Out with the old ...

Wednesday, January 2, 2019
I wanted to update the Advent art map from a few years ago, but I didn't find time for that. I didn't have energy to paint the 12 Days of Christmas.

But I feel good about the personal challenge of illustrating the day in January. I've let myself off the artist hook: "you have to do something special." I've decided to be happy with whatever happens. Yes, a quick sketch is fine. I tell myself, "It doesn't have to be "good" or artsy - it just has to describe the day, beyond words." I hope you enjoy it with me.

First thing on my to-do list is taking down all Christmas decorations. I waited an extra day (NY Eve with the neighbors) and then was too tired yesterday. So today's the day.

The tree and decor feels festive and warm when we put it up in late November. By the time January rolls around, I'm ready for calm, less colors (mostly black and white), and less stuff. Everything flies into the boxes. We go from this to fully loaded (6am) to a plain ACE lit tree by the time the sun comes up and the helper arrives.

Off come the wreaths, the furniture is cleared and dusted. W blows the tree free of dust with a shop-vac nozzle and packs that away, too. Ibu Sumi carries two big boxes to storage upstairs.

By the morning meeting at 9:30, it's all gone. Hurrah. Even the nook feels peaceful--I break off a green stem from a flowerpot on the porch and pop it in a vase. (Well, maybe the cushions on the wood bench are a bit wild but they are black and white.)

The meeting confirms our direction on a new project. We'll get together again next week - it's good to be thinking and in motion.

Thursday
We take the dogs along on the walk to W's regular study group at Ethnic - good food, pretty courtyard. I talk to the owner while W finds a spot to park the dogs. She chooses a table near the fountain. Thanks, ibu! Our friends arrive soon after, but the dogs bark on and on - at dogs passing by, motorcycles parking a few cars away, and people walking along.

It's no longer the dog-friendly parking spot we had before the restaurant redid their gate. Now there's nowhere to hook up the leash. We loop it around a tree, but the dogs will have to stay home next time.

Our friends gifted us with a trip to the hot springs above the city (close to the volcano) - so we enjoy it. The driver has malaria so I send him home. He insists he can drive us up and be back in plenty of time for a nap. I make a quick sketch upside down since that's the way the book is open. It looks ... well. It tells the story and it's done.No judgment pls. Celebrate the wins, R. Pat pat (on the back).

One of the joys of non-profit work is paperwork. Or maybe not. W and I are tied up most of the morning, just catching up.

New year, sunshine, and there's green beauty outside the window. I have no complaints. A friend sends good advice (the proverbs below). Thanks, Tillie.

And Happy New Year to you all. Let's let go of the past and move with joy and hope into 2019.

Read more:

*Joseph said to his brothers, “Do not quarrel along the way.” Genesis 45:24

*David prayed, “And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised.” 2 Samuel 7:25

*The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer. Proverbs 9:10-12 NIV

*Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other. Colossians 3:13

*In Jesus Christ every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.” For this reason it is through him that we say the “Amen,” to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20

*Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

Moravian Prayer: Holy Savior, it is difficult at times to forgive each other. Please be with us during these times to spread your grace and understanding to each other.

Great Amen, again and again you affirm everything good; lead us to say, “Yes,” to life, “Yes,” to love, “Yes,” to wonder, “Yes,” to redemption, “Yes,” to healing and, “Yes,” to community. Lead us to your “Yes” every day. Amen and Amen and Amen.

Love.2019

Love. It's going to be my word of the year. I kept forgetting my word for 2018 but I think I can remember this one. I don't want that word. It feels like a huge effort for something that should be natural.

I've resisted for a while but give in. There are so many ways to go with ... love. Love you. Love it. Beloved. Lover. Loving that. Love handles (nope, not that one.)

I'm willing to give it a try. I'm not very good at love: better at showing than feeling, at doing than relating. The challenge feels like a gauntlet, honestly. Maybe if I approach it as listening rather than speaking, as waiting rather than plunging ahead, it will be easier to experience. (See, already task-focused. Lord have mercy.)

Sunday
W and I are at BIC early - we're speaking together. This week, I wrote the talk and W edited - we trade off so the temperament and type of talk changes, depending on whether he writes the original draft or I do. When we speak as a duet, there's a lot of back and forth and a few read-throughs before Sunday morning.

There's always a lot to do before people arrive at the building. The musicians are warming up already. The chairs have been set in stern straight rows - lots of them - instead of left in the open curves of Christmas Eve. We probably won't have a big crowd today; people are traveling. We pull out a few rows out entirely, take some chairs out of the rows we leave, and have just enough for the morning.

It's a pleasure to pray over Daveena, who is leaving for school in Germany. Her family and friends gather around and speak words of affirmation and grace over her. I forget to record the prayer as I usually do.

We're asked to take some pictures with a family. Indonesians love being in pictures and several people come into the photo with us. What fun.

We have lunch with a few friends. The back gate  of BUMI is open so we can walk straight across the street. nice! Usually we have to go around a long city block for lunch.

The lovebirds are happy to see us at home - they're W's Christmas gift to me. Their chirping and jumping from perch to perch cheer me up. it's so relaxing to watch them.

Monday - New Year's Eve 2018
This week, the office is closed. We meet friends for breakfast at Two Hands Full. Our first pick is an Indian restaurant. The website says it's open 10-3. But no.

"They open at 11. Always have," says the security guard. W is a Google Maps editor so he corrects the listing. We end up nearby. The food is delicious - plus it's so much fun to have a non-working lunch with Josh, Clau, their kids, DrH and Alice.

We've invited our neighbors to an open house. We put our old sign on the gate but tuck under the time from last year: this year it's 5-7pm.

On the way home from breakfast, we stop at the store for 5 little chickens. They're cute and still pink - on ice. As usual, we don't know how many will show up so better more food than less.

The helpers come in the early afternoon to cook Sundanese food: rice, vegetables, fresh sambal (spicy sauce), and chicken. Their instructions are to "make whatever you think the neighbors like to eat." And they do. Their food gets rave reviews. (I'm pretty sure that's better than me cooking Western dishes.)

The cook finds a package of sweet rice in the food stores at the back of the house. She whips up sticky rice and coconut cream. It's so good that I go around and ask our guests for the recipe - until she tells me, "Hey, I made that." Oh yum! Please make it again, I say.

We love our neighbors - they have been unceasingly kind to us. A few grandparents bring their kids and grandkids along. W gets a chance to demo a 3-D printer - a teaching moment.

The last guests leave after 8pm. The helpers wrap up food,which will be tomorrow's New Years feast for their families. They help us clean up for another hour or two. I tell them they have given me two special gifts: First, when a huge roach scoots from under the oven and tries to find refuge under my feet - eek eek eek, I dance - one of the helpers crushes it dead with her foot. Then, a few minutes later, W mentions that there's a rat in the trap outside our bedroom. The other helper dispatches it with a smile and tosses it in the garbage. Awesome helpers! I give them a hug.

We don't bother with a New Year's TV show tonight; the fireworks are crackling around us throughout the wee hours of the morning. We push in earplugs, trust the dogs to wake us if someone breaks in, and fall fast asleep. That's our last planned event for a while - we have no other obligations this week. Thank God for it all. Including rest.

Tuesday - HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019
What a treat to sleep in. (I'm up 1-4am, so I sleep in until 8:30. Wow!) We call our families, have tea and stollen (marzipan sweet bread) for breakfast, and walk a few blocks to the office to return a flower vase. It's the last day for Christmas ornaments, I think. Our tree is full of cards and meaningful memories.

Then we stroll to the main street, catch angkots (little buses) to town (2 busses and a 500 meter walk). We make a hospital visit to a friend with dengue. He has someone sitting with him - so we read Psalm 91 and W prays with him before leaving.

A friend has raved about a Rawon soup restaurant near the hospital. W's tried it but I haven't yet, so we walk down the street. Yup - there's Toko You.

My head is still pounding from sleeping in. The hearty black beef soup hits the spot. It is delicious! We sit under a tiled roof, open walls, breezes blowing through, and surrounded by enthusiastic eaters.

Just as I'm about to combine my tea and mango ice cream, W intervenes. "I don't want a float." Hmmm. He'll have to eat the first half next time so I can play with my food. The ice cream by itself nips at my headache. My head ceases to pound a half-hour after the food hits my stomach. Ramon soup is a  perfect cure for what ails me, I think.

We make it home in a Grab car (private taxi) before the afternoon rains hit. "So expensive!" grumbles W. "How much?" I ask - it's almost $2US. Wow. That's a lot? Guess we've acclimated in more ways than one.

Read more:
*Surely, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. Psalm 54:4

*Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven. Psalm 148:13

*A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken. Proverbs 15:13

*The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

*Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Jude 24-25

Moravian Prayer: God, like a grandmother, gather us up when we are hurting; hold us tightly when we are filled with sorrows; dust us off, and kiss our souls, and send us off with your love to enter the world again. With gratitude, we pray.

Supporter of our souls, hold us through the day, and all the temptations it brings us. Hold us through the night, and all the fears it begets. Hold us through the years, for you keep us always inside your love. Amen.

Merry Christmas 2018 from SE Asia!

Friday, December 21, 2018
We have a nice dinner out at the end of the day. The fish says hello from the center plate in the Chinese restaurant. Claudia and I enjoy a visit with Jane, an architect working on a big Bandung project.

Sunday
We light the fourth Advent candle (PEACE) before W speaks at the international church. He uses Dr Seuss' The Grinch who stole Christmas" as the parable and reads about Jonah in scripture.

"Is your heart two sizes too small?" he asks us. Peace comes from serving others with an open heart, which only God can give us.

After, we hang around in the sunshine, snacking, talking, loving on each other.

When W and I walk into the house, it's aglow with Christmas lights. It's become a bit overwhelming after a month of decorations. A few more days, I tell myself, but I don't light the tree in our bedroom. I have to think through details for the next few days - that takes visual and auditory quiet.

Monday: Christmas Eve
Someone gave us 4 rattan chairs without cushions. We head out early to the "foam street" and purchase a double mattress and a leftover piece. The shop cuts the longer pieces into cushion size, and W cuts the rest with box cutters later.

By 10, we've left traffic behind and are home. My trusty Bernina sewing machine comes out of the case. I check the bedding-fabric scraps Tessa and Veronica gave us. Some pieces are big enough for seat covers. I have a stash of zippers in a box. Ready or not, here we go.

The first three covers take a few minutes each. We break for lunch after I finish the third. Bad move.

With  the last one, a shape as easy as than the rest, it's fussy from start to finish. Grrr. I piece together smaller scraps. Oops, the fabric bunches and catches in the zipper seam; I have to rip it out and start over. One edge of fabric is 2" smaller so it needs a long scrap on one side. And then the cover is too big overall. I pull it tight on the foam form, pinch the overage with my fingers to approximate what I have to cut off, and go back to the machine. It fits well in the end.

All in all, it takes less time to sew than to explain the curves and rectangles to someone else, a few hours for custom-fitted covers. They'll eventually be the foam liners under upholstery fabric. There's time for a nap in the afternoon, so all is well.

We have some overnight visitors but I need to snooze. (I must rest between energy surges.) W greets them before we leave for a Candlelight Service.

Guests make up for the regulars who are traveling to celebrate with family. Eleven readers tell the Christmas story found in Matthew and Luke - they're old and young, from every continent but Antarctica.

The first reader is Caron. She's highly pregnant, appropriately reading Mary's part.

Except that she goes into labor in the afternoon, a few hours before service. It takes her and her husband an hour in traffic to reach the hospital. When they arrive, the nurses catch little Susy on her way into the world. She's too quick for a doctor.

And so I read Caron's part, after letting the congregation know what happened. We sing carols between scriptures. Then the lights dim and one candle is lit from the center of the Advent wreath. We pass the light back, candle to candle, row to row. "Jesus is the light of the world," we say to each other.

And we hang around the community snack table for another hour with family and friends, old and new.

W picks up my Christmas gift from the office: two lovebirds raised by Reza. They're beautiful - but I catch only a glimpse of them when we get home, put away everything from the evening out, and fall asleep.

Tuesday: Christmas Day 2018
By 5:00am, I give up on sleep and get to work in the kitchen. With no idea who or how many will show up, I have to cook a lot of food. The menu is finished by 9:30am (so I can nap again before people arrive).

I make a few dips for crackers so people can munch before the meal, too.

At 11:00, guests start arriving for the Open House Potluck. Everyone brings food to share.

Slowly the house starts to fill up. There are about 80 people, from 17 nations.

And of course, we have the annual White Elephant gift exchange. There's a lot of swapping and yelling and laughter.

 For quite a few, it's their first Christmas. Many of them have gotten to know each other at our place, and they're like our own kids.

  One group hauls out Uno cards and has a friendly competition.

 Others relax on the porch.

 The new chairs are great.

 "Can we do this again next year?" many guests ask us. We hope so! We plan to wrap up at 4, but first we shoot a group photo with whoever wants to be in it. We pile off the porch onto the lawn.

Young Ben plays fearlessly with Gypsy and Coco before his parents take a picture with us. Love this young family!

 The last group leaves just before 7pm. W and I are exhausted. We put most things in order and bring in the cushions so they don't get rained on. God was good - there was only a brief shower under a thunderous and dark sky. It is rainy season so the mostly-dry day was a gift from God.

One of the beautiful bouquets from BIC (flowers provided for decades by Fenny and her friend -  thank you!)

Two helpers arrived at 10:00am. By 8:00pm, they finish washing dishes and leave happy - with double Christmas pay, their White Elephant gifts, and lots and lots of leftover food to share with neighbors.

We can't leave food on the counter because of roaches and ants, so every day the kitchen has to be completely washed up and put away. (We would have worked until midnight without them.) The hot weather - 80+oF days, low 70oF nights - means food left out will spoil, too. Our candy canes on the tree have melted to a puddle of sugar at the bottom of the wrapper. "Baby, it's warm outside."

Before bedtime, we open a gift from WuJin, a dear Chinese friend. It's a beautifully packaged box of teas. Can't wait to try them!

Wednesday: Boxing Day
"Go to the bird market for any supplies," we're told. So we do. The two lovebirds have temporarily been in one of our two long metal canary cages; they'll eat through a wooden cage. Here, birds are not kept inside. The cages are hung outside on the porch, near the front door, or around the courtyard. We love the songs of our canaries, but the squawk of the bright little parrots adds a new dimension.

There's a section of town where you can buy birds and worms to feed them, lizards and rodents, civets (cats that poop out the famous Java coffee beans) and more. I inhale feather dust and bird poop and cough and cough. A drink of tea helps.

 A 2' lizard bakes in the sunshine.

 Civets eat fruit at the side of the road.

Maggots swarm a bucket, soon to be bird food.

W and I eat lunch at D'Cost overlooking South Bandung. We love this city.

Back home, the birds seem to enjoy the big cage we found at the bird market. W sets it up, adjusting the clips to make sure it won't fall apart.

Read more:
*And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Nativity of the Lord — Isaiah 52:7–10; Psalm 98, Hebrews 1:1–4,(5–12); John 1:1–14

*In the Lord my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. Psalm 28:7

*An angel of the Lord stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” Luke 2:9-10

*[After rushing to Bethlehem to see what the angels said,] The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Luke 2:20

*[When Jesus was dedicated in the temple as a baby,] Simeon took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation.” Luke 2:28-30

Moravian Prayer: Heavenly Father, the shepherds followed your signs to the manger to see your blessed Son and share the good news of his birth. May we continue to sing your praises as we experience your deep and abiding love for us. Thank you for this beautiful gift of Christmas, the truest form of grace.

Lord of heavenly armies, you are powerful enough to bring fear as you enter our lives. Yet, too, you are balm for the wounds of the world. Calm our fears to hear your message; send us forth to discover your good news and give us courage to share it.

Thank you for holding us so dearly. Stay with us always, for we cannot live alone. Embrace us when we need your touch. Gaze into our souls each time we need reassurance, and speak your promises until we see your salvation. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Almost Christmas - full of joy

WOOHOO - Christmas is almost here!

Sunday, December 16, 2018
The talk is simple today, since we have all the children in the hall, along with the adults. It's art Sunday, too. JOY is our topic. We put four tables around the hall and fill them with supplies for drawing, painting, and making ornaments.

Ibu Teti brings out her stash of crafts - and holds the mike to sing on the worship team ... from the back table.

The creativity is quite something

When we get home, I check on the 4.7 Kg (10 lb?) turkey brining in salt water in a stockpot. I make the stuffing for tomorrow.

There's a reason why we don't have turkey at every feast - it's imported and expennnnnssssive. This little one cost our friends $50US. Thanks for the generous gift, Bob and Riga! (EEEK. I'm missing Safeway or Albertsons of the past, where we bought a 10kg (22 lb) turkey for under $5?

Monday
I start before 6am, cooking the turkey, peeling potatoes, arranging plates, and doing other kitchen chores. Tabitha ties the cutlery into Christmas napkins and finds lots of ways to make the morning easier.

It's birthday time for three participants - plus we're hosting our annual Christmas lunch for study members. Everyone brings something along. I take a break between for an online call, which concludes after 9.

The peeled potatoes are smothered in the slow cooker by cream, garlic, and seasonings. I prep vegetables and - while the study wraps up - cut the turkey and make gravy.

The group calls me outside. They hand W and me an unexpected gift: an overnight stay at a local hot springs and resort. Oh my! I blink back tears at their generosity and love - it is just what W and I need.

Once everything is laid out and the table set, people stream into the kitchen. 17 of us sit around the dining table and squeeze into the nook (small compared to most of our home events). It's a party to fill the heart. Those we've come to love as our Indonesian family relax with us and we eat way too much together.

Ibu Sumi bakes 4 loaves of bread for us to take along on tomorrow's trip to Jakarta. The kitchen smells of fresh bread later into the night. We resist temptation and don't even pick at the loaves.

Tabi and I talk until after 9pm. When I get to our bedroom, I see a message reminding me to hop online for a meeting. Oh oh! I'm SO late. The host - my spiritual director - graciously comes back and spends over an hour with me. We wrap up at 10:45 - I am soooo tired! but by the time I get to sleep, it's almost midnight.

Tuesday
First thing, I pack up breads, jams, baskets and liners, and three White Elephant gifts. W carries our contribution to a fun event into the car. Waldemar, Tabitha, and I are on the way at 6am for Jakarta. Pak Gum drives as we snooze and read.

I've filled a bag with sliced apples and crackers, and have a thermos of tea to enjoy along the way. We curl up in the back seat but it's only 4.5 hours to the city. Not bad. There are construction holdups, accidents, and other slowdowns on the toll road and in the city, about 110 miles (160km) away. (Coming back takes five hours.)

IES Center is hosting an annual Christmas lunch downtown for staff and volunteers from various branches. It is SO good to see our friends again. There are many sweet little ones, babes in arms or little people running around - many of the young adults have married and started their families. We chat and laugh a lot: one of the activities is a White Elephant exchange - everyone takes a gift from under the tree in the lobby. Then the real fun begins. "You can open your own gift or take someone else's," Gigi explains.

W kindly bargains for something I like (not the unicorn costume, which is hilariously modeled by a teacher.) Tabitha, who no longer owns a CD player, gets a CD. (= a gift for our own Christmas exchange, I suspect.) With two beautiful bowls and a hand-painted nativity set in hand, we head out of the parking lot in the early afternoon.

Cars and motorcycles are honking at us: our rear tyre is flat. It thumps around and around until we find a place to pull over. The guys change the tire, and we're off again. We need to pump up the spare, so we pull into the first rest stop.

Meanwhile, the traffic is building. Cars and trucks weave in and out of lanes on the toll road. It starts to rain as we near Bandung. We're in the driveway before 7pm.

W and Tabitha walk to Alice and Dr H's, where the young adults are feasting together in their last meeting of the year. They're dropping off a fun "little something" with a group going to Australia to visit Scott and Sarah over Christmas.

When W and T return, we listen to "bad music" (yup, that's a genre in W's collection). And we laugh and laugh. Sometimes laughter is the healing response to a busy or heavy heart. We pray together about 10:30 pm and hug goodnight on the way to our rooms.

W says goodnight, walks to our bed, lies down, and falls asleep within a minute. I have to finish the blog - I'm so far behind. It's 11:30 before I wrap things up for the day.

Wednesday
I'm up at 5:30 with the light. The agenda is still not done for this morning's meeting at 9. But all is well when we meet in the office. W and I walk home, thankful for proximity to our neighborhood - that is such a blessing! Tabitha and Waldemar jump in the car for the airport after we have a short time together. She's on her way back home to Malaysia.

Tabitha was a very "easy guest," which we no longer take for granted. Guests can be demanding and unhelpful when life revolves around them and their needs. (You wanted "real" in the blog, right? Every host across the globe will say the same. "Please stay home if you're self-centered." Oops, was that too real or harsh?)

In contrast, Tabitha constantly surprised me; she found every opportunity to help, to hold something, or put food on a plate. What a great boost in a week where people were dropping by, where we provided hospitality for church, and where the unexpected kept popping up. What a blessing. I miss her already.

While W heads for town and a supper meeting, I sit on my bed and read. No, it's not uplifting or spiritual. I just read a novel and relax. I take a time-out.

At Monday's late-night meeting, I admitted to my spiritual director that high-intensity events and travels "cost me something." She noted my awareness was good; however, I needed to prioritize Sabbath in whatever form would help me recover. I do that easily. "Checking out" produces no guilt at all = I watched my dad nap after lunch and supper every day, and resume work in a "morning" mood. I also withdraw often in the busiest seasons, which keeps me refreshed for high surges of planning and activity.

Thursday
We're up early but I can feel my knees are sore. While W walks in the hills with the dogs, I edit and send a book chapter to a publisher. I start in on a second chapter, but don't have it in me yet. I'll wait.

The helpers are going through the whole house one more time before Christmas guests arrive. Alice sometimes uses our upstairs rooms for Christmas overflow - she takes care of the needs and meals of her guests. When rooms are available, people come to stay for various reasons. It's part of our love of hospitality. And it's part of the giving season of Christmas, when God came among us as a baby, to love us and show us what the Father is like.

Read more:
*The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7 NKJV

*[Zachariah spoke over his son John:] And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. Luke 1:76-79 NIV

*[Simeon's words over the baby Jesus:] “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. Luke 1:68-75 NIV

*All who obey his commandments abide in God, and God abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. 1 John 3:24

Moravian Prayer: Living Spirit, enter our hearts and stay for a while. Give us the simplicity we need to see you at work in the world and give us the wisdom we need to submit to you at work in our lives. Give us the sense we need to praise you forever. Amen