October 16 – “Stuff. Stuffed. Stuffing”

We were back in the groove again.  Another three mile walk to start the day.  It was a sticky, hot day, muggy all around.  And all that mugginess was apparently a prelude to the cool front that is coming through as I type.  Well, at least it is raining and the temperature has plummeted to 76 degrees.  That’s much cooler than it has been. 

After a quick shower I made a trip up to fire station one.  I haven’t been in a while, so I wanted to check in with the new chief and see how things were going with him.  It was good as well to see the fire fighters on duty.  They were hanging out in the bay, waiting to begin some training they had scheduled.  At least one of them was also hoping the training would be completed by three in the afternoon.  And why was that?  Because the Astros playoff game was scheduled to start at 3:08. 

Back home, after lunch, we made a trip over to WalMart to get the last stuff Chris needed for her stuffed animal project.  Stuffing.  Hmm.  Stuff.  Stuffed.  Stuffing.  I’m pretty good with verbs this morning. 

I got an unusual text from my barber around one.  I had an appointment for a haircut at 2, so I was worried it was about to be canceled.  Not this barber.  She texted to come on in right away and she would get me taken care of.  Apparently she didn’t want me to have to rush home for the start of the game.  Now she could take her time.  How’s that for customer consideration?  But, hey, when your barber is a biker you never know what to expect …

I made it home in plenty of time for the first pitch.  Altuve started this one out right with a home run on the first pitch he saw.  Cole was a little off on his pitching, but he battled through.  Final score, 4-1 good guys.  Two games to one lead for the Astros.  Now they are guaranteed the chance to play at least one more game at home.  Unless of course they go ahead and sweep the Yankees in New York.  That would be just fine.  I understand the weather is supposed to be really bad today up there.  The game may even be postponed a day.  Not sure who that will help more …

1 Timothy 2:5-6 says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.  This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.”

Father, please continue your watch over the fire fighters of our fair city and our new fire chief.  They always need you.  Amen.

October 15 – “Through the rain”

We headed into Texas yesterday to pray with one of our Seasiders, Cindy, before her knee surgery.  It wasn't a replacement, but I can sure relate.  She has been having a lot of pain, and the steroid shots haven’t really worked, so they finally made the move to trying this particular surgery.  They went in arthroscopically.  First order of business was to trim up some torn cartilage.  Then the doc removed a cyst in her leg.  Finally he injected some kind of cement into her knee to fill in the bad places.  Sounded very different to me, but I sure pray that it helps her.  I remember how annoying that constant knee pain can be.  Spoiler alert (in a good way).  Cindy is back home and resting well.  Well, she says that’s the medication’s job, so it better work.  Feisty …

It was raining when we left the house.  Lots of rain.  Rain.  Rain.  Rain.  It let up before we arrived at the hospital, so we didn’t get wet walking in.  It began to sprinkle a little as we were leaving, and then started up again on the way home.  We had thought about making a few Texas stop while we were up there, but neither of us wanted to brave the torrents.  We came home. 

Once inside we stayed put.  The rain eventually stopped, but by then we were both busy into our separate projects.  Chris was working on a stuffed animal for Luke.  She hopes to get it finished by the time we leave Friday morning for Waco.  We are going to watch a soccer game or two on Saturday, then coming right back home.  Can’t miss dinner on the grounds on Sunday, you know.  My project wasn’t nearly as glamorous.  Pretty necessary though.  I spent the rest of the day at the computer working on the teaching for Sunday.  We have started First Peter, so there are a lot of Greek words to get through.  That’s lots of fun for me, though.  Here come the word studies …

John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Father, thank you that Cindy came through the surgery with flying colors.   Help her as she gets started with the rehab portion now.  Amen.

October 14 – “Pretty good breakfast? …”

I did something I really try to stay away from yesterday.  I took a Benadryl right before church started.  Couldn’t help it.  When the sneezing started my choices were antihistamine or sneeze through the teaching.  I stayed awake OK as far as I could tell.  No one startled me awake or anything as far as I can remember. 

We had lots of snacks left over from the Fall Festival that we put out for people to enjoy with their donuts.  It was a veritable feast of sugary delights.  I had two donut holes, one little round ball of cake with sprinkles on top, and one of those teeny tiny little bite sized Three Musketeers bars.  Pretty good breakfast, I suppose.  Healthy?

After church we went to Cailyn’s softball game over at the airport fields.  Her team was losing by a run when we arrived, but they ended up coming back and winning fairly easily.  Cailyn hit two singles, and on both occasions she stole second and third and scored on an error.  One of those days …

We watched a little of the Cowboys game when we got home.  I heard the Texans won.  Not such good news for the Cowboys.  Fell just short when a two-point conversion attempt failed.  They lost to a team that hadn’t won a game all year.  They almost made a great comeback, though.  To the Jets’ credit, though, they had been playing without their starting quarterback.  Apparently the guy had mononucleosis.  That’s the kissing disease as I recall.  No cure except to rest for several weeks.  Oh, and don’t kiss anybody. 

Now last night we watched some of the real sport of October – post-season baseball.  The Astros were trying to even the series with the dreaded Yankees.  Lost the first game when the bats went cold … again.  Verlander pitched this one, though.  High expectations.  And they weren’t misplaced.  He was amazing.  Left the game with it tied 2-2.  Then the bullpen took over.  It took a while, but the bottom of the eleventh was well worth the wait. Carlos Correa led off the inning and smashed a walk-off home run to right field.  Phew.  Of course by then it was midnight and Chris had been out cold for quite some time.  I stayed as quiet as I could then.  I’ll let her know what she missed when she wakes up this morning …

Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

Father, please be with our Seasider Cindy as she undergoes knee surgery today.  And watch over her granddaughter’s tonsil surgery as well.  Amen.

October 13 – “Somber start … Exciting ending”

As I mentioned yesterday, our day began before 5:30 a.m. with a phone call from a gentleman in our church.  Ed was letting us know that his wife of 55 years has died earlier in the morning.  Pat had been suffering from pancreatic cancer, and her pain had been pretty severe for several weeks.  She was under hospice care, though, so they helped manage the pain.  Pat was a strong lady who fervently loved the Lord.  She also loved hearing banjo music.  She had been a church secretary for many years, so she understood a lot of what pastors go through.  As a result she was one of my strongest encouragers.  I will definitely miss her smile.  Ed will now move to Tomball to be near one of his daughters.  We will miss him as well, with his tales of fishing and stories of his military exploits and his gardening tips.  Oh, the family decided to honor Pat’s dislike of funerals (well, “dislike” is not really a strong enough word there.  She absolutely hated funerals).  There will be no memorial services.  Remember her as I have done … perhaps when you hear a banjo play …

We came back to the house when Ed and Pat’s daughters arrived and the funeral home took away the body.  We still had a Fall Festival to help set up for at the church.  That meant first switching cars (glad we got the truck back).  We were responsible for bringing our old, dilapidated wheelbarrow to be used as a decoration prop.  It joined the other incredible decorations that our activities director Lauren had put together.  She always does a bang-up job, and this was no exception.  We also had to pick up Cailyn and a friend of hers who she invited.  They wanted to be a part of the whole day experience, and they proved to be a big help throughout setup and later helping other kids get involved.

Jim set up speakers so music could be playing throughout the event.  Thanks to Cathy for giving up her phone and its Bluetooth connection in that regard.  Games were set up all over the parking lot and into the grass.  A bounce house graced the lawn near the sign.  Tables over near the worship center held an array of chili, fritos, hot dogs, and all the condiments.  Nearby was the table for creating your own bowl of caramel covered apple slices with all sorts of toppings.  There was a table for guessing how many candies were inside a glass jar.  Closest without going over won the candy (Cailyn won one of them … again.  She won one last year, too).  A huge cooler held water and all sorts of soft drinks. 

Right at 4:00 folks started arriving, and there was a steady stream of families with youngsters we had never seen.  I met numerous couples who had just moved to Galveston.  Several others let me know they come regularly to the sunrise service.  I noticed that Seasiders were sprinkled everywhere.  Several were serving food.  Others were helping kids with games.  All-star balloting elected Ray and Mary Ann for the especially exuberant levels of excitement they brought to the games.   Any time a youngster in their care was successful, they got a massive cheer, a high-five, or a hug to go along with their candy and prizes.  Parents were pitching in as well, to encourage their youngsters.  It seemed to be a real family-building experience for those who came.  The event itself is our gift to the community, so everything is free.  But word also got out that we had an area for donating canned goods.  Not a lot of PR about that, but the community stepped up and filled several baskets with food for folks who need it.  So thank you, community.  You are awesome.  It is a real privilege to be here to serve you however we can. 

Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.”

Father, please continue to walk through the valley of death with Ed and his girls.  They will need to find other ways to express their grief without a memorial service.  And thank you so much for the great response at the Festival.  Please honor the efforts of everybody who helped out.  Amen.

October 12 – “Early Start”

5:30 a.m..  We had an early start this morning.  A beloved, sweet lady from Seaside passed away early this morning, so Chris and I are headed over there.  Fall Festival this afternoon.

Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Father, be with Ed and his family through their hours of grief.  Walk with them closely.  Amen.

October 11 – “The Determined Fisherman”

Yesterday marked the first fishing trip in a long time.  Micah texted me earlier in the week.  His mom had asked him what he wanted to eat, and he replied, “Fish.”  After a second or two of thinking about that answer, he added, “But not tilapia or salmon.”  Christina adeptly handled that challenge with one of her own.  “Well, I guess you’ll just have to catch some yourself, then.”  Hence the text to DadDad.  Josiah managed to finagle himself into the action as well, and the date was set.

Micah was quite the determined fisherman.  Especially when Josiah decided he was done and ready to leave.  Micah declared, “No way.  This is my trip.  I planned it.  We’ll go when I say so.”  Well, there you go.  One more cast …

Micah did a good job.  He caught several sand trout, one spec and some croakers to go along with the piggies he nabbed for us to use as bait.  Josiah did his part.  He got the award for most unusual fish.  He caught a silver eel.  He also caught a dog fish.  Twice.  I caught a few nice specs.  That’s a good fishing day.  Especially when Chris cooked them all up for lunch …

We changed home group last night to an Astros watch party for the final game of the Division Series.  It was Sam’s idea, so she became the hostess with the moistest for the evening.  We grabbed some pizzas.  She brought chips and dips.  Corey brought over some cookies.  Lots of food.  Kel and the rest of his family came. 

Oh, and the Astros?  Great start.  Four runs in the first inning.  Cole was amazing on the mound.  Two hitter for eight innings.  Ten strikeouts.  Altuve broke the record for most home runs by a second baseman.  Brantley hit a home run, too.  Not a bad finish.  Now they have to get ready for the Yankees …

1 Peter 1:14-15 says, “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”

Father, thank you for the fun we had last night watching the baseball game and enjoying each other’s company.  That’s a good thing every now and then.  Amen.

October 10 – “Gone fishin’”

I was more than a little late getting the post up yesterday morning.  I had a 6:30 a.m. coffee meeting with Eric, one of our neighbors we met at the Neighbors’ Night Out.  IHOP special.  Lots of coffee.  Very little interruptions by the waitress.  It was great talking to Eric.  He wanted to know all about Seaside and Galveston from an old-timer.  He got it.

I came on back home so I could get ready to take Sam back home if she wanted to go.  As it turned out she got a call from another Seasider who lives out there near her.  She was out and about running errands and offered to come by and pick up Sam to save us a trip back out West.  They both ended up staying for lunch, though.  Always fun to hang out with Seasiders.

Last night we went to Texas to watch some grandkids at their practice session.  Nope.  Not baseball or softball.  They are in martial arts.  We saw all kinds of twists and turns and twirls and spins and backbreaking bends and splits and kicks.  I was sore just watching them. 

Micah and Josiah came home with us.  The guys are heading out fishing today, so this is an abbreviated post.  That’s all ….

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”

Father, thank you that Sam is feeling better, and thank you for Violet and her heart for ministry.  Amen.