November 14 – “What you need is …”

In the spirit of the upcoming season … “Oh what fun it is to talk on the phone with Comcast cable.  Hey!”

That was on my list yesterday.  We are trying to settle once and for all why we have so much trouble at the church getting wifi connection in our worship center.  The retreat center reception is perfect, but once you go downstairs into the worship center … the error messages abound.  Things like “You are connected to the internet, but you may not be able to get on the internet.”  Never has made sense to me.  If I’m connected, doesn’t that mean I AM on?  We have tried those extenders and even a cable between buildings.  Nothing has ever really worked for the long term.  So the phone call was to request a technician to come to our premises and tell us what is going on and how to fix it.  Sounded simple enough to me.

The first person I talked to was Mariah in Tech Services.  She was nice enough.  Understood the problem right away, and after consulting with her supervisor, determined that we might have to have two separate accounts.  The only way to determine that would be to have a technician come out and do a sight survey.  Fine.  Bring him on.  Well, that meant I would have to be transferred to that division. 

Step two.  New division.  Someone named Imeah, I think.  Again, very nice.  She, too, recognized the problem.  She, too, talked with a supervisor.  This time it sounded like what we needed was a technician come out and do a sight survey.  Wait.  That sounded vaguely familiar.  Fine.  Bring him on.  Well … the only department that can do that would be new accounts, so “I’ll transfer you over.”

Step three.  Now I had a talk with David in new accounts.  I explained the problem to him as well.  He wasn’t nearly as helpful as the ladies had been.  He kept insisting that he couldn’t do anything until we agreed to sign up for a two year contract of new service.  I finally got him to exit sales pitch mode and listen to me for a moment.  After my explanation he finally seemed to get what I was saying.  He replied, “It sounds like what you need is a technician to come out and do a sight survey.”  “Great idea,” I agreed with a sigh.  Bring him on.  “Oh, well, all we do here is new account set ups.  I’ll have to transfer you to that department.” 

Step four.  “Hello, this is Elizabeth from Tech Services.  How can I help you?”  Tech Services.  Really?  I asked if Mariah was around, but she wasn’t available.  Elizabeth, however, jumped right into tech mode.  She ran some tests to see if the modem was pinging.  I told her it was pinging just fine.  It just couldn’t find its way down the stairs.  She was able to determine that the issue was probably with our router, and that was something we would have to contact the router manufacturer about.  Of course it is.  And then she hesitantly continued, “It really sounds like what you need is a technician come to come out and do a sight survey.”  I knew it.  BRING HIM ON!  “Unless you want to just get one of our new and improved modems with the router built right in.  No charge for the modem itself.  Just a $69.95 service call.”  I asked if that would mean we could just deal with them and be done with it and they would see to it that we have wifi in both buildings.  “Yes, sir,” was the magic reply.  Bring him on. 

We set up a date for the installation for next Thursday.  I will meet the ever-elusive “technician who will come out and do a sight survey.”  Whew.  Thanks, Comcast. 

James 2:17 says, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Father, bring peace to your world where there is no peace.  Amen.

November 13 – “The Birds”

I remembered something Cailyn said the other day that really gripped me at the time.  Back before we left for Waco she and I met Chris at Whataburger after Chris’ arduous jury trial experience (She was not on trial.  She was on the jury).  As we walked in we glanced up and noticed the birds.  Hundreds of birds were beginning to roost on the power lines outside the restaurant (is it proper to call a fast food joint “a restaurant”?).  More and more gathered as we watched.  In seconds the lines were crowded.  The noise level gradually rose louder and louder and louder with all the racket they were making.

It felt like those scenes from that Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds, where birds started attacking people.  I was curious what Cailyn would think of the sight, as one who hadn’t yet been corrupted by the horror movie industry.  We started upwards for a long time.  Finally she looked away, seemingly content with the sense she had made of the situation in her mind.  I waited … and finally she declared, “Oh, I see now, DadDad.  There having a preach.  Like on Sunday at church.”  There you go Seaside.  Come on to church Sunday and let’s have a preach.

James 2:12-13 says, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”

Father, thank you for giving me a chance to be involved in “a preach” every Sunday.  Amen.

November 12 – “Terrifying”

As we prepare for our journey back to Galveston, here are a few of the random grandchild-speak gems of wisdom that came up over the last few days.

Caleb: “Why did God make you impatient, Mom?”

I didn’t hear Christi’s answer, to be honest.   I am certain it was wise and insightful and worded perfectly on the first grade level.  I’m bet it was really tempting to say something along the lines of, “I don’t know, but hurry up and finish your schoolwork and get dressed and brush your teeth … right now.” 

Again, I don’t remember the whole context of this next interchange, probably because it takes a while for the sounds coming through my hearing aids to focus into intelligible utterances in my brain.  In this case, though, the pain and frustration and utter confusion were so evident in Caleb’s voice that I couldn’t help but react. 

Caleb: “Girls are terrifying.”

Me: “Yes.  They are.”

Caleb: “Well, I’ve learned my lesson.  Girls are terrifying.”

Nani: “Wait.  What girls are terrifying?”
Zak: “All girls are terrifying.”

Right you are, my boys.  Right you are.  Terrifying indeed, but infinitely wonderful.

And then there was the touching moment of the week.  Something happened at church Wednesday night that caused Caleb to be overcome by the power of God.  Sounds kind of funny, saying that about a six-year-old.  His words were something along the lines of:

“God spoke to me here in my heart.”  Ever the dramatic one, both hands clasped over his chest and moved up and down, up and down to make his point.  “It was beating really fast like it was going to come right out of my chest.  He told me he wants me to be someone who takes care of animals, of his creation.”

Well, there you go.  No reason God shouldn’t call someone to a specific ministry when he is six.  I noticed while he was telling us his story that Zak, the ever-rational first-born, seemed to be shaking his head almost imperceptibly from side to side, not in a condescending way, though.  Caleb noticed it, too.  He continued, “And Zakary is sad because God has never told him anything like that.” 

Perceptive little guy.  Well, hang in there, Zak.  God talks to people in different ways and at different times.  And remember what you Dad said, “God is always talking.  We just have to learn how to listen.”

James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Father, thank you for speaking to Caleb on his level in a special way.  Keep on speaking to Zak, too, as he learns to hear you at just the right time for him.  Amen.

November 11 – “Finding Fred”

Well, yesterday seemed to be a much calmer day.  Guess the boys are used to us being here now.  Oh, I don’t mean that in the sense that the first day was bad by any means.  I think it was just that the excitement was wearing off a bit.  Well, that and they realized they still had to do schoolwork while we were here.  Always a mood killer.  But they did their schoolwork pretty much without incident.  We even managed to catch an episode of Scooby Doo in there as well.  Add to that three or four hours on the computer and iPad playing Minecraft, plus that one episode of The Thundermans on Nickelodian.  Or was it two?  I can’t remember what came on before the Full House reruns started.  

It was truly fascinating, watching their little faces melt and mold right into the video screens and become one with the hardware.  It kind of reflected what was no doubt happening within their brains as their neurons melded with the software.  Even two-year-old Luke watched his train video over and over and over and over.  What a great brainwashing tool we have discovered.  And we never even had to leave the house to go outside.

OK, Christi … I hope you kept reading.  I was just kidding.  Chris was here to put the brakes on media time.  And that is one of her goals in life, I might add.  We did spend some time out on the back porch playing in the sandbox and the two huge buckets of water that used to be out there.  Hope you weren’t saving them to water plants or anything.  Luke and Zak decided it would be great fun to upend them and watch the water form train track trails across the deck.  They were right.  It was fun. 

I got a classic text from Nathan yesterday.  I think he misses us.  Here’s how it went:

Nathan: “When are y’all coming back?”

Me: “Thursday morning.”

Nathan: “Ok.  That gives me a couple of days to find Fred.”

At this point I thought it appropriate – no, imperative – that Chris be involved in this particular conversation.  So I joined her in the kitchen and read the text aloud to her as she washed dishes.  When I got to the “finding Fred” part, her head slowly turned around, kind of like the little girl in the Exorcist.  And accompanying the head spin was … (no, she didn’t throw up green goo on me.  This was much worse.) … “The Look.”  After a long few seconds that seemed like hours (OK, Nathan, you owe me for taking the full brunt of that one), she simply said, “Seriously?”

I replied to Nathan: “You just got ‘The Look’ from Mom.  She said, ‘Seriously??’”

And his final response: “Lol. Enjoy your vacation!  See ya Thursday!”

OK, wait a minute.  So did that cryptic reply mean he was just joking?  Was it just a ploy to get us home sooner?  Is Fred still missing?  Do we need to notify the Fire Department?  Hey, you guys from Station Four … keep your eyes open for a little brown terr-uahua.  How about the vet?  Maybe he’s heard something.  Or the pound.  Should we leave word with them?  How about notifying the police department?  Or, wait … should we call out the Coast Guard?  Maybe …….

James 1:26 says “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”

Father, thank you for all of our kids and grandkids.  They sure contribute to making life a lot of fun.  Amen.

November 10 – “Answer by instinct”

Whew.  This whole schoolteacher thing is wearing me out and it’s only been a day.  Talk about flashbacks.  Zakary is a lot like his Daddy was when he was being homeschooled.  Hand him the assignments for the day and he goes to town to get them all done.  Quicker he finishes, quicker he can get on to the real business of playing.  Caleb learns a lot like his Uncle Nathan did.  Hands on.  Lots of breaks to allow him to refocus.  And once he “gets” what you are asking for, he can answer almost by instinct.  I always wanted to be able to do that.  Even when we were teaching our boys.  Of course the curriculum wants him to show how he got there.  Instinctual learner vs. by the books curriculum.  Never a good combination. 

They use a lot of media, which is a great way to capture the attention of these youngsters who grew up surrounded by iPhones and laptops and smart TV’s.  Why, I my day … OK I won’t go there.  Bible class was done through an interactive website, and today Zakary has an online Latin class.  It has an actual teacher, students have to log in to the class, and she can actually see and interact with her students through their webcams.  Kind of eerie, if you ask me, but it is way better than the alternative.  Kel took Latin, and if it hadn’t been for a retired high school Latin teacher wanting to keep his skills up, he never would have made it through.  But that’s one of the plusses of homeschooling.  You discover resources you never dreamed even existed.

Next we had to take Zak to his piano lesson out in the middle of nowhere.  The teacher lives on a ranch somewhere outside of Waco.  The rest of us waited outside.  I sat on the porch swing and read a book.  Caleb saved the world from evil minions on my cell phone.  This was Luke’s time for school for the day, though.  Science class.  He and Nani roamed around the yard looking at rocks and water puddles and maybe even a bug or two.  The learning never ceases. 

After all that work, what else could we do but head for Chuck E. Cheese?  All three of the boys were in hog heaven.  Josh and Christi might be in a pickle once Luke learns that the machines are really rather like the computer and iPad that he plays with at home.  He knows something’s up with the mechanical monsters and airplanes, but he doesn’t seem to quite have the gist of it yet.  Thankfully the manager decided to randomly turn on the little carrousel while Luke was standing nearby.  Chris scooped him up and gave him a horse ride.  Lots of fun.  However, it didn’t make for suck a pretty picture when it came time to leave.  Do you realize how hard it is for a two year old to disconnect from all that media stimulation?  Two rounds of dancing with Chuck got Caleb an awful lot of those redeemable tickets.  Zak had his share of them as well, but they came from a careful manipulation of key games that promised higher rewards.  Well, that and he learned to follow the manager around when he randomly keyed games to pit out free tickets. 

Finally it was home for ice cream (Yes, they have Blue Bell in Waco now) and a movie.  Luke watched his “Real Trains” movie.  He has just about worn it out, he watches it so much.  Caleb and Zak agreed to watch Spy Kids 3.  I didn’t remember ever seeing that one, but it was hard to watch it with them.  They bounced around, skipping the background information parts (“That’s too boring”) and fast forwarding to the battle sequences.  Then they turned it off right at the climax because “we’ve seen that part already.”  Chris must have seen the look of disappointment on my face, so she asked Zak to let poor old DadDad see the very end.  Poor old DadDad was ever so grateful. 

James 1:25 says, “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does.”

Father, thank you for the different ways people can learn about your world.  It would seem no one way is better … just different.  I like that.  Amen.

November 9 – “edumacration”

And let the edumacration begin.  We are in Waco for a few days to substitute teach a few grandchildren while Mom and Dad are at a conference.  And I’m serious about the teaching part.  The boys are homeschooled, so we have to put on our flat hats and teacher robes and once again pretend we know what we are doing.  It has been a while.  Caleb is in first grade.  Zakary is in fourth.  Luke is ahead of them all.  He’s two.  Speaking of Luke, the first thing he said to me after I got my DadDad hug when we arrived?  “DadDad bubbles beard,” as he gently grabbed hold of a few fistfuls.  By word of explanation, we received a text picture the other night at his bathtime.  They had a tub full of bubbles, and Luke had some on his chin.  Apparently he recognized the connection to good old DadDad’s face.  And last night?  Hey, a two-year-old never forgets.  DadDad Bubbles Beard. 

We made it up here is time to hear Zak and Caleb sing in their Fall children’s program.   Couldn’t make Zak’s piano recital though.  It started at two.  Chris is good, but not even she can make it from Galveston to Waco in two hours.  We did get to see a video of his performance though.  Masterful, of course.  And they both were great in their program as well. 

So now we move on to the school day.  Well, after we have donuts for breakfast … and five or ten minutes on the iPad “just to help Dad out in his game” … and …

James 1:23-24 says, “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”

Father, ride with Josh and Christi on their way to and from that conference.  And be with these substitute teachers.  We can use all the help we can get.  Amen.  

November 8 – “Fearless Freddy”

Our new little charge made a frightening discovery the other day.  Fred was at his usual post, staring out the clear glass of our front storm door, prepared to protect us from any sort of attack, whether it be from a uniformed UPS delivery guy or our regular mail carrier.  Always at the ready.  Ready Freddy.  Huh.  Right.

The last few days we have had another stray show up that apparently heard the lady in our house might be an easy mark for some free food.  Totally different situation this time though.  First of all, Chris didn’t hit it with a car, so the guilt factor was not present.  And secondly (and of utmost importance in any decision regarding the ultimate fate of the creature in regards to our household) … it was a cat.  We don’t do cats.  At least I don’t do cats.  And I thought Chris was in agreement with said philosophy.  But she sure did have a yen for this loudmouthed feline.  It constantly meowed the whole time it paced around om our porch.  Chris was convinced that all it needed was a little bit of food.  I assured her that if it was a good cat, it would go catch a mouse and have it for breakfast.  Or if it was a great cat, it would catch a rat and have a Thanksgiving feast.  It’s what cats do.  It’s what they were created for.  And either way, it meant we didn’t have to feed it.  Oh, over my admonition she eventually gave it some of the dog’s food.  Imagine that.  Taking food from the mouths of our own creatures and giving it to … a cat - something that was perfectly capable of fending for itself.  Enough of that rant.  Back to the story.

The cat was on the porch and Fred finally saw it.  Now Fred had never before seen a cat.  It was a curious moving object that led to a cocked head and the faintest of Freddy-whines.  The cat slowly made its way closer and closer to the door, realizing that the canine face was connected to a less-than-imposing body.  Fred’s ears perked up (as much as her ears are capable of such a feat.  I think her tail would have done the same, but that permanent curl is not about to straighten itself out, even for a cat).  The whine got just a little bit louder.  The cat found a comfortable spot just outside the front door, close enough that Fred could probably smell the evil interloper’s feline-ic intentions.  Fred stood at attention for a long several minutes, ready for anything.  Prepared to take out any intruder with designs on our door.  Ready Freddy.  Fearless Fred. 

And then it happened.  Actually we are not completely sure what it was that happened, only that it must have been horrific.  Freddy yelped.  Not just once, but over and over, screaming it utter terror.  Her legs were pumping as fast as they could move, but on the slick hardwood floors she was not making much headway.  Looked like one of those cartoons where the feet move but the body stays still.  Her paws finally made contact with the floor enough for her to streak away from the front door like a racehorse out of the gate.  Chris came running and comforted the poor abused puppy.  I walked over to the front door to see what manner of horror had overwhelmed such a fearless watchdog.  And there it sat.  That cat.  Lounging on our door mat as if nothing at all had happened, tail casually swishing through the air.  Now as I said, we didn’t see what actually happened, but I am convinced I know.  I am pretty sure that cat suddenly leapt toward the door, right toward poor unsuspecting Freddy, making one of those grotesque monsterific faces that you see in those internet pranks that mesmerize you with a mellow scene, only to shock you with the sudden appearance of a horrendous face growling at you.  That has to be what happened.  After all, it was a cat.  And that’s what cats do. 

Now I know some dog lovers who would encourage me to take poor Fred to a doggie psychiatrist to help her work through the PSCET (Post Stressful Cat Experience Trauma) she will undoubtedly be experiencing for the rest of her life.  I think I’ll just let it go, though.  I get along well with psychologically “off” animals anyway.  I can relate.

James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

Father, draw some folks to Seaside today who are seeking you.  Amen.