Be Still and Know...Then and Now

10-26-2024 - Blog Post  I was trying to post a picture to my Instagram page today and I found out very quickly that there is a significant limit to the number of words one can post, about 400 words or 2,200 characters. I tend to be a bit on the verbose sides so 400 words today wasn’t going to cut it.  I tried to edit my post down, but found the process very unsatisfactory. Then I re-remembered that I did in fact have an ancient blog and that I still had access to it. Now the other reality is that blogging has probably gone the way of the dodo bird....but since I have recently began to navigate things like Medicare and long term care insurance I figured that revisiting my blog kind of fit the definition for the day. I have also been thinking a lot about leaving something behind for my children and my grandchildren. I have kept a journal on and off since about 1972, so recording my thoughts, life experiences and general happenings is something that comes naturally...

So what is the deal with weighing first thing in the morning? What does time of day have to do with how much my body weighs? I get that my tummy is empty, but really what's the dif... Anywhoo, over the course of the last few months I have been kicking myself for not having kept a better record of my progress. Well I did a bit of back tracking this morning and was VERY pleasantly suprised. I downloaded a fitness app to my old phone about a year ago. Well apparently when I set it up I had to enter all my stats into it to begin with. Well fast forward 13 months, factor in that I can't remember half of what I did last week let alone  13 months ago, which brings me to this morning. My new phone came with a fitness app already installed, so I had been using that one out of convenience. I had downloaded the other app, it has a great function for breaking down the calories of recipes. I have a point...really... I was beginning to notice that my clothing was not fitting, but sinc...

From my Joyce Meyer Devo this morning. "If you are born again, then Jesus is dwelling in you through the power of the Holy Spirit. But is God comfortable in you, and does He feel at home there within you? It took me a long time to understand that God lives in me along with all the other stuff that’s going on in my inner life. Because many Christians are not willing to submit to the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit, they are not full of peace. Their inner lives are constantly in turmoil. If we want to be a comfortable home for the Lord, let’s learn to dwell in peace and joy, trusting Him to take care of us." This really impacted me this morning. I think, after recovering from the whirl of activity, house cleaning, menu planning surrounding our recent dinner guest, this connected with me in a big way. The bottom line all the hard work we did was to ensure that our guest was comfortable in our home. The notion that my inner junk make my temple a place of turmoil, and tha...

From my devo this morning, Joyce Meyer was right on target. "Feelings are fickle; they change frequently and without notification. Since feelings are unreliable, we must not direct our lives according to how we feel. You can be aware of your feelings and acknowledge their legitimacy without necessarily acting on them. God has given us wisdom, and we should walk in it, not our emotions." In her opening paragraph she writes: "We all have emotions, but we must learn to manage them. Emotions can be positive or negative. They can make us feel wonderful or awful. They are a central part of being human, and that is fine. Unfortunately, most people do what they feel like doing, say what they feel like saying, buy what they feel like buying, and eat what they feel like eating. And that is not fine, because feelings are not wisdom." I can totally identify with this. Over the course of the last several months I have been really trying to focus on making better choices. In ...

After my whirlwind of activities yesterday it is good to have a quiet moment. There is a gentle drizzle outside so I am confined to the sofa. The Hubs has gone to his small group and the Girlchild is still sleeping so my house is quite. A quiet house is a good thing! God is good and my efforts to make good choices during campmeeting were  balanced. I fixed a big salad from home most  nights and then allowed myself one choice (ok maybe one and a half choices) from the dessert table. It was a workable solution. I did give myself one night to visit the covered dish table and again God is so good. He prompted someone to make everything I was searching for. Macaroni & Cheese, hashbrown casserole, deviled eggs, butter beans, broccoli salad and a fried chicken wing. I did also heap on a big serving of a really good greek salad, so a good choice was provided as well. Y'all is was soooo good! Even my devo this morning was about making one good choice at a time. Repairing decad...

Campmeeting starts today. My family and me have been participating in campmeeting for 20 years. Things have changed so much, I am not sure all of it is for the good. But since I am not in charge, nor do I want to be, I forge ahead and try to embrace the different without too much grumbling. This year one of my differences will be a BIG test for me. The food. I am going to strive for balance,  as well as maintaining my commitment to repairing my temple. Do I think I can go the whole week without  a portion of fried chicken, banana pudding, Ima Jean's pound cake with Carmel frosting and all the other wonderful offerings that will show up on the table? Probably not. However I am making a plan, what I will take, making a few salads and basically trying not to completely go off the rails for the next five days. I wish I had taken note of exactly when I began, but it has been a gradual process.  Over the course of time, eliminating certain foods and moving towards real f...