Who knows if I will keep this up throughout the summer, but here goes.

Day Zero. Why Zero? Because it’s actually Memorial Day. Had school still been in session, we would have had the day off regardless. So Day 1 is tomorrow.

Day Zero started rather slowly as every Monday should, for one who is also a pastor. I’m never sharp on Mondays after preaching on Sundays. It’s an occupational hazard that I rejoice to have. But given that it was my first real day off in a while, I was full of hopeful expectations on getting started working in the yard, taking dominion of my little corner of Waco.

Hah! God had other plans. Like rain, and thunder, and lightning, and my wife asking me to go on a job with her as she shopped for one of her customers. That was actually the beginning of the redeeming of day, since I had no real energy in doing anything around the estate.

Estate? Yes, my tiny portion of Waco is my estate. It’s what the LORD has given me to take dominion over, and take care of. So I do. See the pictures of the hydrangeas.

But back to the day. The rain came and went, leaving 1.5 inches for the morning. More rain came in the afternoon, adding another 1/4 of inch, and it’s raining as I type this. I’m grateful. The estate needs the rain, and so do the ranchers and farmers in the area.

While out, Heidi bought some steaks for our dinner. Since we are on a diet that basically cuts out all carbs, we are left with veggies and protein, but protein without a lot of fat. That means: tenderloins. We’ve been exiting on them the past two week. She loves to make a marinade for them and soaks them all day, which is what you do with a marinade, so I am told. Then, she takes the marinade off the steaks, boils it down for a sauce, and we have the finest meal in the county, even though we just have baked veggies, salad, and the steak. It’s delightful.

The rest of the day was filled with reading the book: The Battle of the Labyrinth, by Rick Riordan. It is part of the Percy Jackson series, which is written for teenagers, and is the fourth book of the series. You might wonder why I am reading such a book. Let me tell you why.

I read great works of theology all the time. And great works of literature. I’m reading the Count of Monte Christo to Heidi, a habit we started years ago, where I read to her at night. As I read, she falls asleep after the first paragraph, and I have to re-read it again the next night. It started when I was reading through the Lord of the Rings again. It is one of those traditions that we love and it takes us a year or two to get through such great works.

But back to Percy Jackson. I started reading through Percy Jackson to my class back in November, and we would do it every day, working our way through the series. And yes, the students would fall asleep as I read to them. I never got on to them, since Heidi did the same. They said my voice puts them asleep, and I figured they needed the sleep. While reading it, I realized what an excellent writer Rick Riordan actually is. He’s gifted. He can tell a story. While my students didn’t get the finer points of Greek mythology, which the story is based upon, I did. I loved it.

In my class, we got through the first three books of the five. I wanted to finish the series and checked it out of our public library, with the hopes of reading it to them the last week of school. It didn’t work out. So, I’m reading it now. It’s an easy read, and what I need. As I said above, I read theology books all the time in keeping up with my studies for preaching. But that isn’t relaxing because I’m trying to learn it, digest it, and feed it back to my congregation. With Percy Jackson, there is none of that. Just read it and enjoy. So I do.

As for the rest of the day, it was filled with wonderful moments with Heidi, a wonderful dinner, a glass of Scotch in the garage while listening to the rain and thunder, and the joy of knowing I have many more days ahead of me before returning to the grind of another school year.

Our class calendar.

The important part…

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons 2025.