January 15 – “Two creative wedding pieces”

I joined in on the exercise train with Chris yesterday.  well, sort of “with Chris.”  She went to cardiac rehab again.  I took a break from working on sermon stuff to head outside myself.  I took one of our patented neighborhood walks.  Just two miles this time.  Gotta stay on top of these things …

 

The highlight of the day for sure was the beach wedding I officiated in the late afternoon.  It was an intimate family affair, with the bride and groom and their children, the grandparents, a sister and brother-in-law, and a few significant others of the kids.  We set up on the beach just down from the church.  Everything went really well.  They did two different creative wedding pieces. 

 

One was the sand ceremony, which has really become popular here on the island.  Why?  Because they can’t do a unity candle on the beach. Why?  Because the wind never stops blowing.  Blows the candle right out.  Doesn’t make for a very impressive symbolism.  In the sand ceremony, the bride and groom each start with a jar of sand.  Different color for each of them.  They then pour that sand into one central jar to show the mingling of their lives.  In their case, there were also several children in their respective families, so each child had a jar of sand in his or her own special color.  They poured their sand into the central jar as well, creating a swirl of color.  Finally I poured some sand from the beach on top to represent the “God-housekeeping” seal of approval on the new family.

 

The second bit of creativity involved a basket of seashells.  Everyone who came was given a shell.  After the ceremony everyone was encouraged to see their shell as a special prayer or good wish for the new family.  Then they were to toss the shells into the Gulf, to represent throwing the requests before God.  It was a lot of fun for everyone to try to get the shell actually into the water against the wind.  Plus it will provide some future beachcomer a treat when he stumbles across one of the little heart-shaped shells. 

 

Genesis 2:18 says, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him.’”

 

Father, please be with Julie and Bryan as they start off a new phase of their life together.  Draw them toward yourself.  Amen.

 

January 14 – “Having an impact”

Chris was off to cardiac rehab again early on yesterday.  These 8 and 8:30 appointments get her up at and ‘em way earlier than she would like.  Then again, she does like to have the whole rest of the day to get other things done. 

 

Her absence gave me some more time to focus on sermon work.  Kel has this Sunday, but I preach the next two as my swan songs.  A lot of prayer and thought have gone into these selections.  Now just as much prep time will follow. 

 

I went the visitation for a funeral yesterday.  A guy I went to school with, and played Little League baseball with, died.  He was also one of Nathan’s neighbors when they lived in town.  Nathan became an indispensable resource for them.  He helped whenever they needed it, either around their house or when Mike fell and couldn’t get back up on his own.  And Mike’s daughter was one of Cailyn’s elementary school teachers.  In fact as I chatted with them, the teacher told me that she considered Cailyn the best student she ever had.  That is called having an impact on your neighbors. 

 

We were back at it for home group last night.  Still working through the life of Samson right now.  Got him married last night.  That didn’t last long.  The marriage, not the Bible study.  The marriage lasted a week.  We’ve been doing this Bible study for … let’s see … how many years???

 

Speaking of last night, Cathy was really on a roll.  For some reason she had a massive case of the giggles.  She told us she had been infected with it all day, just laughing for no particular reason.  Then when she actually had a reason, it was uncontrollable.  Like when Sam shared that she had been seated between to gentlemen at church on Sunday.  Cathy reasoned that Sam had become a Sam-wich.  Nice one, Cathy.  Keep ‘em coming.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!”

 

Father, thank you for our group that has learned to have times of giggle-ish fun as well as times of prayerful concern and times of serious study.  Amen.

January 13 – “A bit more realistically …”

I was up at my usual 5 a.m. time slot yesterday.  I got started on my last two sermons at Seaside.  One will be the 23^rd, and the last will be on Retirement Day the 30^th.  Getting pretty close.  I did get a lot done in my isolation chamber (a.k.a. desk chair).  Guess I was pretty focused, too.  I eventually got one of those warning buzzes on my watch that I needed to get up and walk around a little bit.  That can be awfully annoying when you are concentrating.  Meanwhile, Chris slept in.  She didn’t wake up until after 7.  Good thing she didn’t have cardiac rehab scheduled for the day.  Oh, we got in some rehab, though.  Ended up walking two miles.  Woohoo.

 

The day’s real excitement came when the dentist’s office called.  I had an appointment scheduled for next week to check out the broken tooth I have.  This call was to inform me that I had been selected to win … an earlier appointment time.  Much earlier, in fact.  Like 1:00 that very afternoon early.  Not much I could do to squirm out of that one.  Besides, I’d just as soon get the whole thing over with. 

 

Sure enough, after checking the x-rays and taking a look for herself, she told me there was a pretty big hole in my farthest back tooth on the left side.  Yep.  I told her that when I sat down, but thanks for the added confirmation.  She gave me the warnings about my options.  Stick in a filling and hope she doesn’t hit a nerve.  If she does hit a nerve, or if it starts bleeding profusely, things change.  Then the choice is between pulling the tooth and doing a root canal to try to save it.  In fact, if the filling seems to work at first, but the tooth starts to hurt or stays really sensitive for more than a few days, plan B or C are once again on the table.  She paused, apparently waiting for me to choose.  No problem there.  Start filling that baby in. 

 

Of course, there is always the danger of her working for an alien society.  The filling could actually be an implant allowing them to listen in on my every word and action.  And every time I yawn a tiny camera takes surveillance photos of my surroundings.  Hey, I heard that’s a real thing.  A bit more realistically, though, is the chance that my dentist is really an agent for FaceBook.  The filling is an upgrade to the internal software they installed in conjunction with the government when I had my Covid shot.  Allows them to more accurately predict what advertisements to run on my FaceBook feed.  Not that I’m a conspiracy theorist or anything …

 

Psalms 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

 

Father, thank you that I was able to get into the dentist early and get this thing taken care of.  Amen.

January 12 – “… really busy”

Chris headed back to cardiac rehab yesterday.  Since it was pretty cold outside, I decided to stay inside and warm.  Instead, I wrote up the service for the wedding I am doing this weekend. 

 

I also tried to call the UTMB business office for the second day in a row.  I had a question about the bill we received.  Once again they have not yet applied some payments we made way back last year.  Although I understand the conceptual reason behind why they wait – they allegedly are giving the insurance time to clear – I still don’t get why they think it is all right to take my money and use it in their coffers and then bill me for it all over again.  And if I were to pay it again, they would have double use of my money and then have to issue me a refund check. 

 

So, back to my telephone dilemma …

Just like the day before, I was put on hold for five minutes or so, then transferred over to their voice mail.  I dutifully left a second message, referencing the fact that I had already left one.  All this occurred around 8 each morning.  Well, they finally called back last night at 5:15.  Lots of apologies all around.  “We’re really busy,” and all that jazz.  It was a very simple question.  And all they had to do was say they would apply what I had already paid to my account.  Oh, and that I could ignore the statement.  I got the person’s name in case there are any future repercussions.  Done … finally.

 

With all that excitement, I forgot to watch the Baylor vs. Texas Tech basketball game. We got engrossed in a Netflix movie instead.  Silly one about a high school teacher who takes up MMA to save the music program.  Let me just say … it’s a sad day in Waco today.  The number one Bears lost when they failed to sink a last second three-pointer that would have tied the game.  Hope people still show up at Josh’s church on Sunday. 

 

Amos 5:24 says, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”

 

Father, issues resolutions, even when they take 48 hours to reach a conclusion.  Amen.

January 11 – “Iceland??”

I spent my early morning hours (a.k.a. before Chris wakes up) working on the teaching for Thursday night home group Bible study.  We are well into the story of Samson right now.  Gotta get that kid married off next …

 

I went with Kel over to Sam’s.  We had to get him set up for a Sam’s Club card on the church’s account.  We also picked up a few things for the church as well.  With another big event coming up in a few weeks, we have to make sure we are fully stocked. 

 

We planned to head into Santa Fe to watch Cailyn play basketball last night.  I texted Nathan and April to make sure the game was still on.  Good thing.  The game was indeed canceled.  Saved us a Texas trip for nothing. 

 

We did find something to do around the house.  We watched a random Hallmark movie set in Iceland.  Yep … THAT Iceland.  That place has some really pretty views.  Can’t say much for the movie, though.  Typical plot, and without the promise of Christmas to hold it together, way too predictable.

 

We also watched the National Championship college football game.  Well, at least I did.  Chris stayed with me through the first quarter before falling asleep on the couch sometime before halftime.  It was a rather boring defensive struggle at the time.  9-6 is an Astros score, not so much football.  I encouraged her to go on to bed, and she agreed.  It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the fireworks came out in that game.  And when the smoke cleared, it was number three Georgia knocking off number one Alabama 33-18 for the crown.  Turned off exciting after all.  Sorry, Chris.  But she had to be up early this morning anyway.  She has cardiac rehab at 8 … A.M. 

 

Matthew 23:11 says, “The greatest among you will be your servant.”

 

Father, please be with Chris as she works out this morning.  Keep her (OK … us both) warm in this cold weather.  Amen.

January 10 – “The kind that you have to clean up”

January tenth.  That puts us in double figures for January.  Also puts us just a little closer to Retirement Day.  T minus twenty days and counting …

 

We had another big crowd in church yesterday.  61 hearty souls.  Lots of our Winter Texans are back for the cold weather season and are settling in for a few months.  We also had a few folks from years past trickling in to wish us well for the coming retirement.  I also met a new couple who just retired and now live in Sea Isle.  Looks like God is still moving out in the West End …

 

After church we joined several friends over at Pit Stop Barbecue for lunch.  I had my usual rib lunch.  Changed up the sides a little.  Instead of double fried okra, I just got one of those and one order of twice baked potatoes.  Chris had her usual chicken salad.  Pretty good stuff - the barbecue and the friends.

 

The rest of the afternoon went from settled to downright quiet.  Originally Kel’s family was scheduled to come over for lunch.  But bad news.  Ezra and Noa are both sick.  In Kel’s words, “the kind of sick that you have to clean up.”  Needless to say, they stayed home with Mom.  Kel and Josiah headed straight there after church. 

 

In the meantime, we eased onto the sofa and picked a movie we hadn’t seen.  Watched it from behind resting eyes.  I did come out from my slumber in time to get the gist of the plot.  Futuristic setting.  Guy deposes people by accessing their repressed memories of crimes.  Guy falls in love.  She disappears.  He can’t find her.  He searches for her to the extent that it destroys his career.  Finally, … well, I can’t tell you any more, now can I?  Of course, I can’t tell you the name of the movie, either.  I was asleep for that part. 

 

Ephesians 4:2 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

 

Father, thank you for our friends who don’t mind inviting us to join them for lunch.  Amen.

January 9 – “The miracle of modern bracketing”

I received one of those early morning texts yesterday.  this was a good one, though.  And it really wasn’t all that early.  I had been up for some time.  Chris was still in bed, though, so by definition around here … it was still early.  There was no emergency or anything.  I suppose they still had all of their brand new chickens.  They got a new batch of those weird breeds the other day.  My favorite was the one deemed Nathan’s.  It’s called a Naked Neck.  Don’t know if that’s the scientific name or not, but it has … a naked neck.  No feathers.  Very strange looking.  Anyway, the purpose of the call was to inform us that Cailyn’s basketball team had been entered into a tournament, and their first game was at 10 a.m.  We hustled to get ready. 

 

It was an 8^th Grade Tournament.  Cailyn is in 7^th grade.  That’s right.  They needed another team to fill out the bracket, so the lowly seventh graders suddenly became quite popular.  And then – surprise of all surprises – they won their first game.  That through the bracketing into a tizzy, for sure.  Why?  Because of byes and bracket positioning, that single victory catapulted them into the championship game against the Texas City 8^th graders.  That game didn’t turn out as … positive … as the first one did.  They were defeated rather soundly.  But again, thanks to the miracle of modern bracketing, they actually won second place in the tournament.  Meanwhile, their 8^th grade team ended up coming in third.  If that’s not bragging rights, I don’t know what is …

 

Luke 9:25 says, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?”

 

Father, please join us at church today.  We’ll be talking to you and about you, after all.  Amen.