June 1 - “Mom’s Rules”

Luke was first out of bed to join me in the office. Around 7. He said that he actually woke up at 6:30, but Mom’s Rules are that he must stay in bed until 7 … even on Christmas morning. Yikes!

Speaking of “yummy,” Nani fixed pancakes and bacon for breakfast. That’s some good stuff. Sadly, it wasn’t long after that the Waco clan headed out the door on their way home … via the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory in Brennan. Lucky dogs!

After they left we had some leftovers for lunch. Chris attacked our mound of dirty clothes. I took five huge garbage bags full of crushed coke cans (500 pounds) to the redemption center. They bought them for a resounding $34.10. All those years of saving cans. Was it really worth it?

Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭21‬ ‭says,  The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Father, thank you for the safe trip home for those Waco folks. They are pretty special to us. And be with the LaMarque crew on their last leg home from the airport. Amen. 

May 31 - “Where’s the wheel?”

The Josh family got up in the morning and made their way to the beach.  We stayed home in case Christi’s parents decided to come to the house instead of meeting them at the beach. As it turned out, they braved the sand and met them. 

While they were gone, I was tasked with getting some gas in the car and picking up some milk. I noticed right away that traffic at the entrance of our subdivision was unusually heavy. As I turned right, back over my shoulder I noticed the cause of the tie-up. A truck blew a back tire. I mean the tire was gone. Completely. Only thing left was part of the axle. The wrecker driver was trying to figure out how to pick it up onto his flatbed. I guess he finally figured it out, because they were gone when I got back home. 

I got the gas and milk at Randall’s. As I got back in my car, I noticed engine 4 was parked across the street at a little strip mall. I couldn’t resist. I had to check on my guys, of course. But when I approached the driver I commented, “I didn’t know if you guys were over here getting haircuts or eating health food.”  Of course it was neither. They were there doing fire inspections. I chatted with that driver for a while, then remembered I had milk in the car, so I hurried home. 

We went to lunch at Shrimp and Stuff. It was the first time for Christi’s parents. I’m pretty sure we have a couple of new disciples. They said they loved it. 

After eating that big lunch, we went downtown to the Strand. We didn’t do the whole thing, though. Just LaKings for ice cream and Jamaica Me Crazy so Zak could get some souvenirs for his friends. 

We had to do a quick Walmart run while our guests made a return trip to the beach. We had to pick up a few more burger fixins. Luke was elated to have a plain old hamburger after all the exotic seafood. 

Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭2‬ ‭says, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Father, thank you that our guests seemed to have a pretty good time. Now please protect them on their drive home. Amen. 

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May 30 - “Fishing”

We went fishing. And we actually got to our spot at least an hour earlier than we usually do. That would be about 7:30 or so. Cailyn went with me to get bait a little after six, so that was all ready and waiting. 

It was a pretty successful trip for the kids. Everybody who fished actually caught something (well, Cailyn did her best to get skunked, but she came through in the end. That piggy gave her a real fight). We caught several croakers and black drums and a few catfish and one dogfish, but Zak won the prize for his slot redfish.  Nice fishing, everybody!

In the afternoon we braved the Galveston tourist traffic and headed into Texas to hang out at Nathan’s house for a while. It turned into quite the outing. The kids (and Josh) went swimming in the pool. They figured out a way to get the Astros game on their TV, so the Old Man was happy. And since we were all together, we took the fish we caught and some we had in the freezer and combined it with some “no name fish.”  That’s Nathan’s terminology, not mine. They also had some shrimp and French fries and fried okra. Chris brought along some other potatoes to cook in the oven, along with Zak’s red fish that Nathan stuffed with crab. It turned into a sizable little feast. And besides swimming, there may or may not have been a rousing game of softball.  Josh, Luke, and Zak played me, Cailyn, and Caleb. The good guys won, of course. At least I think we did. Nathan was the umpire as well as full-time catcher, and he changed existing rules and created new ones as we went along. Lots of fun, for sure. 

John‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ says, Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Father, Thanks for the chance to go fishing again. It’s been a while. And thank you that every one of the kids caught something. That made it special for them. Amen. 

May 29 - “Special treats”

We had a special treat yesterday. Cailyn wanted us to  come get her for church. Of course the prospect of some Waco cousins arriving sometime during the day may have played a little into her request. So we rushed up to Santa Fe and then turned back toward the Island. We made some time for a quick stop to pick up donuts. They were pretty popular last week, especially with the Praise Team. They continued in that popularity yesterday. 

I surprised Cailyn with a request. I asked her to read the Call to Worship scripture. She did a great job. She even banged on the tambourine for a while. 

We had a guest preacher, since Kel was still in Alaska. The guy’s last name was Strange. He wasn’t. He did a really great job teaching from the Book of Ephesians about the church. Great emphasis on the basics. 

After church we stuck around with Sam and Robert and had various incarnations of shrimp from the Shrimp and Stuff food truck across the street. They no longer serve popcorn shrimp there, but their regular fried shrimp basket was pretty good stuff. Special treat two. 

The Waco Vaughan’s arrived last night. Special treat three. They have been on vacation in New Braunfels, and now they want to hang out here for a day or two. The plan for today is to go fishing. That is, if we can get some bait. That’s where I’m headed now. We’ll see …

Acts‬ ‭4‬:‭31‬ says, After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

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Father, thank you for giving the Waco Vaughan’s a safe journey. Please be with us today as we try to make our way fishing. Amen. 

May 28 - “Late night visit … in the gutter??”

And the photo dumps have begun to arrive. Our mission trip team has completed its work in Port Allsworth, Alaska, and is back in Anchorage. And with the new location comes … cell service! Internet! WiFi!  And with all those modern conveniences comes the ability to post on social media. 

The pictures I have seen so far have been nothing short of amazing. It is truly a beautiful part of God’s creation. And I especially loved the one of Ezra, all decked out in his winter hiking gear. His comment? “I’m basically an Alaska wilderness dude.” Thank you to everyone on the team for your hard work. Now, enjoy your day or two of sightseeing. 

Speaking of their sightseeing, they are seeing some critters on the side of the road off and on.  They tried to convince me that they were mooses. Come on, guys. You know there’s no such thing. You must be confusing it with those deformed Alaskan cows that locals foist off on tourists as mooses. Late last night they even FaceTimed me to show me one of their imaginary friends. Sadly, it had just walked back into the woods right before I answered. Sure. 

We have entered the summer growing season in Galveston. The grass is finally shooting up. As a result we spent a few hours mowing the grass and sweeping up the fragments. The rest of the afternoon we watched part of a movie, and then switched over to the Astros game. Good guys won!

Late last night we had some “interesting” visitors to the neighborhood. Around 9 p.m. we heard noises out in the front. At first glance we noticed an extra car parked, blocking Corey and Janell’s driveway, with the driver’s door standing open. Of course being the concerned neighbors that we try to be for each other around here, I stayed for a closer look. 

And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but two girls in their early 20’s, wearing bikinis (and they shouldn’t have been. Not very flattering), sitting in … the gutter right in front of our house, having a rather spirited discussion. Now that was definitely not a sight one expects to see in our neighborhood, so I stayed at the door, watching and trying to decide if they might need some help. It soon became apparent that the only help they might need would be a mediator or a counselor. 

I touched base with Corey by text to see if he knew who they were, but no. He even called Janell to get her input (she’s out of town). Her idea was to put one of their yippy dogs on a leash, take it outside, and let it bark until they leave. If they had ever escalated beyond their loud banter, I probably would have called and asked for a police drive-by. 

At one point they realized I was at the door watching, so they got up and walked over to the car, opened the trunk, pulled out some drinks, and had a seat over there. Very odd. Before long a guy joined them from a second car that we hadn’t noticed parked a little farther down the street. When he arrived the volume seemed to decrease considerably. Thanks, fella. After another 20 or 30 minutes, they finally drove away. Never a dull moment around here. 

Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭19‬ ‭says, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

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Father, please be with those girls. Help them to resolve whatever issue they were having. Amen. 

May 27 - “Inspection”

We had a few errands on tap for yesterday. First up was a visit to Dennis, our mechanic. No problem there, actually. It was just time to get it inspected. Only issues came when the machine couldn’t read what the car was sending. Come to find out, I was causing the problem because my phone’s Bluetooth was on. I switched it off and all was well. Passed with flying colors. 

Next I drove downtown to get the registration sticker. There was only one guy in front of me in the line. Shortest wait ever there. When I got to the window, there was a bit of an issue. The computer had t yet received the information from the inspection. Fortunately, I had the old-school printout in my hand. She typed in the revenant information, and out popped the sticker. Well, after I gave her the money, of course. 

On the way home I stopped by Central fire station. I haven’t been to any of the stations since before Hawaii. I was worried nobody would even recognize me. The crew was out on a call, but I was greeted warmly  the secretaries and the chiefs who were there. Great to see them all again. 

Back at the house we had a totally different problem. Plumbing. Our sewer was overflowing into the garage and backing up into the bathtub. We called the number for our plumber,  but we weren’t sure if he is still in the business. It’s been a while since we needed him. The answering machine picked up like it used to - same message and everything. So we decided to wait it out and see if he responded. No response. But in the meantime, all the backed up drains … drained. Best we can tell, it’s a function of washing clothes. We just have to be careful on the second and following loads. 

Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬ says, And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Father, thank you for Dennis and the help he has always been to our cars and to us. Amen. 

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May 26 - “$4.99”

I pitched in to help Chris with cleaning up the house to make it ready for home group again. I did the sweeping and vacuuming. She handled the dusting and mopping. And bathroom cleaning. I think we both stopped just a hair before our respective maladies (my back, her heart and surgery soreness) kicked in. Hopefully the house was at least almost back up to acceptable cleanliness standards.  

I did a little excursion on my own after lunch. I went over to Randall’s. No, not for a prescription this time. They actually had Blue Bell ice cream on sale for $4.99 each that’s no less than $4.00 off the regular price. Of course they had a strict limit of two per online account. That was enough for me to nab one of the last two cartons of the new Dr Pepper float flavor. Can’t wait to taste it. 

Sam came over later in the afternoon. She sometimes comes early and hangs out before home group begins. She had some supper with us. She really liked that cauliflower concoction as well. 

Speaking of home group, we had four newbies there. Actually, two were the newbies - Sandy and Ron. They brought along two friends of theirs from San Antonio. Door’s always open …

John‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬ ‭says, But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Father, thanks for the new folks at home group. And thanks for the time we had with Sam. Amen.