So, I'm always thinking...
My Day
07:30am
I went to bed a half hour early last night and woke a half hour earlier today. I'm getting to observe the sunrise again. And I love it!
I had 2 very odd dreams last night about AirBnBs...LOL The first, it was a friend's place that they rented out. I needed to use the restroom and had to be careful not to mess anything up because a new guest was expected that day. One of the bedrooms had these weird window coverings over a window that didn't face the outside. It faced the entryway of the home...LOL But there were 3 coverings. The combinations of how to cover the window were many...hehehe Margot Robbie was who owned the actual property. But my friend was who did the AirBnB stuff with it. So weird. Anyway, I used the bathroom there, got a demo of that window stuff, and got out of there. The guests would soon arrive! And then I woke up and actually did get up to go to the bathroom...LOL
The second AirBnB dream was my place. I was renting it out when guests needed it and I stayed there myself when no one rented it. That was a little weird. But I had been sleeping there and needed to get up and get the place ready for the guests who were arriving later today. In this dream, it kind of looked like my current apartment. This was the dream I woke up to today. So, perhaps I was half awake and half sleeping...hehehe
07:45am
Ooh! I forgot to mention! I began my new scalp treatment last night. Way too early to say if it going to work or not...LOL But I did want to mention that my hair feels different today, in a good way. So something is happening already...hehehe This is a bar shampoo that has active charcoal in it. It's a clean ingredients product like my other soap bars. I like that it's a bar instead of a bottled liquid. My skin feels a little happier today. But, again, way too early to say if this treatment is going to work. Here's to hoping! 🤞
11:45am
The day is going well for a workday...hehehe It has been a little busy. But not too bad. Testing with end users is doing well. Some issues were brought up on today's call. I'll be looking into some of that this afternoon. One thing I like about these issues is that it is giving me exposure to the source code of the applications I inherited. I'm learning things I need to know in order to support the applications.
My morning walk was nice. It was very windy...hehehe Almost too windy for a walk. But I muddled through. I experimented with some photography. None of those photos are likely to be chosen today. I didn't even sort them into my candidate folder...hehehe But it was fun to try some new things. That's another reason I wanted to do photos this year. I wanted to learn more and evolve my photo art. It's more than just trying to be present in the moments this year...hehehe
I ran into one of my neighbors. He isn't doing well. He mentioned that he is trying to find a new home for his dog. She's been with him since her birth. She has had special needs from the beginning. They named her Miracle...hehehe Because it was a miracle she lived. She's a senior dog now. So, in a way, he saved her life and she has had a long one, for a dog with special needs. I'll be praying for him to find a new home for her as well as for what he has going on in his life that is causing him to let her go 😦
03:40pm
I've been out for 3 walks today. Each walk became more difficult due to the increasing winds. I wanted to take a final walk after work. But now I'm reconsidering...LOL I just saw someone from maintenance putting away all of the umbrellas from the pool's tables. That only happens when winds and storms are predicted to be really bad.
I woke up this morning in a lot of pain. Especially in my right wrist. I almost took some medication to help. But I decided to tough it out since I have a high tolerance for pain anyway. Shortly after I woke, I found out major storms were predicted for later today. A cold front is moving in. That explained my pain. It was the sort caused by major changes in the weather. Fronts, such as the one coming through, really do number on me. I began feeling it a few days ago and thought something might be coming. Yep, it is...LOL
Now that I see the umbrellas being put away, I have a feeling this one might be a rough storm system. I'll know for sure in a few hours...LOL I've been following it all day on radar. But sometimes these systems break up when they hit my area and make very little impact. As for my body's reaction, it usually starts a few days ahead, like it did, and for a day or so after. I should be right as rain Wednesday or Thursday. The arthritis in my right wrist isn't doing too bad. I should be able to manage without medication this time around...hehehe
05:30pm
Well, that was fun...HAHAHA I decided to go for my after-work walk after all...LOL The wind was definitely more intense than the other 3 walks. Each walk, the wind increased in intensity...hehehe I thought I'd give it a try. I did my full 1 mile. But it was probably the most energy I've had to use for a walk ever...HAHAHA Even with the wind to my back, I had to use extra energy just to not fall forward...LOL Why did I do this?! Well, mostly to say I tried it...LOL I can handle it now. The me who began a health journey just over 2 years ago would not have been able to do what I did today. I did it for him. He started this journey for me...hehehe And I'm glad he did 😃
Also, I think I got today's photo from this walk. The other walks didn't yield any...LOL
09:15pm
No storms...LOL I'm not sure we even got the rain...LOL I got the notifications about rain. But the ground appears to be dry. The wind has also died down. But it looks like the winds will be back as the other side of the front passes through. It looks like I won't be wearing shorts tomorrow...hehehe It has been hot lately and I've been mostly wearing shorts. Although the temps are dropping a little for a day or two, it looks like they'll be back to hot again soon.
But there was a storm of sorts. This week's episode of The Chosen from our Bible study has THE storm in it...LOL Care to take a stroll on the sea with Jesus? If He commands the water to hold us, it will...hehehe We just gotta keep our focus on Him 😉
I have some more Bible work to add to this site before I'm finished for the day. Today has been scripture enriched, to say the least. Today's Bible in a Year reading, referenced below, is worth a read. Along with the videos. I highly recommend them today if you have time! I was also hit with Romans 14 and Psalm 77. I may include them here today too. For those two, I'd like to get the formatting working correctly for this site. The other Bible chapters I've already added are yet unformatted...LOL I'm still working out how I'll do the formatting...hehehe
09:25pm
I just realized the photo for today is similar to one I featured a few days ago...LOL It's another duck...LOL Oh well! The ducks were a part of my journey today...hehehe
09:45pm
There is a light rain now. We've been needing some rain...hehehe I love the rain ❤️ Still isn't storming, though...hehehe
10:15pm
Aaannnddd...the winds are back...LOL Still no storm, though...hehehe
10:30pm
Below, I included all of the scripture that made an impact on me today. I didn't get around to doing the formatting thing I mentioned above. I'm not sure how I'm going to go about that just yet based on how I'm doing this website. I'm making everything dynamic so that I can include references just about anywhere and the scripture just automatically imports. The nice thing about that is when I make an update to the source files, it automatically reflects the updates everywhere. So, someday, that scripture below will be formatted and just magically look great...hehehe But it will look pretty plain the day I'm writing this journal entry...LOL
I've continued reading my entries from a year ago on the date I wrote them. I didn't do one on this day last year...hehehe Some of what I wrote still applies to how I think. But some of my thoughts have since changed. Or it has just evolved with new experiences. I think I may have said this recently...LOL So I apologize if this was a repeat...LOL It has been on my mind quite a bit lately, though. It was about a year ago when I wrote the Read me page. In it, I explain the purpose of this blog and how best to understand why some of it might not make sense or is contradictory...hehehe So, I was thinking... So, I'm always thinking...LOL
Photos
Yesterday's photo 📸
You can find this photo in the photo section too.
Today's photo 📸
You can find this photo in the photo section too.
Bible
All of these made a significant impact on me and I wanted to include them in today's journal.
Psalm 77 was the theme for this week's The Chosen episode (S3E8). I recall this passage had also made an impact on me the first time I watched the episode a while ago. Seeing it again today quickly reminded me of how a felt last time. Today, it hit me just as much as, if not more than, it did before.
Psalm 77
Psalm 77
1 For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. I cried out to God; I cried aloud to God to hear me. 2 In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted. 3 I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah 4 You have kept my eyes from closing; I am too troubled to speak. 5 I considered the days of old, the years long in the past. 6 At night I remembered my song; in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered: 7 “Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again? 8 Is His loving devotion gone forever? Has His promise failed for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has His anger shut off His compassion?” Selah 10 So I said, “I am grieved that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” 11 I will remember the works of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. 12 I will reflect on all You have done and ponder Your mighty deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is so great as our God? 14 You are the God who works wonders; You display Your strength among the peoples. 15 With power You redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah 16 The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You and swirled; even the depths were shaken. 17 The clouds poured down water; the skies resounded with thunder; Your arrows flashed back and forth. 18 Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. 19 Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found. 20 You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Romans 14 actually came up first yesterday and continued into today. In a way, it actually relates a bit to part of my response to last week's Bible study. But I came across it yesterday after a friend of mine was dealing with someone rebuking them in the name of Jesus for some tattoos they have. They have the tattoos for various reasons. But the funny thing is the tattoos that the person was rebuking them for were Disney...LOL It wasn't because of having tattoos in the first place. They were upset because they were skulls...Jack Skellington and the poison apple from the original Snow White...LOL Both the rebuker and the rebuked are Christians. Another funny thing, to me, is that I wasn't even looking for this passage. It came up after I prayed about the situation. But it was from some seemingly random thing I was looking at later that was completely unrelated...hehehe God is so good ❤️
Romans 14
Romans 14
1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions. 2 For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. 14 I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died. 16 Do not allow what you consider good, then, to be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. 19 So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble. 22 Keep your belief about such matters between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin.
Today's Bible in a Year Reading
Today's reading was a huge encouragement for me. The included BibleProject and The Bible Recap videos were important for context.
BibleProject ~ Ruth Summary
If the embedded video won't play, you can go straight to YouTube here to watch it.
Ruth 1
Ruth 1
1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah, and they entered the land of Moab and settled there. 3 Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons, 4 who took Moabite women as their wives, one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. And after they had lived in Moab about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband. 6 When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had attended to His people by providing them with food, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab. 7 Accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road leading back to the land of Judah. 8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you loving devotion, as you have shown to your dead and to me. 9 May the LORD enable each of you to find rest in the home of your new husband.” And she kissed them as they wept aloud 10 and said, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, 13 would you wait for them to grow up? Would you refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, it is much more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” 14 Again they wept aloud, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. 15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; follow her back home.” 16 But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to persuade her. 19 So Naomi and Ruth traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women of the town exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” 20 “Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? After all, the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me.” 22 So Naomi returned from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Ruth 2
Ruth 2
1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go into the fields and glean heads of grain after someone in whose sight I may find favor.” “Go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied. 3 So Ruth departed and went out into the field and gleaned after the harvesters. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech. 4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.” “The LORD bless you,” they replied. 5 And Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 The foreman answered, “She is the Moabitess who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 7 She has said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the harvesters.’ So she came out and has continued from morning until now, except that she rested a short time in the shelter.” 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go and glean in another field, and do not go away from this place, but stay here close to my servant girls. 9 Let your eyes be on the field they are harvesting, and follow along after these girls. Indeed, I have ordered the young men not to touch you. And when you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.” 10 At this, she fell on her face, bowing low to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?” 11 Boaz replied, “I have been made fully aware of all you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you did not know before. 12 May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.” 13 “My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.” 14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here; have some bread and dip it into the vinegar sauce.” So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left over. 15 When Ruth got up to glean, Boaz ordered his young men, “Even if she gathers among the sheaves, do not insult her. 16 Rather, pull out for her some stalks from the bundles and leave them for her to gather. Do not rebuke her.” 17 So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. And when she beat out what she had gleaned, it was about an ephah of barley. 18 She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. And she brought out what she had saved from her meal and gave it to Naomi. 19 Then her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today, and where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you.” So she told her mother-in-law where she had worked. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said. 20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our kinsman-redeemers.” 21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished gathering all my harvest.’” 22 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his young women, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.” 23 So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean grain until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Ruth 3
Ruth 3
1 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek a resting place for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Now is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been working, a relative of ours? In fact, tonight he is winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Therefore wash yourself, put on perfume, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but do not let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he lies. Then go in and uncover his feet, and lie down, and he will explain to you what you should do.” 5 “I will do everything you say,” Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do. 7 After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then Ruth went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman! 9 “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.” 10 Then Boaz said, “May the LORD bless you, my daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before, because you have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now do not be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever you request, since all my fellow townspeople know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Yes, it is true that I am a kinsman-redeemer, but there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, good. Let him redeem you. But if he does not want to redeem you, as surely as the LORD lives, I will. Now lie here until morning.” 14 So she lay down at his feet until morning, but she got up before anyone else could recognize her. Then Boaz said, “Do not let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he told her, “Bring the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured in six measures of barley and placed it on her. Then he went into the city. 16 When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked her, “How did it go, my daughter?” Then Ruth told her all that Boaz had done for her. 17 And she said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” 18 “Wait, my daughter,” said Naomi, “until you find out how things go, for he will not rest unless he has resolved the matter today.”
Ruth 4
Ruth 4
1 Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. 2 Then Boaz took ten of the elders of the city and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. 3 And he said to the kinsman-redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 I thought I should inform you that you may buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do so. But if you will not redeem it, tell me so I may know, because there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.” “I will redeem it,” he replied. 5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi and also from Ruth the Moabitess, you must also acquire the widow of the deceased in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” 6 The kinsman-redeemer replied, “I cannot redeem it myself, or I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I cannot redeem it.” 7 Now in former times in Israel, concerning the redemption or exchange of property, to make any matter legally binding a man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party, and this was a confirmation in Israel. 8 So the kinsman-redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” 9 At this, Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. 10 Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.” 11 “We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. 12 And may your house become like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the LORD will give you by this young woman.” 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And when he had relations with her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a kinsman-redeemer. May his name become famous in Israel. 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” 16 And Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a nurse to him. 17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, 19 Hezron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, 20 Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, Nahshon was the father of Salmon, 21 Salmon was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed, 22 Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David.
The Bible Recap
If the embedded video won't play, you can go straight to YouTube here to watch it.
From Yesterday
📖 Yesterday's Bible in a Year reading in the Bible section.