Gratitude, Grace, And...
9:45am
I slept well last night. The white noise was super low. I think I'm ready for no white noise tonight. I don't recall exactly when I started using white noise. But it was around 2017 I believe. I wonder if I'll still want it when I travel? I'll see with my upcoming trip to Indiana the first weekend of October.
Today's Humpty Dumpty poem was fun to make. I'm really enjoying those. We've been doing them for months now.
I recently added chipotle chili pepper powder to one of the ways I prepare my breakfast toast. I love the change and the kick!
12:00pm
A lot was going on in my life a year ago per my journal. I was running a lot. I was just beginning to spend time with a friend named Autumn, a hurricane was on its way, and my parents were about to visit. Not to mention how work was and some trouble I had with understanding some devotionals we were doing. I remember it all quite well. And I'm glad I journaled it. I keep bringing up how grateful I am to be journaling...LOL
Something I was struggling with a year ago was handwriting. At that point, it had only been 6 months. I would get hand cramps and would hold back on my devotional notes simply because of the struggles with writing by hand. Up to that point, it was still new. Because of my tremor, I gave up most handwriting altogether. The exceptions were my signature and the occasional note while on a phone call. I mostly typed for years. It was so much easier on my hands. Plus I didn't used to like seeing my mistakes and revisions in handwritten form. Typing allowed me to only see the final results.
This journey has brought me so far in a year. Now, I mostly hand write things and I love seeing the process in all of its messy states. I start most things in handwritten notes now and revise as needed after converting to text. This includes the devotionals. I don't hold back, even in my original handwritten notes. It still hurts sometimes. But things are much better now. My heart is happy for having this workflow and how it is evolving ❤️
12:40pm
I picked up my Wednesday sushi earlier. I got enough for lunch and dinner. All they had ready was the $5 sushi. So no special rolls this time.
There is a food truck coming tonight. I'm not sure I'll get anything from it, though. The food looks bland. I wish they'd have one with Thai food. Or at least tacos...LOL I may still get something in support of a local business and the efforts of the complex to invite food trucks in general.
3:10pm
I fell asleep last night talking to God about all of the people and things I am most grateful for. It was an extension of my prayer walk from earlier in the evening. I found myself continuing that prayer of gratitude as I began to wake this morning. I'm sure I had dreams as I slept. But it would seem my conscience was focused on how grateful I am. As a result, I woke up with a happy heart and zero anxiety.
4:10pm
I got a call from Stephanie a few minutes ago. She and Malachi were at the dentist. Apparently they didn't have Malachi's copy of the insurance card. I sent a photo of it and it sounds like all is well now. I thought they had a copy. Perhaps not. I may have sent a copy before. Everything is mostly electronic now. I happened to have a physical card for dental insurance. So perhaps I never gave it to them...LOL But a picture works just as well. The carrier and numbers are all they need.
10:20pm
I'm learning about patience and grace more and more. That goes for both others and myself. As I've learned about God's patience and grace for all of us, I've realized how important it is to extend grace to others and be patient with them. We are all dealing with things. They say be kind because we don't know what others are going through. Well, that first takes patience and grace. And the same goes for myself. In order for me to be kind to myself, I need to extend grace and be patient with myself. As I apply this to others, I'm learning how to apply it to myself. But to get to this point, I had to pay attention to God's patience and grace. This hasn't been easy. And it isn't even simple. I used to say things like this were simple but not easy. I'm beginning to feel they aren't so simple after all. Life is very complex. That's why I need God's help. And in the process, I need to be gracious and patient with myself and others.
10:45pm
About an hour after I heard from Stephanie, I heard from the dentist office. Something wasn't right about the insurance. The dentist office wanted my social security number. Uuuummm...nope. I'm not going to give that over the phone to someone I can't even verify they are who they say they are...LOL I looked up my insurance and the card has a slightly different number than what I found on the website. So I sent that info to Stephanie to give to the dental place. I think they wanted my social security number so it would be easier to match me up at the insurance company. But my subscriber number and group number exist so I don't need to be giving out my social security number to a stranger...LOL This is the first time I've ever been asked for that for something like this. That's a little suspect in 2025...
I didn't get anything from the food truck...