September 15 – “Molecules of Musk”

I had some fun with perfume at church yesterday.  The teaching was about the time Mary of Bethany poured a bottle full of pure nard on Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.  I brought some perfume so everyone could have the olfactory experience that must have happened in the room that day.  The only question was how to deliver the smell without knocking everyone out.  I know there are a lot of smells that really get to me, and some even make me want to throw up, so I did want to be careful.  Sure didn’t want a chain reaction of people racing to the bathroom. 

My final decision was to get some kids involved.  Always a good choice.  Chris gave me the further idea of spraying the perfume on some cotton balls and keeping them in small baggies until time to take a sniff.  So I had three kids come up as my assistants.  They had to take a whiff first, so I did squirt some into the air.  The two boys who were there just knew in their heart of hearts that I was going to squirt some on them and they would have to smell like a girl all day.  They required some reassuring that I would never do something like that.  Where would they ever get that idea?  I just squirted some into the air near them, and they had to step in and breathe.  They got nothing on their first attempt, so we had to try again before they finally acknowledged an odor. 

Meanwhile the very cute little girl was keeping a safe distance – from the boys as well as the floating molecules of musk.  I had to go over closer to her and spray her very own spritz of stink.  As you can imagine, by this time I was getting overcome by the aroma myself, so we quickly moved to the task at hand, distributing the baggies around the room.  The kids did an admirable job of walking around with their bags open and allowing everyone a chance to snort a whiff of the scene setter. 

We have done similar things at Seaside before.  I remember back when Lanny was here.  He would get there early and spray different air fresheners around the room.  His idea was to duplicate as closely as possible the smells of the temple, with its incenses and sacrifices.  It was a great idea then and still is.  People remember things so much better when more of their senses are involved in the learning process.  Hmm.  Next Sunday we have a baptism.  How can we simulate the senses involved in being at a first century baptism?  The smells of the waters and the sounds of the waves and the feel of sand beneath your feet and the pervasive moisture in the air around you.  Oh, wait.  We get that every time we do a baptism.  After all, we just walk down to the beach and wade out into the Gulf.  Can’t wait.

2 Corinthians 2:15 says, “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

Father, make our lives a pleasing aroma to you and to all around us.  Amen.

September 14 – “The Ender of Fun”

The Almost-All-of-the-cousins’ sleepover turned out to be quite a success, I would say.  As usual it began with a visit from that ever-elusive donut man.  This time, however, he carried out his pickup and delivery with not one, but two young accomplices, Micah and Cailyn were both wide awake at 6 a.m. and waiting at the front door.

Now, one of the things these guys usually want to do when they come over is play some games on the Wii console.  That wasn’t going to happen this time, though.  The same lightning storm that fried our garage door opener did the same to our Wii.  Kel did his geek inspection of the unit and found that there was sound, but no video.  In its place, Nana really stepped up.  She and Aunt April gathered all the cousins in the den with the TV off, and they led them in a rousing game of Telephone or Telegraph or whatever you call the one where you whisper a message to the person next to you and so on around the circle, and then see how it changes.  Surprising how well they did.  Then they shifted to old time charades with some truly hilarious results.  Micah was a real champion at that one.  His acting was spot on when he revealed what he was doing, but his topics were so random that they were funny.  A cow jumping up and grabbing a bird and taking it with him to the moon.  Really?  Actually, this whole fried Wii thing has been great for Nana-led cousin interaction.  Even Aunt April did her best to be involved, although she was only allowed limited access because, as her daughter informed her, “you have to be a cousin to do this one.”  Of course you do.

Speaking of Micah, how about this little tidbit of philosophical wisdom: “Everybody dies in Star Wars.  Even Anakin dies.  Except for droids.  And clones are different.  They are all from the same guy.  Clones are humans, though.  They are not aliens.  And it’s fun when they die because they don’t have like blood and all.”

At one point they were all together running through the house chasing each other with a toy syringe from one of those kids’ doctor sets.  From the back bedroom we heard this interchange.

Josiah: “I’m a baby lion and I’m gonna give you a shot.”
Jachin: “Ha.  You can’t.  You don’t have opposable thumbs.”
Ah, something in science class stuck, Mom.

As with all good things, however, the sleepover had to come to an end.  Check this one out.
Chris (to Cailyn): “Your Mom is coming, and you have cheerleading today, so you need to get ready.”
Cailyn: “No, Nani.  You’re making me miss so much play time.”
Jachin: “Yeah, Nana is like our Mom sometimes.  We call her the Ender of Fun.”
Ouch. 

Well, here’s to all those Fun Ender Moms out there who truly want the best for their children.

Isaiah 49:15 says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”

Father, watch over the Moms of all of our grandchildren today.  Bring them peace and more than a little bit of happy.  Amen.

September 13 – “Some of the cousins …”

So no fishing yesterday.  It was raining pretty hard when we woke up, so I had to start on something else instead.  Trish, our incredible administrative assistant at the fire department, sent out an updated phone list for the fire personnel, and there were some changes I needed to record.  Of course that process led to discovery of several other bits of information I was missing.  Between us, though, we got my list up to date.  I think. 

We are also watching the Gulf right now.  There are not one, but two separate systems brewing out there.  One passed over Florida and the other is sitting just off the Yucatan Peninsula, Gulf side.  A cold front has arrived, however.  It was 66 degrees in Waco last night.  Chris keeps up with that area regularly.  Part of her Nana duties.  And it looks like it’s 73 right now here.  The high today is only supposed to get up to 82.  Downright cold. 

We did have to make a WalMart run.  We hosted another family fish fry and needed some bags of that crusty, already seasoned, corn meal stuff.  We also make up a batter with our own recipe for those of us who prefer a different taste.  Since Kel and Christina are some kind of diet right now, we also put a redfish on the grill for a somewhat healthier alternative.  Nathan brought some shrimp to throw in the mix.  Cailyn brought three monster-sized shrimp, and Nathan tossed them in with the red.  I stuck with the fried fish and shrimp, myself.  I figure once the CT scan I have to have on Monday proves there is nothing in my head worth worrying about – or nothing at all – then I may start experiencing the joys of one of those healthier alternative diets myself to get a handle on why my blood pressure is out of whack. 

Of course part of a family fish fry is the accompany Some of the Cousins Sleepover.  It had to be designated thusly.  Micah commented that “It just won’t be the same without Zakary here.”  He must have really missed his cousin cohort and partner in crime.  Micah was the first one asleep.  I think Jachin was next.  Then Cailyn.  Yep, that only leaves Josiah, the youngest of the bunch.  He held out until almost the end of the Baylor football game.  Hey, I only watched it so Caleb – Mr. Up-and-Coming Baylor Fan - would feel like he was a part of the cousins sleepover as well.  I know he was watching and cheering them on.  Even when the defense totally fell apart in the second half and gave up three touchdowns.  And the quarterback fumbled badly and lost the ball.  The third string quarterback.  Of course the regular offense scored 63 points, so it really didn’t matter. 

Now we’re waiting for Cailyn’s Mom to get here to help her get dressed to be a cheerleader at the local kids’ football game.  Neither of us wants to be the one to tell Cailyn that she needs to stop playing and put on her uniform.  I just voted to wait and let her Mom do it.  Isn’t that the prerogative of the grandparent, anyway – let the parents be the bad guy?  I love this role.

Psalms 136:1-3 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.  His love endures forever.   Give thanks to the God of gods.  His love endures forever.  Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.”

Father, thank you for cousins’ sleepovers and fish fries and TV football and cute little five-year-old cheerleaders.  Amen.

September 12 – “One down”

For the second year I led prayer at the Patriot’s Day ceremony led by the Galveston Fire Department and including representatives from the VFW, Galveston Police Department, Galveston Sheriff Department, Galveston EMS, and Galveston Wharf Police.  I think there may have been representatives from some other organizations as well.  It was a really hot day, and actually not very many citizens were in attendance.  Part of that was attributed to the 9:15 start time, I suppose.  There was also a community prayer meeting scheduled for later in the afternoon on the steps of the county courthouse.  Another issue was the lack of reporting from the newspaper in their article the day before on county celebrations. 

The fire department was out in force, though.  Guys on shift from stations one, two and five were all standing at attention as the procession of honor guard and VFW colors marched from central station to the gazebo next to Rosenberg library to the accompaniment of a bagpiper from Houston.  The bagpiper later played Amazing Grace as part of the recognition of sacrifice of the heroes who died in the World Trade Center attack.  Fire Marshall Gilbert Robinson did his usual great job as emcee of the event.  Mayor Jim Yarbrough made some remarks and left a city proclamation regarding the day before he and Fire Chief Wisko hurried off to a major city budget meeting.  Names of the New York City organizations that lost members were read, followed by a solemn ringing of a bell three times, acknowledging their ultimate sacrifice.  I have to admit it is always a bit disconcerting to hear the command, “Uncover” when I begin with “Let us pray.”  Very powerful acknowledgment of the presence of God by these first responders and military veterans.  VFW Post 880 and their ladies auxiliary presented a memorial wreath.  A VFW comrade closed the proceedings with one of the absolute best renditions of Taps that I have ever heard.  Not a single missed note. 

There was one tense moment.  As Fire Marshall Robinson was reading the city proclamation, one of our young fire fighter honor guard members, who was holding a shield, began to feel the effects of the heat.  He did his best to make all the way through the ceremony, but finally reached that point of no return.  Just as he felt himself beginning to black out, he gracefully eased himself back to sit down on the steps.  In the process he gently propped the shield against his legs.  The movement was accomplished with such poise that many in the crowd thought it was part of the ceremony itself.  I have to admit for a second or two I expected each of the other shield bearers to follow suit, as a symbol of the people who died.  It didn’t take long, though, before Justin was helped over to the fan area and given some water to cool him down.  He bounced back remarkably well.  Before the pictures were taken, he was back in uniform, holding his shield in his assigned post.  Great symbol of the indomitable spirit of first responders that we were celebrating.  Gotta love these fire fighters. 

Psalms 16:11 says, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Father, we ask you to join with us here today to honor a host of brave folks who you know even better than we do.  Sometimes it hurts to remember things like this.  It is important though.  Sometimes it would be so much easier to just forget the whole tragedy and move on.  But it is through the pain of the past that we appreciate the hope we have for the future.  And it is through the sacrifice of the heroes we honor today that we learn things like bravery and commitment and integrity.  Touch with your peace the hearts of the families who will never forget loved ones lost.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

September 11 – “on fishing and broken hearts”

Two in a row?  Not so much.  I joined Nathan for an unexpected hour of fishing on Tuesday.  Yep, that’s the day after my dream day.  We went out at Jamaica Beach.  He tossed his shark line out but didn’t come up with anything there.  Between us on our regular lines we caught one red, one nice speck and a pretty good handful of whiting, which is really not a bad day.  Best part of the whole thing, though, was getting to spend some time with my son.  Second best part will happen when we eat the fish.  They took the red.  I filleted out the rest and we’ll fry them up next time we have a family get-together.

I did want to include a quick Cailyn anecdote from yesterday.  We were on our way home from the library when she shared:

Cailyn: Someone broke my heart today.

Me: Who did that?

Cailyn (with just the hint of a shy grin): Justin

Me (thinking she didn’t really know what that meant): What does it mean to “break your heart”?

Cailyn: It means they hurt your feelings.

UmHmm.  She knows.  Daddy’s gonna have to have a talk with this Justin character.

Now just a quick note to remind everyone that in spite of the fact that it was not mentioned in the paper today, the Galveston Fire Department will lead a Patriot’s Day 9/11 memorial ceremony at the Sealy Pavilion at 9 a.m.  That’s the gazebo across from Rosenberg Library where the summer band concerts are held. 

Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Here’s the prayer found on a card in the pocket of a Franciscan friar killed in the collapse of the towers.  It’s called Mychal’s prayer:

                                          
Lord, take me where You want me to go.
Let me meet who You want me to meet.
Tell me what You want me to say and
Keep me out of Your way. 

 

September 10 – “What’s up, Doc?”

I did something yesterday that I haven’t done in literally years.  I went to the doctor’s office.  Now wait a minute.  I have been to a doctor’s office hundreds of times. After all, I still have to show up at least once or twice a year at the rheumatologist and once a year or so at the neurologist.  And I have even been in the emergency clinic several times, most recently for my catfish puncture wound and my fall and subsequent blow to the head.  But this one was quite different.  I can say I haven’t done one like this since well before Hurricane Ike, which came through back in 2008.  I can’t even remember the reason I would have done it back then.  OK, that’s enough preliminaries.  What did I go for that was so radically unusual?  A check up. 

Yep.  Not so exciting, is it?  I haven’t had a regular family doctor since my last one got a better offer and never returned to Galveston.  In fact the last four I have had did the same thing.  I made it a point to warn this new guy that he may be relocating sometime in the near future if he takes me on as a patient, but he insisted he planned to be around for a while.  We’ll see.

Doctor Junior, AKA the medical student in the office, took my history.  That was after I had already told he nurse the same things.  Which came after I had already written it all down on the form they gave me.  Which was simply a restatement of what was pretty much already in the computer.  Well, I guess there were some significant gaps in what they had on file since many of my doctors have been in Houston.  The nurse asked me if I was still on one medication that I didn’t remember ever even hearing of before.  Apparently I took it sometime back in the 90’s.  Nope.  Scratch that one out.  I have a whole new list for you. 

When I finally met the doctor, he didn’t do much of a physical exam.  He asked a lot of questions and zeroed in on the head injury and the really sore shoulder I have.  He did look in my ears and eyes, had me stick my tongue out, and made me lift my arms over my head.  He seemed impressed that I was doing water aerobics a few times a week.  He did lift his eyebrows a bit at my blood pressure.  It was 140/100.  I lifted my own eyebrows, too.  I’m used to it being closer to 120/80.  That’s a twenty point jump on both ends of the spectrum there.  Something’s gotta be out of whack.  As it turned out, he decided not to worry too much about the blood pressure until I have a CT scan of my head.  May as well see if there in anything in there to worry about.  Like brains, right?  Seriously, he wants to see if there might be a slow bleed going on that would be causing some if not all of my symptoms (headaches, lack of concentration, blood pressure, weird reaction to heat).  He also ordered an x-ray of my shoulder as the first step to dealing with that one.  I have pretty much just slotted that pain in there with the rest of the pain I deal with every day.  Maybe there really is something else going on that can be fixed.  All the imaging will be done on Monday of next week.  Great.  Something to look forward to after the weekend.  At least I know I will hit my deductible after that CT scan.  Anything else need to be done, Doc?  Let’s get it done now.

Luke 5:31-32 says, “Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’”

Father, thank you for guys like my new doctor.  Give him special wisdom to use the vast array of knowledge he has worked so hard to accumulate.  Amen.

September 9 – “Dream fishing”

I just might have experienced my all-time dream fishing trip yesterday.  Not that there was anything special about the situation of opportunity.  It was just another Monday, but it was in the afternoon, a hot afternoon at that, rather than early in the morning when I prefer going.  It was truly a case of that old adage: “The best time to go fishing is when you can.”  I had one of those windows of opportunity and took it. 

I managed to get some live shrimp, some of which were those big old monsters, but in the surf, those big ones sometimes bring in the most surprising catches.  I went to my usual spot, just in front of WalMart.  The tide was up, which was a good thing, except that it meant I had to feel my way over the rocks to reach the beach.  And on top of that, there was a lot of old, black seaweed gripping the shore line just between the rocks and the sand.  Never a good combination.  It was so nasty right there that I used my pole as a sounding rod to make sure I didn’t step in a hole or in between rocks. 

I was lamenting the dirty water when I finally made my way onto the sand and started walking out.  But as I got ten or fifteen yards from the shoreline I began to notice something I haven’t seen in a very long time … the bottom.  The water was so clear that I could count the ripples in the sand beneath my feet.  I could see the tiny bait fish racing back and forth in their schools.   No waves, either.  It was a Lake Galveston kind of day.  This was looking more and more promising.  I lost my bait on the first cast.  Felt like a whiting or maybe one of those piggies was nibbling a piece at a time.  It was encouraging, though.  At least something was biting.  I hooked up one of those monster shrimp and made my second cast.  Almost as soon as it hit the water, I had a bite.  And I could tell it was a nice one.  Sure enough, it was a very nice speckled trout, my all-time favorite fish, not just to catch, but more importantly, to eat as well.  About that time I glanced up and saw one of my good-luck charms, a big dolphin, surfacing not too far away.  And before I could even make the next cast, I heard a loud, blasting honk from the seawall.  As I turned around to see what had made that horrific noise, there was fire engine 4 driving past.  Now I don’t know if they were honking because they had seen my fire department sticker on the truck or if they were just in a hurry to get to their next call, but I waved anyway.  I always consider seeing a fire truck to be a good sign as well.  Two good luck charms back to back.  I knew this was going to be a good day.

And I certainly wasn’t disappointed.  Virtually every cast brought some kind of strike.  And I started reeling in the specks.  Not just tiny ones that I had to throw back, either.  These were keepers on the high end of the limits.  It was really exciting to be able to actually see them as they made their runs through the clear waters.  My well net filled up quickly.  I even tried switching to bottom dragging to get a few whiting, but the specks just wouldn’t have it.  They even hit on the dead bait I cast.  Oh, I did get a few whiting, a few pompano, and a lady fish or two, but I haven’t experienced that many specks in a feeding frenzy since back when we fished under the lights at Ken Fryer’s house on the bay.  And this time I could see them.  Amazing.  Needless to say, I limited out on some really nice speckled trout.

And so, Young Zakary, it looks like it’s time for another family fish fry.  When are you guys coming back down this way from Waco?  That would be way better than us having to come up there to run from a hurricane.

Genesis 9:1-3 says “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.  The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you.’”

Father, thank you for an incredible experience fishing yesterday.  The food you provide is amazing.  It’s even more special when it works out that I can catch it myself.  Amen.