January 7 – “Tough call”

Speaking of Kel’s kids, when they were all over here for Christmas I managed to nab just a few quick moments alone with Josiah.  Seems he had some serious life issues he was dealing with.  Yes, I know.  Josiah is only four years old.  I might have expected something like this from, say, the young fire fighter who decided to join the military and reported for duty yesterday.  But then, Ryan is an adult.  Josiah has a ways to go to reach that milestone. 

But the little guy was totally serious when he came into the study and plopped himself down in one of the rocking chairs to have a discussion with DadDad about where he anticipated his life taking him.  Now one would expect an all-boy youngster like that to have one of the typical career path choices.  You know, fireman (after all, his Uncle Nathan is one) or policeman (they get to shoot guns).  He has grown up in a pastor’s home, and has a pastor uncle and a pastor grandfather, so maybe something in that area would be expected.  His brothers have been homeschooled, as were his Mom and Dad and three of his cousins, so maybe something in the field of education.  And we can’t leave out the ongoing dream of parents everywhere … something in the field of medicine.  His Grandmother and Aunt April are both nurses.  So where would this impressionable young man, at the ripe old age of four, seek to direct his life.  Who would he desire to emulate as his mentor, his coach, his hero? 

Now, you have to understand.  I didn’t ask Josiah anything when he joined me.  I said hi and he said hi, and we were perfectly content to sit quietly for a few moments.  That’s why I was in there in the first place, to be where the noise level was a few decibels lower.  But he’s just four years old.  His idea of a few moments respite is somewhat more literal than mine.  A few moments to me means as many as I can get.  To him, though, a few moments is more like … a few moments.  He was ready for something else to happen.  So he initiated the conversation.  Well, not conversation so much as announcement. 

Josiah:  “DadDad, when I grow up I’m going to be a Texans guy, I think.”

Ah, sorry, family.  J.J. Watt is just bigger than life around here.  We all lost out.  He thought for a few more seconds before continuing.  I could see the wheels turning, so I just listened.

Josiah: “Yeah.  I think I’ll be a Texans guy, but maybe not, because it’s pretty “work” and you could get injured.”

Now that’s perceptive.  Professional football is a lot of work and there are indeed a lot of injuries.  But if not that, then what?  I simply agreed with him about the work and injury part and waited to see where he would head next.

Josiah: “Yeah.  I’ll be a Texans guy, but I will also be a Air Force guy.”

Pro football to the Air Force.  Quite a leap.  And all for the sake of avoiding pain.  I wanted to ask him about the expectations for injury in the Air Force, but I wisely kept my mouth shut.  He obviously had a bit more to say.  After Another brief period of pondering, he had just a bit more to add.

Josiah: “But I will just shoot down bad guys.”

And with his career plans all settled, he was back in action.  Back to the more important issues at hand.  Back to being a kid.  For now, I’m pretty sure that is the wisest course of action he can take.  After all, baseball season is coming up.  And Craig Biggio was elected into the Hall of Fame.  Think about the options.  Biggio and baseball.  Watt and football.  Or shooting down bad guys.  Tough call.

Proverbs 21:2 says, “All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.”

Father, draw Josiah - and Ryan - to you over the years they have ahead of them so that their hearts will guide them in the right way.  Amen.

January 6 – “Very cool”

I have a special request for the blog today from Cailyn.  It seems that there is a mystery word she never has seen in here before.  She doesn’t think it is possible to use it in a story or a blog post.  Well, phooey.  That is just a direct challenge to me.  Not only can I use the word, I can also include it in an entire paragraph centered around it.  You know, about the same number of words before and after.  We’ll just see about that.

Special note … count the words before and after to discover Cailyn’s special challenge word.

It’s cold around here and getting colder.  There’s even talk around some circles (read here the Weatherbug ap) that we could get really close to the freezing mark tomorrow night … on the Island.  Now that is a major catastrophe as far as us Islanders are concerned.  That means I have to wrap up our exposed pipes and cover the faucets outside just in case.  That’s one of those weird chores that you put off doing until you need it (and we haven’t needed it for literally years here on the Island).  And then when you need it, the weather is just terrible enough to make you miserable while you prepare for weather that is guaranteed to make you even more miserable.  Are you getting the message that winter in Galveston is just not my favorite time of year? 

Speaking of cold, yesterday when we picked Cailyn up from school, the three of us went out to the playground for our usual after-school blow off steam time.  Cailyn and I went to the top of the slide together, because that’s where we start the timer for however much time we have at the playground.  Now, did I mention that it was cold?  At least I was cold.  Well, to be more specific, my fingers were cold.  I went up and down the slide about six times in our five minute window, and when the timer finally went off (five minutes seems like an eternity), I had very little feeling left in them.  I know some of that is old age and some is RA, but that just means I have to hang on to what little I do have.  I think Cailyn realized I was serious about the cold fingers thing, though.  Insisting she was not cold, she very quietly took my hand and held it as we walked across the field to the car.  Cool kid.  Not cold, but very cool.

Genesis 8:21-22 says, “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.  As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.’”

Father, thank you for the cold days of winter.  If nothing else, they sure make me appreciate the warmth of spring and summer.  Amen.

January 5 – “Redemption”

Always great to see old Seasiders come back for a visit on a Sunday morning.  Ned and Nancy Roehrig were in town for a medical checkup and worshipped with us.  They joined several new families as well, who said they really enjoyed the Seaside experience.  A few of them even asked for directions to the Thursday Bible study at our house.  Now we’ll look forward to seeing them back very soon.

With some help from Kiara, Dana, and Robert we got all the Christmas decorations taken down and put away.  Then we attacked the remnants of the garage sale that were still laid out in the fellowship area.  Robert and a friend of his helped us out with that task.  Now all that is left is taking it to the Women’s Crisis Shelter or Salvation Army.  Once that’s done Chris and I plan to start on my office to wade through the debris that has accumulated in there.  Oh, and we still have to install the final two handle bars out at the playground.  Never a dull moment in the varied life of a pastor. 

All that and we were still home in time to watch some Dallas Cowboys football.  That fourth quarter miracle comeback wasn’t as unbelievable as the one by University of Houston, but you gotta hand it to them.  They pulled it out.  My favorite part was the sequence involving the rookie defensive end.  He recovered a fumble that would have iced the game, but then he tried to run with it and fumbled himself, giving the opponents not just the ball, but a first down as well.  That had to be heartbreaking for the poor kid.  But then on fourth down he made quite a move to get a sack on the quarterback.  Redemption number one.  On the way down he caused a fumble.  Redemption number two.  And then he recovered the fumble, and just stayed put this time.  Icing on the cake.  Goat to hero.  I love it when the youngsters come through like that.

Romans 3:22-24 says, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Father, thank you that your redemption only took one death … yours.  Can’t top that one.  Amen.

January 4 – “Mommy on a Mission”

On our way home from watching Micah play soccer and picking up some stuff for church at Lifeway Book Store, we decided to sneak in a quick peek at Nathan and April’s new house.  We knew they were there doing some pre-move-in painting. 

Sure enough, April was hard at work with a roller in hand, squeezing the last tiny bits of blue out of the pan.  Nathan was back at Home Depot.  They were going to run out of paint, a crisis that was simply not acceptable at this stage of the game.  April was on a mission, and the entire world was on hold until she completed that task.  The room would be painted before … well, before anything else. 

When Nathan and April’s Dad (Also Nathan.  He and his wife Angie and her son Micah had made a quick trip down from Corpus Christi to try out their brand new minivan.  First brand new vehicle “Also Nathan” has ever owned.  Well, other than a riding lawn mower.  Welcome to the world of soccer moms, er, dads) returned, we began an attic search to find out why we couldn’t get the doorbell to work.  No power of any kind was registering at either end.  The problem was, we couldn’t find an access to that part of the house anywhere.  Not that there is no attic space by any means.  They actually have three separate spaces.  One is a huge one over the garage.  The second has access through a tiny hidden door in the closet of the guest bedroom.  A little too mysterious for Cailyn, though.  That’s why she chose the other bedroom.  The third access is above the second floor ceilings.  Nathan told me they should never run out of attic space.  I’ll remember that.  We already have.  But then, we have been here twenty years.  We never did find a way to track that doorbell down.  Looks like the best option is to tape off the wires and do what Nathan wanted to do anyway … get a battery operated wireless doorbell. 

“Also Nathan” and I were talking in the driveway at one point when w lady walked by with her little dog.  As it turned out, I think the dog was a ploy to do a little snooping.  Actually the lady was very sweet.  We said hello and she immediately stopped, scooped up her dog and headed over to see who we were.  She was obviously disappointed when we told her we weren’t the owners, but I sensed an opportunity for Nathan and April to meet a key player in the neighborhood.  While she regaled “Also Nathan” with her knowledge of neighborhood happenings, I went inside and pulled Nathan from painting (no way was April even leaving that room.  She had another gallon of paint she had to use up).  He came out and utterly charmed the lady.  He’s been using that skill since he was a little kid explaining to his Mom why he climbed the tree when she told him not to, or why he ... well, I better stop there. 

Oh, and Cailyn?  She and Micah were quite busy the whole time.  They were organizing races.  No, not outside.  These were races down the stairs.  Sliding down the stairs.  On their rear ends, or their stomachs.  Good thing those stairs are carpeted.  It looked really fun.  In fact I almost joined them.  Way better than crawling around in attics or incurring the wrath of a Mommy on a Mission.

Psalms 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.”

Father, thank you for the excitement and flurry of activity that entering a new house brings.  Help Nathan and April and Cailyn to always include you as they build their home within that house.  Amen.

January 3 – “Surviving Spring Cleaning”

We are well into the January phase of our Spring cleaning efforts.  I know.  It’s mid-winter. But once Chris gets started cleaning up after taking down the Christmas decorations, there is no stopping her.  Her process is pretty regimented.  She starts in one room and does her best to ignore other rooms until that one is complete to her satisfaction.  Of course she does get side-tracked on occasion, mostly with my help.  One of my favorite tactics is to ask her a question about something in another room.  Many times just that simple move jogs her away from her focus.  I think it’s good for her.  Keeps her from getting too intense.  Besides, it’s kind of fun to see if I can actually do it.

Another tactic is for me to get started on a job of my own.  Yesterday, for example, I decided to clean out my closet.  Now you have to understand, my closet is not all that big.  And a large portion of the floor is reserved for the plastic tubs housing my baseball card collection.  I start there and everything else has to find its spot around it.  I did make some semi-significant archaeological / anthropological discoveries while in there.  I found the four pair of blue jeans, size 36/34, that were donated to us right after Hurricane Ike.  I rolled them up four inches or so, cinched up the waist, and wore one of them every day for untold months while we worked on the house. They will find a new home through the Salvation Army.  Cailyn was over, so she helped as well, and she found a beret that you might see me sporting on occasion.  She forced me to wear it while watching her brush her teeth.  Don’t understand that last sentence?  You will when you become a grandparent.  Another find was one of the failed attempts to help me hear the TV.  It is a set of earphones that are supposed to pick up the TV signal so you can turn it as loud as you want and not disturb others in the room … or house … or neighborhood.  I never could get them to work for me.  Of course all that was pre-hearing aids.  The rearrangement process also made it possible to insert a closet organizer set of three drawers.  They were quickly filled with excess t-shirts and the like.  Hidden under the rubble were two pairs of houseshoes.  Guess I’ll have to rotate them. 

The final evasive maneuver that almost always works is to ask where in her closet something is supposed to be stored.  Now to be fair, it is not just a place for her clothes and shoes.  We have all sorts of things stored back there, from Christmas ornaments to photo albums to some of MY stuffed animals that I have accumulated over the years for one reason or another.  Yep.  I’m an old softie.  The thing is, I’m kind of scared to put anything in there, especially without Chris’ knowledge.  It might slip into oblivion and I will never see it again, so I am much more comfortable with her knowing where things are.  Then when I forget what I did with it, I can just ask her.  Not that I ever do that.

We did get one other fairly major move completed.  If you have been to our house you will recall meeting the dolls we have entrapped in glass enclosures.  Chris’ Mom made them, heads and hands and feet and all.  I am fine with their presence because they are trapped in the case and cannot escape and wreak havoc, terrorizing certain unsuspecting household members in the middle of the night.  Even little Luke, when they were over here last week, did his best to free them from their prison, banging on the protective glass with anything his little hands could wrap themselves around.  But alas for the prisoners, he was unsuccessful.  It’s a good thing I’m OK with these particular dolls, too.  In an effort to clear space for completing our wall of bookcases in the front room leading into the den, the Victorian beauty and her two Eskimo cohorts have now been consigned to our bedroom, the ultimate of-limits sight for grandkids.  It is still a bit spooky in there at night, knowing that the wardrobe cabinet in there is full of dolls, there is one on the top shelf of my closet missing an appendage or two, one in a basket next to my closet, and now three more that I have to pass right by on my way to the bathroom.  Pray for me.  That late-night bathroom journey gets more and more frequent with each passing year.

Psalms 51:7 says, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”

Father, thank you that your major Spring cleaning of us only has to happen once.  Help us to stay current with our “pick up and straighten up” confession of sins so we can stay clean in your sight.  Amen.

January 2 – “Accomplishments”

We finished our Christmas letter yesterday.  Should go in the mail today for all of you in the teeming horde of 2 or 3 who actually read through the thing.  Well, it should if we can get out to get some more stamps.  Gotta love us old timers who are stuck in our rigid ways and refuse to move to email or online updates.  Oh, wait a minute.  That’s kind of what I’m doing right now, isn’t it?  Ah, well.  I like to get mail, so it will continue for the foreseeable future, I suppose.

Accomplishment number two … now that the Christmas tree and all the trimmings are put away, we rearranged the furniture in our den.  Chris has a system for those kinds of things.  Since there is no carpet in there, she puts a washrag under each leg.  That way we can just slide the furniture wherever she wants it.  Lots easier on the old back.  The room looks a lot bigger the way she has it now.  We’ll see how long it lasts.

Remember our power surge a month or so ago?  The one that took out our garage door opener and our Wii?  Yesterday I got a text from my brother.  He asked if I was still Wii-less.  Reason for the query?  In his words, “I have one but no kids to play it.”  He dropped it off on his way to a dinner engagement.  All I could say was, “Wow.”  Now I guess we just need the similarly miraculous appearance of a new garage door opener.  Or at least a garage door opener repairman. 

Cailyn is back today from all of her Christmas wanderings to see April’s family.  Felt kind of strange setting an alarm again, but she gets here at 6 a.m., so someone has to be ready to receive her royal highness, right?  I’m usually up by then anyway, so it’s not really a problem.  But no school to take her to, so we’ll be entertaining all day.  And … here we go …

Isaiah 9:7 says, “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

Father, I know that any accomplishment that is worthwhile comes as a result of your connection.  Please do some connecting.  We need you.  Amen.

January 1 – “How did you ring in the New Year?”

Our New Year’s Eve around this house was nice and … quiet.  Just the two of us all day.  I spent most of the morning working on a teaching for Sunday while Chris started one of the most tedious projects of the entire year … taking down Christmas.  I joined her when I reached a good stopping point, and between the two of us we got all of the inside decorations boxed up.  Then we attacked the outside lights and got them down as well.  Didn’t take us long at all, considering it was 42 degrees outside. Record time.  So now everything Christmas–y is stashed away in the attic or a closet, awaiting the Saturday after Thanksgiving next year.  Well, not exactly everything.  There are still three Santas on the table, waiting for a new home box.  Oh, and the nativity scene I carved, complete with its brand new angel, is sitting there, too.  The angel is the cause of its dislocation from last year’s box.  The wingspan makes it too big for conventional storage.  Looks like a trip to WalMart for a new Christmas box is in order. 

The rest of the evening we did … well, we didn’t DO much of anything.  We just were together.  No parties.  No special New Year’s Eve concoctions.  Just us.  We halfheartedly watched a few of the football games.  We took a Face Time call from Josiah and Noa.  Josiah had to tell Nana that he was sick.  Noa just heard our voices and had to get into the action.  We both read through our FaceBook feeds a multitude of times.  Always fun to see what sort of shenanigans our friends are getting into.  Chris read her new book and dozed off and on.  It’s great for me to be able to say she was the one dozing.  Of course I did my share as well.  When it gat dark outside we had the joy of listening to Abby and Scooter, Cailyn’s dogs (we are dogsitting while they are in Corpus Christi), bark at the preponderance of fireworks all around us.  Some of them were pretty loud, too, so I can’t say I blame the neighborhood newcomers.  But it won’t be long and they will be dealing with that sort of noise all the time.  Nathan and April finally closed on their house just before the new year.  Probably by the end of January they will be living just about two minutes away from us.  Cuts down their work commute time considerably.  And it makes it much easier for us to swap tools back and forth.  I finally woke Chris up at 10:59:57 to complete the New York countdown and share our New Year’s kiss.

Our plans for today?  I know Baylor plays at 11:30.  I’m sure Chris has plans for our lunch to include the traditional New Year’s fare of ham and black-eyed peas and cabbage.  Beyond that?  I could get used to this “just us” time every so often.  But then those kids are sure a lot of fun to have around …

Psalms 96:1-3 says, “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.  Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.”

Father, thank you for giving us one more shot at this living thing.  We’ll need you this year more than ever.  Amen.