February 7 – “Scooping and doling …”

Yesterday was my first Sunday in a very long time that I was not officially in a church staff position, the last 26+ years, of course as a pastor.  Everything I have read concerning transitioning from one pastor to the next in the event of a retirement indicated that I should be gone for a week or two to give the new pastor a chance to establish.  Our plan was to be in Waco to watch the boys play some basketball and worship with Pastor Josh at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church.  That plan got weathered out when games started getting canceled because of accumulations of ice and snow.  Schools were even closing just the other side of the Causeway.  No sensible person would venture out into that kind of a mess.  So instead, we decided to go hear the “new” pastor at First Baptist Church.  I say new because I hadn’t met him yet.  He’s been there a year and a half. 

 

He was a nice enough guy, and we were accosted several times by people trying to get us to come to their Sunday School class.  I don’t mean they simply invited us.  I mean they kept on and on and on when we were trying to leave.  Pretty admirable that they liked the class so much.  They invited us to join several of the class members at a restaurant for lunch.  The teacher even invited me to join him and the pastor and another guy for lunch during the week.  Lots of attention.  But you know what?  We sure missed Seaside.  Nothing quite like it.

 

Last night we drove into Texas to join Kel’s bunch for supper.  Christina made some shrimp gumbo.  Or, in Jachin’s case, shrimp gumbo cut the shrimp … and okra.  He got his bowlful and spent his first few minutes scooping out the offending particles and doling it into the two bowls nearest his, in this case Kel’s and Micah’s.  It still had plenty of substance when he finished, though.  She also adds sausage, and rice is available as well.  Good stuff. 

 

Kel, Jachin, and Micah left after we ate to go play basketball at Bay Area First Baptist Church.  We stayed behind so Chris and Christina could do some serious planning toward our trip to Florida in May to watch Jachin play baseball in a homeschool national tournament.  They were looking for a house to rent for the week.  Apparently, the families all rent houses in the same neighborhood so the guys can hang out together in their down time.  I think they found one they both liked.  We’ll see if it is still available when the time comes to nail down the deposit. 

 

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

 

Father, thank you for the enthusiasm of the folks at church Sunday.  Honor that in their lives, both at home and in the church.  Amen.

February 6 – “A task for the future”

I finished the Travel Buddies Log yesterday.  Almost ten pages of critters of all shapes and sizes.  Still not sure of their final resting place, however.  For now, they are back where they have been, beside my desk awaiting the return of the grandkids.  And the file cabinet is still out in the garage.  A task for the future …

 

Is that how this retirement thing is supposed to go?  Discover and move from one task to the next, throw in a travel adventure here and there, work on a jigsaw puzzle (we started a new one), watch some TV sports or a movie, and mix in a nap or two?  Oh, and maybe – just maybe – when it gets warmer, sneak in a fishing trip.  I do still have to try out my new rod and reel retirement gift. 

 

Speaking of TV sports, that is what we did for most of the day yesterday.  College basketball.  (Well, Chris read a book).  Things are just beginning to spiral down toward March madness.  Last year’s national champion Baylor Bears are struggling to win games in their own conference.  Auburn is ranked number one.  Where are the Gonzagas and the Dukes?  Looks like the tournament this year will be one to behold, that’s for sure. 

 

And speaking of jigsaw puzzles, I have an observation.  Peaceful, serene photos of thirty or forty sailboats moored in the calm waters of a bay near a marina on a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky do not make for the easiest jigsaw puzzles.  The water is all the same color, as is the sky.  The boats all look the same.  The marina offers some differences, as does the greenery of the nearby land mass.  But for the most part … three colors.  It’s on the table.  Feel free to try your hand when you come to visit.  My goal is to have it done before the Super Bowl commercial party here next Sunday (shameless advertisement.  5:00 next Sunday, the 13^th.  Come).  We’ll see how far we get.

 

Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”

 

Father, please be with Kel and the folks at Seaside this morning.  Bless them all with your presence.  Amen.

 

February 5 – “Critter Travel Log”

Chris made quite the announcement in bed last night.  She had been asleep for a good thirty or forty minutes.  I was still working crossword puzzles to unwind, as is my custom.  All of a sudden, she rolled over and announced, “There’s bugs on the ceiling.”  No real emotion.  No fear.  No hysteria.  Just a quiet announcement about the presence overhead.  Thank you for that information.  And yes, I have to admit, I looked.  Got me … I guess.

 

I spent most of my day yesterday on an interesting task.  Very much the retirement mode kind of thing that I wouldn’t have had time for otherwise.  It all worked out like this …

 

Among the piles of boxes of books in the garage is now another file cabinet full of stuff I still have to go through.  I finished ransacking the cabinets we already have inside, and I don’t anticipate that we can do without the other cabinet.  That means, however, that we have to make a place for it in the office, which will not be an easy feat.  There is an obvious choice of a place.  However, that spot is currently in use by a horde of stuffed beasts and other squeezable phenomena.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 85 or so are currently living precariously in two plastic tubs next to my desk.  Ten or twelve more are perched on the shelf and on my desk.  Each of these critters has a story it represents, generally from one of our travels.  All of those critters will have to be humanely relocated to make room for the incoming file cabinet. 

 

All that to say … I spent much of my day in an effort to catalogue each critter and connect it to its story – however brief – from the Histories of Kelley and Chris on the Road.  Chris was a big help.  She looked through the photos in my camera to find the picture I invariably took of each one.  That gave us a date.  I was then able to locate the blog post that named the creature.  From there I copied whatever comments I made about it onto a separate file page, along with the picture, and voila … a travel log of animal buddies. 

So, have I finished the task?  Not exactly.  I still have nineteen or twenty that I have to enter onto the travel log.  And then I have to decide whether to even attempt to identify the other critters that have cropped up through the years, usually to be used as props -er - sermon illustrations.  They may simply end up in a mass pile somewhere.  But then, they all might end up in a similar situation.  In fact, right now the entire floor of the office is strewn with stuffed creatures.  Ah, well.  Saturdays are for Spring cleaning, right?  Wait.  Is today Saturday?

 

Proverbs 13:1 says, “A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not respond to rebukes.”

 

Father, thank you for all the memories we have embodied in the little critters around here.  Help us as we look to gather many more.  Memories and critters.  Amen.

February 4 – “It’s c-c-c-cold”

Imagine my surprise this morning when I opened the weather app on my phone.  34 degrees.  Bad enough.  But it also displayed that little icon that indicates snow.  Right.  I got dressed and went outside to get the newspaper.  Nope.  No snow.  No rain.  No sleet.  Nothing.  Well, nothing but really cold weather.  I think the wind chill is right at 20.  Wait.  The temperature is dropping.  Now it’s 33 degrees, expected to hit 32 around 8 a.m. 

 

I’m pretty sure our plan for today is not much different that our plan was yesterday.  Stay inside and keep warm.  Chris did have cardiac rehab yesterday, though.  And her technician was fifteen minutes plus late … again.  She is supposed to have it again today, but one tech comes in from Texas City (the chronically late one), and one comes in from Clute (Much farther away).  We have a hunch they will call and cancel the appointment.

 

I spent the day going through old files.  I figured I needed to clean out the ones already inside the house before we bring in a whole other file cabinet full of stuff from college.  I imagine that will continue to be my project for today as well.  I need to come up with the best way to combine everything into some semblance of order.  Meanwhile, I have emptied the little wastebasket under my desk two or three times already.  Not sure how many more trips to the outside bin are in my future …

 

We were back at it for home group last night.  Almost all of our regulars were there for the grand finale of the life of Samson.  Well, not so grand for him.  He died under a pile of rubble, but he took thousands of Philistines with him.  The best part of the evening for me was when each of the folks was gifted with kind words from everyone else in the group.  I really enjoyed hearing them encourage each other and watching the faces of the ones being honored.  Keep that stuff up, guys.

 

1 Corinthians 9:25 says, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

 

Father, thank you for the intimacy that has developed among the ones in our home group.  Keep them warmly affectionate to each other.  It just sounds so … biblical. Amen. 

February 3 – “Happy Two’s Day”

I almost missed the whole Groundhog Day scenario yesterday.  Thanks to a friend who texted to wish me a happy … well, here’s what he said:

“Happy Two’s Day, professional beach bum!  2/2/22”
Thanks for the reminder, Cameron.  I understand the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow.  So the Northwest gets six more weeks of winter.  Not so for Carmella Crab.  It was way too foggy here in Galveston for her to even know if she was in the water or out.  Surely we are about done around here.  Of course, it’s supposed to be in the 30’s and dangerously close to freezing this weekend …

 

My new Retirement Clock has an interesting way to put in the battery.  You have to remove the face of the clock, which pulls off with all the innards, leaving just the wood casing.  Fascinating.  Problem was, I couldn’t get the face off.  The only instructions were that a suction cup worked best.  So we went to WalMart to see if such a creation actually existed.  And to our surprise, there was a suction-mounted bathroom hook that looked like it would work.  Sadly, it was exactly the same size as the clock face, which meant it couldn’t get its suction to make a grip.  It was close enough, though, that I figured out a way to make it work.  The clock is now humming away on the shelf, reminding me that … well, that I don’t really have to be anywhere in particular. 

 

We also went by Randall’s to pick up a prescription.  This one was for me.  The older guy in front of us – OK, he was probably our age – was complaining about his young whippersnapper doctor who must be all of 38 or 39 years old.  “Just a kid, you know?”  I think we must have the same doctor.  My guy’s a youngster as well.  And the funny thing is, I have heard myself saying the same things about him to Chris.  Not that I don’t trust him.  I just don’t want him messing with the system of medications I have been using for years.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  That’s basically what my cohort was saying as well.  I’m with you, my friend.

 

Matthew 5:44 says, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

 

Father, thank you for my buddy Cameron and his reminder text yesterday.  There’s something about knowing the day that allows you to enjoy it to its fullest.  Bless him.  Amen.

February 2 – “Book Box Brothers”

When Chris got back from rehab we sat down at the table and checked out a few more places in Utah that she has discovered.  They seem to be somewhat in our flight plan, so maybe we can just add them to the list.  We also reviewed the different National Parks we have already visited.  There are several that we have been to, but don’t have that elusive stamp from.  I fear we might be taking some side trips on our way home from Jachin’s Florida baseball tournament in May.

 

Kel came over for a while yesterday.  Well, I had to go get him.  He took his car to Dennis to be worked on – some kind of oil leak, and he didn’t particularly want to stand around there waiting.  Hanging out with ol’ Mom and Dad won out over the mechanic shop.  I feel honored.  It didn’t take long to discover that the part he needed wouldn’t be in until Thursday, so we went back to the shop to pick up the car so they could use it for the next few days. 

 

I guess our big accomplishment from yesterday would be our last trip to the church.  We had to pick up that last file cabinet and the painting on the wall.  We took the files out of the cabinet and put them into boxes.  Why?  Because there was no way we were moving that cabinet fully loaded.  In fact, it was plenty heavy all by itself.  We finally managed to manhandle (and woman-handle – Chris helped) everything into the truck and get them home.  They joined their book box brothers (sounds like a new boy band) in the garage until such time as we find an alternative home for the pile of stuffed animals in the house.  I’ll eventually go through the files and cull out a lot, I assume.  Maybe even get rid of the cabinet altogether.  I’ll just add that to my retirement checklist.

 

2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.”

 

Father, please help Dennis find out what needs to be done with Kel’s car.  And help them find another car for their family to use.  Amen.

February 1 – “First Adventure”

Retirement Day One started mildly enough.  I slept in until 6.  We saw Josh and his family off shortly after 8.  So let the madness begin …

 

Well, not exactly madness.  At least not yet.  We sat at the table and went through all the gifts and envelopes and well-wishes and bucket list recommendations.  So many expressions of love and appreciation.  Each one was perfectly special in its own way.  Guess that what makes relationships worth pursuing – they each have a story to tell that is unique that no one can take away from.  We really enjoyed those bucket list ideas, by the way.  I’m pretty sure Chris is going to make a whole new list of future adventures …

 

But on to our first retirement adventure.  It was a simple one, really.  At least it should have been.  Cailyn had a basketball game.  Not a big deal, right?  We have gone to several games already.  But this one was an away game.  In Lake Jackson.  That’s about an hour away, so, yes, that counts as a road trip, right?  After a quick trip to WalMart to replenish some fruit supplies, we packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some Buc-ees snacks (Thanks, Ray and MariAnn) and were off. 

 

And of course, it had started raining.  Our new Siri Guy voice assured us the quickest route was to go up to 2004 and cross the country that way.  We know that route pretty well.  It was also the quickest way to get to Bay City back when we made those jaunts fairly regularly.  Chris dug in and pointed us in the right direction. 

 

All was well until we arrived at the school.  We pulled into the parking lot and realized that there was no Santa Fe school bus in sight.  In fact, only a few cars were parked there, and the game before Cailyn’s was already in progress.  Chris circled that lot, and we decided to try the other side of the campus.  Sure enough, there was the bus.  But when we reached the road to turn left … of course the sign said, “No Left Turn.”  Chris drove on down to the next intersection, pulled into a church parking lot, and headed back.  And … whoops.  Missed the turn into the school parking lot.  She pulled into the next driveway but ran into a locked gate right before the elusive parking lot street.  Well, she didn’t actually “run into” the gate.  She stopped before she hit it.  So, she turned around and drove back to the back of the school again so we could check for access that way.  Nope.  Keep on driving.  Here we go.  All the way back around to the front and down to the church parking lot again.  She found the right driveway this time, but almost turned the wrong way into the lot itself (Those pesky “Do not enter this way” signs).  We finally made it to a safe parking space, though, and we were in plenty of time even to see most of the first game. 

 

Sadly, both Santa Fe teams fell short in the scoring race.  Cailyn’s squad really made a run for it late, though.  They got to within five after being down by more than ten.  Couldn’t quite hold on, though.  Cailyn played her usual swarming-style of defense.  Drove her opponent crazy.  She did her job in that department.

 

After the game we switched drivers.  I generally have nighttime driving duty.  How hard could it be, after all?  All I had to do was retrace Chris’ route, right?  Surely Mr. Siri could help me with that.  Well, he helped me, all right.  Skipped right past the road we came in on.  Took us down to a major freeway (288).  That was all fine, until he forgot to tell us to take the exit to our road home (2004).  Zip.  Right on past.  “Recalculating.”  Yeah.  If you had just spoken up last time, you wouldn’t have to recalculate.  Now, in most cases I wouldn’t have minded a little side trip.  Short cuts are awesome, you know.  But in this case … it was dark.  It was raining hard.  We just wanted to go home.  But the short cut was a pretty simple work of art to behold.  We drove in a big circle and hit our road home somewhere, somehow.  And strangely enough, it only added ten or fifteen minutes to our time.  Guess we can work with that.  At least now we have a semi-memorable event to look back on as our very first retirement adventure.

 

Psalms 121:2 says, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

 

Father, thank you for your protection as we floundered around in the darkness last night.  Amen.