For freedom you have been set free ...

 Saturday, April 3, 2021

I kick the ball, my flip-flops catch on the pavement, and my toe is slammed into the concrete. Ouch. And even more so when it starts to swell within minutes.

I'm not one to suffer long. I can barely make it through supper, even with an ice pack on my foot. When I hobble to bed and put up my foot, I ice several more times. And then it's time for bed.

Sunday HAPPY EASTER!

Well, that helped a lot! I skip our usual walk though, ice-ing  my foot one more time. And I rest up most of the day.

There's Stollen for breakfast, a traditional European bread eaten at Easter and other feasts. Mom bought us some when we visited her in Canada in December. Let's enjoy it today in the traditional way. The marzipan (almond paste) inside is delicious, too.

Before the morning online Gathering (BICOnline), I clean 3 aquariums (fishbowls, really) on the porch and in my home office. My favorite usually sits on its log: the glass was hand-blown in Bali onto the piece of wood.

We put the wood/glass temporarily on another surface while W painted its table last week. When I lift up the tank to return it to its place, there is a swarm of hundreds of ants and a piled mass of white ant eggs under it. We pour boiling water on the log and the table. Gone.

The bowl sits alone on its length while the wood dries. It's pretty because you can see everything from the top.

Something about the lazy swirl of fins relaxes me. Not having to heat, filter, or light a tank makes these fishbowls easy to maintain on the porch. We empty the water and refill it every week or two. That's it. When fish get siphoned out with the waste water, we scoop them up with a net and pop them back into the tank.

I chose this particular bowl from hundreds in the Bali factory because of its size (2' tall) and because it didn't topple off its side without the wood stand. From the top and the side, we can view the "landscape" of poured glass. There are dozens of little fish hiding in the plants. There must be a new spawn from last week.

That's the beautiful natural world. But today I'm mostly immersed in the spiritual world. Meditation. Wonder. Astonishment.

We post the BICOnline Easter talk and comment as friends watch from everywhere. We are 14 hours ahead of the West Coast where many friends live, so they're "live" with us on Saturday night.

Easter is a special holy day for our own community of faith and Christians around the world. We remember what God has done on Resurrection Day each year (as some prefer to call it).

All day long, I'm consumed with the unfathomable grace of God. How could our Creator love us enough to take our punishment, our sins, and our debts on Himself? That was the only way we could be reconciled to God. And that is what He accomplished for us: the Perfect One sacrificing Himself for his imperfect creatures. Amazing.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free," Paul wrote to the Galatian church mere decades after Jesus' resurrection. "Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)

All day long, I'm pondering that freedom. Why is it that most people - myself included - choose comfortable restrictions and bondage to unhealthy things? We could be living the lives of exuberant goodness and expansive kindness that God offers us. I have no answer. I'm as broken as the next person. So I revel in the mystery of grace - the unmerited favor of God.

We order lamb for lunch, a traditional Passover dish that represents a sacrifice feast. The same menu (goat or lamb) is common when Muslims celebrate their religious festivals. For Easter, of course followers of Jesus are commemorating God's sacrifice of his own Son.

The lamb is tasty, roasted just right. We have lots of desserts, too: Apong's pumpkin pie, cookies, and a special palm-fruit dessert Dr Wuri sent over. Melvina returns from her walk with sweet coconut water for us. Yum! W and I waited for her, but finally started eating. We are finishing dessert on the porch when she comes back. She brings her meal outside to join us.

W has 2 appointments in the afternoon, one a coffee and the other a meal. About this time in her own timezone, my mom visits Dad's graveside (he died in December). She leaves her beautiful arrangements of flowers and remembers how much she was loved. The last time she was there, I was with her. This time, my brother takes her to the cemetery.

Something occurs to me as I prepare for my usual food in the evening. Spiritual disciplines can become legalistic and lose their meaning. There's nothing particularly spiritual or useful to God about the disciplines themselves. Rather, they bring our attention to God and allow God to shape us. I have had the same fasting routine for years. I decide to shake it up between now and Pentecost (50 days away).

So ... Sunday supper? It's been a while. What to eat? How about the soup made yesterday? It's delicious - barley, split green peas and lentils, meat, and vegetables. By mid-afternoon I've also had at least six 16-oz mugs of tea so it would be good to switch to peppermint tea toward evening.

While W is gone, I watch a few podcasts on art and creativity. It's a whole day of feasting and feeding the soul and mind, along with connecting with dozens of people in our city and around the world.

Monday

W has purchased 5 A5 notebooks and 3 A4 notebooks for me, along with 50 glossy cardstock sheets that I'll use for gelli-printing. They're delivered to the house in 1 day - for about $10. I start sketching right away, playing with line and setting up a journal. I've been doing minimal journaling for about a year. 

It's amazing how much you can track in a 1" square. This guy has written down fitness, travels, meals, sleep, connections, and the most important thing he's done in a day. Wow - I choose the daily habits and things I want to track for mine. (Read more about his system of minimal journaling here.)

We walk a one-mile loop instead of our full distance. The soles of my shoes are too flimsy to provide enough support for the stubbed toe. But it's not too bad. I choose stiffer soles when I return to the office after lunch. There's a talk to write, emails and a vlog to post, and a few other matters to finish.

Monday in the office is always full. While I'm thinking, I doodle from a book on natural shapes (Yellena James: Star, Branch, Spiral, Fan). I've wanted to work through the book for years, so here we go, a little at a time. One of the podcasts advised, "This week use colors you hate." That would be the ones on this page: grays, pastels, burgundies ... 

Today the office porch is finished. The final touch is swapping out the white floor tile for a blue-and-white one. Better. Done. It started like this

and evolved to this. I work here nearly every morning before the sun comes round to that side of the building. It's a great place for tea or a chat with others, too. I am content.

Happy Week 1 in the Easter Season on the Christian calendar, everyone! "Christ is risen."

"He is risen indeed."

Read more:

*The Lord said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14

*Jesus said, “Because I live, you also will live.” John 14:19

*But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 1 Corinthians 15:20

Moravian Prayer: Risen Lord, we celebrate your resurrection and claim your transcending love. Thank you for your living and loving presence in our lives. Help us to realize the joy and comfort of living for you. Amen.