Blessed are the Sundays
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting
Today is the first of 3 reflection days to conclude this years prayer and fasting season. This has been a blessing once again. I had my doubts going into the new year as to whether or not I'd do it this year. I stuck with it because I remember how impactful it was the other 2 years I've started off the year this way. I'm glad I did again this year and plan to continue next year ❤️
Today is the third break in the devotional book. It can be considered a day of reflection. Something the author suggests is, that unlike the other prayers in the book, this past week isn't something you simply do in the order it is presented. It really is a set of prayers that are to be prayed together.
The reason for this is what the prayers represent. It is the pathway to God. We can't really pray that He would place us where He wants us to share the Gospel without already having the words, or that those words would be heard. We also don't want to be there with the right words that would be heard without already praying for protection over the new believer. And so on...
It is an important and powerful set of prayers. I'd like to weave them into the tapestry of my daily prayers. But it is a a huge responsibility. Am I ready for that? Probably not...LOL But I feel that is okay at this point. God has been preparing me my entire life. Everything has been building up to where He is leading me. I just need to follow.
As I go through these prayers over and again, this day would be a good day to stop and meditate on Jesus' longest prayer. It may seem like a repeat from yesterday. And in a way, it is. This prayer is just that important!
Although I stopped journaling about it, I did go through the entire book of John. It is 21 chapters long. So I read a chapter each day for the 3 weeks. Since I was doing a devotional book on Jesus' prayers, it seemed only fitting to go through the story about Jesus' time on earth...hehehe It was something else I was glad I did ❤️
My Day
I went to sleep around 1am this morning and woke at 7:30am. I feel fantastic...hehehe My attempt to return to a more common sleep schedule for my timezone was futile. At least for now...LOL I don't know when my next California trip will be this year. But if I keep with this schedule, jet lag will not be an issue...HAHAHA
I suppose one of the reasons I was trying to shift back was due to my starting off my days with the 21 day devotional I've been doing. I wanted to do that and take a prayer walk before work each day. That meant getting up earlier. Well, last week, my morning prayer walks pretty much ended. I think I only took 1 the whole week due to the weather. Prior to that, I went 18 straight days walking 3-5 miles a day...hehehe
Speaking of walking, I forgot to mention yesterday that I took an evening walk. Yesterday's weather was weird. In the morning, the windchill was in the 20s. That's dangerously cold where I live. Especially with that wind coming off the gulf. But in the afternoon and the evening, it was in the 60s! I didn't even wear a jacket for my walk...LOL I don't know exactly how far I walked. I just kept walking until I felt like stopping. I think it was just over a mile, though...or at least a mile...because I went more than 3 laps around the pond.
I was able to take a few walks today too. It was the perfect day for walking. The day was gorgeous! I realized today that I put too much emphasis on how much walking I've been doing. Sure, exercise is nice. But it doesn't have to be a set routine. I'm not training for anything...LOL So, I think for now, I'll just walk and not even keep track of number of laps or what pace I'm going. I'll do what feels right for the day...hehehe
I had some minor struggles through the Bible study for this past week. But when I went to review it all after church today, I found that it all worked out well...hehehe For some reason, in my mind, I thought I had trouble answering all of the questions. But with a clear head today, it turned out all my answers were spot on with how I feel. I guess I just needed to get out of my own head...LOL
So, during our fellowship time, it was one of the most impactful Bible study fellowships I've ever had. I love that we are doing this. It is making a huge difference in our separate journeys. And it is helping us on the part of our journey we share together. Sundays are definitely the highlight of my week.
As part of Sundays being a highlight, church has been going very well. Now that my 21 day season is over, I feel it is time to mention this. Last year, I struggled with where my church home would be. I had left theChapel for a time. But I returned there temporarily in November for a few weeks. During the past 21 days, finding a church home was one of my main reasons for fasting and focusing. I've decided theChapel is once again my church home. These last 3 weeks of going there have been such a blessing. I'm glad to be officially back ❤️
I'm also still tuning into the CUMC modern worship with my deer friend. It isn't my church home. But it is an important part of our fellowship like the Bible study is.
That's pretty much my day on Sundays...LOL And I love it all!
Photo of the Day
I had a very pleasant walk today. I actually had a few walks. But on my first one, I captured several things that I saw. One of them became today's photo ❤️ It was nice to be outside! It finally feels like normal Florida winter today...LOL
This is a Brazilian peppertree I think. AKA Florida holly...HAHAHA According to it's Wikipedia article, this is illegal in Florida...hehehe Perhaps I should let someone know it needs to be destroyed?!? It's an invasive species that doesn't belong here. But it sure is pretty...hehehe
One of the great things about capturing things like this is that I get to learn more about them. If it really is a Brazilian peppertree species, I should definitely alert the property management. The Florida Department of Agriculture will want to know about this.
Wrapping Up
Today was a really good day. I find it interesting that Sunday is my most packed day of the week. Yet, it is also the most relaxing. Today was even more so because of the beautiful walks I had on top of the fellowship, church, and my weekly call with my parents.
This week should be a good week. I work tomorrow. Then I'm off to a magic day at Disney on Tuesday. Then back to work the remaining 3 workdays. And that will wrap up the first month of 2025!
This week's Bible study will be on Blessed are the Peacemakers ❤️
I added my profile photo to the main page of the website. Not the main page for this blog. But the Home page. It matches with the one I have for my social media profiles. I'll try it out for a bit and see if I like it here too...hehehe