June 21 - “Slip-n-slide Kickball”

We made a big Walmart run yesterday. For bananas. And by the time we checked out we had only spent $122. Well, it was a little less than that. We bought some red delicious apples, but they charged us at tangerine prices. Then we had to stand in line forever to get the refund. But it got done. Bananas are in hand.

Chris had an appointment with the lympho-something or other clinic in the afternoon. Their job apparently kicks in when lymph nodes have been removed. Gotta cover all our bases here. Their recommendation was basically to wear a compression sleeve and do some particular exercises. 

Last night we went to Santa Fe for Cailyn’s annual summer party. Not sure how we made the guest list amidst all the junior high kids, but we felt pretty special. Oops. Wait. They are almost high school kids. My bad. But we felt so special that we took along some of the coveted Dr Pepper float ice cream. 

The youngsters played in the pool, but they had a really great time playing kickball with slip-n-slide base paths and kiddie swimming pool bases. That was hilarious to watch. We had sub sandwiches and grapes to eat. Thanks for letting us oldsters hang out. 

Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ says, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Father, thank you for the good kids we met last night. Bless them with your grace. Amen. 

June 20 - “Latest holiday weekend”

So how did we spend our latest holiday weekend in Galveston? Well, I’ll say up front that we didn’t go anywhere to speak of. Holiday weekends mean the population of the island rises by the tens of thousands. 

I did have a phone call first thing in the morning. Nathan was checking in with Happy Father’s Day wishes, since he couldn’t make the call on Sunday. It’s always a lot of fun chatting with him. 

So first we did a little yard work before it got too hot. We planted two replacement azaleas in the front flowerbed. Easy part. Then we trimmed back some of the vines on the back fence. Harder. Also did some flat out flower bed weeding. 

After some lunch, Chris kept the workday going. She washed clothes and a certain little dog. Both smell quite a bit nicer now. The clothes and dog, I mean. Chris always smells great. 

2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ ‭says, All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation

Father, thank you for our quiet day at home. We need those every so often. Amen. 

June 19 - “Best (Goofy) Dad Ever”

I was greeted with a package at our front door when we arrived home from church. Before I even opened it, I had an unmistakable clue as to who it was from. The return address read: “From Not Kel or Nathan.”  Could it have been Josh?  

Inside was a very cool shirt. Big picture of Disney’s Goofy with the words, “Best Dad Ever.”  I took a picture of the shirt and the return address and posted it on Facebook. Of course Nathan replied, “That definitely has my name on it. You’re welcome. Happy Father’s Day!!!!”  Now I’m confused …

Josh called later that afternoon to stake his claim further. He didn’t seem surprised at all by the attempt at usurpation on my Facebook post. Seems he thinks his brothers have done similar surprise attacks in the past. Hmm. 

Malachi‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ says, He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.

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Father, thank you for my three boys and the lovely ladies who accepted them as wives, not to mention the fabulous grandkids they presented me with. Amen. 

June 18 - “However … Fortunately”

I had a wedding meeting yesterday. Just me and the bride and groom and their dogs. They are coming down from the Dallas area for a destination wedding at the San Luis Hotel. Always a treat. 

Most of the time the weddings are outdoors in their gazebo. Very pretty, and everyone has a great view of the beach. However … it gets hot. Really hot. Especially for formal weddings. Fortunately … in this case, they arranged for the wedding to be indoors in the Grand Ballroom. Good choice. 

I was with them for a good 45 minutes. We discussed cruises and fishing and rescue dogs (they have two) and galveston traffic and oh, yeah … their wedding.  This one should be a fun one. The groom’s family is Muslim. The bride’s family is Catholic. Quite the combination. The couple most assuredly wants a Christian wedding, though. She even picked out three or four New Testament scriptures to be read at the service. 

Luke 6:36 says, Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful

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‬ ‭Father, be with this young couple as they go through wedding and marriage preparations. Amen. 

June 17 - “The music continued …”

I was putting away the lawn mower and preparing to get up on the roof an do some tree branch trimming. It is hurricane season, you know. As I bent over to tighten a bolt on the mower, suddenly I heard a noise. Sounded like one of those “hope you go to heaven” songs they play at funerals. I stood up. The music continued. I looked all around me. I supposed, briefly, that it could be coming from our new neighbors next door. But they are in their late 20’s or early 30’s. No way. It could have been their dogs. They are getting used to the Galveston heat. Not an easy task for a German Shepherd or a husky, to be sure. Maybe they cracked under the pressure of the heat and humidity, stole their master’s phone and reprogrammed it to play … yeah, no. And yet the music continued. 

I finally determined that maybe it was me getting somewhat closer to heaven. I had been out in the sun for several hours, so I was really hot. And as they say, “when you reach a certain age …”  and the music continued. 

As I began to run through my mental list of thanksgivings and regrets, amidst the now-very pointed funeral chimes, I quieted the thoughts racing through my head and really listened. Yep. There it was again. The music was clearly being punctuated by a voice. And what was that it was saying? Speak, Lord, I’m listening. 

“Wait a minute,” I thought as I came crashing down from my reverie. That’s … that’s … That is a commercial for a funeral home. OK. Color me fooled. Apparently, as I bent down to work on the mower, somehow my phone (in my pocket) turned on Facebook, and the all-seeing Facebookians felt it would be in my best interest to either stop and cool down, or get ready for the worst. Scary creatures, those FaceBookians. 

Oh. I never got to the roof trimming. Figured it must at least be time to get out of the sun. 

1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭says, Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

Father, I am ready. There are a few more things I’d like to do and see first, though. Amen. 

June 16 - “Stabbing … part 2? 3? 4??”

Our regular Thursday cleaning day went pretty much without a hitch. Of course my part in the CD whole scheme of things just involved straightening up the office and vacuuming the carpets. Any complaints there, come and see me. Chris did the rest, so I already know there won’t be any complaints. She’s a master cleaner, that’s for sure. 

We had to get as much done as possible before 10:15. That was departure time. I had an appointment with my back pain doc. He’s the one that did the stabbing back there once before. Then we had to put stabbing part two (of three) on hold because of Chris’ surgery. Now my neurosurgeon has added a stabbing part four to the mix. And part four will most likely jump to part three in priority. Are you keeping up with all this stabbing?  I barely am. This new one is to steroid-ize the Jurassic- er, I mean thoracic level (I think) pain I’ve been having. It’s the higher up in the middle of my back area. 

As it turned out, the doc kind of left it up to me. Did I want to get the thoracic shot now and see how that does and do the lumbar later? Or do I want to finish out the lumbar first? Easy decision for me. Hit that thoracic button. That procedure is set for the end of next week. Gives them time to shake down Medicare to see how much we have to pay before they’ll do it. 

On the way home we stopped at Olive Garden to celebrate. Celebrate what? We made it through another doctor’s appointment. Hey, when you reach a certain age, you celebrate whatever and whenever you can. 

Nahum‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭says, The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him

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Father, thank you for doctors and their commitment to find issues and help others deal with them. Amen. 

June 15 - “It was so hot …”

Yesterday was my day to go fishing. I prefer wade fishing in the Gulf, but it was quite windy, and the waves were churning it up. So I returned to my go-to alternative, the Flamingo Way city park in Jamaica Beach. 

Up front, let me report on the actual fishing. A few hardhead catfish (trash), some croaker and piggies (bait), something big that broke a line (gotta include that one that got away, of course).  And finally, two keeper redfish. Really nice fish that each gave me  a fun battle. 

But … after the sun came up, it was hot. I mean really hot. It was so hot , the fish came up to the top and asked if it was any cooler where I was.

It was so hot that when I spilled my coffee, the atmosphere couldn’t differentiate between the temperatures so a bubble of coffee just sat on the sidewalk and looked longingly at me, asking if it was any cooler in my stomach. 

It was so hot, the suntan lotion came out of the tube, looked around, and dove back inside, sweating. I had to coax it out by standing in the shade. 

It was so hot the shrimp were snapping out of the bait bucket and attaching themselves to the hook, all the while begging to be thrown into the water -  fishes and all. 

I ended up doing something I rarely do. I packed up and left before using up all my bait. But the fish had stopped biting anyway. Did I mention it was hot? 

Back home, Chris baked up one of the redfish for lunch. Yummy stuff. A real perfect “hot.”

Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬ ‭says, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

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Father, once again I thank you for the fun ways you provide food for us. Amen.