It's a 2-snake, 3-pizza, and 4-chapter week

It's a 2-snake week. We see the first on our Thursday walk, about 30" long, lying in the middle of the street - dead. "Very harmful," someone tells us. Is it an Asian coral snake?

The second one, probably a banded krait, lands on the pavement Friday, outside the gate where I work. Its body is still twitching though its head has been lopped off by a motorcycle. It's a pretty one.

"Probably fell from the tree," said the guard, pointing to the overhanging branches.

Is it dangerous? "Only if it bites you," he replies. Yes, I walk far around it as it convulses.
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On the other hand, it's been a week of blessings in many directions. Kirsten gets a visa renewal: within the month, an agent will go to immigration and get her stamp but permission is given. Thanks to all who prayed for this.

On another note, we enjoy having people over for pizza and the dogs love the company. Maren and Junia spoil them rotten.

We're been having company on the porch each Saturday. This week, two friends also came over Friday. W's pizza skills are seriously improved. Leo enjoys the pizza but also takes the backyard swing for a ride.

I have a rough couple of nights due to interrupted sleep - so I listen to the book of Job over and over. One night, I listen to the whole thing. 42 chapters about a suffering person, a cosmic backdrop, friends with bad advice, and God who challenges us to discover him through the marvels of nature.

I cry a lot as I listen. Oh God, I grieve for those who suffer, who mourn, who are in distress. And why, when there is so much pain, are there so few who can enter into the suffering of others? When have I been such an un-empathetic friend? (Often, I suspect.)

A friend's mom dies and there's no way to mourn in person. A mutual friend sends an appeal for notes on love - she's making a video from everyone to send as comfort. There are all kinds of pictures and some wonderful captions. Mine is basic.

Monday, August 10, 2020

On the weekend, the young people from church pack up food for neighbors whose families are out of work. Over 32 people get food baskets this week.

I've got some time on my hands one morning before I head for work and the mood to paint strikes. I grab 2 colors of blue and one of yellow. I find a big carwash sponge under the kitchen sink and cut a 2"wide strip off it. Then I fill two little bowls with water, squirt blue and yellow along the side of one, and swoosh the combinations of color around the sponge.

I'm not painting as much as wiping the sponge around the wall in the nook. It's a start on the first layer, defining where paint will go more than anything else.

I need a brush next time - this sponge is not a fine tool. But I run out of time and interest before starting on the tree trunk in the middle. The unpainted part looks like a flying sheet. I'll put gold and brown on it eventually. I don't paint another dab all week. I'm willing to wait for the next surge of creativity.

Tuesday

My parents celebrate 67 years of marriage - how amazing. Way to go, you lovebirds! They're such a blessing to us and many others. 

Meanwhile, Dad's 88th birthday is quiet, just the way he likes it. I am so grateful for technology, which allows us to visit from across the world.

I send off final edits for a book chapter, get word from an editor that another chapter is in her hands - do I want to include it in her book? (Gladly.) I close the files on still another chapter that's going to print. Hurrah. (Whew, two chapter off my desk this week.)

"Would you like to see a new one?" I ask an editor. What am I thinking? I don't have the chapter written. But I found the rough outline and some notes as I was cleaning up my hard drive last week. I've had 2 years to think about it. All I need to do is write it, right?

"Sure," Ms R replies. Which means that all week, I'm researching, writing, and rewriting the new chapter. I get the rough "middle" draft to her by the deadline on Friday.

"If it's too much work, I won't include it," she warns. I promise to clean it up this weekend and get back to her if there are a lot of revisions.

Meanwhile, the printer sends back 2 versions of a classroom study that I updated last month. They did a good job printing the write-in workbook. It's an option for the next round of Monday studies.

Wednesday

The dog groomers don't show up one day but come another. The dogs are looking good. The driver walks them slowly around the neighborhood twice a day. When they get into the hills with us on Thursday, they act like wild things. Run, jump, play, chase monkeys, and wade in the creeks.

Thursday

It's just Alice, Veronica, W and me on our Thursday walk. 4 is our minimum for mountain walks: if someone gets injured, 2 people can go for help and someone can stay with the casualty. (We can walk the city with 3.) 

The red and white flags are up for Independence Day next Monday. We put up a flag on our gate, too.

We see this interesting structure on the side of the hill beside a main road. It looks like a regular shop from the front - 

but as we walk up, it doesn't look very sturdy, does it? (see above) The shop is perched on bamboo stilts, tied and nailed together.

Saturday

It rains midday most of the week. That's unusual. But the plants love it. The 7' hedge along the neighbor's yard bursts into clumps of orange flowers.

I've spent 6-8 hours a day online in office mode, working across from people in Pakistan, Bolivia, Italy, France, USA, India, the Philippines, and China - among other locations. Many of us need the Focusmate structure of 50 minutes on, 10 minutes off. Some people have logged 1500 hours. I think I'm close to 100.

In the morning, W and I do two pre-takes of next week's talk. The first one is dull and I can hardly move my lips. I add (and then edit out a lot after W complains it's too long.) We redo, which is better but still long.

After lunch, I lay down with a book in hand. My eyes close for over an hour, and I'm feeling more energized. I have friends who feel guilty when they nap. Not I! It feels like a win anytime I can sleep during the day.

Two good things! A nap AND company's coming for supper. I chop a few pizza toppings, put out plates, cutlery, and cups, and do dishes. But the bulk of the work is left to Waldemar. Pizza night is almost a night off for me.

Someone asks for my book list on spiritual growth. I go back through books I've read the past months. Reading 4-10 books a week, you can plow through a lot of pages. I send him a dozen titles: "Let me know if you need more." And I toss in a few favorite authors of novel series: Amor  Towles, Louise Penny, Catherine Coulton, and others. "All good," I promise. So many words.

Read more:

*Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor. Zechariah 7:10

*By his bruises we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

*Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. John 11:51-52

*God chose what is low and despised in the world. 1 Corinthians 1:28

Moravian Prayer: Christ, we are united by your grace. You call us from all walks of life to gather at your cross. May the painful waters that flow from your side into our wandering hearts bring us together.

Lord, help us to see you outside of the cathedrals and mansions of the world. May we find you among the vulnerable and be willing to work there alongside you. May every ear be afforded the sound of good news! Amen.