"Anyone bored with faith hasn't experienced the terrors of God."

 Monday, March 8, 2021

The IF Gathering is an inspiration. It features top speakers and thinkers within Christian circles. Some of it is "American", so irrelevant in our setting. However, there's a lot of encouragement to worship God with all our hearts, no matter where we are in the world. "Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name..." that's what we are encouraged to do.

How are you worshiping God and loving others today? Those are the two commandments that Jesus said wrapped up all the laws God cared about. If you do these two, your life will be well-lived.

The neighbor hands us a ripe papaya from the back garden. We cut it and put lime on it - and that's the most delicious dessert you can imagine.

I find this funny card. So true.

Tuesday

Pak Nugroho sends over bromeliads, which Pak Lili wires into the frangipani tree. That tree's branches have a few leaves with fragrant flowers on the tips. It's the oddest tree - and these bromeliads will be filling in the spaces.

All morning, the white trim is being repainted on the porch. We started on the project last week, cutting a door out of the office to a bare ledge. I had no idea what was out there, beyond the little wall I could see from inside.

Once we sweep away the soil, spray the ants away, and paint some pots, I can bring furnishing from home. The rug is already in a BIC corner; we just have to find it and roll it out. There's an extra pillow on the office sofa, too. Let's put that on the old armchair so it's more comfy.

W's sister asks if I want anything from their mom's condo. His mother has moved into assisted living and is enjoying the meals and care. That means wrapping up the past. There's just one thing I'd like, an amusing teapot set: Reigning Cats and Dogs by Fitz&Floyd. We gifted that to her years ago. I'd use it a lot just because it makes me smile and ... well, I do like tea!

Wednesday

It's date morning. Nothing that I order from the menu is available. Kosong. The cooks don't start until 10, except those at our regular hangout. It's good anyway.

In the supermarket Borma, I spot filter sheets (polyester mats) for aquariums. I tug at the "wool" and it doesn't fray or lose its shape. I buy a bag for $1.50 - let's see if we can use it instead of polyester quilt batting. (Always good to think outside the box. This is low-risk; wonder if it works. In this case, success or failure is a learning experience.)

On the shelf is another wonder. The local "oven" is typically a tin box ($10-30) that sits over the gas burner that is common in most homes. It's 1-3 days wages, so not everyone has one, and it's not that sturdy. You think it's hard to regulate a standard oven? Imagine guessing at the temperature for meat or baking, depending on how strong a stovetop flame is.

There are all kinds of models, all light-weight aluminum with a thin glass for the front door.

Driving by, W spots an aquascaping shop. We pull up and look at the beautiful tanks inside.

Two young men are putting together the wood and stone that make the tanks sparkle.

We also stop at a mid-city nursery. 15' palms, their roots exposed in the bright sunlight, lean against a building.

What is this ugly clump of stumps beside the little brick path? The grower shows me a few frothy stems emerging from a 4" knot - it's some kind of Indonesian fern. Wow.

I have no idea what this 10" fruit is. Weird, right? It hangs 4 feet up in the air on a spindly shrub.

These growers and sellers have been here for years. There are many nurseries north of Bandung in the city of Lembang. But these gardeners offer healthy plants for a good price, right in town.

Some of the mid-size (15"-24") pottery and ceramic pots are stunning. They sell for $15-25. Rp 200.000-300.000 sounds like a lot of money though. I leave them behind for now.

From the curb to the backs of the shops, green green green in every shape and color is broken up with flowering shrubs or border plants. All the tender houseplants of North America are crammed together for year-round gardening here.

There are orchid specialists, too. 2'-3' plumes wave above the leathery leaves in many colors.

After walking through the nursery streets, I go back to the first strip of little shops. I've spotted two small trees - a gardenia @$3.50 and a 5' cypress tree @$5 - to finish off the office porch. Look at the difference they make in yesterday's photo and today's.

So, with that planting, the outdoor office space, one thing I was waiting on last week, is done. I sit outdoors to talk to someone, use it for an online team meeting, as well as others. Feels good to take my laptop onto the porch.

And the second expectation is on almost realized. This morning, Lizzy is sending two labradoodles to their new homes and she includes the little guy she's rehoming with us. She's had him since he was 10 weeks old! so this is hard on her.

The BIC team decides to go ahead with a Sunrise Service on Easter morning. We can't wait to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

Thursday

I don't sleep well. I'm too excited. Apparently Bailey is coming our way as a passenger: he sits on the lap of the driver's daughter instead of starting the trip in his crate. W had a night meeting (USA time was in the afternoon) so he's sleeping in.

I go into the kitchen to try a NYTimes recipe: milk-soaked beans. Sounds and looks uninteresting but the taste - oh the taste! It's delicious! That's what we have for breakfast. Here's how:

• Cut 1 head garlic crosswise and fry on low heat, cut-side down in 1tbsp butter. Toss the skins when the cloves are soft (10 min).
• Add 1 c milk, 1 can white beans (drained, rinsed), 1 can chick peas (with liquid), 1 bay leaf, some nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Simmer (don't boil) for 30 minutes. Stir a few times.
• Pull out the garlic cloves and smoosh them on bread. Mash the beans and spread those over the roasted cloves = ugly beige perfection. 
• Use as a dip or on baked potatoes if you prefer. Store in the fridge.

W and I walk down the hill for lunch at a burger truck. It's approximately the same distance as our shorter mountain walks. The Thursday group isn't hiking today since it's a government holiday. The dogs lap up the chicken-burger crumbs.

On the way home, we loop up to the office so W can glue down the veneer lifting up from the storage room door. In our house and elsewhere, wood veneer doors are standard. After some years, the bottom of the door begins to fray; the veneer breaks, starts to peel off the frame, and chips loose in strips.

When Bailey arrives (ETA 9-10pm), W will take the 2 big dogs out of the yard. We'll let the little one do his "business," stretch his legs, and then crate him for the night. The other 2 can run around and sniff the yard once he's safely inside.

Except that they're still 3 hours away at 10pm, when the transport company texts us. Sigh. We've stayed up - but crash into bed as soon as we know he's not coming today.

Friday

I have a 7 o'clock meeting, another scheduled for 9-11, and decide to do those in the office. W's not up to walking this morning but shows up with the big dogs a few minutes after I get here. They're happy to have come on the short walk from home with him. W's door fix is looking good; he props the door back onto its hinges as my first meeting starts.

When it's over, I get on the stair-stepper and pedal fiercely. Here's my takeaway from the first meeting: "The future is a story that doesn't exist yet. Yet our God is equally in the past, present, and future. He desires to be fully present with us, no matter when."

I'm going to think about that. With so much changing around us, that is very reassuring. We agree: "Anyone bored with faith hasn't experienced the terrors of God." His ways are beyond predicting or finding out.

The batik quilt is spread on the conference table, ready for the second meeting. Hands busy, ears open. And, of course, I'm waiting to hear when Bailey will get here.

Read more:

*Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths and their ears will become deaf. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the Lord our God and will be afraid of you.

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:16-19 NIV

*You shall eat your bread to the full, and live securely in your land. Leviticus 26:5

*And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. Matthew 14:20

Moravian Prayer: Loving God, it sounds too magnificent to believe. You generously showered the earth with all that we, your children, need. Forgive us for the soil we have depleted, the air we have fouled, and the water we have poisoned and wasted. In the gift of the earth, you have given us all that we need, from generation to generation. Despite your generosity, many of your children never learned to care for their possessions or share with others. Strengthen us to live a new way. Amen.