May 7 – “But the seagull …”

I guess I started something with my blog about poopage yesterday.  Apparently a seagull read it.  We were innocently watching our neighbor Brennan play a baseball game last night.  Suddenly I felt what I thought was a tiny trace of a raindrop flick on my arm.  I glanced down in time to see … Chris aghast in horror, groping into her purse for assistance.  Yep.  An offensive seagull had targeted her pink jacket and accomplished a direct hit on her shoulder.  She desperately wiped it away as best she could, and we resumed watching the game.

But the seagull …

Nope, the seagull was not finished.  Happy to have found that the usually ever-moving location of the Seagull Latrine was finally stationary, the seagull swooped in for another run.  Pow!  You guessed it.  Although he missed the jacket this time he did find her shirt – a much harder target.  More points, I imagine, in this grand seagull game of skill and accuracy. 

Now I have to say here that I have lived in Galveston a good portion of my life, and I have never seen anyone nailed twice in a row like that.  I was ready to tip my cap to that bird.  Well, almost ready.  Well, actually I wasn’t about to take my hat off until we were safely inside the car.  Unbelievable. 

But the seagull …

No way.  It couldn’t possibly be.  Yep.  The seagull returned for a third and final pass.  And it was once again a successful one.  Well, successful for him.  Not so much for Chris.  By then I had moved just a little further away from her.  This was absolutely unheard of.  Three shots in about an hour’s time.  Guess our laundry will see a bit of an volume increase today …

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Father, thank you for the fun of the baseball game, and especially for Chris’ great attitude.  Amen.

May 6 – “A Poopy Morning”

Well, that was an interesting start to the morning.  We were scheduled to pick up Cailyn for church with us at around 8 a.m.  Never a problem.  However, at 5:59 I received a text from Nathan, who had to be at work by 6:30.  The interchange went like this:

Nathan: “Can Cailyn come on over in about 15?  We’ve had a Poopy morning and everyone is awake!!”

Now, how would you respond to something like that?  I mean, I have had a few poor starts to the day, and I have come up with some colorful adjectives to describe them, but “Poopy” (capital letter his) just seemed a little extreme.  I was carefully formulating my response of encouragement when my phone’s alert sound once again pierced the early morning air. 

Nathan: “One of the dogs got sick last night and had diarrhea everywhere!!”

Ah.  Now it makes sense.  The appeal was ever so much more than just a reflection of a day’s bad start.  It was an actual reference to an actual Poopy event.  That changed everything.  I deleted my previous effort at a response.  Shifted gears from the realm of emotive response to the simple and practical.  I responded:

Me: “Leave the poop.  Bring the kid!”

Within 15 minutes Cailyn was walking through our door, ready to join us for another great day at church, all thoughts of poopiness and stinkiness left behind.  Sadly, she and Chris returned to the scene of the crime (I couldn’t leave with them  I had another appointment with Justin Verlander and Alex Bregman and a few of their closest friends … the Astros were playing in Monterrey, Mexico).  The girls had to close and lock the ventilation window and turn off the circulation fans.  Cailyn said she could still smell the poopiness.  Chris said all she could smell was potpourri.  Sounds like the same to me – poopy … po-poo-ree.  Yep.  Both strong smells.  I think I’ll stick with … Go Astros.

Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Father, please help Nathan and April and the vet sort out what the problem is with their pups.  Amen.

May 5 – “Outside the walls”

One part of the Servolution Weekend – the obvious one, I guess – involved the service projects.  20 or so churches all over the Island, and this year even in Texas City, were challenged to take on some service to the community project.  It could be anything, really, just so it took the believers outside the walls of the local church building.  Some did projects on Saturday; others will be doing them this morning.  Some have adjusted their morning schedule to work during their regular church hour – a real challenge to some people to literally “get out of the box.”

Seasiders were encouraged to come up with servolution projects of their own, since we just cooperated in a service project just a few weeks ago when we helped restore a house in Bay Harbor.  Chris came up with one for us.  We were outside mowing the lawn and pulling weeds from flower beds.  As I cranked up the weedeater in the front yard, Chris approached and got my attention.  She reminded me that our neighbors generally mow their yard, but apparently they don’t have access to a weedeater or edger.  So we edged their front sidewalk and swept it all up.  We also trimmed the tree in their front yard that was looking pretty ragged.  We saw the neighbors later on their front porch, but honestly, we don’t thing they have even noticed yet.  That’s OK, though.  It’s not about recognition, it’s about service in the name of Jesus. 

We were not able to attend the United Worship Service of Praise on Friday night, which was another part of the weekend.  I did see some pictures online, though.  Looks like it was a great night of praise.

And now we get to go to Seaside for our Sunday worship.  Cailyn is coming with us, so that always makes for an especially fun day.  Here we go …

Romans 12:12 says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Father, thank you for the service that was accomplished this weekend.  Use it to announce to Galveston that believers care.  Amen.

May 4 - “Are you praying today?”

I started out Servolution Weekend Thursday by attending the National Day of Prayer meeting on the steps of the Galveston County Justice Center.  A pretty good crowd was there when I arrived, since I stopped by station five to check in with the guys there first.  As I walked up, one of the guys involved with Christ Together Galveston asked me, “Are you praying today?”  I hesitated.  I knew what he meant.  He was asking if I was on the program of dignitaries.  I let the silence grow with his anticipation of my response.  Finally I replied, “Well, uh, yes I do plan to pray today.  Just not up on that stage as part of the program.”   We enjoyed a laugh together as he realized how his question could be taken. 

The theme of the event was “Love One Another,” taken from John 13:34.  And there was quite a collection of dignitaries speaking and praying.  Check out this list:

 

A letter from Senator Ted Cruz was read acknowledging the day as an official day of prayer on the national level.

The Galveston mayor pro-tem read a resolution proclaiming the day as an official day of prayer on the city level.

A county commissioner read a third resolution.  Yep.  He made the day official on the county level. 

The pledge of allegiance was led by a group of children from Anchored Learning Center.

The National Anthem, “America,” and “God Bless America” was played by the Austin Middle School Band.  And they did a great job, too.

During the prayer segment, prayers were led by:

A local funeral director who also emceed the event.

The sheriff’s office jail chaplain.

A Chamber of Commerce member, who also prayed for the youngster entrepeneurs involved in the city-wide Lemonade Day today.

Several local pastors led in prayer for the armed forces, national leaders, state and judicial leaders, churches, school students and leaders, and families.  One lady pastor held everyone enthralled by her steadily rising crescendo of appeals to God.  Then the next guy began his prayer almost in a whisper and was just as enthralling in his calm and quiet pleas.

The final prayer was led by the Galveston chief of police, as he lifted up police, fire, EMS, and other civil servants. 

It was quite an experience.  If you have never attended on, check it out next year.

“Love one another just as I have loved you”

Father, thank you for the group of folks who were gathered in prayer on Thursday.  Help us to keep that us for - oh, say – 364 more days of the year.  Amen.

May 3 – “Add another hat …”

We started the day off with a walk again.  Back to the ol’ three-mile hike grind.  Gotta get ready for Alaska. 

After the hike I decided to make the big attempt.  I tried on another hat … Refrigerator repairman.  See, our fridge has been intermittently leaking from the bottom for quite some time now.  Best we can tell, it had something to do with whenever the freezer went through its self-defrost cycle.  But it was pretty annoying to walk over to the sink and feel the slosh beneath your feet.  It’s especially exasperating when one is wearing only socks as a foot covering. 

Now, we already know from past experience that to have a repairman come to the house costs $99.  That’s just for him to come.  Then he starts on the clock.  So you pay for his time and labor and the cost of whatever parts he has to replace, all on top of the $99 travel fee.  So a few days ago we pulled out the fridge, opened up its guts, and did an inspection of our own.  It didn’t take long to find the offending piece.  The plastic drip pan was simply crumbling to pieces.  It had not only a long crack across the bottom, but one corner looked like a tiny mouse had chewed its way through and left behind an exit strategy.  I managed to find the part number, so we went ahead and ordered it online. 

Next came the repairman training.  That consisted of watching a YouTube video of some guy installing the part.  Quite informative, actually.  Answered the only real question I had.  I can do that.  Easy Peasy. 

So the part arrived and the time was nigh.  Repairman Hat was donned and we were on.  We started out by pulling out the fridge again.  You know, that’s not such an easy task.  The thing is really heavy.  Unscrewed the access panel.  No problem.  Oops, found another screw I hadn’t seen the first time.  Little harder to access, cut finally got it out, unhooked the power cord, and the panel was gone.  Now to follow the video steps, some of which were simple.  Remove the drain tube.  Check.  Pull up on the copper tubing to release it from the tray, but be careful not to bend it.  Check.  Slightly twist the coolant fan to the left and push it gently backwards to release it from the tray.  Twist it.  Push it.  Gently.  Gently?  Nope.  Push hard.  Twist mightily.  Tilt it forward.  Force the bottom backward.  Twist again.  Tug.  Pull.  Watch the old tray crumble.  There.  Finally.  Coolant fan removed.  Check.  Lift the tray slightly to get it under the aforementioned copper tubing and pull it out.  Check.  Phew.  That was not as easy as it looked in the video. 

Then it was – reverse the procedure.  Well, sort of.  I got the new tray in and under the copper, and copper snapped into place, and drain tube snapped back in.  Then I attacked replacing the fan.  Not easy.  I twisted and turned and pushed and tugged and grunted and groaned.  But finally I heard the tell-tale snap of it locking into place.  Next we replaced the power cord and all the screws.  Done.  Well, technically not done yet.  Still had to plug it in.  There.  Fan on, cooling restored.  But still not done.  Still had to shove the fridge back into its cranny in the kitchen.  That took some cooperative muscling by the two of us, but we got it done.  Mission accomplished.  Add another hat to the pile. 

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “pray continually.”

Father, thank you for helping me out with the courage to give the repairman hat a try.  Amen.

May 2 – “Amidst the constables …”

The Words With Friends app has been discovered.  Caleb was the one who first initiated the frenzied playing right before we left, and when Zak saw that his brother was actually having fun, he decided he had to be a part of it as well.  As it turned out, the two of them are pretty good.  They worked together to challenge Nani and held their own admirably.

The road trip back home was relatively uneventful.  We stopped to eat lunch at Cracker Barrel in College Station as is our custom.  As it happened, the place was packed with constables from all over.  I guess we could feel safe, if nothing else.  Of course that meant the line to pay our bill was quite long.  I only heard one complaint though.  It was from a lady who had called in an order and didn’t have the time to stand in line to pay.  She left without her food.  Everyone else was calmly chatting. 

There was an old guy in line in front of me who was regaling a lady with story after story.  At one point he said, “Yep.  I told one of them constables fellers, ‘Well, if’n I was to walk on my check today and get caught, I reckon I’d be eatin’ free agin tonight.’  That constable told me I better be more careful what I was sayin’ in front of these ten law officers.”

Later on down the road I saw another constable at Bucees.  O almost asked him if he had just had lunch over at the Cracker Barrel in College Station.  Didn’t though.  Afraid he might ask if I knew anything about some old guy who walked on his check …

Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

Father, thank you for the service of those constables.  Thanks, too for the great attitude of all the people in that line.  It was nice to be amidst something pleasant like that.  Amen.

May 1 - “Inside the Sparkly Castle”

I experienced a taste of Caleb’s math work yesterday.  He has one section at the start of every unit called mental math.  He has to look at a problem and figure out the answer in his head.  Just look at it for a while and suddenly have the answer pop into your head and out your mouth.  He’s pretty good at it, too.  Takes after his Uncle Nathan, I guess.  He was like that.  Infuriated his mother. I don’t know how many times I heard, “Show your work.”  Zak said he could do the mental stuff too, but he greatly prefers writing it down.  Me too, Zak.  I got the Roman numeral translation, thanks to the Super Bowl.  Oh, and the estimating a tip question was easy, too, thanks to our many journeys and eating out.

Meanwhile Luke was doing letter “L” stuff.  He came up with six or seven words right off the bat that started with the L sound.  Never heard him mention “Luke” though.  AnnaGrace was in a bit of a tizzy.  “I’m looking for my glass slippers,” was her lament.  She never found them, but she did accept an alternative from her stash of footwear.  It has also been fun to watch AnnaGrace connect with Chris.  I found them in the “Sparkly Castle” yesterday.  It’s some kind of sheer material, hangy-down from the ceiling in a circle kind of thing.  Very pretty.  They did invite me in as well, so I could experience the magic of the sparkle as well.

Josh was at work, and the crowd went to piano lessons in the afternoon.  I stayed behind and watched a Tom Hanks movie I had never seen.  Spies on the Bridge.  It was based on the true story of the Francis Gary Powell spy incident during the Cold War with the Soviet Union.  Fascinating account.  I liked it.

We thought Caleb’s allergic reaction would keep him off the baseball field last night.  Well, that or the predicted rainfall.  Neither happened, however.  Mom was in an approving mood, so she released him medically, and the rain never showed up.  Phew.  That was a close one.  The game was a fun one ... for Caleb’s team.  They won handily, 12-2.  Caleb is quite the free swinger.  I like that.  Shows he really wants to hit the ball when he is at the plate.  He got on base his first at bat and worked his way around to score.  Got all that one on video, too.  I told him after the game that his team must have inspired the Astros.  They ended up winning 11-0.

So we’re headed back home today.  Mission accomplished.

Hebrews 12:2 says, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.  For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Father, thank you that we got to see both guys play this trip.  Please keep healing Caleb, and add Zak to that list as well.  Amen.