What's next?

Monday, January 7, 2019
Friends of our celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary today. The world has changed since their wedding, no doubt about it. Congratulations, Dave and Gigi!

I always look forward to a Monday morning call with my friend and mentor. We haven't talked for a few weeks and both of us are weary. So it's nice to relax, catch up on the prayer list, and thank God together that the holidays have come and gone.

W and I have the privilege of listening to Jakob and Dayana, who are speaking next Sunday. I feel enriched, tuning in to what's coming up for the BIC family.

A new Indian restaurant has opened in town. You'd think, with about 5 million hungry people plus Jakarta coming here on the weekends, that Bandung would have the best pick of restaurants. There are a lot of Indonesian choices, but few truly great foreign ones.

We all meet with Dr H, Josh and Clau over lunch at Spice Affair. It's a cousin restaurant to our Jakarta favorite Queen, so of course it's delicious. And the food tastes authentic. Most restaurants here end up tasting similar since many local chefs never travel abroad; they use spices familiar to them.

Tuesday and Wednesday
Our errands Tuesday morning take longer than expected, but we're home for a late lunch with some kitchen purchases. A generous women's organization sent funds for house set-up. A few months ago, we purchased a huge pot (saving me over an hour each month in movie-night prep) and other essentials. Sometimes I feel like we run a restaurant. We finally decide on a buffet heater. Here, most food is left out to cool (in 80+o ambient temp) after cooking, probably not the best plan for healthy digestion. I keep running out of big serving dishes, so this - thanks ladies! - will take care of that.

I'm eating heating healthier. That means a few evening hours of prep - cooking grains, looking at healthier recipes, and thinking ahead to meals. Usually, it's one meal to another, but trying to eat more whole foods means more deliberate foresight.

Breakfast is good: a homemade whole-grain waffle with fruit. The blackberries come from the freezer at a SDA store; the mangoes are local.

 I'm also planning the next year, starting with the new few months. This is a natural and comfortable activity: I like to look back at what's happened, lay out possibilities, and dream of what might be accomplished. Next step is putting those intentions into workable habits.

Can't remember where I found this, but it's an ideal bird to-do list, isn't it? Wish my list was this short and succinct. At the turn of the year, I think about what is done and left undone - and what is coming.

One of my friends encourages me to spend a few hours thinking about doors possibly closing in the future. That way, we are not caught off guard by redirection, but move ahead whether opportunities materialize, morph, or disappear entirely. She's a genius, I think.

For those of you who are stuck or not sure you can accomplish what God seems to be asking of you, here's a hint from Chandler Bolt, whose blog I appreciate and often read:

Truth be told, I can't quite wrap my head around wanting to hear my own voice every day, but oh well. Maybe.

We're happy when visitors stop by the house or office for counseling, and for non-profit stuff. There's so much going on - so many people are serving locally and globally that my heart just sings.

Seems like a lot of people have been sick lately with dengue, typhoid fever, asthma, and other conditions. Most locals blame their low resistant to disease to the transition of weather, from dry to wet and back again.

We drop by to say hi and pray for those we know.

Read more:
*Take care, or you will be seduced into turning away, serving other gods and worshipping them. Deuteronomy 11:16

*A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. Proverbs 15:1-4 NIV

*You have looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because my house lies in ruins, while all of you hurry off to your own houses. Haggai 1:9

*Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12:11

*For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.  Galatians 5:1

Moravian Prayer: Holy God, whatever you command of us, let our whole heart be joyful, ready, and willing to do your work to your glory. Let us go forth this day and shine your light to others. 

Breaker of oppressions—destroy our allegiance to the lesser gods of our world; prevent us from submitting to yokes of affluence, pride, fame, or power—enfold us in your love which frees us to live forever. For yours are the power and the glory forever. Amen.