May 7 – “A serious discussion”

I had quite a serious discussion last night on the way home from Micah’s baseball game.  Cailyn was in the car with me.  Not that every discussion we have is serious by any means, but this one was particularly so.  After a brief period of silence from the back seat I heard, “DadDad, what is serious?” 

Craning my neck to around so I could catch a glimpse of her in her car seat, I could tell that she was in a pondering mood.  So I went through my repertoire of grandfatherly wisdom to see if any of my internalized categories held answers to such a profound query.  Sadly, as is usually the case, I didn’t find much.  So I decided to give it my best shot.  Digging deep for access to my four-year-old vocabulary I tried: “Serious is when it is very important for you to listen carefully and make sure you do or say the right thing.” 

She seemed to be listening carefully and … well, seriously.  I decided to encourage a response of some kind, so I added, “What do you think ‘serious’ is?”

It didn’t take long for her to come up with an answer to that one.  “What is serious?  It’s when my Mommy is talking to me and I laugh and she doesn’t laugh and she says, ‘that’s not funny.’  That’s serious.  And when my Daddy talks to me in a not very nice voice and I want to laugh but I don’t.  That’s serious.”

I encouraged her with, “That’s exactly right.  That’s just what serious is.” 

She pondered again for a second or two, then added, “But I don’t like listening.”

Ah.  Therein lies the rub.  As I was struggling to formulate some wise and appropriate answer, she continued, “But I cheered for Micah.  And I played with my friend Kayla, and I met her at Easter, remember?  And I saw Baby Noa and Aunt Christina was …”

That’s right.  We had moved on.  the rest of the drive home was filled with happy chatter about Micah hitting the ball and Jachin running away from the girls and Josiah jumping from the bleachers and Noa almost waking up and Mommy’s graduation party coming up.  The serious discussion was over. 

Psalms 89:15-16 says, “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.  They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness.”

Father, thank you for the serious – and not-so-serious – times with my grandchildren.  Amen.

May 6 – “Meeting Rocky”

Now that was an interesting day at church, to be sure.  Cindy, my secretary, started the morning off by handing me a letter and saying, “I think you should read this.”  That could certainly mean pretty much anything.  It might be someone complaining about some song we sang or how the building blocks their view of the ocean.  Or it might be that they were happy to have worshipped with us and experienced the unique Seaside style of ministry.  This one, as it happened, was quite positive.  The folks indicated that they have a second home in Sea Isle and have been to our sunrise service for the past six years.  As they prayed about it, God led them to send us their tithe for the last few months.  Wow.  What a novel idea.  Seeking God’s will and doing what he says.  May God bless them for that. 

The kids’ sermon was a lot of fun.  I asked them if they had ever tried to look at one thing and try to see another shape in it.  I do that with clouds sometimes.  They can look like boats and bunny rabbits and chocolate chip cookies!  I couldn’t figure out a way to bring clouds into the church, so I brought a bag full of rocks instead.  We looked at each rock and tried to decide if we could see any shapes in them.  One kind of looked like my dachshund Heidi.  One young scientist insisted he could see the core of the earth in one rock.  My favorite response, though was the little guy who was certain one of the rocks was actually a sculpture of … are you ready for this? … a giraffe.  He won my personal award for creativity, that’s for sure. 

We then talked about what the rocks had in common.  Pretty simple one there.  The first answer from the kids seemed to encompass it all: “They’re all rocks.”  Good point.  All one nature.  All strong.  All sturdy. 

Then I transitioned into the story.  Here’s about how that went:

In our story today Jesus meets a new friend named Simon, the son of Jonah.  Cool names, huh?  Want to know what they mean?  Simon means “obedient ,” and Jonah means “dove” (like the bird).  But when Jesus looks at him, he sees more than an obedient little bird.  He sees something else.  So Jesus changes Simon’s name right there!  He calls him Cephas, or Peter.  And do you know what that name means?  Rock!  Jesus saw that Simon could be like a Rock – strong, firm, steady – so he decided he would just call him that, like a nickname.

Now, at this point one of the little boys’ eyes lit up and his hand shot up.  It was obvious he had had an “aha” moment.  And who am I to prevent a young lad from expressing himself at such a key time?  I made eye contact with him, paused, and nodded in his direction.  That’s all the encouragement he needed.  He blurted out, “You mean, he called him Rocky?”  Indeed.  That’s exactly what I meant.  And Simon became Rocky.  I know that youngster was not the first one to come up with that thought, but it was the first time that youngster had come up with the thought.  Nice job.  Back to the story.

Now, Simon took his new name to heart.  He started trying to become like a Rock.  It took a while, but he eventually became just what Jesus saw in him at the beginning – a strong, firm, steady leader.  And guess what?  Jesus sees something special in you, too.  I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m gonna pray that one day soon you will find out and get started on becoming the special person Jesus wants you to be.

Isaiah 62:2 says: “The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.”

Father, help us discover the new name you have for each of us.  And help us do what we can to become the person you see in us.  Amen.

May 5 – “Meeting at the ball park”

I spent a lot of time yesterday scanning photos.  I have waded through our life in pictures from the 70’s clear up to the year 2001.  That’s been a fun experience, reliving some of our best family moments.  And the best part of all is that they are now pretty much available at the touch of a computer key.  I’m not done yet, though.  We didn’t get a digital camera until Christmas of 2003 or 2004. 

I did get to go watch Jachin’s baseball game in LaMarque.  They did pretty well and have certainly come a long way from where they began.  Jachin picked up a hit and a walk and scored twice.  He also did some pitching and struck out two guys.  That’s something new.  He is just nine years old and is playing in a machine pitch league, but the last inning or so of every game they let the kids try out hitting against one of the kids on the other team.  Most of the time that results in a lot of walks and hit batsmen.  That’s why I was so impressed with Jachin’s strikeouts.  They meant he was getting the ball over the plate.  No small accomplishment.  Attaboy, Jachin.

At one point Kel indicated to one of the parents that I was there not so much to watch the game but to have some time with the newest grandkid.  Now, she wasn’t there yet, so I was able to assure him that was not necessarily so.  And then when she did arrive I was keeping the scorebook for Kel, so my attention was demanded in other areas.  But after the game, guess where I went?  Right.  Straight to … Micah to give him a hug.  And then to Josiah to tickle him a bit and give him a squeeze.  See, I’m not a one-dimensional grandfather, all enraptured by his newest, gorgeous, tiny little bundle of sweetness to the extent that all else fades into nothingness.  But I did get to hold her.  And we had a bit of a chat.  She told me that she came to the game hoping I would be there.  She really wanted to see her DadDad.  We already had the conversation about saving me a dance at her wedding back when she was in the hospital, so we just reaffirmed that date as well.

Being the gentleman that I am, I helped Christina carry her things to the car.  How did I help?  Well, she couldn’t very well pick up her chair and purse and diaper bag and toy bag if she was holding an infant as well.  So I held the infant.  And I carried her to the car.  Strictly as a service to the struggling Mom, of course. 

Psalms 89:14 says, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.”

Father, thank you for every opportunity to walk with those grandkids you have blessed me with.  Amen.

May 4 – “Pinning”

Big night last night.  I performed my first official duty as chaplain of Galveston Fire & Rescue Department.  I prayed.  Doesn’t sound like much, but as far as I’m concerned, what better place to start?  The event was a pinning ceremony for the new recruits and for those who have been promoted in the last eighteen months.  I was asked by the fire chief to pray the invocation, and when I got there and saw the program I was also listed for the benediction.  The invocation I was ready for, but I did a bit of scrambling to find an appropriate scripture to close out with.  I settled on Numbers 6:24-26.  It’s the verse at the end of the blog entry. 

There were quite a few bigwigs at the ceremony.  The mayor was there, but he refused the opportunity to say a few words.  I met him at the National Day of Prayer Thursday.  He shook my hand, but obviously didn’t remember me until he heard I was the chaplain.  The city manager was there as well.  He did remember me, but then he’s been coming to Seaside.  He did say a few brief things, and I told him afterwards that it was refreshing for me to be able to sit back and listen to him preach instead of the other way around.  I met the fire marshal.  I have been through his office several times, but he has never been there.  There were some other city officials there as well.  One of them read the oath of office for the fire fighters to repeat. 

The last fire chief was there.  He retired three years ago, but the department never appropriately honored him.  So last night he received a trophy shaped like one of those old megaphones.  Fire department tradition is that the one with the megaphone was the one in charge.  The trophy honored that.  The guest speaker was the guy in charge of the fire academy at College of the Mainland.  Most of the new recruits went through training there, so he saw them as “his guys.”  I liked his talk, though.  It centered on the family aspect of the fire service, and I have really seen that.  To go along with that theme, they allow the fire fighter to choose the one they want to do the pinning.  There were Moms and Dads and wives and kids and even one guy’s girlfriend.  Perhaps the most impressive award to me was the one they gave a guy who stepped up and coordinated efforts to take care of the families of the fire fighters from Bryan who were transferred to the burn unit here.  He arranged for transportation and flights for their family members as well as hotel accommodations while they were here.  Quite impressive.

I got a surprise as well.  The chief called me up and presented me with a framed copy of my completion certificate from the chaplain training.  The chaplain manual said I was supposed to send him a copy of any training certificates I had.  He printed it out and presented it to me.  He told me it would probably look better if I put the real one in there.  He also told me they had intended to pin a chaplain’s badge on me as well, but it didn’t come in in time.  Neither did my uniform.  Guess I have something to look forward to. 

I also had a point of parental pride to mention.  The department honor guard presented the colors to start the meeting, and Nathan is on the honor guard team.  He sure looked sharp in his dress uniform with all the honor paraphernalia on it.  All in all it was quite the memorable occasion.  Sure wish Chris could have been there to share it.

Numbers 6:24-26 says, “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Father, truly bless those guys who run into burning buildings.  Keep them safe.  Amen.

May 3 – “The Donut Man Caper”

The other day when the boys were over they all woke up with me long before Chris did.  That is always a recipe for some fun.  We decided we were getting hungry, so rather than wake Chris up, I called them all over to me and in my very best conspiratorial tone I suggested a plan.  If they would remain very quiet so as not to wake up Nani, and watch out for each other (and particularly Josiah) while I was gone, I would sneak over to the donut shop for some donuts.  And if Nani were to wake up, they were not supposed to tell her what was happening.  They each agreed and promised to do their part.  Since the donut shop is just around the corner from the house, I was fortunate enough to get back before she woke up.  We enjoyed our chocolate with sprinkles donuts and laughed about our little conspiracy. 

When Chris woke up a while later, she joined right in the fun and asked where those donuts came from.  Of course none of us knew anything about it.  We did offer some possibilities, though.  “Maybe it was the Donut Man,” offered Micah.  “Yeah, or Santa Donut,” came Jachin’s answer.  Chris later heard the boys talking with pride and a hint of incredulity about how DadDad had left them all by themselves while he went out for donuts.  Never occurred to them that Nana was right there the whole time.  But hey, adventures are what you allow them to be, right?

Psalms 89:12-13 says, “You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.  Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.”

Father, thank you for boyish conspiracies and Nanis who don’t mind playing along.  Amen.

May 2 – “Day of Reclamation”

It was a day of reclamation.  I like the sound of that.  Kind of catchy.  Not that there was really anything of earth-shattering import that occurred, really.  But there was reclamation involved nonetheless.

First, Nathan had a desire to reclaim his mobility.  He had some errands to run, but April went to her final review for nursing board exams and forgot to leave him the car seat.  Without it his options were to remain stuck in Jamaica Beach or to illegally strap Cailyn into the back seat of his truck until he could get to our house and borrow our car seat.  Now how could I let him do either of those?  I opted for Option Three instead, and took him the carseat.  He was pulling down some old cable wires around his house.  Looked like the former tenants must have had four different kinds of cable access.  There were cables strung and looped and twisted in every direction under his house.  He had Cailyn’s help, so he was up on a ladder pulling some of them down when I arrived.  She was dragging the fallen cable into a pile.  They seemed to be working quite well together.  I hated to intrude.

Before we made the switch, Cailyn asked me an unusual question: “Do you wanna see our food?”  Can’t remember ever being asked that one before.  Of course I agreed, and she happily bounded up the stairs and took me on a tour of their kitchen.  Yes, literally a tour.  She opened the refrigerator to show me the food inside.  Then the pantry.  And then she encouraged me to look atop the fridge.  Great to see that plenty of food was available.  Good job supplying for your family, there, Nathan.

The second reclamation project was a bit more extensive than switching out a carseat.  Yesterday was the day that Baby Noa Rae Vaughan came home.  And we still had her brothers at our house.  They were more than ready to reclaim their home and family.  When we got the call from Kel that they were on the way home, the boys jumped into action.  All their clothes were gathered up.  Toys were put away.  Wii games and Highlanders were collected into their respective carrying cases.  It was time to go see Baby Sister and Mommy.  Sorry, Dad.  You didn’t make the cut this time, but they saw you the night before.  You are old news.  We bundled up MeeMaw into our car and the boys and their dog Lucy into the other. 

When we arrived they carried in the poster/kite Chris had had them make as one of their projects.  It was very cute.  Several pieces of construction paper taped together that Jachin and Micah drew pictures and wrote “Welcome Home Noa Vaughan” on.  Then Josiah helped Chris tape streamers on the bottom like a kite’s tail and a ribbon on top so it could be hung up.  Mommy beamed at their thoughtfulness.  And of course they each wanted a turn holding Baby Sister.  Bless Christina’s heart, though.  She assured them they would have many turns, but right then it was MeeMaw’s turn to hold her.  Mom was surprised, to say the least, to have a tiny baby in her hands, but she seemed to love it.  Thanks for the thought, Christina, and thanks, Boys, for giving her the first turn.  Chris served up the spaghetti lunch we brought over, got the kitchen cleaned up, and we headed back to our house so they could all reclaim their family life at home.  Or maybe take a nap.

Psalms 89:11 says, “The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it.”

Father, help the “Kel Family” get acclimated.  Fill their new family dynamic with your love.  Amen.

May 1 – “Noisy”

I have one word to describe yesterday: noisy.  We are baby-sitting Kel’s three boys until their Mom comes home from the hospital with their new baby sister.  Cailyn came over as well to play with her cousins while her Mom went to class.  Just the right combination for a wild and crazy – and loud – day. 

My intention was to go to the church for our Beth Moore Bible Study, but as often happens in the home of a pastor, I received a phone call before I left that ended up being a counseling session of just over an hour.  And with all the hubbub in the house, I had to sit on the front porch to be able to hear.  Of course being nearly deaf, especially when talking on the phone, didn’t help any. 

After the counseling call I had another phone call from a lady who wants me to do her wedding ceremony at the San Luis Hotel on the 19^th.  That’s usually a no-brainer.  I love weddings.  The whole concept is all about joy and happiness and positive things.  I really like being a part of making that happen for people.  This one in particular had two glitches, though.  First, it was going to be on a Sunday, so I had to make sure it would be an afternoon affair.  It was.  Secondly, the bride is Muslim and the groom is essentially agnostic.  Now that kind of comment always intrigues me.  Sure enough she wanted to know just how “non-denominational” I could make the service.  To her credit she didn’t mind at all having a Christian service because she really wanted the whole “walk down the aisle” experience.  She was just concerned that her family not be too confused or offended.  I gave her a summary of my approach, which compares marriage to the relationship God wants to have with each of us.  It actually presents the plan of salvation through comparisons like: God gave Adam someone more special than the animals, so the groom considers his wife to be special as well.  And: Jesus began his ministry at a wedding which led to the greatest wedding gift of all – the chance for us to have a relationship with God that is just as intimate as the relationship of a married couple. She asked me to email her the gist of the service so they could look at it, so it’s not a done deal yet.  I sure hope they approve, because their guests will all be from Europe and Canada, and it sounds like they sure do need Jesus. 

The noisy day continued at Jachin’s baseball game.  He went three for three and ended up knocking in the two tying runs.  His team won the game in the bottom half of the last inning when a kid stole home.  Very exciting stuff.  The best part of the evening for the boys, though, was a tie between the FaceTime phone call with Mommy and Baby Noa from the hospital and the fact that Daddy came to the game and then over to our house to hang out for a while.  I think they are ready to get back to being a family again, and learning how to be big brothers to a … to a Girl.

Psalms 89:9 says, “You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.”

Father, thank you for noisy days.  They are so full of life.  Amen.