Monday, April 8, 2024
A room with full bookshelves makes me happy. My eyes are tired from reading yesterday evening. The Kindle "dyslexic" font makes reading easier and faster for me.
I'm plunging through two fiction series by Karen Kingsbury. She writes about common challenges in a family (marriage, friendship, rebellious children, substance abuse, unwed pregnancy, cancer, etc.) and the responses of Christian adults to those.
[For those unfamiliar with a conservative American-Christian worldview, her writing offers a peek behind the scenes into Christian families. I recommend any of Kingsbury's books for neighbors of Christians, politicians, and those who are curious about American Christians. Plus they're good stories.]
I meet online with a friend and partner before a walk around the neighborhood with W. We pray God's favor and blessings on our neighbors going in the last week of Ramadan.
I've only seen one of the turtles we picked up on fish street last week. But this morning, two little splashes show that they've stayed in the bathtub pond and seem to be thriving.
We head out the door before lunch, buying some mums to replace expired flowers and an orange tree where the dead-and-gone papaya tree used to grow.
Ocha (rice tea) and lunch at Sushi Teh is fresh and delicious. Despite the Muslim fast, the place is full.
We make two more stops: a department store and a grocer. No matter where you live in the world, chores don't do themselves. We're home by mid-afternoon. We set the plants aside for the yardman tomorrow and put the groceries away. I set up future meetings, discuss the direction of next week's talk with W (he's writing it), and confirm our travel arrangements for the next months. What a relief that W takes care of the details.
There's enough time for another blurt of book review before I call it a day. I like one book in particular and may use it in the classroom. It's a self-coaching manual called The Clarity Advantage by Tobin and Peterson. The premise is if people are yawning with boredom, turned off, or falling asleep when you talk, you need help with your communication style and presentation. (Click the link for this and other reviews.)
Best coffee table book? Book Nooks by Dina and Gilhuly.
It takes longer to read stories than to skim potential textbooks. I feel privileged to pick up a diversity of books from publishers. Saves us thousands of dollars each year at the bookstore, too! A few are already available; many are getting ready for publication.
Tuesday
Typically, in tropical houses there are gaps around doors and windows like this one. Bugs, lizards, and other creatures take full advantage of the spaces to come and go, night and day. You can hear the lizards chirping when it gets dark. An empty yogurt container with its lid on in the sink swarms with hundred of ants by morning.
The house is cleaned thoroughly before helpers take a Ramadan break.
After a few final errands, W and I have lunch at #2HandsFull. There's nothing I'm really hungry for there, but the tortilla is pretty good.
In the afternoon, I go to an exercise class down the hill with some of the walking group. Fitness trainer Angie keeps us engaged. I may be sore tomorrow though it was a well-paced session.
Wednesday
It's quiet and relaxing around the place after a noisy night of chanting and fireworks. The standard greeting is Maaf, lahir batin or "Forgive me, body and soul."
The neighbors and helpers are preparing food and travel for Eid-al-Fitr, closing out the month of Ramadan. We pray for God's lovingkindness over each one who will seek him in this season. And we are utterly grateful to know our sins have been forgiven by God, whose justice was satisfied by the sacrifice of Jesus the Son.
The Indonesian constitution guarantees rights to practice 6 religions: 1. Islam, 2. Christianity (Protestant), 3. Catholicism, 4. Buddhism, 5. Hinduism, and most recently 6. animism. Religions are not equal in access or acceptance but these are permitted, which is unique among world governments. Muslims get many days off. Around Eid-al-Fitr, they have a week plus travel days. The helpers take Buddhist and Hindu holidays off, too. Interestingly, Christians get two days off for Christmas, one for Good Friday and two days for Ascension Day (Jesus' return to the Father in heaven.)
Easter is not a public holiday since the resurrection of Jesus is considered suspect by Muslims. The Roman soldiers at the empty tomb of Jesus did as they were told, bribed by religious leaders 2 millennia ago. Here's what Jesus' disciple Matthew records:
[In the morning after Jesus' resurrection,] some of the guards went into the city. They reported to the chief priests all that had happened. When the chief priests met with the elders, they came up with a plan. They gave the soldier a large amount of money.
They told the soldiers, "We want you to say, 'His disciples came during the night. They stole his body while we were sleeping.' [Such negligence would have earned the soldiers death!] And if the governor hears this report, we will pay him off. That will keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were told. This story has spread all around among the Jews to this day. (Matthew 28:11-15) Read
the eyewitness account for yourself here.
It takes a lot of people to maintain a home and yard in the tropics. Think about this: ants, termites, roaches, mice, civits, sloths, monkeys, etc. are competing for indoor and outdoor spaces. (The weight of insects on the
planet is about 70X that of humans. Wow!) This week, the robot vacuum runs around the rooms and sucks up ants that make it though the porous walls. I swipe with a rag at surfaces which get dusty every day and lay low for the most part.
Each day we circle the yard to feed the fish in the ponds and the birds in the cages. The solar fountains bubble in the morning sunshine. It's cicada time at the beginning and end of every rainy season and they're noisy today. The new little orange tree is in the ground, thanks to PakAD's good work yesterday. How many oranges do you see?
A cup of tea on the porch hits the spot. I have some academic documents to read, W's Sunday talk to revise, and more. We write until a lunch appointment at #MissBeeProvidore. Thony makes our time together fun and interesting - he's a traveler and an international Indonesian.
We walk home as the thunder begins to rumble. We get a warm welcome from Juno as we come in the gate. The other dogs are more interested in finding a quiet dark space - they dislike the storms. All of them are on "guard alert" with a steady parade of guests arriving at our neighbors' homes. The dogs are not letting anyone into the yard without our permission.
Read more:
*The Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you, but deliver us this day!” Judges 10:15
*But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ Luke 18:13
*If we walk in the light as God is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
O loving God, we thank you for your mercy. Although we are all sinners, we are the benefactors of your tenderhearted care, grace, and forgiveness. Because of the offering of your beloved son, we are blessed to have been pardoned and to have received eternal salvation. Thanks be to God! Amen.
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