Weird Day

Growth Opportunities

Be careful what you wish for! Or the Christian way to say it, Be careful what you pray for! LOL

I suppose the saying may come from the experience that if you don't really know what you are praying for, you might not like what the answer will be. As I get to know God more, I've come to realize I love the answer regardless if I understand what I'm praying for or if it isn't an answer I expected. I don't always love how I feel about it. But God is showing me His love from new perspectives. He is changing how I learn how to feel about these things. Which, in turn, changes how I actually feel.

As I continued to see the changes occurring in my heart last year, I began to pray differently. I had already gotten into the practice of making sure I didn't ask God to remove my circumstances, or remove me from them. But I took it a step further. I wanted to know Him more. And I wanted to know how to be more like Him. The result seems to be that I've had numerous opportunities to be like Him...You know...loving, joyful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.

I've missed some of those opportunities during this process so far. I imagine I'll miss more in the future. I still have to deal with the fact I'm a broken, sinful man. I am hopeful that, as I continue to be given these opportunities, I'll continue to grow closer to God and be more like Him as my time on earth continues. Today, I'll embrace the opportunities I've already been given yet this morning and bring to God my brokenness. It's only 10:30am and I've already experienced something that would fall under the Be careful what you pray for category...LOL Which, of course, prompted me to write this...hehehe

Sleep Update

I achieved another 7 and half hours of sleep last night. I'm not so sure I needed that much. I began waking before that and dozed back off. I recall making a conscious decision to remain in bed...LOL I still think my need is 6 to 6 and half hours. That has been my average for quite some time. And overall, I've been sleeping great for nearly 3 years now. My sleep hours have ebbed and flowed a bit over the course of that time. Tonight, I think I'll see about bringing it back down to at least 7 hours.

Sleep eluded me most of my life. It began in my teenage years and carried on through the end of 2021. That's a really long time. I'm sure others have suffered this far longer than I have, though. I can't say that I know how it began. But I do know why it happened in my adult years. I never felt safe in my home. That's a really sad thought. I wonder how many other people feel so unsafe that they cannot rest? I carry them in a special place in my heart.

I'm grateful for the peace I have each night when I lie down now. I don't always have peace when I wake up. I woke up peacefully today. Just not everyday...LOL I'm anxious right now (10:50am). I'm taking that to God. That's been my response for the past few years and has made a huge impact. God is so good! And He is the provider of my inner peace ❤️

Questions Not Asked

I am full of questions...LOL I do ask quite a few. It helps me better understand things or to clarify my understanding in some ways. But there are several questions I do not ask. That's because I'm not ready for the answers. Some of the questions only God can answer. But there are also some that I would ask people. I'm more afraid of people than I am of God still. I'm working on that...LOL

I know God is loving and will always have the right answer. Even when I'm not ready for it, He is good to me. People aren't always so loving, though. I'd say most of us respond to questions based on our own thoughts and feelings. God comes from truth. Whereas, people come from their truth. Knowing this, I often don't ask all of the question on my heart because I'm simply not ready for the answers people may give.

Also, God always understands my questions. People do not always understand what I'm asking. Part of that could be that I may not be asking the question correctly. I suppose, in a way, I may not be ready to ask the questions...LOL

I don't have any specific examples to give at the moment. I mostly wanted to get this off my chest...hehehe

Weird Day

I've had a bit of a weird day. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm not sure...LOL But as part of those growth opportunities I was talking about earlier, all I see is good...LOL

I've been on two walks so far today. I'm sure I'll have another walk before dinner. It was colder this morning than yesterday...well, at least it felt colder. Yesterday, there wasn't any wind. This morning, it was a bit breezy. For my afternoon walk, I wasn't in as many layers. But I still wore a jacket.

I managed to do all of my laundry. And I did some work towards my goal this month of simplifying my desk setup. I think the desk I was using as my art desk will become my TV stand. I tried to use it as a work desk. But it just doesn't work for that. And it never worked well as an art desk...LOL I haven't a clue what sort of desk it is supposed to be. It appears vintage. And it isn't a standard height at all. I wonder if it was originally for a vanity or something? Back in the years of yore...HAHAHA

I took some stuff out to my garage as well and a few things to the trash compactor. It's so freeing to clear things out and actually working on a goal...LOL I've always worked on goals. But this particular one is visible...LOL

I also took care of my grocery shopping for the week. They didn't have everything I was looking for. But that's okay. I used the wrong card at checkout...LOL Again, that's okay. I had the money needed in the account. I just had to move some cash around afterward to replace the funds in the account I accidentally used. Wasn't the first time...won't be the last...hahaha

I had to contact T-Mobile to get my iPad's line disconnected. I no longer use that while away from WiFi. I don't need the LTE connection for it anymore. Now that I've been using my MacBook for most things I previously used my iPad for, it was long overdue to disconnect that line. The last time I used the LTE data on it was my trip in November. But I didn't actually need it...LOL I just happened to use it that time. So, bye bye line!

I was surprised at how difficult it is to disconnect a line with T-Mobile. My old account was with Sprint. T-Mobile bought them out a few years ago. This is the first time I've had to do something like this since the change over. I used to be with Verizon. Verizon made everything easy for me. I've considered moving to another carrier since T-Mobile took over my account. I've not liked their service much since the change over. Today's dealings with that line left me with another reason to switch...LOL We shall see! Maybe it's time to go back to AT&T...HAHAHA I haven't been with them in like 20 years...HAHAHA Pre-smartphone days...HAHAHA

I haven't yet done my Bible in a Year plan and I haven't worked on my Bible journal site yet. Perhaps I'll go do my walk, have dinner, and then get to work on those things. For my Bible study this week, all I have left is the Prayer Focus. I normally already have that done with the last set of questions. But this week, I've decided to dedicate special time to it. This week's lesson was...whoa! HAHAHA

Sophisticated Skeleton

When I arrived at the T-Mobile store, I saw my reflection in the window of the door. I didn't recognize myself...HAHAHA I've had moments like this over the past year or so. Losing weight and changing my hair has caused me to not know the man in the mirror...HAHAHA What I saw was a guy with a cool hipster vibe. I later made a recording of myself just for fun...hehehe

I guess I was just too cool for T-Mobile. They were like, Sorry man...you need to make a call because your presence is just too cool for us to take care of you in person! HAHAHA j/k

So, that's the reason I had to contact T-Mobile. Because they don't deal with accounts at the stores. Apparently stores are for sales and maybe some services for the devices. But customer support is handled over the phone now...LOL Their website doesn't even allow you to drop a line...LOL

Moment of Silence

Please take a moment of silence and ask God to speak to you. ...Speak, for Your servant is listening 1 Samuel 3:10b ❤️

What Did You Hear

What did you hear Him say ❤️

Carry On

That was amazing, wasn't it?!? Okay, carry on ;P

Photo of the Day

Today's photo was a complete accident. I was getting the camera ready for a video but was struggling because I was wearing gloves...LOL As I fumbled around with the phone, it snapped the photo. As I was walking around, I laughed and wondered if that would be the photo I'd pick at the end of the day...HAHAHA I loved all of today's photos. But this one still says more about my day than any other photo I created ❤️

Wrapping Up

I got around to doing the Bible in a Year reading and recap and I wrote out my Prayer Focus for the Bible study. But I didn't get around to working on my Bible journal site. I'm glad I gave some extra focus to the Prayer Focus this week. I watched this week's episode one last time, washed the dishes, and then read the prayer focus guide. I didn't know what to pray and asked God for the words through the Spirit. Words just poured out...

After that, I looked up Hope United Methodist Church in Trinity. I would see it when I would go to theChapel each week. Funny...that's how I found theChapel. I was going to Generations church for 3 weeks. That church definitely wasn't my vibe. But I saw theChapel on the way. I checked theChapel out and went there for nearly 2 years...LOL Now, I'm taking a look at another church I saw on my way to theChapel...HAHAHA

HUMC looks nice and seems like my vibe. I'll not be attending just yet, though. I'm just now beginning my search. I watched their service from December 1st last month. They are just the first one I'm going to look into around here. I'm going to make this search one of the focuses of my prayer time over the next 3 weeks. I hope to find a place to attend in person by the end of that time.

In the meantime, I'll continue my search and I'll virtually attend CUMC.

Day 4 without coffee...I'm doing really well. My Joffrey's Coffee order arrived today...HAHAHA Those little angel and devil cartoons appeared on my shoulders...HAHAHA j/k It sure is tempting to have coffee. I actually did give this some thought. I'm also fasting other things for other reasons. I wondered if I really needed to fast coffee too for the 3 weeks of prayer. Yes, I'm going to fast coffee too. There is a point to all of this. I think today's test of my will is proof of that...

Well, that's it for today. ...in case I don't see ya: Good afternoon, good evening, and good night! ~ Truman