The Story Continues...
I'm back home now. I got in last night. I really like this two day drive I do now for some of my Indiana visits. I love the hotel thing. I enjoy the drive. And splitting it up into two days is much safer than driving straight through in one day as a solo driver. I stay in the Drury Inn's now. They remind my of Ayres in California. It's always peaceful and everyone is friendly; including the other guests. They have locations at Disney World and Universal here in Florida. So I may stay at those when I need to stay nearby the theme parks in the future. Over all, the drives up and back down were both pleasant. And the visit with family was amazing. I loved spending extra time with Malachi. And it was good to see how well mom is doing. She's going to be okay.
I was away a lot in August. My routine is basically all out the door. It's like starting fresh today. Well, sorta. There are things I'm still doing from before my travels. But so many things will be changing now...for the better, I think. One thing I believe will be changing is my Bible and prayer time and focus. For example, I think I'm dropping my Bible in a Year plan for the remainder of the year. I was not able to stay on track in August. And that's okay. I don't think catching up is a good idea. I don't want it to become a checkmark on a task list. Playing catch up could feel like that, I'm afraid. So, I'm going to explore other opportunities for Bible reading for the remainder of the year. Also, I did some prayer journaling last week. I'd like to explore that a bit more in the coming weeks. I'm really excited for what God is doing in these two areas of my relationship with Him.
I had a few moments over the weekend when I stepped out of my comfort zone and simply did what I wanted to do in the moment. In one instance, I got up and started to pace a little. I felt like taking a walk. I was with my brother's family at their campsite. I was just about to take a walk when my brother got up and asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. I said, yes please! Everyone else overheard this and a few others joined us. Along with my brother and I, Malachi, my nephew, my niece, and my dad all went for a walk. It was wonderful. It was especially great to see Malachi walk so far. When we got back to the campsite, my brother asked if I wanted to keep going. Once again, yes please! Everyone else stayed at the campsite. My brother and I walked a total of 4 miles that evening. I'm glad I got up and that my brother recognized how unsettled I was in the moment. Had I not done what I wanted in that moment, those next moments would not have happened...including Malachi walking quite a ways.
The other moment I simply did what I wanted was at my grandmother's the next day. We were all sitting at her kitchen table. I wanted to be outside, so that's what I did. I went out to the back porch in ear shot of the conversation. I enjoyed being outside. I started to record a video of the ambience outside and realized I was capturing grandma's voice too. I'll have that the rest of my life. Later, grandma decided she wanted to join me and wanted to take a selfie with me. Mom, dad, and Malachi eventually joined us outside too. There was so much to love about the moments that followed my simply doing what I wanted in the moment.
Those things I wanted to do probably seem insignificant and simple. But I'm used to doing what everyone else wants to do when I'm in a group. I could have spoken up and said something too. But I just wanted to get up and move without feeling like I was getting permission. That's what I used to feel like all the time. I don't know if others feel like that. It isn't a great feeling. But it turned out to be a good thing I just did what I wanted. Others followed and wonderful memories were made. I want simple things in life. So doing what I want doesn't look like much. But what I feel inside means a great deal to me. And it made my heart happy when the impact was positive for others too. I have other things I want to do that are a bit more significant, though. So I'm prayerfully considering some things and looking for discernment. No matter what, I want to be doing God's will over my own.
I went to the grocery last night to get some basics to get me to the weekend. But I'll not be doing any major cooking the next few days. I'm changing up how I'm doing the devotionals so I can be sure to have those complete by Sunday too. I didn't do them on the travel days earlier this week. Since we only do 5 now, that makes it easier to be flexible on weeks like this. I'm so glad to be back to doing those this week. I'm continuing my journal this week too. I didn't completely break from that last week. But I did pause my journal about our August vacation. I'm hoping to jump back in on that this week. We are already deep into plans for our November vacation. I'm so excited for all of these things. This week feels like a great week to reflect and make some small changes. All the while keeping some important things. I did a lot of praying on the drive up and back down. I didn't listen to music or audio books this time. It was all about conversations with God and deep thoughts about life. All good and amazing conversations with the Author of my story. I love what He's doing and where His Story is taking me.
I was able to get in a walk this evening. It had been a while. I was able to have a few lovely conversations with some neighbors as well. I'm not really sure how far I walked. I lost track. It's still a bit too hot to enjoy a quick paced walk. So I walked at a slow pace. I think I prefer the slow pace anyway. I did some more praying. I'm glad I walk after doing the devotional. The one I did today (The Chosen, Book 5, Day 31) needed some prayer. That happens sometimes. I didn't struggle with it. I just had some things to pray about and reflect on. I miss doing those in the morning. I stay up and get up too late for that. A year ago, I attempted to work from 9a-6p. Maybe I should try that again? My mind operates in 3 time zones. I live in eastern, my company is in central, and Cherie is in pacific. So I'm always adjusting times in my head; which works well considering our clients and call centers operate in all US time zones. I also have a friend, Alex, in the UK I chat with. He's 5 hours ahead most of the year. Their daylight savings and standard times change on different days than we do here. Time zone math is something I've dealt with since around 1999. So I'm used to this.
I'm going to try to work in some creativity time in the evenings. I'd like to focus more on my art and writing. I have so many things I've been stuck on simply because I haven't been focused. I'd like to work on that. No pressure, though. I've done some sketching and writing at random and realize I've been stuck because I've been thinking about it all as projects. But those random sketches and writings just flowed. They make my heart happy. I was able to focus in those moments because they weren't a project. But all of it can be part of a project later. Kind of like Humpty Dumpty Day. Each week we are inspired. Eventually, those can be compiled into a project. No pressure as to when. I have poetry like that too. Tonight, I may work on a sketch after I post this. No project in mind. Just creativity.
Well, that's all for today. I'm glad to be back home. My next trip to Indiana should be later this month or early October. But for now, the story continues...right here in Florida.