These Shoes are Tired
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting
As I mentioned yesterday, I had read today's devotional yesterday by mistake. I made sure to bookmark tomorrow's correctly...LOL I truly connect with today's prayer focus. And it sparked a reminder about one of my personal philosophies...hehehe
Today's prayer focus comes for John 17:20-23, where Jesus is praying for all future believers after His disciples. That includes you and me! But it also includes everyone after us too. Those who hear our message. And then those who hear their message. And so on.
For about 15 years, I've had this philosophy that everything I do, especially at my job, makes an impact on everyone currently living and everyone who will end up living. That's a lot of people! But why do I feel that way? Simply put, if I don't do my job, there are other people who can't do their job. And if they can't do theirs, other people will not be able to do their jobs. And so on.
This trickling effect ends up spreading to everyone around the world in someway. Good or bad, all of us make an impact on the entire world. That's because this isn't limited to just doing our jobs. Everything we buy, every smile, every wave, and even every bad thing we do, impacts those around us. And in turn, their responses and reactions impact everyone around them.
So, the same is true with sharing our faith. It's important to share our faith. Someone shared theirs with us. Very few people today come to know Jesus simply by existing. In most cases, someone has told someone else about Him. And once they believed, they in turned shared it with someone else. The trickling effect ends up spreading. That's a pretty amazing responsibility!
In a world full of messages of self centeredness, there is one message that resonates an other centeredness. The message of Faith, Hope, and Love. The greatest of these, of course, is Love. God's Love and the gift of salvation. It really isn't about me. It is about us. All of us. And the God who saves us. Everything we do, every time we pray, everything...points everyone to Him. And today, my focus is on praying for all those who will believe someday.
Father, I pray for all of those who will believe in You because of my sharing Your message of Faith, Hope, and Love. Not just those who directly hear this from You through me. But also all of those who will hear it from them and pass it along. And then to the next. And so on, until Your Kingdom.
LORD, I pray for all of those who will hear Your message through the church. May Your message spread through all of the communities that the church impacts today and everyday forward. I lift up all those who will believe in You because of their message. That all will be united with You now and at the end of the age.
God, I pray for all of those who will listen to our pastors' messages and believe in the One You sent to save the world. I pray the message is a beacon of Light into this world of darkness. And I pray for all who follow that Light. May they find safety in Your loving embrace.
Father, thank You for my parents who brought me to church the week I was born into this world. Thank You for the message I heard time and again as a child. Although it took me about 20 years to truly hear it, and another 22 and half years to finally listen, I'm grateful for Your salvation. In Your Name I pray, AMEN!
My Day
Today started off quite a bit better than yesterday. I remembered to read the correct devotional, for one...LOL I didn't intentionally sleep in today, either. I didn't immediate get up when my white noise turned off. But I did wake feeling well rested. And I read today's chapter in the book of John; which was chapter 19. The days I slept in, I didn't read it until later in the day due to limited time before starting work...hehehe
How I start my day really does impact the rest of the day. Likewise, how I end my day impacts the next day. I've known this for a while now. But I don't always put that into practice. For one reason or another, I have those days when I don't pay enough attention to that. The last few days feel as though I missed it...LOL I'm back on track last night and today, though...hehehe
Yesterday, I did my first Vitamin G for the year. It was a soliloquy. I ended yesterday's blog entry with it...hehehe I reworded it slightly for the blog. But on my socials, I wrote it as if I were talking to myself. In the blog entry, it was as if talking to a friend about myself...if that makes sense?
I tend to write in this blog as if I'm writing to a friend. It is mostly to my future self. But it could also be viewed as if I were talking to anyone else who reads this. I think that's why my writing as evolved over the last year. I've been reading my past entries each day now. Some of how I wrote was cumbersome, and confusing at times. I'm trying to write more conversationally now. Does it sound better? HAHAHA jk
My work computer is updating. So I thought I'd pop in and do a quick update. Today is going well so far. User acceptance testing as begun on the apps I support now. A few issues have come up. Most of them I've already fixed. I'm dealing with some today that I'm unfamiliar with that will take a little more time. Nothing to stress over, though.
Pastor Jason from theChapel called and left a message. I returned his call. But it went to a general voicemail box. I don't know what he wants to talk about. He didn't leave details in his message to me. Just that he wanted to talk. He's the pastor in charge at the satellite location here in Port Richey. I'm guessing he just wants to talk about that location...hehehe Hopefully we can connect. I'd love to chat with him.
I just read last year's blog entry for this date. I was waiting for this one as I remembered it well. In it, I describe how I was physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted that week. It was the final week of the prayer and fasting season. I wondered if I'd experience the same this year. In a way, I have. The weather caused me to stop my physical activity outside. That forced me to rest my body. Yesterday, I experienced inexplicable anxiety. Albeit, it wasn't all that bad. I got a little disoriented with my prayer focusing yesterday and a little today. And I'm struggling with this week's Bible study from The Chosen.
There's a lesson in here...LOL I need to work in breaks on the weekends between weeks in these seasons. There may be more to it than that. But that seems to be a good place to start...hehehe
I'm looking at going to Disney on Tuesday. It's one of those good to go days in the reservation system. So, it sounds like it will be a low crowd day, perhaps. The weather should be pleasant. I have a green dapper outfit to wear. My parents gave me a new green fedora and bowtie for Christmas. So, I'll wear those along with the same green pants I wore on Christmas. They match perfectly with the band on the hat and the bowtie. I have a vest coming that hopefully matches the hat's main color. The vest is like my gray one. Except the outer layer is green. I'll wear a white shirt and my white shoes.
I'm torn between doing the festival food or doing a dining reservation at a table service restaurant. I imagine I'll go back again in February. So I don't feel pressure to enjoy the festival food this time. Dressing up makes me want to sit and relax while enjoying a pleasant meal. With the festivals, you pretty much stand while eating...LOL It isn't very elegant...LOL When in street clothes, I don't mind eating in the streets...HAHAHA
I love dressing up for the parks so much. I'm so glad I started doing that last April for my first Dapper Day. It didn't really settle in until the fall, though. After that first Dapper Day, the weather warmed up...hehehe But then came the fall and dressing up became very comfortable.
For the warmer weather, I'm going to try a retro look. My parents also gave me a 50's retro bowling/Cuban shirt for Christmas. I just ordered 5 more...LOL They'll look good with shorts or pants. And some of my hats will match them, I think. I do need to find some warmer weather hats, though. A lot of my nice ones can't be worn when I'm hot. And I don't like wearing ball caps with these sorts of clothes. I only have a few ball caps now and usually only wear them when I'm casual.
Exploring fashion has been fun! I've never really paid attention to this in the past. I attempted to do this just over 3 years ago when I restarted my life again. But I didn't like how I looked. I was obese and didn't like the way those clothes fit. Now that my size is down to a healthy state, I really like how it all feels and looks. And I enjoy the hunt that brings an outfit together.
The rest of my workday went well. I fixed some of the issues that were going on with my apps during testing. I got to interact with some more people today that I didn't previous know. That has been fun. Since we all work from home, we never randomly run into each other at the good ol' water cooler...LOL I sometimes miss that. But I don't miss the commute!
Tonight's Bible study time went a lot smoother than it has all week...hehehe Spiritually speaking, this study has increased in intensity. Since I've also been in prayer focus mode for nearly 3 weeks now, I'm wearing myself out...LOL I wasn't doing a Bible study the last 2 times I've had a prayer and fasting season. There isn't anything wrong with what I'm doing. And I've enjoy it all a lot. I just didn't think it through just how much rest I would need during all of this. But rest is coming. I'm going to make it ❤️
I baked my salmon for dinner tonight. I typically use the air fryer for that now. The taste and texture were the same. But I did find it a bit easier to use the oven. The same is true for how I cook my rice. I've used a rice cooker and my pressure cooker in the past. But doing it in a pot on my stove is much easier...hehehe
I'm going to need new walking/running shoes soon. I've had mine for nearly 2 years now. And they've done a lot of walking and running in that time. They've even climbed a mountain and walked the streets of LA...HAHAHA They were also the ones I wore in my 5k race at Disney at the end of 2023...hehehe Like me, these shoes are tired...LOL
Photo of the Day
Today's photo comes from my bathroom...HAHAHA It was another inside day for this guy...LOL I had a little bit of fun with the new (to me) app, Prequel. The photo for today was the result of one of the experiments I did.
I love how this turned out. It reminds me of an old 50s vintage photograph of an actual beach lighthouse. On Instagram, I matched this up with Heart & Soul for the music. I was feeling a little nostalgic.
My parents sent me this little lighthouse thing as a housewarming gift when I moved to Florida. Two of my lighthouses are from them...hehehe Here is the original picture of this one.
It has been in my bathroom all these years of Florida life. I love it and it always reminds me of my parents.
Just for fun, I applied an AI filter in Prequel...hehehe It turned it into an art piece made of odds and ends you might find in a beach house. I would love to have used this version for today's photo. But nothing in the photo actually exists. It is real in that the source is real. But it doesn't represent reality. It only represents my artsy fun side.
I suppose I don't find anything wrong with that. But since it is AI and goes beyond a simple filter, I didn't post it on my socials. Plus, some artists out there aren't happy with AI art. I see value in all types of art. I can appreciate it all since it does require human interaction to produce even AI art. Of course, it doesn't hold the same value as how a more traditional piece of work is created...LOL I don't sell art, though. This piece is priceless because it costs nothing...HAHAHA But seriously, as long as it holds value for me, it has some value.
Wrapping Up
Today was a blessed day. Sure, I'm a little spiritually tired this week. That seems to happen each prayer season...hehehe But I'm so happy right now. I'm physically and mentally rested. Overall, I had a fantastic day.
Hopefully it works out that I go to Disney on Tuesday. That will be a nice change of pace from my routine this month. It'll be a little strange eating out that day...LOL
Ooh! I just realized, I've written in my blog for 29 straight days now...whoa! The last 6 days of 2024 I wrote everyday (archived in my old blog)...plus this entire month so far. I don't think I've ever done that before! Pretty neato daddio! HAHAHA