August 11 – “The Carrot Blessing”

Well, our New Jersey wedding turned out fine.  The weather, after three days of muggy, hot humid conditions, was beautiful.  Cool and beautiful blue skies.  There was even a nice breeze as we began the ceremony.  The bride’s Dad had really gone all out in his creative preparations for the affair.  Along with the caterers, he hired people to park cars so the event would have that VIP feel.  Some of his ideas were not just funny, but practical as well.  He rented a port-a-potty that he called the VIP restroom.  It had flowers inside and even running water to wash your hands.  Not like any I have ever seen at a construction site.  And to top it off, he set up a red carpet and roped off poles leading up to it.  Now that’s VIP.

Of course that cool breeze blew out the unity candle, so we had to improvise that one.  Ended up doing it after the ceremony with the bride and groom’s mothers cupping their hands around the flames to keep them lit.  Funny thing was, once they got the center candle lit and replaced the two outside ones, all three stayed lit through most of the reception.  Guess they just needed that circle of power from the mothers’ hands to inspire their inner flame. 

I always try to create a personal blessing for the couple based on something I have learned about the bride and groom.  Here’s what I came up with at the last minute for these guys. 

THE CARROT BLESSING

I’ve known Ashley since she was born, but I haven’t had a lot of time to get to know Josh.  So I selected the one thing I have learned about him to be the source of this blessing.  At this point I pulled out one of those fresh carrots you can get from the produce section.  I asked the groom to hold it for me for this part of the ceremony. 

Carrots are one of those strange creations of God that really trick you.  When they are in the ground, all you can see is the green part on top.  And when people see the two of you together, they will often make judgments about what they see.  That’s not important.  Don’t worry about them.
But the substantial part, the part that you can eat, and that nourishes you, and that your Mom always said is good for you, is the part that grows underground.

So in the same way,

May the part of your relationship that is not so easily seen—
the part that really defines who you are as a couple—
the part that connects you in commitment to each other—
the part that reflects God as the ever-present third person of your marriage trinity—
May that part of your relationship be what nourishes you and what is good for you, starting today and continuing on into your future together.  Amen.

I know.  Not your usual marriage blessing.  But the people were very kind to me and didn’t throw rotten tomatoes or anything.  Or maybe they were just shocked to see the groom holding a carrot in one hand and his bride in the other.  Hey.  Bugs Bunny would have been proud. 

Today the plan is to attend church with the Dammeyer family.  Ashley and her brother Allen are going to be leading worship.  Now how’s that for unusual?  The bride is postponing her honeymoon so she can lead worship at church with her brother on the day after her wedding.  I met their pastor at the wedding.  Young kid.  He asked me if I wanted to preach for him today, but I think he was kidding.  Stranger things have happened.  Maybe I should have a sermon in my back pocket just in case.  Or maybe they have had enough of that weird guy from the island off the coast of Texas. 

Psalms 104:24-26 says, “How many are your works, O Lord!  In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number — living things both large and small.  There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.”

Father, thank you for celebrations and friends and the excitement of new beginnings.  Amen.

August 10 – “Handfasting”

The groom’s parents drove down from their home in Maine and arrived without incident.  The wedding party is all here and ready to go.  One of the guys couldn’t make it, but the bride’s brother will be standing in for him since he was going to be singing a song anyway.  So as far as people are concerned, we can do this wedding.  Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Nevertheless, we spent yesterday helping out as we could with preparations for the wedding.  Since it will be in our friends’ (the bride’s parents) backyard everything is falling on their shoulders up until the actual event itself.  That means setting up all chairs and tables in their proper places (that would be according to the layout scheme that exists only in the head of Melissa, the bride’s Momma who is playing the role of our beloved wedding coordinator), placing two arches and anchoring them and decorating them (again, according to that vision residing in Melissa’s substantially overstocked brain), keeping drinks on ice (which actually has been going on for several days now.  I have been on one of the Sam’s runs to get more ice), running Christmas lights all along the bushes (I presume for dramatic and romantic effect.  We left that one entirely up to Melissa and Chris, and the end result is very nice), and tweaking the outdoor wireless sound system that Mark had installed for the event (a pretty amazing feat, I might add.  The music can be operated using Mark’s cell phone.  Problem is, if he gets too far away from the wireless router the music become erratic and the whole system goes down.  I think he got that figured out though, but someone else will have to operate the system during the wedding, and Mark is not one to give up control so easily).  Some of the preparations are being kept a secret so the guests will be surprised as they arrive.  Some very funny stuff.  Practical, but funny.

The rehearsal went off without a hitch.  Well, if you don’t count the fact that right as we got started it began to rain and we all had to run inside.  I did a hand-fasting ceremony while we waited for it to stop.  That is a little extra bonus I like to do as early as possible after a couple has decided to get married.  It is loosely based on the betrothal idea and an actual ancient custom of tying the bride and groom’s hands together.  In this case, I looped a rope around the bride and groom’s hands, tying “tying them together” and I pointed out a few things.  The two circles represent each of their lives.  The knot in the center represents their love-commitment to each other.  If you loosen the knot it becomes a third circle, showing that God is actually the third person of their marriage trinity.  I pulled it tight again and said there will be times when their relationship get all knotted up.  But if they will just ease up for a moment (I loosened the knot again) and return to God and refocus on him, then all will be well, and they can renew their love-commitment (at this I had the two of them pull the knot tight again).  They get to keep the “love knot” as a souvenir.  I guess it went well enough.  At least it was a reminder of the marriage counseling principles from the night before.  I have faith in Ashley and Josh that they will hang in there. 

By the time we finished the handfasting, the rain had stopped, so we ran through the logistics of the ceremony outside.  Mark started grilling some hot dogs and hamburgers and the rehearsal dinner was underway.  Check off one more step in the Jersey wedding extravaganza.

Psalms 104:13-15 says, “He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate — bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.”

Father, thank you for the window between the rains so we could get the rehearsal done.  Could we have another for the wedding?  Amen.

August 9 – “Meeting New Jersey”

Yesterday we did some running around in Freehold.  Very interesting place.  Quaint little town with a lot of very old buildings.  Lots of character.  And characters, too, I suppose. We went over to Lindsey’s house to meet her two little children and her dog.  The house, by the way is across the street from the high school that Bruce Springsteen went to.  Rock music trivia.  Her son Parker was the star of that show by far.  He took us on a grand tour of the house that even included an explanation of such intricacies of décor as names of the types of balls printed on the rug in his bedroom.  I was most impressed with the toy garbage truck he had.  It brought back memories of the Galveston Beach garbage truck I worked on for a summer or two back in the day.  That was when we would station someone in the bed of each truck (after picking up about half of our load).  Since it was extremely early in the morning, there was no one on the beach, so we would then line up facing each other.  On no particular signal we would drive toward each other and at the last moment veer off.  That’s when the fun started.  The guys in the back would pelt each other with random items of garbage – rotten tomatoes and the like.  It was moments like those that made me particularly glad I was a driver.  Ah, memories.  I hope young Parker grows to experience something … not at all similar. 

Chris and I were separated for a time when she went with Melissa to babysit and I went with Mark to run some of his pre-wedding errands.  He has arranged for some surprises for everybody.  I have at least one up my sleeve, too, that Allen helped me with, so this wedding holds great promise.  While we were out and about he drove over to the New Jersey shore so I could do some beach comparison studies.  Strictly business, you know.  We didn’t go down on the sand or into the water, though.  Just stayed on the Boardwalk and took a few pictures so I could text them to Chris.  I wanted her to share in the experience.  For some reason she didn’t seem at all thrilled to be included in my good fortune.  We drove through Asbury Park.  That seemed to ring a bell somewhere in my vast, unclaimed memory.  The homes there were amazing.  Massive structures valued by how many steps away from the beach they were.  Even the “small” ones put some of the high dollar bayfront homes in Galveston to shame.  Literally millions of dollars, all owned by people who work in New York City, but don’t want to live there.  We drove by a place called The Stone Pony and Mark almost stopped the car so he could get out and genuflect.  Seems that place is where Bruce Springsteen and several other rock music superstars got their start.  He didn’t mention the Beatles, though.  Or the Beach Boys. 

We finally made our way back to Freehold.  Now that was easier said than done.  The streets here are arranged … well, they are not arranged.  You can’t turn left for one thing.  I don’t know why.  There are signs everywhere saying no left turn.  You just have to know which street to take to the right so you can circle through some neighborhoods to get to where you are going.  Couple that with the traffic caused by people returning home from their commute to “The City,” and even a simple trip to Sam’s seemed like an ordeal.  I did get to see the city’s preparation for a special outdoor band concert.  It was going to take place right across the street from our hotel.  Of course.  (Un) fortunately, we wouldn’t be at the hotel during the concert, so we would have to miss that one. 

I did finally get a chance to spend an hour or so with the bride and groom to get in their counseling.  I feel really good about their commitment to each other and especially to the Lord.  I think they will do fine. 

In spite of the face that we missed the city concert, our very own, personal hotel band was back last night in all their glory.  I finally managed to fall asleep while the band still played on and on and on …

Psalms 104:10-12 says, “He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.  The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.”

Father, would you hold back those waters just a bit so we can get this outdoor wedding done this weekend?  Amen.

August 8 – “Rabbi Convention”

We made it to New Jersey with very little problem.  In fact the flight was quite peaceful save for some turbulence and the fact that a fourteen month old named Elizabeth really wanted to get out of her car seat.  She was cute as she could be, but she could only make it about thirty minutes at a time before she thought about getting down and walking around.  Then she went into a tirade of screaming for a while.  We felt sorry for the folks immediately around her.  Our seatmate was a girl heading to New Jersey to be in a wedding.  Not the same one we were going to, though. 

The ride from Newark airport to Freehold was beautiful.  The countryside was full of trees.  Chris even saw some deer.  It just wasn’t what I expected.  It was great to see Mark and Melissa again.  Their house, and hence the wedding venue since it will be in their back yard, backs up to some woods, so it should be gorgeous when they get everything set up.  We had supper there and did a lot of reminiscing, I even showed off some of the old pictures I had just scanned from the many years we have known each other.  Gotta love those old home movies. 

Our hotel room is very nice except for one thing.  We are on the third floor right above the hotel’s outdoor bar.  And the bar just happens to be the happening place in Freehold, New Jersey.  Live band.  Packed house.  Add to that the big rabbi convention taking place in the hotel and it made for a … noisy night.  At least the band stopped playing at 11:30.  I think it is supposed to keep going until 12:30 the rest of the week, though.  That’ll be something to look forward to.  Maybe we should give in and join the crowd.  I could get some pointers from one of the rabbis. 

The whole time change thing is odd here, too.  They have a weird schedule for television programming anyway.  The news doesn’t come on until 11:00 at night, and all the shows are pushed back an hour.  That’s probably why they have such a reputation for being cranky up here.  They don’t get enough sleep.  As I’m typing this, my computer is telling me that it’s almost 6:00 a.m., but the clock by the bed says it’s almost 7.  The alarm on my phone is set for 7, so we’ll see what happens here in a few minutes when Chris hears it.  We are meeting Mark and Melissa for breakfast at 8:30.  Guess I better go get ready.

Psalms 104:5 says, “He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.”

Father, thanks for the great trip.  Here begins the New Jersey adventure.  Amen.

 

August 7 – “New Jersey”

Today is departure day for our trip to the grand state of New Jersey.  That is one state I sure didn’t know anything about.  So I did what any self-respecting traveler would do before boarding a plane into the unknown.  I googled it.  Actually I used the search engine Goodsearch, because for every search we make they give a penny to Seaside.  Can’t beat that.  Here  are some of the “Did You Know?” facts I found from the New Jersey official state website:

 

10 Things you didn’t know about NJ

1.  The first organized baseball game was played in Hoboken, NJ in 1846.

2.  New Jersey’s State House is the second oldest still in use. (Maryland has the oldest.)

3.  New Jersey was known as the "Pathway of the Revolution." Over 100 battles were fought on New Jersey soil.

4.  New Jersey has more horses per square mile than any other state. The United States Equestrian Team is headquartered in Gladstone, NJ.

5.  The properties in the United States version of the board game Monopoly are named after the streets of Atlantic City.

6.  The first state to sign the Bill of Rights.

7.  New Jersey is one of only two states (along with Oregon) where self-service filling of gasoline is prohibited.

8.  The first professional basketball game was played in Trenton, NJ in 1896.

9.  New Jersey has 127 miles of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.

10.  New Jersey is home to more than 9,800 farms covering 790,000 acres of farmland.

 

And if that wasn’t enough to wow you, they added these phenomenal rankings:

2nd in blueberry production

3rd in cranberry production

3rd in bell peppers

4th in peach production

4th in head lettuce

 

So New Jersey is officially the state to go to if you want to bump into a horse, have someone else fill up your car with gas, meet a real live farmer, gaze upon the Atlantic Ocean, or eat a salad.  I, for one, can’t wait.

 

We did receive some advice the other night from those renowned airline experts, Zakary and Caleb, the Travel Brothers.  They just returned from a flight to Disney World, so we were certain they would be able to tell us all we needed to know in preparation for the airplane ride.  And we were not disappointed.  Zak’s advice was short and sweet: “Chew gum.”  That’s right.  Perfect for dealing with those ear-splitting take-off and landing moments of inner ear pressure.  Caleb’s words were highly practical as well.  “Make sure you go to the bathroom.”  Now I’m not sure if he meant “go to bathroom before you get on board,” or “check out the bathroom on the airplane.”  In either case, I think we got the message.  Thank you so much, Caleb.

 

It seems our flight is one of a few that provides in flight full Wifi service.  We can use the personal mobile viewing apparatus of our choice to access TV channels and on-demand movies, and some of them are even free.  Hmm.  I planned to take a book to read, work some crossword puzzles, and maybe take a little nap.  How does that work with Wifi? 

 

Psalms 104:3 says, “He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.”

 

Father, we’ll be up there on those wings of wind with you in a bit.  It’s comforting to know you’ll be right there beside us.  Amen.

August 6 – “A highly unusual event”

Something highly unusual took place around the Vaughan house yesterday.  And for me to say something was unusual around this place means it must have been highly out of the ordinary.  Of course “ordinary” doesn’t really have much meaning here anyway.  This is the place where at any one moment there might be a houseful of youngsters screaming and chasing each other in a circle around and around the pathway particularly designed for that purpose – slapping across the smooth tiles of the kitchen, into the hardwood floor of the back hallway where the photos of honor record the Vaughan history from birth to graduations and back to births of grandchildren, across the oval braided rug in the office that is a reproduction of yet another memory of days past (the rug, that is, not the office), back onto the new-since-Hurricane-Ike hardwood floors covering the front hall filled with books and dolls and knick-knacks of all kinds,  and back finally into the kitchen-of-Chris’-dreams with its Amish-constructed cabinets.  (Whew.  How’s that for being descriptive?  That’s some hard work.  Be sure to appreciate it next time you read a novel.  It is not easy to be a wordsmith). 

So, where was I anyway?  Oh, yes.  The unusual event from yesterday.  In this particular case it had nothing to do with a memorable saying from Cailyn or a cute quip from Josiah.  No baseball news from Jachin or memorabilia trading with Micah.  Now we did have a FaceTime call from Zakary and Caleb.  Yesterday was their first day of school and they wanted to show us some of their hard work. Seems they learned about whales and scooping water out of lakes and rivers to use for irrigation and something about monsters going to college, none of which I remember studying at least until high school.  Oh, and they did share one other useful tidbit of juicy gossip.  There as yet unborn baby brother now has an official name.  I won’t say for sure what it is, but it had something to do with Star Wars and Crayons and male offspring. 

Oh, did I get distracted again?  Sorry about that.  Was I talking about our trip to New Jersey tomorrow?  No, wait, I was going to do that in the morning.  Oh, yes.  The unusual event from yesterday.  Here it is.  Are you sitting down?  It hasn’t happened here in I can’t remember how long.  Oh, it was much needed.  And certainly welcomed.  It’s just that it was so … unexpected.  Well, I won’t hold you in suspense any longer.  See, yesterday … Chris took a nap.  A long nap.  Lasted at least three episodes of Love It or Leave It.  The woman was tired.  And did she ever deserve it.  Sleep on, my Love.

Psalms 104:2-3 says, “He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.”

Father, thank you for drawing Chris into some blissful sleep yesterday.  Give her ample opportunities to do it again.  Amen.

August 5 – “Comforted”

Well, I did my duty yesterday and took ice cream to station five.  It seemed to be quite a surprise to them that I was the one who actually brought the ice cream.  After all they all had their picture in the paper with me.  As it turned out, I was glad I did make the visit.  They had a big smoker going in the parking lot, and they invited me to come back later in the day for some smoked ribs and chicken and corn on the cob.  Now that was some good food.  Even better than then food, though, they also invited their families to join them for the meal, so I had a chance to meet a few of the wives and even little Liam Short, representing the next generation.  Very cute kid. 

Cailyn spent the night with us Saturday.  She was quite worried that I would leave for church without her, in spite of my assurances otherwise.  Finally, just before we went to bed, she gave me this statement of permission:

“DadDad, it will be OK for you to quietly sneak into the bedroom in the morning.  Now don’t be noisy so you wake up Nana.  And you can sneak up to me a just whisper in my ear.  Say, ‘Cailyn, get up, Sweetie Pie.  It’s time for church.’  You can call me Sweetie Pie.  That will be all right.”

Well, with permission like that I was all geared up to make my Ninja assault that next morning.  Problem was, she woke up and joined me in the office by 6:30.  I had planned to give her at least another thirty minutes.  I questioned her about her early rising time.  I indicated my disappointment that I didn’t get to wake her up and call her Sweetie Pie.  Her reply:

“Well, that’s OK, DadDad.  It’ll be all right.  You can do it next time when I am at your house for night-night time.”

I felt … comforted.

Psalms 104:1 says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul.  O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.”

Father, thank you for the chance to experience another part of the fire fighter family.  As ever, keep them safe today.  Amen.