Joy amid distraction and disruption

Friday, December 12, 2025

Happy birthday to my mother-in-law Thea who prays for us. One of my longterm friends Patti has a birthday as well. She was the first person added to the WPPR group. We became companions on our journey of faith, parenting, and marriage for over 30 years. So happy for another year ... God bless you both!

I admire the stages of the bulbs at the neighbour's. I've loved dirt and planting since I was a kid, says my mom. Yet I've never enjoyed weeding and maintenance. "Farming out" those tasks means I relish my garden without being a slave to the growing process.

Meetings start at 6AM so I miss the walk. Not to worry - we're getting 10-12,000 steps every day. W, with a shorter stride, usually exceeds my total by 20%. A few things are sent over to check what fits where.

Lunch at HomeGround is spicy noodles. W's throat is suddenly sore so he hopes the spice will heat up whatever's aching.

Some mismatched stuff is shuffled over to the Project for a place to sit. These outdoor "oldies" will land somewhere.

What a difference a rug makes, even under decrepit rattan.

W manages a few chores. The work crew is plumbing today. The first water heater goes in with a trial run to see if it will handle enough water to serve guests.

Don't you love those old bathroom tiles? One bathroom is blue, one is green, and still another is clay-red. We leave whatever tiles we can, patching existing holes before drilling our own mountings. I'll mask the holes with paint when we're all done.

Saturday

Five years ago today, Dad suddenly passed away. We continue to miss him. Dad had a way of grounding my always-churning mind with a direct question or comment. Today I hear his advice as I fret over little things. "Why are you letting that bother you?" he would have asked with a shrug.

At the end of the week full of meetings and packing, why does it seem like time is standing still? When it comes, the week's end is a surprise. "What, already?"

I glance over a checklist from yesterday's meeting. I asked other leaders how they handle seasons of waiting. They gave great advice. One said, "Take the next right step."

Ok, that would be tackling the "youth room" where 20 or more kids hung out on Wednesday nights. When the youth leader repatriated, the space evolved into a storage dump. Today, children's games, books, and school supplies are boxed. They'll be used to teach English at the Project. I find a bag of coloured pencils and another of markers. How generously the Project has been supplied to serve the community next year.

At the new yard, I'm tracking sun and shade to know what to plant where.

With enormous pines towering overhead, little area gets full sun. Some plants like morning light; others prefer the heat of afternoon.

Tucked behind an outbuilding is this sunny patio, begging for a table and chair.

The plumber/electrician installs the bathroom light and shelf after W takes them off our current bathroom wall. We're reusing our purchases so we don't have to buy them again.

When we rented this place 11 years ago, we expected a fully furnished house, ready to move in. There were 3 lightbulbs, no faucets or shower hardware (unless you count the stub of a garden hose hooked to a pipe in the back kitchen), and some leftover furniture. The owner took pictures to make sure we didn't take their things along if we moved out. Hmmm.

The conference room needs the windowsills replaced where termites and carpenter ants have been at work. I find another dwarf bark scorpion in the house, the third during the past week. Must be nesting in the undergrowth outside. Apparently the sting is similar to an ant bite. Still, ugh. I flush it down the toilet.

The off-gassing of VOCs from the lacquer oil paint on the food kitchen cabinets continues, even a month after painting. When we go over, we open the windows and run fans to hasten the process.

At home, I gather rugs from around the house, stacking them to be vacuumed. spot-cleaned, and rolled up.

Tropical hand-built homes, with their "leaky" doors and windows, fight a losing battle against dirt and dust. When I lift a rug, the area covered for a year is stone-coloured (left side) vs the dark veins and dirty grout in uncovered floors (right side). The floor is regularly swept and washed.

Kirsten laughs when I tell her how much art has collected. "I'm waiting to see what you buy next," she says. I wish she was here to help me decide where to display it. When she comes back, I'll likely be ready to move it around for Round 2. Can I avoid the art markets on our travels, though? They're one of our favourite pastimes when we arrive in a new city.

The rehearsal for tomorrow's Gathering is at 1PM. A walk over and back does me good. W is resting to ward off the full-blown flu.

Sunday - ADVENT 3: Joy amid disruptions

Of course God has his own object lesson for the topic. The power goes off for the entirety of the worship rehearsal. We shrug it off as, "Oh well, let's do our best." Send the morning's carols to the Update group in case we are singing in the dark without sound boost or slides. But nope, power returns to the neighbourhood minutes before the Gathering starts.

Soaring at about 22'/7m, this bare trunk, chopped back to the bone a few months ago, has erupted in new  branches. We are always amazed at how severely-pruned plants grow back.

Lunch with DrW and traveler Alex begins a conversations about how we serve, where we travel, and how our interests and gifts can be part of what God is doing in the world. This is the mystery of God-with-us, that he would choose to use us in any way, right?

Generously, the #WaroengEthnic owners give us 4 potted cuttings from their dazzling pink-flowered vine. "It will take a long while to bloom," they warn us. "Keep the cuttings out of the sun until they are established."

Will do. They are placed in the shade on the sunnier side of the Project = light but no direct sunshine.

Strings of beautiful orchid blooms hang through the gate along the way.

Read more:

* Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. Proverbs 17:9

* I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Jeremiah 31:3

* O that you would tear open the heavens and come down. Isaiah 64:1

* The angel said to Mary, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Luke 1:31-32

* For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. John 3:16

Moravian Prayer: God of love, may we pay attention to how much you love us and love this world. Call us to bear witness to the eternal life that you bring to the world.

Dear Jesus, call us to see that your heavenly father flung wide the gates of heaven to bring you to us so that we would witness a perfect example of how to serve humanity. Amen.