March 7 – “What if …”

It’s been cold again here on the Island.  A couple of days ago it was back down to almost freezing.  The wind chill was way below that because the wind was whipping all over the place.  Fortunately I had to spend most of that day working on the Ash Wednesday service.  That went pretty well, by the way.  Not a huge crowd bay any means, but there were a few new ladies from the community who have been to the Easter sunrise service before.  There were some of our regulars in attendance.  Our four most recent snowbirds were there.  One of our regular Catholics indicated that she felt right at home with the service, other than she kind of missed the constant motion of stand, sit, kneel, stand, kneel, stand, sit, etc. that she remembered from her youth.  I remember it well from my own childhood days at Grace Episcopal Church.  I told the group that night that obviously God had other plans for that high school kid with the Episcopal seminary information next to his bed.  I remember doing a creative writing assignment in high school where I created a first person scenario of my life projected into the future.  It involved my going into the Episcopal priesthood.  Of course it also told about my sterling Olympic career as a basketball player.  The punch line of the whole thing was how I had changed my name.  I was actually none other than Ken Spain (one of the hot college players at the time for the University of Houston back in the Elvin Hayes era).  Hey, I had to bring some sense of reality into what was otherwise a pretty far-fetched document, right?  I still sometimes wonder how my life would have been different had I gone on to become a priest.  I know, too, that in some ways, it would probably have been eerily the same.  Guess that would be a topic for a Twilight Zone episode or something.  I do know that I wouldn’t trade the life I stumbled into for anything.  I figure the God who orchestrated this whole, crazy life adventure I have been on probably knew what he was doing.  I think I’ll keep trusting him to manage the big picture and invade the details as he sees fit.

I did venture outside once that day.  A call about a structure fire came over the fire department ap on my phone. It wasn’t a fully involved fire, though.  It was in a small apartment building, so several engines were dispatched just in case.  The resident was not at home when the smoke alarms started going off.  A neighbor upstairs noticed the smoke and called it in.  Seems that the heater had somehow become obstructed and was getting hotter and hotter.  The smoldering had obviously begun filling the apartment with a thickening haze.  The fire fighters arrived in time to get everything under control before the blaze had a chance to explode.  Gotta be proud of those guys.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Father, I trust you.  You can do a much better job at directing this whole life thing.  Amen.

March 6 – “Dream Date”

Wednesday.  That means it was date day for Chris and me.  Jennifer came over to stay with Mom and we took off for our much anticipated time together.  What better way to start the whole thing off than a lunch at Shrimp and Stuff?  And as it turned out, it’s a good thing we started there.  Our next stop was an excursion down Nostalgia Junction, just off of Memory Lane.  Doesn’t that sound poetic?  Bet you can’t wait to hear what we did, can you?  Well, we ……… cleaned the church and set up the pews. 

Great date, right?  It really was a Memory Lane thing, though.  We used to do it together all the time back when Chris was the church custodian.  Gotta love that image: the pastor and the church custodian meeting once a week to haul pews around and sweep and mop and clean toilets.  Can’t get any more romantic than that.  This time we were pressed for time because of the Ash Wednesday service last night.  We hosted voting the day before, so all the pews were stacked up neatly in a corner of the room (thanks to Cory Anderson).  It made it easier to sweep and mop, but the unstacking is what gets to me.  Not good for my arthritic joints.  This time the only ones that barked significantly were my shoulders, though. 

Date part three was a spur of the moment thing.  On the way home from the church we realized it was almost three o’clock, so we decided to surprise Cailyn when she got out of school.  Not sure who was more shocked, Cailyn or her Mom.  Cailyn was cute when she saw us, though.  She is not allowed to leave until she gives her teacher a high five (love the fun security measure).  Her teacher was busy at the moment, though, so Cailyn was slapping at air over and over again until her teacher finally noticed.  Cailyn ran over and gave me a huge hug, then did the same to Chris.  Then she started talking.  Notice anything missing here?  Her Mom sure did.  When she could get in a word edgewise, April finally said, “Well, what about me?  Don’t I get a hug?”  Sorry, Mom, she was just respecting the older ones.  She did get her hug, though.

Part four of the date was rapidly approaching.  The only appropriate finale to such a creative time together.  We went to WalMart.  Where else?  Oh, and Cailyn came with us.  The perfect end to our dream date.  One of the ladies at the Ash Wednesday service last night didn’t seem to agree, though.  For some reason she thought maybe Chris would have preferred doing something a little different for a date.  Hmm.  I’ll have to ask Chris about that. 

Song of Solomon 2:16 says, “I am my beloved’s and he is mine”

Father, thank you yet again for the amazing lady you gifted me with.  There’s not many ladies who can find romance in cleaning a toilet and walking around WalMart with a granddaughter.  Amen.

March 5 – “Nah, too much …”

I had one of those very strange wake-up calls this morning.  Around five o’clock I was awakened by a female voice very distinctly calling out my name, “Kelley.”  It didn’t sound panicked or even particularly urgent, but it was quite clear.  I sat up in bed and checked the clock.  Force of habit there.  I listened carefully for the call to come again.  It didn’t sound like Chris or Mom, but that was, of course, my assumption.  There is no one else living here at the moment, other than the dogs, and their voices are much deeper than the one I heard.  Not detecting a follow-up, I got out of bed and walked down to Mom’s room to check on her.  She was definitely there, and she was making noise, but it could better be described as softly moaning.  Chris was dozing in our spare bedroom.  She often goes in there after waking up in the middle of the night to help Mom to the bathroom.  It is right across the hall from Mom, so she can better keep an eye on her.  She also tries to keep me from waking up so I can get some sleep at night, especially on nights before I have to teach at church.  I debated just staying up and getting some work done, but I do have the Ash Wednesday service at church tonight, so I returned to bed, still puzzled. 

Chris and I have made a commitment that whenever we dream about someone and can remember them when we wake up, we will pray for that person.  But who do you pray for in this instance?  It was my name I heard, so do I pray for me?  I have no idea whose voice it was, but I guess I could pray for the owner of the voice.  After struggling with that issue for a few minutes, I finally settled on a different tactic.  Borrowed it from a little guy I read about in the Bible one time.  I rolled over onto my side, took a deep breath, and said, “OK, Lord.  If you’re talking to me, here I am.”  Next thing I knew it was right at seven o’clock.  Not at all sure what any of this means.  Maybe there was an alien trying to communicate with me across the stretches of space.  Nah, too much Star Wars last weekend with Zak and Caleb.  Maybe it was a being from another dimension struggling to cross the vortex barrier.  Nah, too much Dr. Who.  Maybe there was a mysterious intruder in the house and she was whispering my name into her communications device.  Nah, too much Castle.  Maybe it was a garbled communication from my inner self, trying to escape from my subconscious and reveal a long-lost memory that will serve to radically alter my life forever.  Nah, too much psychological mumbo-jumbo.  Maybe it was a cry from my youth, simply reminding me what my name is so I don’t forget who I am.  Now that makes a lot of sense.  Maybe there was a dream, and I just can’t remember the rest of it.  Certainly possible.  Maybe God just wanted to double check and see if I was still willing to hear from him.  Probable.  Maybe it was …. Maybe it …. Maybe … zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

1 Samuel 3:10 says, “The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’  Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’”

Father, feel free to wake me anytime.  I’m doing my best to listen.  Amen.

March 4 – “… for Millie”

Saturday we finally made it to one of Zak and Caleb’s basketball games.  They played in the Upward Basketball program sponsored by their church.  As it turned out it was the last one of the season, so we barely got it in.  The rules are a little different in that program, so it took some getting used to.  They play two halves, but each half is split up into three periods.  They make use of the period idea in a few different ways.  It does provide an extra water break for the kids.  There is also a rule that when the same kid gets his second foul, he has to sit out for one of the periods.  That proved helpful to Zak’s team.  The best player on the opposition was a pretty big kid who garnered his second foul.  While he sat out Zak’s team pulled ahead, and even when the big guy re-entered, they couldn’t catch up.  Meanwhile, Caleb’s team was playing on the other court.  I mentioned before that he is the youngest on his team, so his attention span is not the longest ever noted.  I also mentioned that he has a very cute little girl named Millie on his team.  Well, to start the game, those two were on the bench as subs.  And their antics were almost as interesting as the game itself.  At one point Caleb was sprawled out on the floor under the bench.  Millie was draped across the bench.  And they were holding hands.  Cute stuff.  He did get into the game and was able to display his fierce defense.  He even had a chance to dribble the ball down as point guard.  His coach was trying to get a lane cleared for him so he could attempt a shot when one of his teammates stole the ball from him.  Ah, the joys of five-year-old sports. 

We went by Target on the way home to get a gift for Millie’s birthday party.  Caleb had looked in a catalogue ahead of time and had picked out the Target version of an American Girl doll tent and backpack camping set.  Of course they didn’t have it in stock, so he had to pick something else.  Christi stayed behind in the car to finish feeding Luke, so Josh was lefty alone to deal with the dilemma.  But the dilemma was not a problem for Caleb.  He glanced around at the items they did have, and rather quickly picked out a very frilly white doll dress.  He said, “This one is pretty … for Millie.”  Wanting to do his due diligence, Josh suggested something else.  Caleb answered, “No the dress is pretty … for Millie.”  Josh mumbled something along the lines of “For Millie,” and Caleb reiterated, “For Millie.  See, she’s a girl.”  Wanting to make absolutely sure, Josh tried one more alternative.  Caleb calmly replied, “That’s very nice, but I choose the dress.  It’s very pretty … for Millie.”  No mistaking what his choice was.  And can you beat those impeccable manners?  Sounded just like his Mommy.  Josh finally got the message.  “This is a good choice Caleb.  And it’s definitely for Millie, not for you.  We get it.”

2 Corinthians 9:15 says, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

Father, thank you for the incredible gifts you have given me.  Life.  Salvation.  Chris.  My sons.  My grandchildren.  Doesn’t get any better than that on this planet.  Amen.

March 3 – “Day off”

Friday was Daddy’s day off at the Waco Vaughan’s house.  Not that he had much time to relax.  The day started off with a rousing pancake breakfast courtesy of Christi.  She even had some karo, my personal syrup of choice when it comes to the pancake/waffle genre.  Not that I mind the maple syrup taste, understand.  There’s nothing quite like some cold Mrs. Butterworth’s on a piping hot homemade waffle.  The landscape guy came over shortly after breakfast to take a look at their back yard.  They want to have some work done to bring the yard more into line with something little boys can spend a lot of time in safely.  They want to have it leveled out, fenced in, and maybe made to look somewhat prettier, although functionality is certainly more desired than beauty.  Their back yard has a rather precarious drop into a ravine, so the fence is a must.  As long as it has a gate for access.  You can’t beat an unsullied ravine for exploring. 

After a Mexican food lunch (We had to do Mexican food.  That became somewhat of a tradition when they lived in San Antonio.  The food is not quite the same in Waco, but the tradition remains), we managed to connect with Lanny.  He used to be the worship leader at Seaside, and he is by far one of the most amazing pray-ers I have ever met.  He and Josh have always had a special connection anyway.  It goes way back to when Lanny agreed to be Josh’s prayer partner for the MasterLife discipleship course he took.  It was great to touch base with him, but it was even better watching the two of them pick up where they left off.  And I was sure glad to hear that he was still praying for me. 

Once again the creative play of Zak and Caleb held me in its grasp.  They are big Star Wars fans, so inevitably there had to be a light sabre battle of some kind (using pool noodle light sabres, of course).  This one, though, was … unique.  Zak came up with the idea, but Caleb incorporated it seamlessly.  Zak announced that the battle was actually between him and … himself (in the form of Caleb).  I understood right away what he was talking about.  After all, I have been watching some episodes of Dr. Who, and that fits perfectly with the scheme of the show.  I wasn’t sure if Caleb would pick up on it though.  Boy, was I ever proved wrong.  Every time a sabre made a connection, whether with a hand or foot or neck, both boys would dramatically reach for the area on himself and cry out in anguish.  Look out, Hollywood.

The day ended with a back stage view of dress rehearsal for Zakary’s children’s choir musical.  The actual presentation was to be on Sunday night, so we were pretty excited to get to see the rehearsal.  It didn’t start out much like any dress rehearsal I have ever been a part of.  It was the first time the drama team and the music team had actually practiced together, and it really showed.  They had to get the blocking down and deal with the inevitable glitches that only show up when you are on the stage itself.  They worked through it, though, and by the time of the last run-through it looked and sounded great.  As it turned out we heard that the performance had to be postponed last night.  Too much snow and ice on the roads around Waco.  They’ll try again Wednesday.  Break a leg, guys.

1 Timothy 5:1-2 says, “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”

Father, help Zak and Caleb maintain their light sabre battling, brother connection as they grow.  And show them how to include Luke in it when he arrives on the scene.  Amen.

March 1 – “Guarding Millie”

One of the great things about being in the presence of grandkids that we don’t see very much is the opportunity to be invited into the wonderful world of their imaginative play.  Zak and Caleb are very much into Star Wars right now.  In fact we got to be a part of Caleb’s rite of passage of watching The Empire Strikes Back for the very first time.  That of course led to them getting out their Star Wars spacecraft and lots of little tiny Star Wars action figures.  Zak and Caleb took turns filling in the blanks of what was about to happen before each battle became a reality with the figures.  My fascination with the story line must have been evident, because Zak felt it necessary to inform me that they were making up an episode of Star Wars that had never before been seen.  Caleb added, “Yeah, DadDad.  It’s Episode 100.”  They were right.  I did miss that one.

We also got to go to Caleb’s basketball practice.  He was the youngest one on his team, the sole preschooler on a team full of kindergarteners.  It has been a long season, so he’s pretty much done with basketball.  He did some have flashes of inspirational play, though.  There was also a group of older kids practicing on the other court.  They were out of control.  The college kid coaching them looked like he had little or no experience, but hey, at least he was out there.  Almost made me miss coaching.  Almost.   Once Caleb was assigned to guard Millie, the cute little girl on their team.  He had already told us about her birthday party that he had been invited to that was coming up.  Now Caleb likes to play defense, so he screwed on his game face with a snarl, put his arms out to the side, palms up, crouched low, and sidled up to stay with her.  She paused a second or two, then reached out and gave him a big hug.  He reciprocated.  Those girls.  So much for defense.  I think that was one of their set plays for the games.  After all, who can resist a hug from a cute girl?  There had to be a spiritual lesson of sorts, though.  Maybe this one …

Matthew 5:43-48 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.  He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”

Father, help us learn from the antics of children.  They have a lot to say.  Amen.

March 1 – “Imaginary or … ?”

A lot of people at Josh’s new church seem to want to hear stories from his childhood.  I’m not sure if they want to get to know him better or if they want something to hold over his head.  Apparently he has told a story or two since he has been here, and they at least wanted some confirmation.  The interest in particular centered around Josh’s childhood imaginary friend, an mysterious entity named “Boy.”  Seems he told about Boy from his warped perspective in one of his sermons.  But Chris was quick to set him in his place and correct any misconceptions that may have arisen, all in the interest of truth, of course.  And we have to keep Boy happy, too.  See the thing about that particular imaginary friend is … he was Kel’s friend originally. 

That’s right.  As a youngster Kel had an imaginary friend he also called Boy.  When Boy quit appearing to him, we never mentioned him again, and certainly never to Josh.  Yet at roughly the same age Kel had been, Boy apparently introduced himself to Josh and resumed his antics.  He was quite the little prankster, too.  He must have been because anytime anything bad happened Boy was to blame.  You know.  Bad.  Like not getting schoolwork done – “Boy was talking too much and I couldn’t concentrate.”  Or not cleaning his room – “I didn’t get that out, Boy did.”  It was just … eerie when the same imaginary friend reappeared to carry out the same very real antics.  We fully expected him to return when Nathan “came of age,” but sadly he must have been busy wreaking havoc in another household.  Either that or Nathan hasn’t yet come of age.  Not sure which.  But we were forced to re-evaluate the whole “imaginary” designation.  After all, even in the ancient Hebrew legal system, the testimony of two witnesses was enough to verify something as truth.  But can something imaginary be declared true?  It’s enough to make my head hurt.  I kind of think the real reason Josh had three children and Kel had four, while Nathan only had one, is that Josh and Kel were providing real life playmates for their kids.  They didn’t want to have to deal with Boy from the perspective of a parent.  They knew the kind of mayhem Boy could bring with him to the household.  But I have to say, there may be more “Boy-ish” influence at play in this household than they care to admit.  Zak and Caleb told us about an adventure they had exploring the creek bed behind their house with their dad.  They talked about twists and turns and climbing up banks to avoid washouts and sliding down from precarious peaks perched on their Daddy’s back.  Nani made a comment that such adventures sounded quite dangerous.  Zak’s reply, “It’s gotta be dangerous.  That’s the only way it’ll be fun.”  That’s my boy.  Or is it “Boy”?

I offered to come to the church and speak in the guise of preaching one day.  That would give me a great opportunity to reveal some more deep, dark childhood secrets.  One guy responded, “But we only have an hour.”  Good point.  So as he walked out the door chuckling, I replied, “So invite me for a week of revival.” 

Genesis 21:20 says, “God was with the boy as he grew up.”

Father, I know that’s not really an appropriate reference, but I appreciate you walking with our boys as they grew up.  Don’t stop now.  And walk our grandchildren as well.  Amen.