Sleep, Backups, and My Daily Bread
My Day
08:25am
I'm beginning to see some progress on my sleep schedule adjustment. This week, I've been able to wake on my own with time to start my day with some Bible time. That was my primary goal. I'm not doing the The Chosen Bible study in the morning yet. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to that. The problem with doing that one first thing is I typically have a time constraint of being ready for work. I don't want to ever rush that study. I cannot predict how much time that one will take daily. I've had times when a single question could take me an hour to answer. And I've had times when I was able to do the entire lesson within only a few hours. So, what I've been doing this week so far is reading the Bible in a Year reading and The Bible Recap podcast. That is a predictable 20-30 minutes. And instead of doing that at lunch, I've been doing the Holy Week & Easter devotional. Which leaves The Chosen Bible study for the evenings. 3 spiritual meals a day is working out nicely...hehehe
I'm also feeling less drained in the middle of the day lately. I am getting a little more sleep on average than I was prior to this change. And it seems to be helping. Also, I feel less stressed to be getting ready when I wake up. It feels more relaxing when I open my eyes because I have more time before work begins. I'll keep with this change for as long as it is effective and see how it goes. If I've learned anything about my routine these last few years, changing things around every few months makes a positive impact. When I start to settle into something, it's effectiveness wears off and I need to change. So, by the summer, I'll likely be changing things up again...LOL
09:00am
God may not always spare us from earthly consequences, but He does go through those consequences with us. There is comfort in that thought.
John 16:33 ~ I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!
On another note, a happy accident led to me getting different bread for my morning toast this week. It's still Dave's Killer Bread. But it isn't my usual small and thinly sliced loaf. And it isn't the bagels. Both where out of stock this week. So, I went with the larger size loaf of the 21 whole grains and seeds. I like the size and slice thickness better so far. I'm happy with this change...hehehe
11:30am
Once again, it is a beautiful day here. It's one of the reasons I love living in Florida...hehehe We could use some rain, though. Rainy season is still a few months away. I prayed for rain yesterday. When I woke this morning, I thought I heard the rain gutters flowing with water. Alas, it was actually a magnetic hard drive twitching that sounded like water dripping...LOL
Speaking of that hard drive, it's the one I use to backup my MacBook. Lately, those backups fail. They only succeed when I keep the MacBook from locking. I've been starting the backup while I'm actively using the computer so the thing won't auto lock. I was on it for a while last night and thought it would be a good time to back it up. It was only at about 25% when I went to bed. When I got up this morning, it had failed again...LOL I either need to give up on it or do some research into how to fix it. I only do the backups as a just in case measure.
All of the important stuff I have is already successfully backed up in my various cloud storages. The reason I want to use the Apple Time Machine backup is to make it quicker to restore the system. But I really don't mind restoring a MacBook from scratch if I ever needed to. Clean-slate installs of computers are actually a good thing for me anyway. And like I said, all of the important files I have are already backed up in the cloud at Apple and Google.
Ooh! That reminds me...I need to run a backup of photos from my phone to Google...LOL The Apple backup is automatic. But the Google one isn't...hehehe I need to fix that one too...LOL The file backups from my MacBook are working fine with Google. But the photo backup from my phone isn't...hehehe
12:00pm
There is an important distinction between being repentant because one is caught versus because one feels remorse for causing disappointment. When I sin and repent, I want to come from a place of remorse that I caused God or others pain. I don't want to come from a place where I'm sorry I was caught in a sin.
01:10pm
Oddly, the last 2 timestamps are related...LOL As I was thinking about those backups, I went into my Google Drive account to confirm my MacBook backups are going there. Yes, they are...hehehe But I perused through some of my old files from the before times to see what was under the cobwebs of the past...LOL I came across some files that I was still sharing with someone from my past. I didn't feel I needed to be actively sharing those files anymore and removed their access. The share was so they could download the files. That was over 3 years ago..LOL But then I got to thinking about my life prior to my renaissance and spiritual rebirth that began just before that file share was created. I repented of the sins of that season of my journey back then. Today, I was reminded of the remorse I felt at the time for the pain I had caused God and others. That triggered the thought I had at noon.
Today's spiritual breakfast (Bible in a Year) and lunch (Holy Week & Easter devotional) have been inspirational. This morning's led to a prayer I sent to my deer friend. This afternoon's is a comfort for what is going on in the world today. I love when these times in the Word are directly applicable to what is going in my life in the moment. It is reassurance that God is always with us and that His timing is nothing short of perfect (complete).
God is good ❤️
04:15pm
Work has been going well this week. Is this the calm before the storm?..HAHAHA j/k Nah, I think all of the work we've been doing to prepare for what is about to come is paying off. The QMS stuff was the biggest unknown for us. I had confidence in it all working. Today, I ran the first tests of the production version at the new company. My tests were successful. I have high hopes that the UAT process will go smoothly later this week.
07:25pm
I'm taking a quick break from tonight's Bible study. A small migraine hit me and I decided to take some medication for it because I want to be able to concentrate on the study. As it settles down, I am popping in here real quick...hehehe
This was one of those days when I wasn't sure if I'd have a photo for the day. But on my last walk of the day, I found plenty of things I wanted to capture. So, I'll have a decision to make later on after all...LOL Similar to the introduction for this season's study book, God's provisions came pouring in through my lack...HAHAHA
I didn't observe Taco Tuesday 😭 I didn't have some of the needed ingredients for them this week. Funny thing is those items were on my grocery list. But I thought they were for something else I decided not to make this week. So, I didn't pick those things up this time. When I got home from the grocery Sunday, I realized those things were for multiple meals, including my tacos...LOL But that's okay. It happens...hehehe I'm unlikely doing tacos next week as well. My parents will arrive that night. I'm not sure if we're all getting together Tuesday night or not. So, I'm not planning to make anything and will eat out regardless.
I've seen multiple posts on Twitter today that talked about people not being able to maintain online friendships longer than a few months. Those I heard this from are challenging that notion. I chimed in on one of them in agreement that I've been able to maintain friendships with multiple people I've met online years ago. I still have a few of them that remain online only. But there are multiple people I've also met in person that I still talk to often. And in 2 cases, we talk everyday. I wonder if the original posts were just trying to stir things up...hehehe Some posts are meant for engagement only and not really rooted in reality. But I can also imagine that there are some people out there who haven't yet found a stable connection with friends online. I feel Blessed in that regard ❤️
My struggle with friendships is that all of my current friends are remote...meaning, I rarely see them in person. I still don't have any friends in my local area...hehehe
08:25pm
I'm glad I took that medication. It subdued the small migraine I was experiencing. It isn't completely gone. But the impact has lessened. I just realized a small cold front is moving in. That might be the cause. As I was thinking about what might have flared it up, I recalled that a cold front was forecast to be coming soon. I just checked and, yep, here it comes...hehehe
I was able to finish tonight's session of the Bible study. This one is taking me deeper again. I love that.
10:30pm
My head is feeling much better now...hehehe
Today's photo was similar to yesterday's...LOL I found another painted rock. This time, it said JESUS on it. I haven't a clue who is placing these around the pond. But I like them. I hope no one complains. I wonder if I'm the only one who has noticed them? I walk around so often...LOL I noticed this one today on the final lap of the day. They are hard to spot since they are so small. My photos make them look larger. They are small enough to fit in a pocket with lots of room to spare...hehehe Will I spy another tomorrow? I hope so!
Today's photo 📸
You can find this photo in the photo section too.
Bible
Holy Week
📖 Today's reading in the Bible section.
Bible in a Year
📖 Today's reading in the Bible section.