November 12 – “Seaside Simplicity”

It is exciting to see Seaside getting excited about missions of all kinds.  We already are connected with the Humphries family in Alaska.  And we give a percentage of what people give to the church to the local Baptist association (That means county-wide stuff like the block party trailer we always use and other assistance programs for local churches).  Plus we try to get involved in local mission needs as they come to our attention. 

Yesterday we decided to expand a little bit and approve moving up one step in the way we cooperate to do missions.  Actually it’s a return to what we have done in the past.  The Baptist General Convention of Texas was among those who helped us out a lot after Hurricane Ike, and they were also active after Hurricane Harvey.  In fact it was after Ike, when we lost eight key families, that we stopped giving to them so we could focus more on local missions.  In the last few years we have hosted the Texas Baptist Men in our retreat center for some of the training they do for feeding people in crisis areas.  The BGCT also does such things as train chaplains, provide help for churches who are building, support colleges and seminaries and hospitals, pay salaries of missionaries oversees and in North America, provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for church staff members, and do specific missions projects in Texas and all over the world.  Sounds pretty exciting, doesn’t it?  The proposal was to send $500 a year to the BGCT.  Maybe later we can work up to some kind of percentage like we used to.

The only discussion?  “That sounds like it would help you, too.  Let’s do it.”  And “What took us so long?”  Gotta love that Seaside Simplicity.

We didn’t stop there, though.  It was also time for another of our local mission projects to kick in.  Galveston Urban Ministries is again collecting new toys for their Christmas Store.  The unique thing about this project is, the toys are then discounted and sold at 20% of their retail value.  This allows families with fewer resources to still participate in providing Christmas for their families.  The boost to a parent or grandparent’s self-esteem has proven to be remarkable.  The store is open the first week in December, so we only have a few Sundays to promote it.  By the time we got home we noticed that the announcement was already on one of our Seasiders’ FaceBook page, encouraging her neighbors to get involved.  And shortly after we got home another Seasider called to ask if they could drop off at our house some toys.  They had already been shopping. 

My favorite Seaside story of the day, though, happened before we ever left the building.  Our financial secretary came up to me and said, “You know, we had one of our really big insurance bills this past week, and we were getting really low on funds.  In fact I hit one of those moments when you almost panic and think, ‘How are we going to do this?’  And then this morning we had one of the best offerings we have had in a long time.  Everything is going to be all right.  I should have known.  Someday I guess I’ll learn not to doubt Him.”  Yup.  Great lesson for us all. 

Psalms 113:2-3 says, “Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore.   From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”

Father, thank you for the Seasiders’ hearts for missions.  And thanks for touching the secretary’s heart as well.  Amen.

November 11 – “A new goal … Bucking Bronco”

Stop the presses.  New headline coming … Chris went clothes shopping.  And why is that such a big deal?  Well, mainly because she hates it.  Never has liked it as long as I have known her.  Why?  Hey, who am I to question the wonders of my wife’s beautiful brain?  So …

Clothes shopping (in and of itself) … Strike one.

Not only that, the particular store she went to was a grand opening in Baybrook Mall. 

Mall.  Any mall … Strike two.

Not only that, it was a Saturday.  Busiest day of the shopping week. 

Saturday … Strike three.

However …

I didn’t have to go.  Instead I went to the bank and then to the store to pick up some fruit.  I worked on the sermon.  I even watched a little college football.  That’s good.

And Chris actually found something she liked enough to pull the string and buy.  That is an extremely rare occurrence.  That’s good, too.

And she ended up getting a free purse as part of the whole deal.  That’s good three.

Guess things evened out to a pretty good day.

Kel and his family came over in the evening so Chris could measure Kel.  She is going to hem up his big boy long pants mailman uniform.  He’s decided it’s too cold for shorts.  Yup.

While they were here I received a request that I sadly could not fulfill.  Noa wanted to play Bucking Bronco.  That’s a perverted version of the little “Ride the Horsie” game where the toddler sits on your foot and you bounce him up and down.  Except when DadDad plays, inevitably the horsie gets out of control and does its best to buck the rider.  I explained that my knee wouldn’t allow that right now.  Not to be deterred, she pressed, “Wait.  Is that for real, DadDad?  How are they gonna do that?”  Not easy to explain knee replacement surgery to a five-year-old, but I gave her the Reader’s Digest version.  She contemplated my answer for a moment or two.  Finally she queried, “So after you get a new one, can you play?”  You know what, Noa?  That will be my new goal.  Bucking Bronco.  Not to ride one … to be one. 

Psalms 112:9 says, “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.”

Father, thank you for goals to which to aspire.  Thanks more for the source of those goals.  Makes them more real.  Amen.

November 10 – “A Little Christmas before Thanksgiving”

We started our day out really early again.  7 a.m. this time.  We drove into Texas to be with Sam from church for her heart cath.  And for the first time in my hospital visitation career, nothing.  Not only was no open heart bypass surgery required, but her heart was perfectly fine.  No blockages anywhere.  That’s a win I’m sure Sam is happy to take.  Pretty good Christmas present here before Thanksgiving. 

Since we were already in the Northlands we decided to get done all possible errands we could imagine to a void an extra trip off the Island.  That list began at Lifeway Christian Store.  We picked up some birthday and anniversary cards as well as some communion bread.  And as an unexpected plus, we actually got a few items checked off of our Christmas shopping list.  Look at us, would you?  Christmas before Thanksgiving.  Unheard of.

Next stop was Hobby Lobby.  Chris needed some of that stuff you stick in the middle of a quilt to make it worth covering up with.  We also grabbed some advent candles for church.  Again … Christmas before Thanksgiving.  Sensing a theme here?

Next we used a gift card to get some lunch at Pappasito’s Cantina.  Hmm.  Gift card.  Guess that fits as well.  We had never been there, so it was quite the experience for us.  We didn’t order any, but we watched as the waitress actually made some guacamole dip at the table for the folks next to us.  I mean from cutting the avocados to adding limes and whatever those other ingredients were.   Impressive. 

Next stop … quilt shop in Dickinson.  What can I say?  Chris was on a roll.

We were right around the corner from the Boyer’s house, so we decided to take a chance and see if anyone was there.  They were pretty much destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.  Don actually answered the door and gave us the full HGTV tour.  Rita even showed up, so we got her take on everything as well.  The reorienting they did of the house looks great.  Huge kitchen.  Massive family room.  Can’t wait to see it all finished.  They seem to feel like they have received a quite nice … well, Christmas gift.  Before Thanksgiving.

After stopping for gas, where we got a Randall’s bonus of 40 cents per gallon off (nice little Christmas present before Thanksgiving), we settled in at home.  It is freezing cold here in Galveston – 50 degrees.  Christmas weather before Thanksgiving.  So we put a log in the fireplace, turned on a Hallmark movie and called it a day. 

Psalms 112:5-8 says, “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.  Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.  He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.  His heart is secure, he will have no fear”

Father, thank you for watching over our little trip to Texas.  And thank you for the great results Sam got from her procedure.  Amen.

November 9 – “Being Plan B”

I didn’t even consider going for a walk yesterday.  That rough night decided it for me.  Chris did her miles, though.  I’m really proud of her tenacity.

We anticipated hearing back about the “simple sensor malfunction” in the car that was causing the check engine soon light to come on.  We hadn’t heard by lunchtime, so I got antsy and called them.  The sensor did indeed short out and had to be replaced.  Come to find out the simple sensor malfunction was a six hour job.  They had to remove the gas tank to get to it.  Surprisingly, I received a call right at 3 p.m.  It was the lady from the dealership.  Her first words were, “Mr. Vaughan, did you lose faith in me?”  Not what I expected to hear.  I asked her to repeat that.  Convinced that was what she really said, I replied, “I do my best to never lose faith.”  She chuckled and said, “Well, that’s good, because I have your car ready for you.”  Even offered to come get me to pick it up. 

I had a connection through FaceBook Messenger.  A pastor in Houston wanted to know if his family could use Seaside as a Plan B for his son’s beach wedding scheduled for Sunday evening.  The weather is supposed to turn off pretty nasty.  Worked out to be no problem on our end.  Why did they call us?  Their friends who live in Isla del Sol told them about the “Little Church Down the Street.”  Great to get community referrals.  Glad they knew we were around.

Psalms 112:5-6 says, “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.  Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.”

Father, thank you for the touch we made into that neighbor family’s life – whatever it was - that caused them to remember us and recommend Seaside.  Amen.

November 8 – “Frustrating … annoying … intermittent”

I had a frustrating night.  After going to bed around 10, I woke up at 11:30 with an annoying ache in my bad knee.  Why annoying?  Because it was intermittent.  It would wait until I was almost asleep, then hit again.  It would disappear when I re-positioned my leg, but it didn’t take long for that ache just behind the kneecap to return with a vengeance.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe it’s the impending change in our weather.  I didn’t go for a walk when Chris went for hers.  I had lots of trouble after the two miles the day before, so she kind of put me on lock down. 

I finally got up and moved to my recliner in the other room so I wouldn’t keep Chris awake.  I had already taken the appropriate medication and it was too early to take any more, so once there I slapped an ice pack on the knee.  Well, it was a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, but that’s what those things were created for, isn’t it?  I worked a few crossword puzzles and dozed, and after a while – a long while - I couldn’t feel my knee any more.  So I put the ice pack away and managed to fall into a somewhat fitful sleep.  I still woke up at 6 a.m. as usual, though.  I stayed in my chair for about 30 more minutes, trying to return to slumber, but that effort was useless.  Sigh.  I suppose I’ll just have to attempt a nap later is I can.  Fire department program as well as home group tonight.  Oh, and at some time I’ll have to go pick up the car from the shop.  Guess I better get started …

Psalms 112:1 says, “Praise the Lord.  Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.”

Father, thank you for the relief that ice pack brought.  Amazing how the simple things you thought to create turn out to be just what we need.  Amen.

November 7 – “So … zillyweed?”

We went into Texas to see the LaMarque cousins the other day.  Our special invitation came in a text from Micah.  Chris read it to me.  Best I could tell he was inviting us to join them for supper.  Oh, and they were having zillyweed (At least that’s what I heard her say).  Sadly we had just eaten fried chicken from Krogers.  But who can turn down a good helping of zillyweed?  We decided to go on over and give it a taste.  Just so you know, zillyweed tastes pretty much like lasagna.  Kind of a fake lasagna, though.  Just as I finished my second bite, Micah let slip a little secret, “Mom, I saw you sneak some zucchini in there.”  Could have gone without knowing that.  So, zillyweed … not lasagna, but not bad.

We stayed on for a while after supper.  Played some games.  One was called Mad Gabs.  That one is essentially visual verses without the pictures.  I needed pictures.  Christina smoked everybody.  Next Chris and I joined Micah, Jachin and Kel in a thrilling game of chance called “Left, Right, Center.”  Pretty much just roll the dice and do what it says.  No skill involved at all.  Perfect gambling game.  But we used the chips, not money.  Meanwhile, Christina challenged the young ones to a game of Candy Land.  Speaking of the Littles, there were also lots of hugs and tickles with those guys before we left for home.  It was a pretty good night.  Thanks for the invitation, Micah.

Psalms 111:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.  To him belongs eternal praise.”

Father, thank you for surprise invitations and silly games and hugs and tickles.  Oh, and for zillyweed.  Amen.

November 6 – “the little red reset button”

We awoke yesterday to no internet.  Certainly not a crisis, other than posting my blog.  We ignored it for a while and then went for our walk (Just two miles for me.  Chris went at least five).  When I got back the internet was still out, and all I could get was one of those messages to call customer service.  Sounded serious, so I did.  Not my favorite thing in the world.  You have to wade through all the computer weirdness to get to a human being.  And once there he ran the diagnostics.  All was well.  Still no internet, so the final step was to push the little red reset button on the back of the modem.  Worked like a charm.  Best part of the whole call?  The guy “gave me permission” to press that little red reset button anytime this might happen again in the future.  Well, thank you for your blessing.  Kind of reminded me of what it means to be forgiven of our sins.  Forgiveness … God’s Little Red Reset Button. 

I got a jury summons this week.  Kind of a problem, though.  It’s for two weeks after my surgery.  I will not officially be cleared by the doc yet.  In fact the post-surgical visit is not until the Tuesday of that week.  The whole thing kind of stressed me out a little bit.  Then I got an email with a phone number to call with questions.  And before I called I happened to find a website that explained how a doctor can fax a request for a medical postponement.  Of course if it gets postponed, then there is always the chance I’ll get called when we are scheduled to be in Alaska.  And if I’m doing well, I would just as soon get it out of the way if the doc – and my private duty home health nurse – approve.  Tough decision.  We decided to wait until that boot camp thing next Tuesday and ask them. 

Psalms 111:4 says, “He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate.”

Father, thank you for things like that little red reset button … and for your reset button – your forgiveness – as well.  Amen.