No Joke!

Well, it's April now...LOL No joke! Really, it is...LOL

I typically enjoy some of the jokes I read about on April Fools Day...hehehe I didn't see a lot this year. But I also wasn't looking for them. I'm not one to make the jokes myself. I'm just a little out of touch this year, perhaps...hehehe

I'm starting to get busier at work. We are finally in the UAT stage for the production version of my apps. So, we have real users in there testing to make sure it all works before the Big Bang next month. Everything we've been doing since the announcement in January last year is finally coming down to these final weeks...hehehe It's exciting! I imagine a lot of folks are feeling the stress of that. I'm not really feeling it yet. I hope this isn't the calm before a storm...LOL

This week's Bible study has me all in the feels...LOL Tonight's session took me longer than normal. I worked on it for an hour and a half...hehehe A little later in the evening, I decided to watch the episode again. I haven't been doing it every night anymore. But I really love this episode. Whenever I have the time, I'll keep watching it this week...hehehe In a way, I think this week's study lesson aligns more with the episode than most of the lessons. They always have a connection. But this week's seems a little special. Plus it's timely once again and is bringing some things in my heart into the Light.

I did a lot of thinking on my walks today. Once again, I did 3 one mile walks. It was a beautiful day to be outside. I took some photos and said hello to a few people. But I did some deep thinking. I have a lot on my mind and in my heart lately. That's a good thing. Nothing is weighing heavy. Just some things that need some thoughts...hehehe

One of those thoughts brings me back to a common topic for me since last June/July. Where should I be connecting with the church? I'm currently virtually attending Community United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach. I absolutely love it. I'll keep doing that for the foreseeable future. But I still have that part of me that would love to connect with a physical congregation. I miss having a community. Technically, I haven't had a true church community since 2016. Although I returned to church in 2021, I still haven't found connection. Even my time at theChapel from the end of 2022 through last June, I never truly connected.

Another thought I've been having is related to my self-awareness. I'll not dig too deep into that yet. But part of that is realizing how much value I've put into what others think about me. Most of my life, I've put too much value on what others think. Especially with what they think I should do or be...LOL Here's the thing, not a lot of people truly know me. And not many people have been in my life the whole time. Let's say someone has known me 6% of my lifetime. And in that 6%, let's say they only know about 1% of who I am. Why am I putting 68% of my self worth in what they think about me or what I should be doing with my life?!? LOL Of course, I'm just throwing out numbers here...hehehe But I think I'm making a good point. I need to think for myself.

That said, I've been thinking for myself for a bit now. Those years of allowing people to manipulate me have been over for 3+ years now. I don't mean just influence. I truly mean manipulate. But where I'm at now is trying to understand how others influence or impact me. Some influence is good if it is healthy. The same is true with impact. Manipulation is never healthy...hehehe Now that I have better experience with self-awareness and thinking for myself, I'm finding it easier to understand healthy influence and impact. To be clear, I'm not saying it is easy. Just getting easier...hehehe

How I influence or impact others is part of this thought too. I want to be a healthy part of the relationships I have with others. Even though I live alone and have very little interaction with people in person, I'm still active with people all over. Some are through work. Some through social media. I interact with friends and family daily. And even though I don't have meaningful relationships with neighbors at the moment, my mere presence here makes an impact. I want to be a good steward of my presence in everyone's lives when it is in my power to do so. I want my presence to be a warm hug ❤️

Getting a better handle on my thought life has been a challenge these 3+ years. But I'm really happy with my progress. I'm especially happy that I don't overthink as much as I use to. I attribute this to what God is doing in me. My focus on my relationship with Him has afforded me the opportunity to grow in so many areas.

Wow, I hadn't planned to write today...LOL No joke! These past few days, I've considered not writing. But when I sat at the MacBook, type away I did...LOL And I'm glad I did 😃

Today's photo 📸

You can find this photo in the photo section too.

📖 Today's Bible in a Year session in the Bible section.