It was a very interesting meal. To say the least.  Tom is quite the rebel.  We seemed to really hit it off.  Kindred spirits.  And the barbeque chicken wasn’t bad, either. 

I went to supper with a group of guys from the conference.  We ate at Cousins Barbecue.  Yep.  Barbeque.  At least this time it was a chopped beef sandwich and not chicken.  I talked a lot with one of the instructors who lives in the area.  He is chaplain of a disaster relief group that meets at South Oaks Baptist Church where I used to work.  He even remembers doing some fire inspections from back when I was here pre-1995. 

The trip back to Arlington was stop and go with traffic.  Then it suddenly cleared up.  No apparent reason for the bottleneck.  I thought I was back in Houston there for a few minutes.  Today shouldn’t be bad.  It is Saturday after all. 

Psalms 86:11 says, “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”

Father, thank you for the resolution of the Boston situation.  Bring some peace there and in West.  Amen.

April 19 – “Safe”

Well, I made it to Fort Worth.  Actually, Arlington.  I don’t have to be in Fort Worth until the conference begins at 8, so I guess I have to leave here by 7:15 or so.  I didn’t have any real difficulties on the road yesterday.  It did start to rain in downtown Houston.  Never a good place to be in any weather.  The rain continued in varying degrees until almost Corsicana, so I got used to it.  I never did get used to the 75 mile per hour speed limit though.  Just felt too fast!  Besides, even when I got up to that speed, cars were still passing me.  Just a scary thought. 

I did have to come to almost a complete stop on the freeway at one point.  There was a five car pile-up.  Must have just happened, too, because there was only one police officer on the scene.  The traffic figured out how to get around it on our own, though, and I passed a fire truck and ambulance headed back that direction.  It didn’t look like anyone was badly hurt.  God be with them.

It was great to catch up with my friends up here last night.  Kay Lynn found just found out that she for sure has Meniere’s disease.  It’s a disorder of the inner ear that affects balance and can make her get really sick as a result.  She was just recovering from a bout with it, so she crashed out in her chair early.  Cary and I talked until around ten, but then it was my turn to crash, so I went on to bed. 

It took a while for Chris to text me back once I got settled in the bedroom.  She was helping Mom get ready for bed.  They had hosted home group in my absence and Bryan did the teaching.  It was his first time, but I know he did a fine job. 

Speaking of Bryan, it feel strange not being with Bryan and Jennifer this morning at her surgery.  She is having the stability halo removed from her ankle.  I did text them a prayer, so hopefully they will know I am with them in spirit. 

Now I have to try and figure out if Cary and KayLynn have an internet connection.  I forgot to ask before bed last night.  So on to breakfast and the seminar.

Psalms 86:9-10 says, “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.  For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.”

Father, thank you for using Bryan last night.  Be with him and Jennifer today.  Thanks for the safe trip as well.  Amen.

April 18 – “False alarm”

Christina stopped by with the boys after a library trip.  The first thing Jachin and Micah told us was, “Baby Sister almost came out yesterday.”  Well, that’s quite the announcement.  It was a false alarm, though. 

This morning I’m doing preparations for my trip to Fort Worth for the fire department chaplain conference.  That means I have no idea what my blog posts will be like for the next few days.  I will have my computer, but with the conference and catching up with old friends, I just don’t know about my time.  Mom was up and down again last night.  Chris kept our door closed and she stayed in the other bedroom so I could get some sleep before having to drive for five hours.  Great lady.

She did get to go to Hobby Lobby yesterday to get some material.  She wanted to have plenty of projects to work on while I’m gone.  I think Josiah might be getting his super hero cape for his birthday.  We’ll see.  She also got some stuff to do some more baby blankets for upcoming little ones. 

We got our plane and hotel reservations for our trip to New Jersey in August.  I’m doing a wedding for a dear friend who lives there.  The bride’s Dad asked me if there was anything near them that we had on our bucket list.  They live an hour from Manhatten and 45 minutes from Philly.  We have been to Philadelphia before and done the tourist-y things there.  Never even been to Manhatten.  I have no idea what might be there that could be related to anything on my bucket list.  Is that where Broadway is?  I’d like to see a Broadway show some day, especially if it’s the one where I know one of the actor/singers.  One of the kids from our youth group in Denver is now singing as Christine in Phantom of the Opera.  It would be cool to see her.

I did some more research on the fire fighters.  I am trying to locate them on FaceBook so I can get a window into who they are.  Honestly, it will help to have a picture of each guy so I can try to memorize some faces to go with names.  Maybe I can find out their birthdays and send them cards.  That should effectively double my birthday card list.  It might be a little ambitious to extend that to their families right now, but I would really like to get to know these guys.  Chris has been reading some reports to me about the explosion and fires in West, Texas.  As we feared, it sounds like an entire group of volunteer fire fighters, who were the first to respond to the fire before the explosion, are still unaccounted for.  It’s going to be a rough next few days, that’s for sure. 

Psalms 86:8 says, “Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.”

Father, send your Spirit to West.  Bring comfort and peace and healing and extra doses of strength for those still battling the fires.  Amen.

April 17 – “Uniformly fitted”

I was fitted for a uniform yesterday.  Sound kind of funny to hear me say that about me.  The only uniforms I can remember being fitted for had to do with sports: baseball or basketball.  The only time I was in band was junior high, so n uniform there.  The Viet Nam War, and hence the draft, ended just before I became eligible, so no military uniform.  My illustrious, pre-ministry vocations have been: beach garbage man (no uniform requirements to empty trash cans and pick up driftwood on the beach), roofer (I suppose you could count that I had to wear a long sleeved shirt and long pants.  They weren’t special issued, though, and it didn’t take long for them to get speckled with tar), and salesman at Sears (Certainly no uniform there, but we did have to “look nice.”  I was even “promoted” to the men’s suits department, where I measured people for suits and told them what colors went with what.  That was a joke.  I had an arrangement with one of the other workers.  She would stand behind the customer out of view.  I would hold up two items and she would give me a thumbs up or down on whether they matched.  Great arrangement.  Always did appreciate that lady.  We called her “Cookie.”  Never knew her real name).  I didn’t include the neighborhood odd jobs we used to do as kids to raise money to buy baseball cards.  That was mainly sweeping people’s gutters out.  Mowing grass took too long and required too much supervision and approval.  Besides, it was a whole lot easier to drag a broom along behind you as you went from house to house as opposed to pushing a mower.  And in the  ministry I suppose you could say the fact that I was required to wear a suit in several churches could count as a uniform.  Sure didn't like doing that, though.  And it's not as though they had an official logo on them.  So, no uniforms for me … until yesterday.

Oh, I guess I failed to mention that the uniform was one for the fire department chaplain.  And I didn’t actually get the uniform yet, of course.  This was just the fitting.  I met the guy at one of the stations, and his first question was, “What are we fitting you for today.”  They always start with the hardest ones.  I had no idea.  Now, I had done my research enough to know that there are three tiers, or classes, of uniforms.  Class A is the dress uniform that is worn for official functions when representing the department.  Class B is a bit less formal, with no tie or jacket or dress hat.  Class C is the everyday, polo shirt and slacks.  I assumed the uniform I was being fitted for would be the Class A, since most of my duties would be involved in an official capacity, but I honestly wasn’t sure.  He took all the measurements, though, and I called the secretary to see what she could find out.  She assured me she would have the assistant chief touch base with the uniform rep.  Gotta hand it to those secretaries.  They are the ones who are really in the know every time.  Way to go, Trish.

Psalms 86:6-7 says, “Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.  In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.”

Father, thanks for the unsung secretaries of the world.  Trish and Laura and Cindy in my current experience.  Bless ‘em wildly.  Amen.

April 16 – “To sleep, perchance to …”

Cailyn was over yesterday, and after a trip to the library with Nani she was obviously sleepy.  She comes by that honestly, though.  Trips to libraries and book stores have always made Chris incredibly sleepy as well.  I don’t get sleepy.  I get excited.  Always have liked to be around books.  The subject matter that thrills me has changed over the years.  As a kid I think I read every book in the Rosenberg library that was even remotely related to baseball.  I was especially interested in the old-timers and their personal stories.  You know, the goofy things they did in the dugout and how they were raised.  That’s how I was introduced to the pro player who probably had the most influence on my life, albeit indirectly.  Billy Sunday.  He was a drunk, but a really good baseball player.  One day he found himself in a ditch listening to a band playing in a church.  He went inside, became a Christian, and was never the same.  He started preaching and made a name for himself for all the weird antics he would pull during sermons – like sliding into the pulpit to illustrate that the only way to be safe with God is through a personal relationship with Jesus.  It took me years to understand that concept and apply it to my own life, but Billy Sunday planted the seed.  The sermon that actually grabbed my attention enough that I was forced to respond to it, began with a story about Billy Sunday.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  Well, my history.

Wow, was that ever a digression from Cailyn being sleepy.  We did finally convince her to take a break and let me read her new library books to her.  I know that sounds like I’m a great Granddad and all, but you have to understand.  Early afternoons are not the greatest of all times for me to be still and quiet.  That’s about the time the second wave of my timed release rheumatoid arthritis pain medication activates.  If I slow down … I go down.  It is an even stranger feeling for me because I can hear myself reading the wrong words, and sometimes even adding words that make no sense, but I can’t really stop it.  I am for all intents and purposes, asleep.  That’s what happened yesterday.  Cailyn did her best to keep waking me up, and Chris even tried to intervene and offered to finish the story.  Cailyn would have none of that, however.  She loves her DadDad, right?  Either that or she gets a kick out of the strange things he says when he’s trying to read and sleep at the same time.  Cailyn finally suggested that we move from the floor to our bed.  Great move for me.  Not so much for her.  I began to wake up again, but unfortunately, she was beyond sleep by the time we settled in.  She tossed and turned for a few minutes, but it was hopeless.  She finally rolled out of bed, turned to me and announced, “My body is all shaped up now, DadDad.  I’m all done with rest time.”  And with that, off she frolicked. 

Hmm.  Read any good books lately?

Psalms 86:5 says, “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.”

Father, thank you for Billy Sunday and books and … naps.  Amen.

April 15 – “A day in the life”

Me and my assistant did a fine job of presenting a Kids’ Sermon yesterday.  Well, my assistant was by far the star of the show.  When I called the kids up, five of them were brave enough to join me at the podium.  Of course the first one there was Cailyn.  And of course she climbed right up onto my stool and made herself comfortable.  Kiara another four-year-old little girl, came and stood between Cailyn and me (a little rivalry there, I think), and three older guys came as well, but they made themselves comfortable on the front pew.  I asked Cailyn, “What do we do when you come over to my house to stay for the day?”  She initially reacted about like I expected.  A shy scrunching of the shoulders and a barely discernible, “I don’t know.”  So I determined to help her walk through it.

“What do we do when you first get there and you haven’t had breakfast?”

“We make pancakes.”
“And what color are those pancakes?”
“Pink.”

OK.  She was off and running now. 
“Do we sometimes take walks?”
“Yes.”
“And do we ever play over in 40 steps?”  (I had to explain that 40 Steps is Josiah’s name for the vacant lot next door).
“Yes.”

Not much extra information coming out of her mouth yet.  I decided to throw in a little test. 

“And after we play we go inside and take a nap, right?”

I figured that would get some kind of rise out of her.  She never wants to take a nap.  But what do I know?  She flashed her smile, cocked her head and just as sweetly as she could muster, she said, “Yes.”

Now wait a minute.  She must not have heard me.  I tried talking a little faster.

“And we sometimes we play in the back yard.  What do we do out there?”
“We plant stuff with Nani.”

OK.  More info, but suddenly I’m out of the picture altogether.  I tried,
“What else do you play with that is hanging up out there?”
“The swing.”
“Right.  And what does one of them look like?”
“A horsie.”
“Very good, and then we come inside and take a nap, right?”
“Yes.”

Aargh.  No nap in reality, but I think by now she had sensed the humor of the moment and was actively going there.

“Do we practice dancing because you said I could dance with you at your wedding?”
“Yes.”
“And then we take a nap?”
“Yes.”

Of course. 

“What do we do when we go out in the front yard?”
“We play ring-around-the-rosie.”
“Want to play it now?”

That got a rise out of everyone.  She climbed down from the stool.  Kiara was quick to grab a hand.  I asked the boys on the front row if they wanted to play, and they jumped right in.  And we did it.  Played a round of ring-around-the-rosie right there in the front of the church.  And when we got to the “all fall down” part, we all fell down right there.  Except for Cailyn.  She very calmly and sweetly to a seat on the front pew to wait for all the silliness to end.  Then she returned to her perch on the stool.  Breathlessly I asked,

“And then what do we do?”

And from the congregation came a chorus of, “Take a nap.”

And from Cailyn?  “Yes.”

I suppose the interchange made its point.  And not just about the need to take a nap.  The teaching was centered on the decision of two disciples in John’s chapter one to follow Jesus after having an opportunity to spend a day with him.  What did they do with him?  What did say?  What would you want to say or do if you got that chance?  Our kids’ prayer went like this: Jesus, help us learn how to spend time with you, even when we can’t see you.  Amen.

Oh, yes.  During our encouragement time that followed the kid’s sermon, someone asked me if Cailyn was going to preach today.  Puzzled, I turned around.  She was still sitting proudly on my stool.  So I asked her, “Are you going to preach today?”  She smiled broadly and replied, “Yes.”  Of course.  So I asked, “And what are you going to preach about to all these people?  What will you tell them?”  She pondered for a moment or two before brightening and shouting, “No roaches!”  Now there’s a great sermon title if I ever heard one.

John 1:37-39 says, “When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’

They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’
'Come,’ he replied, ‘and you will see.’
So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. “

Father, thank you for the offer to come and see what it is like to abide with you.  Amen.