Got My Thursday On

May the favour of the LORD our God rest on us;

establish the work of our hand for us --

yes, establish the work of our hands.

Psalm 90:17

A sure sign that being away from the city, all isolated here on an island, hasn't caused undue disconnection is the fact that I've had to mark off "Keep Clear" days on my calendar.

Today is one of them. No meetings. Just a day ahead of me open wide to several things on the list that require long stretches of concentration.

I've already been out in the kayak. Now I'm all set up inside (a tad breezy and cool to work out on the deck just yet) with a lovely view of the water, and a hot cup of tea by my side.

And I'm ready to get to work.

That work is now a joy and not an addiction is truly a significant part of my own story. I am mindful, always, that everything is surrendered to bigger things than myself, that it is indeed God who establishes the work of my hands.

For a compelling musical meditation on this Psalm, check out Steve Bell's original piece entitled simply, "Psalm 90."

Whatever your hands find to do this day, may it bring you the joy and satisfaction God intends for us.
And if the way is frustrating, I pray for resolutions, calmer spirits, and perhaps the benefit of a brisk walk (or kayak as the case may be).

Happy Thursday all.

Sunrise Over Taipei

I was actually hoping this would happen.

That once we landed in Taipei, our layover area would indulge me in my addiction to take pictures of the rising sun. The angle isn't great, but enough to realize again that we are on the other side of the world, already into Wednesday morning, safely through the first and longer part of our journey.

I am also excited to post this picture of me with my feet up, with apologies to all my Thai friends for whom feet aren't quite so polite. But in the lower portion of the Taipei waiting areas are these recliners and I have always envied the blessed folks who get there in time to claim one.

 

Today that's us!

So a short but long enough layover to collect ourselves, freshen up a bit, and hunker down into the last 5 hour flight to Chiang Mai. No re-routing through Bangkok like last time. Yay for that.

Suradet and Yupa have been sending us pictures of their grocery cart and the specialty cereals they've been able to get in anticipation of having Ken at their breakfast table. They've gone all out and I think there's a box of Oreo-themed crunchies waiting. It's already a good holiday.

Or visit. Or ministry trip. Or exotic 45th anniversary destination celebration. Not ever really sure how to answer the question, is this business or pleasure? Ummm...

Yes, it's very much what I do now, and Ken too as a co-representative of New Family Family Foundation in a volunteer capacity. Ministry. Work. It's my job. I have significant materials with me for the preaching and teaching and leading of meetings that will happen while we're here. And it's a full 15 hour day, split in the middle for a rest when the day gets crazy hot. In a summer that has included already some great opportunities for rest and restoration, the next few weeks will definitely press me strongly into 'work mode'.

But how can you call it a job when they call you "Mom"?
Pastor Mom, sometimes. And Ken is "Paw Ken".
How can you call it work when there's jumping and laughing and singing and little voices reciting wonderful things from God's love letter to them?
How can you call it that when you're heart is all in?

For sure, I have to say, that with my feet up for the first time since I snuck in a nap at home more than 24 hours ago, it's feeling all luxury at the moment.

Ken says hi and that he's glad the vending machine has Coke and that we had the right kind of money to put into it. Oreos and Coke. What can I say? He's not hard to please :).

So Happy Wednesday already, everyone.
We're in good spirits. A little weary but not even that much, really.
We'll let you know when we land.

Note: That's 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in Thailand and 11:35 p.m. Tuesday. Don't stay up. :)

Corn Fields and Venn Diagrams and The Resting Rhythms of Levitical Law

It's a bit of a mad dash sort of feel for these 48 or so hours back in the city. Our cottage time for just the two of us has come to an end for a bit, and by tomorrow morning we will enter into full-on grandparenting status with four of five treasures in tow. The rest of our tribe will arrive Saturday, July 15th.

But right now, since we arrived home late Wednesday, this feels like I'm in the middle of a Venn diagram (yes, I did pick up a little bit of math back in the day).

The center overlap is where preparations for having family up (including food planning with three teens - yikes!), being ready for not one but two ministry pieces on Sunday July 9 (leading the service in the morning and doing a private family ceremony in the afternoon, again - yikes!) and packing for two weeks of life and love and ministry in Thailand (because we will return from the cottage on July 23 and leave for Thailand in the wee hours of the morning July 25, yes, another yikes!) all collide.

[Note, I think that last sentence deserves a yikes! all on its own.]

All the more reason to make a walk around my route a priority this morning. Fresh cool air, a rarity this summer, and the growing field of corn almost made up for not being on the water in my kayak instead. And remembering the kayak, I realize that I am not the person I was when I left.

The corn field especially was fun, because I had taken a picture earlier this season when the plants were just sprouts. Now there is lush green filling in the rows, with promise of a good harvest I think. I'm no farmer, so what do I know. It has been a summer of extremes. Good for corn? I hope so.

The field is a picture of me a little I'm thinking. The state I was in when I left, compared to the state I feel I'm in now, after almost three weeks of not-mad-dash living. Not sure how far I can press the metaphor, except to be reminded again how essential it is to honour Sabbath rests.

Author Anne Lamott reminds us: "Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."

Yes. And I needed more than just a few minutes.

Knowing the needs of our human selves, God built Sabbath rests into the week, and throughout the year, and even in seven year cycles of 'release'. Seven of those cycles was called a "jubilee" with even more emphasis on balancing everything out, even to the forgiving of debts.

Leviticus 25:8-13 is where you can find some of all of that. And here is where I find I get myself into way more than I can chew on for a simple morning's reflection. Leviticus? Oh the intriguing rabbit trails on which this could take us.

But in the immediate, I find it fascinating to again make this connection between what God 'commanded' and how badly we need that. As if He knew all along.

Hope you are finding your own resting rhythms this summer.

If not in a full holiday yet, at least in some sort of regular time set aside to just not dash anywhere.

Feeling All Friday, Maybe

 

"Be still,
[sit down]
[stop talking]
[stop striving]
and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10
[expansions added]

It's raining now, and we badly need it.

My poor potted impatiens, not as suited to the bare heat of the deck, will be glad. I do water them, and move them around a lot to give them some shade, but still. Today's going to be a good day for them. And the blueberries. And the trees. And everything.

Just got back from around the island before the first light showers started. That's now seven times around this season. (If you look closely, you can see the kayak tied up to the dock between the slats of the railing behind the flowers. See what I did there?) I'm aiming to beat last year's record of 33, so I've got a ways to go.

Is it really Friday already? Is this the weekend coming up? I can't quite tell.

I still have some things to get at before I can say my "work list" for the week is done. Today I have a phone meeting and a Zoom call in the morning. Then I'd like to see what else I can clear away before I close up shop.

Or -- maybe I won't.

There's just a different, easier vibe working from here. If tomorrow is another rainy one, so what if it's Saturday? I might be in the mood for some of the more absorbing study and writing and such that this season of life allows me to do. Is that work? And if it is, is that okay?

I confess, many times throughout my working adult life I've fantasized about doing what I'm doing right now. Being away, all quiet and unhurried, and listening, and digging deeply into "work" I love.

Never fear. It's just for a time.
But a deeply good time it is.
Like a gentle steady rain for the impatiens.
And the blueberries.
And the trees.

And everything.