I Lost at Tic-tac-toe

To a cat.

I successfully recreated a Facebook video of someone playing tic-tac-toe with a cat (by placing cat treats in each square), and Freddy beat me without my even realizing it at first! Sheltering in place for 51 days has made us all a little crazy.

I'm inclined to blame it on the "same old, same old," but that's simply not true, as LAC's regional chaplain reminded us at Tuesday's weekly all-missionary check-in meeting:

God is making all things new (Revelation 21:5).
Because I am in Christ, I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).
In joyful response, all of creation is exhorted to sing to the Lord a new song (Psalm 96:1).

And, somehow, I keep coming up with new things to blog about.

My revised home service plan is still very much up in the air, but one of the congregations I was planning to visit invited me and a few others to present via Zoom on the Church's work in the DR on Sunday. 

I went grocery shopping for the second time on Monday. It was a longer affair than before, but far less stressful. I left Cerro Alto around 6:15 am knowing that the store isn't open to the general public until 8 am. The parking lot was empty when I got there, though - still gated shut, in fact. 

I was toward the front of the line to be let in as soon as senior hour ended, and cash register lines were significantly shorter, as well. 

I maintained a safe distance from the person in front of me and read on my Kindle while I waited!

Armed with a fully stocked fridge and pantry, recent kitchen escapades have included Cook's Illustrated's Chewy Granola Bars with Walnuts Pecans and Cranberries and slow cooker applesauce flavor #2: blueberry vanilla.

I am loving my Monday evening Enough Bible study. Attendance has evened off at about 12-15 ladies, plenty to maintain the large group > small group > large group flow. I find the discussions to be thought-provoking enough that I ponder them throughout each week!

I wasn't sure how my first week leading my Play Group through Casting Stones went, but a midweek compliment from one of the other ladies reassured me. I'm on again as soon as I post this! And, so far I've led LAC's pre-teen and teen girls ("Beautiful Inheritance") in a Kahoot quiz and a round of Bible Jeopardy during their weekly time together. I'm excited to get to work on my next idea!

I finally finished puzzle #3 - my least favorite so far. It necessitated an unconventional but effective method of NOT starting with the border, and I don't think any two pieces were shaped the same. 

So far, I'm sticking with the Writing for Social Media course I'm auditing. It's mostly common sense but does spell out some foundational principles that aren't always so common. Week 2 was all about considering the Content, Context, and Purpose of everything you write, down to a 140 character tweet. 

Writing continues to be a time consuming portion of a number of projects I'm involved in these days. I'm realizing as time goes on that I haven't so much been "reassigned" from my core function as simply tugged toward aspects of my job that fade into the shadows in light of more immediate concerns. Without volunteers on the ground anywhere in the region, it's been enlightening and enjoyable to brush the cobwebs off other aspects of my position description.  

Still though, I long for the day when I can accompany a team again and watch their eyes and hearts open to all that God is doing through His vessels in a particular place. I'm encouraged by conversations here and elsewhere about reopening things, but the DR had its highest day yet in terms of new cases recorded on May 3, so we shall see what happens when the current presidential decree with its corresponding curfew expires on May 17.

Time to go talk about being silent and speaking! Until next time, blessings!