Start with a swing, end with a pizza

Monday, July 13, 2020

There's nothing like starting a week with a long list of "hope I get this done." I had one - and it's mostly checked off. Feels good.

During the Monday study, I listen in but my internet connection is awful, so I go to the back of the yard with my computer file open and start on the weekly "must-do" list. As I swing and enjoy the garden, I edit and write. Can you see the swing tucked under the trees?

Tuesday

Wonderful to see our team in the morning, even if it is online. I'm almost used to meeting screen-to-screen after 4 months. But it will be nice to meet in person. I'm working in the BIC office for the first time in a long time. It's so orderly and tidy. It's also pretty quiet except when there's a seminar going on outside my window.

Weather has been wonderful - hardly any rain. Not a lot of sun. So it's mild and dry most of the time. As we walk the neighborhood, most of the big homes have their gates locked.

The streets are still mostly empty other than during the school break, when Jakarta guests come to eat and holiday.

The garbage dump along the way is almost empty, compared to high tourist season.

The side parking lot of the big hotel has a new construction conduit. Villagers have hacked a steep trail into the side of the hill. Workers dump building materials down the mountainside to the building site below.

 One of the podcasters I listen to says, "Delegate everything you don't enjoy or cannot do yourself." So the helper washes sheers and drapes.

The sun makes the silver palms glow as I walk by one evening.

Wednesday

You know how you sometimes get a surge of energy? And you know how sometimes a job finds you and it's a whole different ballgame?

This week the big shoe rack at the back door collapses. Totally falls down. Oh well, it is time to wipe the shelves anyway. The tumble takes down a shelf with garden fertilizer and walking sticks. What a mess.

I just leave it alone for most of this week. I have no capacity to think about what's next. The helper washes the porch around the heaps of shoes and gear. I don't have clarity so I don't move.

Thursday

We made a kitchen cart last week. On it, we put desk trays to corral recipes, cutting boards, and receipts. I dumped all the old papers from the trays onto my office desk at home.

That big pile of pages doesn't seem to move itself. Hmm, at the BIC office, I'll have a clean and restful space and a big desk. Let's go - I need a diversion from the porch mess. It's called avoidance!

I bring a new 2" clutter pile with me day after day and churn through it. I write down information to keep, file a few pages for later, and toss the rest. Whew. (It is good to re-read what I had saved: ideas on management and leadership, church, non-profits, friendship, art, creative ways to serve ... )

I finished 3 weeks of seminary teaching last Saturday. So I compile about 20 years of teaching Acts and send it to the printer, complete with a homemade cover that I'm not very happy with. For the first draft of the book, it's a placeholder.

Writing, editing, and sorting, I use up all my free Focusmate appointments. I've work across the screen with employees in Belgium and London, as well as students in Brazil, France, Dubai, and UAE.

It's fascinating to hear who is doing what. At the start of a Focus hour, we declare our goal/s. Then we click mute and get to work. At the end, we update the other person: "Did you or did you not hit the target?"

I am boggled by how much we accomplish in a focus hour. At the end of the week, I'm left with a short stack of filing. That's it. Yay!

The facility manager and I talk about returning to groups meeting in person. None of us is in any hurry - the virus is just hitting the city. We have 3 green zones in Bandung neighborhoods. All the rest are red (high alert). That's not a "come-back-together" sort of metric. 

Our partners donated funds for a special-needs school last Christmas. This week, the final project came together in a playground for special-needs children. Isn't this amazing? The kids will love it. Their school opens next week.

To feel nature even when inside, we slide open the front doors. The LR to porch connection is wonderful. The breeze blows through and freshens the kitchen when I cook: we have no fan but back-door open, front sliders open ... plenty of air flow to waft the smells away.

Saturday

I'm up 4 hours (midnight to 4) to connect with people and learn from livestreams. I need the information to lead well. For the last one, I crave seeing the faces of colleagues and friends.

There are only 2 "day-off" jobs on my list today: 1. clean the fish tank in the office (I fail at that) and 2. clear the porch.

 My brain is on high-possibility, which is perfect for rethinking storage. My eyes roam the yard. Hey, what's that big "closet" leaning against the carport wall? It's an old wooden lemari (wardrobe) full of junk. W empties it and hauls the big box onto the porch. The organizing begins.

First, I have to sew 3 shoe shelves to replace the ones that tore. Ibu S already washed the cotton cover. It's sure faded with the sunlight! The shoes go back on the shelves. And the wardrobe is ready for a good wash-down.

Delegate. Delegate. I bring a pail of soapy water to the porch. The driver has taken Kirsten into town for socially-distanced outdoor lunch with friends. When they return, he washes down the wood and leaves it to dry while he walks the yard dogs.

I like the cut rounds of nangka (jackfruit) that have been drying for a month. We cut down a tree in the yard and the workers left me 8 crosscuts. It's such a pretty gold-colored wood.

We stand them up on the entry table, enjoying them when we enter the house. That lasts a few weeks before my restless interior decorator needs a change of scenery.

In the garden, the frangipani is getting tall. I snap off a 4' branch. We enjoy the natural perfume in the house. The tree will send out 3 shoots at the break. It's the strangest plant: the few leaves keep yellowing and falling off. It has thick sappy branches with bundles of fragrant flowers.

Friends come over for a pizza party in the evening. W bakes the individual portions in his oven. It's so strange to eat, sitting apart on our porch. Feels so good to have people over. Casey, our little doggie friend, comes along with them and rules the dog pack as usual.

At the end of the day, at the end of the week, I'm content. God is good. All the time.

Read more:
*The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established. Proverbs 19:21

*Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it? Isaiah 43:13 NIV

*For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe. Deuteronomy 10:17

*Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8

*All of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:10

*Therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another. 1 Peter 4:7-8

Moravian Prayer: Wise Father, you make everything work together for our good and for your will to be established on earth as it is in heaven. Help us always remember that your perfect plans give us hope and love for one another. 

Perfect Lord, sometimes it’s hard to have a soft heart in a world full of anger and despair, of war and unfairness. Help us see the way you see, love the way you love, and help us to stay pure-hearted. In Jesus’ name, we pray. 

Merciful Judge, who are we to be loved so fiercely by you? You judge us with mercy and love, that no one can contradict. You pardon us with your own sacrifice and tell us we are loved by you. Help us realize the immensity of your love. Amen.