November 7 - “The Pain Chronicles”

Boy, did I ever have a rough night-before-last-night.  After the fire I had a bowl of Chris’ chili. We watched a Hallmark movie together and went to bed about our usual time. I could tell right away, though, that it was going to be a restless night. Back already hurting. Exhausted from the fire experience. Late-night chili. Time change. Not the best combination for getting to sleep with ease. 

After a few attempts at getting comfortable, I grabbed a pillow and went on to the recliner so I wouldn’t bother Chris. I was having a little trouble breathing, probably because of all the smoke at the fire. Of course the biggest culprit was my back. It just refused to let me settle in, even after I moved. I guess the best way to put this is … I’m convinced that last back shot simply missed. Didn’t work at all. I’m pretty much back to where I was back before the first shot did hit the mark and gave me some relief. Guess I’ll live with it again for a few months until I see the pain doc again and we discuss the electrical stimulation implant. Or the neurosurgeon decides I need that rod insert in my back. Great options, huh?

I tried to get some sleep in yesterday afternoon while Chris took Sam to her radiation appointment. That didn’t work so well. On a positive note, though, I did get the jigsaw puzzle almost done. Chris will finish it off soon, as usual. Here’s praying things will settle down and get better. 

Colossians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ says, Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Father, I really could do with some regular sleep. Amen. 

November 6 - “Through the fire”

We had another good crowd at church yesterday. Lots of young children and adults of all ages. Pastor Kel continued his teaching through the Book of Mark. This one was one of my favorite stories. Bartimaeus. I did a monologue on the story many years ago. One of my favorites of those as well. Great lessons there. Check it out in Mark 10. 

After church we went over to Way West Grill for lunch. Good BLT for me. Chris had a grilled chicken sandwich. Sam had a burger with all sorts of extra stuff on it. Ezra came with us. Oh, and his Mom and Dad did, too. 

Late in the afternoon I responded to a fire call in Jamaica Beach. The house was fully engulfed by the time the fire departments arrived. The homes on either side were in danger as well, and both received some damage. Jamaica Beach FD got there first, of course. Galveston ended up responding as well, so I was able to see quite a few of our guys. And as usual, I was extremely proud of both departments for their professionalism and respectfulness. 

As it turned out, when I arrived the chief asked me to connect with the homeowner. They had just found out that a friend of his might have been trapped inside. I became sort of a liaison between the homeowner and the fire department, relaying messages back and forth. Sadly, that meant I was also the one to deliver the confirmation of the death of his friend. Of course that is one of the difficult parts of my FD chaplain ministry. 

On a more positive note, however, I was also allowed to deliver one object that had made it through the fire and had been found by the firefighters. As I handed it to the homeowner’s wife, she asked, “Is it a Bible?”  A good friend of theirs who was supporting them immediately interjected, “What else would it be?”  It was, indeed, the Bible she kept on a little table in the living room. It was in pretty rough shape but surprisingly still readable. They were very appreciative. 

The Fire Marshall arrived and began his duties assessing the scene. He and the Jamaica Beach fire chief did a  particularly good job communicating with the homeowners about some of the intricacies they might expect in dealing with insurance companies and getting the incident reports they would need (the owners of the two adjoining homes had arrived on site as well). And speaking of communicating with the homeowner, a Jamaica Beach FD representative explained to the homeowner about the many social services available to them. Nice job all around there. 

Soon the Galveston crews were sent back to their stations, back in service to cover calls throughout the Island. The Jamaica Beach crew, however, was in for a long night. The backhoe arrived to dig through the wreckage. Inevitably, that process would uncover hot spots that would need to be blasted with water and foam again and again. The guys were tired, but ready to do what it takes to get the job done. Again, I’m proud of those volunteers. 

Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬ ‭says, You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Father, please be with these homeowner families as they negotiate the next few weeks and months. And be with the family of the victim as well. Amen. 

November 5 - “Fighting the Evil Demon Devil Weed”

We loaded up the car and headed West yesterday. No, not another trip, sadly. We headed to Bay Harbor to drop Sam off at her house for a while. She needed a kitty fix from her cat. She also had some things she wanted to get done around her house. 

Meanwhile, we went up to the church to join in on the workday. Folks were there working on flowerbeds, organizing the kitchen  and storage closets, and doing some other organizing up in the retreat center. After a chat with the folks staying in the retreat center (a Christian motorcycle gang that has been staying in the retreat center during the big motorcycle rally for years. Well, they haven’t been in there for years. Just once a year for numerous years), Chris and I stationed ourselves on the back porch where the air conditioning units are. It had some considerable weed overgrowth up onto the porch area. Good thing we brought our gardening gloves. A hefty part of the overgrowth was … Evil Demon Devil Weed. This one was particularly evil. The long branch strands snaking around the walls and ground were covered with tiny little thorns that came off and stuck into anything they touched, like fingers. Ouch. Many times over. Ouch. We finally reached Chris’ physical limit and had to leave to get her back home. OK. OK. My back had reached its limit sometime a little quicker than Chris, but I was working through it. It was pretty sore by the time we picked up Sam and got home. We’ll see how today goes. 

Our wayfaring neighbors got home from their anniversary trip. They even brought us back a souvenir. It’s a puzzle called Halloween at Grandpa’s. Has a picture that looks like me on it. Can’t wait to work on that one. 

Job‬ ‭19‬:‭25‬ says, I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.

Father, thanks for keeping Corey and Janell safe on their trip. Amen. 

November 4 - “Back on the list”

We started strong yesterday. Chris made French toast and … bacon … for breakfast. Can’t go wrong with a start like that. She did her walk. I removed the dead battery from the truck. I know. I know. It’s been dead for quite a while now. But I have been religiously trying to abide by the no heavy lifting rule. 

So why the urgency for getting the battery out? We had some places to go, one of which was Walmart, of course. Time to return the dead battery and get a new one. We also needed bananas - More importantly, of course. And then there was the signature that the bank needed. Oh, and the stop at Home Depot to check out a new Christmas tree. 

Well, things didn’t go exactly as planned. Took a long time at the bank. Chris wasn’t sure about the tree at Home Depot, so we decided to check out Walmart again. While at Randall’s we added a gas fill up stop. At Walmart we got our basic stuff, then grabbed a prescription for Sam (she texted us while we were still in the store). However, the one tree that we both liked was no longer available. Of course it wasn’t. We decided to put Home Depot back on the list and get the one we saw there. Oh, yeah. I forgot to pick up the old truck battery, so we had to add that back on the list as well. Hey. Hate to have an empty to do list, right?

Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭6‬ says, And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Father, thank you for days that don’t go exactly as planned. They keep things kinda fun. Amen. 

November 3 - “Bouncing”

Chris was back at her walking and stairs and weights regimen yesterday. I stayed in for my day off. Tough night the night before as far as the back goes. Still waiting for that miracle steroid to kick in. 

We’ve been bouncing emails back and forth with our lawyer. We’re trying to get our wills all “t’s crossed and i’s dotted.” It’s been a while since we have attacked that, so a lot needed to be updated. Ball’s in their court right now. Just waiting. 

Last night we had home group again. Several of our folks were gone, though. Corey and Janell went on an anniversary excursion. Lauren had a fire department meeting in Jamaica Beach. Sandy was somewhere back east. We plodded right along in 1 Samuel. The story of Saul chunking his spear at David. Crazy. 

Psalms‬ ‭55‬:‭22‬ says, Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

Father, please help us to get all this lawyer stuff done. Amen. 

November 2 - “Turning the page”

 Chris turned the page. Nothing symbolic here or anything. She just turned the page on her big calendar. It’s November. Yikes! We spent some time together adding events to November. It’s already filling up, so if you want in … better let us know in a hurry. 

To celebrate the new month, I joined Chris for the first mile of her walk. I’m slowly trying to reincorporate some exercise in my diet. My back did growl at me, though. I’m still hoping that it will ease up over time so I won’t have to move to the next level and get a back zapper. 

We stayed around the house the rest of the day, just staying warm. I did some work on the jigsaw puzzle. Chris watered all her plants. Sam hung around watching TV for a while after lunch, then headed back to her room. All in all, a pretty calm day. It was nice, after all the Halloween craziness the night before. 

We all even came together again last night. Not just for supper, although Chris’ chicken and dumplings were the perfect meal for this cold weather. After supper we stayed up to watch what became the last game of the so-called World Series. I say “so-called” because the actual World Series took place between the Rangers and the Astros. Great series there. Oh, by the way, the Rangers won last night, if you haven’t heard. Keepin’ that championship trophy in the Lone Star State. 

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

Father, thanks for the chance to be warm and cozy. It’s nice. Amen. 

November 1 - “The influx”

I suppose I failed to mention one highly significant fact about these last few days. IT IS COLD. We actually got down to 51 degrees. With one of those cold, dreary, (did I say, “cold”?) rains. And I heard it’s going to be 49 tonight. Nope that’s full-on winter, folks. Bring back my tropical island paradise. Please. 

Last night was, in case you hadn’t heard, the one night a year when, for some ridiculous, insane reason, hundreds of children are escorted into our neighborhood, hopefully by a parent or responsible adult. And not just to the neighborhood. The kids actually come directly to our house. And by morning, they are all gone again. It’s nothing short of amazing. 

Several years ago we decided to react to the seasonal influx by rewarding the behavior. And to insure their return, we rewarded them on not one but three key fronts: emotional, physical and spiritual. And how, you may ask, could we accomplish such widely varying goals?  Simple. We, along with many others of our neighbors, dress in some sort of costume to engage their emotions. For example, last night I became none other than Saint Nick himself. Gotta give them a reminder that his time is coming rapidly. We gave - and continue to give to this day - a portion of candy to sate their physical appetites. And we also give a New Testament to provide some food for their souls. The perfect storm. 

Oh, and I forgot to mention that we also hosted a party. We served pizza, and the attendees joined a circle of giving in the front yard, with everyone getting in on the action of giving away stuff. Great fun. 

Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭10 says, For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Father, please use the New Testaments we gave out to touch the lives of the kids who received them and their families. Amen.