December 18th - PAI

 Juniper took breakfast pictures. I’m pretty sure she didn’t leave anything out. 😁 I can’t wrap my head around eating lunch and dinner foods for breakfast but that’s the norm here. 

fried rice, stir-fried chicken

Pepper sauce

Fried noodles, Pancakes 

Sauces

Coffee and tea, cups are too small for a proper cup of tea. 

Pineapple and orange juice 

Ham and wieners?

Fried eggs 

Watermelon, dragon fruit and pineapple 

Salad

Toast station with homemade orange marmalade and strawberry jam 

Rice porridge 

A final day of rest for the Tuk Tuks before we head back to the Tuk Tuk Club base tomorrow. We opted to explore the hot springs and Pai Canyon. The other 4 in the group decided not to go so we had a private tour with Yuth. 

There was a steep uphill climb (180 meters) to the head of the springs 

Boiling eggs in the water. It’s over 190° where it comes up out of the ground. 

Elephant foot yam

The bloom of the elephant foot yam 

Flowers are used in curry’s and many other dishes and it is also medicinal. 

We started off in the hottest pool 36° C (~104° F)

Then moved to 35° C (~102° F)

Next was 33° C (~98° F)

Trithemus dragon fly

Each pool got a little cooler as it flowed down the mountain

I only got my feet and lower legs wet 

Descending pools

Cooling off 

Water Buffalo 

An albino

After about an hour at the hot springs, we drove up to the canyon. 

It’s about 100 meters climb up to the top. 

A taxi sign in the tree. 😁

Don’t know if you can see the visual of the person falling on the “danger beware falling” sign

Apparently the tourist police are your friend. 

It is a sheer drop off. 

Hmmm

I’m going to do it. 

And I made it. Must admit to having quite a sensation in my stomach as I went across. 

 

Can’t see the bottom of the canyon 

Goes without saying that Juniper stayed far far away from the edge. 

Not sure who he’s supposed to be. 

While we were at the hot springs and canyon, the others were have foot and leg massages and coffee and tea. 

Clock tower in the new part of Pai 

Again, not sure of the significance of this character. 

We went to the walking street for lunch. 

Juniper had iced coffee and was perusing the menu, which was many pages and she read it all. They came by three times to take our order 😁. 

She ended up getting spicy beef salad. 

I had the khao soi, which was a bit spicy for me. 

No cannabis, table reserved for dine in only, and no smoking. Doesn’t say anything about no cats on the table. 

Yuth has a friend that has a booth at the art and music festival this week so 4 of us loaded up and went for a little while. He called it a hippie festival. We wandered around the property while waiting to go. 

Spanish moss

Tree outside our bungalow 

This little girls papa was swinging her and taking photos when he startled a huge snake about two feet away from him. 

Life-size concrete piano

I think they must do weddings here. There are many areas set up for it. 

Not sure why anyone would use yellow tile in a pool. It makes the water look so green. 

A gecko in the light box. Things are so open here, it’s not unusual to have one in your room. 

A painting of the bungalows 

Sitting on the huge wooden swing 

This is what I mean by open. The office is to the right, breakfast area on the left. No windows or doors or walls to close it off. 

Gecko climbing up the wall

Dancers at the festival

Bamboo picnic area at the art festival 

We were walking down a dark alley (with the guides) when we startled a couple of dogs who startled us by barking loudly. Juniper (lover of all animals) jumped behind me thinking I could save her. 🤣

We walked from the art festival to the winter festival. It was not what we expected at all. More a carnival than a festival. 

I don’t think I’ve posted many photos of the street food so here are a few.  

She found fish cakes and is so happy. She’s been looking for them the whole time we’ve been in Thailand. They were so good she went back for more. 10 baht, 37 cents US for four. 

Dried fish, no thank you!

They call it jelly but I think it’s like jello? Whatever it is, it’s pretty gross. 

Juniper’s blueberry smoothie

And my coconut one

Raise us to Thy Glorious Throne

Have you ever heard the term portable theology? That’s what they used to call hymns. I have learned in my study of this song that some of the great old hymns unpack, line by line, profound doctrinal truths. They hold together, and often something is severely lost if the music leader decides to skip, say, the third stanza. That stanza might have developed or clarified the second stanza in such a way that now gives the fourth stanza its punch. In the case of "Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus", two stanzas were added to the original written by Wesley. I have not included those in my study due to time mostly, but also wanting to keep to the original song.

Many great hymns exist to develop and articulate complex, wonderful biblical truths so that the person singing might benefit from those truths passing over their own lips in the context of worship. The last line of “Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus” gives us a beautiful example of a profound biblical truth worth committing to memory and reciting regularly: “By Thine all-sufficient merit / Raise us to Thy glorious throne.” So much of the gospel is in this line.

In both the Old Testament and New, God tells His people they are part of His kingdom—heirs even. Jesus said the kingdom of God is at hand. Revelation 5:10 says, “You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.” This doctrine of the kingdom of God emphasizes two things concerning God’s people: 

1. Our citizenship lies with God for all eternity, and 2. This is not because of anything we have done, but is the result of the redeeming work of Christ on our behalf.

We are not saved by our own merits; they are woefully insufficient when it comes to meeting God’s standard of righteousness. It is only by Christ’s all-sufficient merit—His perfect record of righteousness—that we are raised to new life.

What are we raised for? Life as heirs with Christ in His eternal kingdom. When He raises us by His all-sufficient merit, it is not to a place of servitude. It is to His eternal presence where He is enthroned as the King of all creation forever.

Scripture assures us, “if we die with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him…” (2 Timothy 2:11–12). There will come a time when “the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52). These are staggering truths, impossible for any of us to imagine in full. And yet, this is the promise for all believers—that we will be raised to Christ’s eternal throne.

When we sing that line in the hymn, we get to rehearse the vital truth that comforts us in our inability to imagine how glorious our eternity with Him will be. We get to confess the reason why we can believe it: it will only be by His all-sufficient merit. Though we see through a glass darkly, we can rest in that.