Yeah... Another Weekend Finished!

I did get up early and have my time with Jesus and headed out to World Gym and to Carrefour. I can't go shopping with Mom. It's too much! Trying to care for her and trying to buy things. We go to the stores just so that she can walk around and eat. I was going to go buy things last night, but Abby said she was going to call and chat. But she bailed on me... even though I was back at home! 

I got home and it was Mom duty... I can't leave her alone. I now understand why it takes two people to care for one elderly person with dementia. Unlike a baby who weighs 7 kilos and can be put in a play pen, an elderly person cannot. They weigh more. They might have minutes of lucidity and think they can get up and walk around. There is no play pen to keep them. And they know how to take off a diaper. I can list more reasons why taking care of an elderly person is a lot more work than a baby. But I am sure you understand!

I talked to and prayed with Alan. 

Then at 2:15, I headed out to church!

I had to translate. Plus, Mom likes being at church during the worship practice. During the service, I had a dear friend sit with her because she was a bit active, wanting to talk and clap!

Dinner was great... and we were home by 7:15.

I had to do another Covid test! Then Mom was off to bed by 8pm.

I had more to do... There is always more to do... a load of wash... clean the floor... take down the trash. I have to do that as the diapers weigh so much and they smell if I don't take the trash down!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Pastor Paul

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Psalm 139: 13-18

 

7 Highlights:

1. Our body, created in God’s image, is to reflect His glory, His mission, and His purpose.
2. The whole universe is an expression of God’s glory, but He specifically gave Man the crown and the focus of that expression.
3. The Garden of Eden was perfect and yet God gave the Man the job to care, to tend, to have dominion, over it. He welcomes us to partner with Him in the work!
4. Col. 3:23-24, whatever you do, work at it heartily, as for the Lord… that should be the focus of all that we do!
5. God created us for community, not to be doing the work by ourselves.
6. God has promised us a resurrected body.
7. How are you using your body in preparation for His return?

Seek Him First!

A Long Saturday!

Eddie is very nice. He encourages me to take Mom out. But what he doesn't understand that it's a workout to take Mom out. To get her into the car, out of the car... to walk her around. I guess if I just push the wheelchair, but then she doesn't get the exercise. Let me back up and start from my morning... 

I was up early and had wanted to go to World Gym. But after my time with Jesus, I went back to bed. I was tired! I got Mom up, cut her hair, put her in the shower, and she had her breakfast! The morning dragged on... slowly... 

At 11, I gave her a snack and then her lunch... and I had time to talk and pray with Alan at 12:05! YEAH!

I was going to take Mom to Costco, but the line into the parking lot was LONG. So, we headed to Carrefour and walked around! That was nice as there were chairs everywhere. We went to the 2nd floor, the 4th floor, the first floor. There were about 20 see & eye dogs on the first floor... they were so beautiful! They were asking for donations.  After getting something to eat, we headed home.

Mom had her pills, ate a little more, and went off to bed!

I went to World Gym... and did just a treadmill walk!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Did I share the 7 highlights from last week's sermon?

The Prodigal Father

7 Highlights 

1. Prodigal means lavish, even to the point of being wasteful. 
2. The Father wants to give. That’s his heart.
3. The Father wants us to “Be yourself, but be your best self.”
4. The Father understands His true desire which is that He wanted His son back!
5. The Father’s presence is all we need and really all we want.
6. Maturity does not negate fun. We can have a good time with our Father! He loves celebrations.
7. We must see that the best place to be is in our Father’s House!

Seek Him First!

Plan "Fun Day"...

Yes, I've been planning for a fun day for months... And it was today!

I wanted to spend the whole morning reading... But I could not keep my eyes opened! After Mom went off, I had to first change the sheet and clean her bathroom! I had the AC on, so it made these tasks a lot 'easier'. I wasn't pouring out in sweat!

I then sat on the sofa and proceeded to read! I would get through a page and my eyes would be closed... and so... the long and short of it is that I basically read three pages and slept three hours!

But it was absolutely refreshing, although not exactly what I had planned as part of my "fun day"! I think I needed the sleep as just the night before I told Alan that my right tonsil was hurting. I had to keep rubbing China Oil on it, which really helped to alleviate the pain! And after the rest, the pain was gone!

I had wanted to ride my bike. This is the one that has better gears than my "Coca Cola" bike. But the tires were flat! So, I pushed it down and got it pumped and went to World Gym. I did the weights, tried the rowing machine, and ran 8kms, hitting my goal for this week! 41.89kms! And happily I rode the bike back. That was part of my "fun day" plan. But I had planned to ride longer! Oh well... 

I came home, had a quick shower and went to get my hair washed and cut for the trip. Unfortunately, the hairstylist never would cut as I instructed, because to them, the result is less than perfect. So, I think I will have to trim it myself. But the hair wash was absolutely fabulous. He used mint shampoo and sprayed my scalp with a mint water and gave it a nice massage! Such a treatment for just 10US$ -- cut and shampoo -- and we don't tip in Taiwan. 

I had bought boba tea coupon. So, that's where I walked to... and I brought my own cups. So, two boba, 700ml each, for just 3US$! Can't beat that! And this place has specialized boba. I got two flavors -- taro and original! 

I was able to get home without being rained on. The weather said, "RAIN", but none really came. I heard the thunder. I saw the dark clouds, but nothing!

Mom was home, and I had dinner ready!

I don't know how the day goes by so fast! And it's already Friday... The weekend has started!

This evening, after Mom went to bed, I worked on going through the first draft of Isaiah's final paper. We are praying that these last two Business in Practice papers will boost his overall GPA tremendously so that he can get distinction. Please pray with us!

At 9:30, I called and talked to Alan. We prayed together. It's been nice to be able to do this on a daily basis... or almost daily basis!

Daily Lovely Insight:

It should still our spirits, stir our souls, and fire our own faith to realize that his same living Lord -- the Risen Christ - by His Spirit stands ready to help us overcome today, just as of old, if we will but cooperate with Him in quiet obedience and calm confidence. He has not changed across the long centuries of human history!

W. Phillip Keller

Seek Him First!

Restful, Yet Super Productive, Thursday!

I like my Thursdays... I try NOT to book anything since Wednesdays are so packed... And I don't sleep early enough... 

I got up early... I don't like to rush my morning time with Jesus... 

After getting Mom off, I settled down to read... read... read... I finished my Isaiah and my Psalm Bible studies! The morning was gone!

Then I worked on my luggage... I'm trying to bring only 7 kilos of stuff and I've done it... Not including the toiletries, I have less than 7 kilos. I looked over every piece and made my decision! I will wear a pair of running shoes and bring one pair of sandals.  Everything fits into my carryon! Now, I will fill the bag with things that I'm bringing for our friends in Edinburgh and London! YEAH!

The rain was supposed to come at 2, but nothing... then the weather report said 3, but still nothing. So, at 3:15, I headed to World Gym. I had a short workout with weights and a short 8km run and I rushed home. Yes, with a 2 minute shower, Mom was back! I literally took a two minute shower! CRAZY!

Daily Lovely Insight:

"How we spend our time and strength counts for Christ or counts against Him. There is no neutral ground!"

Joshua, Man of Fearless Faith

by W. Phillip Keller

Seek Him First!

Exhausting, Yet Productive, Wednesday

I got up super early... I put in a load of laundry... And instead of putting anything in the dryer, I hung everything up, placing the smaller items in our living room and on the dining room chairs. When I got back this afternoon, it looked like a Chinese laundromat... 

So, after Mom went off, I dashed off... I was 7 minutes late! And we had three articles to edit! The morning flew by... and the lunch hour class was absolutely fantastic. People were super busy, so only four students. We sat around and chatted on the topic of making complaints and feasting at places in Taipei! It was an absolutely engaging hour!

I had two students for the afternoon English corner... and when I got back to my cubicle, the Trench Cake was gone! Those who took some thought it was very delicious and interesting... they had never heard of the trench cake!

At 5:01, I dashed off again... time to ride home, switch to the car, and drive to pick Mom up! I don't like the rushing around! But what can I do? Just one more Wednesday!

I had dinner ready... and only needed to put things in the microwave and Mom ate the whole thing! WOW!

I folded the clothes, put things away, and sat down to just breathe!

After Mom went to bed, I went out... YEAH!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Normal Tuesday...

Mom was off... and so was I... yes, a quick treadmill run... I didn't hit 8km, so I went back in the evening! I had my Bible study and it was a smaller group, but a fantastic time! We finished Psalm103 and won't be meeting again until 10/4. I didn't want to try to squeeze another session in the day before I leave for the UK! The lunch was delicious... absolutely yummy! I had enough leftover for Mom's dinner and two more dinners! YEAH!

While the gals were still here chatting, I got on the computer to talk and pray with Alan! YEAH!

Then, it was cleaning up time... checking emails... baking the trench cake for tomorrow's MOE group. And I called to find out about when the pay would be given... ha, ha, ha... they said they didn't pay me since they didn't have my bank information. Like... YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO CALL??? Hilarious! And  it's the same account I had with MCU all these years, so I'm sure the MCU Accounting Department had it! So, I screen shot and sent it over! I will keep you posted!

I finished the last set of translation and sent that over... and ten minutes later, Mom was home! How did the day go by so quickly???

This evening after Mom went to bed, I did go back to World Gym. I must say, just the simple 30 minutes of weights is making a difference. 

Daily Lovely Insight:

The Book of Jeremiah continues to strike me. God loves using illustrations to get the point across. And today, Jeremiah was asked to purchase a plot of land. Sometimes from our perspective we might consider what God was asking, 'wasteful'. But God had a purpose, a divine purpose! In another illustration, Jeremiah was asked to buy a piece of clothing, only to bury it. When taken out, it was completely useless. Was that wasteful? Thus, I am reminded... in God's hands, nothing is wasted! If we are willing to surrender our lives fully into His loving hands!

Seek Him First!

Monday, Monday...

I got Mom off and headed out... I do the most difficult thing first -- the run on the treadmill. Then I'm back home, getting ready for tutoring.

When that was finished, I talked and prayed with Alan and ate my lunch before heading out to the bank. They called and had something for me to sign. Eddie is trying to send money for Mom's Care, especially for the long term facility while I'm gone. That money hopefully will 'arrive' on Friday! And when I updated Alan's passbook, Abby's scholarship money came in. Yippy!

I then scootered over to Soochow University and picked enough books to fill an entire box and tidied up the 'free give away shelves'. I dropped off the books at the local high school, which has a foreign teacher, looking to beef up the English library. What a great idea!

It was hot, but I had to go to Carrefour as I needed milk to bake a Trench Cake for my Wednesday class. I also have to cook for my Bible study tomorrow. 

And unfortunately, I got an email from the translation job... our first two sets need to be greatly revised! OH NO! Isaiah didn't catch a lot of the changes. I only looked at the English part. I didn't open up to read the Chinese text! I looked and realized why this problem occurred: I thought only the highlighted parts contained the changes. Actually, there were many parts that were not highlighted and so Isaiah had to read the entire text! We didn't know that! It's going to be a busy week!

This evening, we had our Family Time! I'm glad it's on Monday night!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Jeremiah 29:11-13, always very encouraging!

Seek Him First!