2020-10-06 — Dialing In

Man, these bean smoothies are filling!

The one in front of me right now is super good, too. Can of black beans, two bananas, a whole ton of peanut butter, and however much pineapple juice is in a can of pineapple rings. Super good. Super filling. I pretty much never have to save any for later, but these bean ones… they’re a different breed!

So… today has been quite the day. My life has changed so much in the last six months, most notably the last three, and today marked another significant shift. I guess we’re going in three-month stages or something?

I don’t really know how to share what happened today. I said goodbye to a dear friend today. We talked for most of the morning before it was time to say goodbye. I don’t know how long the goodbye will be for, and my heart is sad for the temporary loss. But… at least it’s temporary, and I’ll look forward to when we get to reconnect at some point in the future.

Today’s goodbye was sort of a “take stock” event for me–a time to re-evaluate, re-prioritize, re-commit, re… a lot of things. I’m dialing in. I’m not quite dialed in yet, but I’m dialing in. I’m more grounded right now, more determined, more committed, more focused.

I did the best I’ve done in a long time today with the texting and driving thing, almost perfect. I’m choosing to trust that it’s best, even if my business suffers. It’s the law. I support the law. I’m working to be 100% true to what I believe is right, and obeying the law is one of the things I believe is right (not that I think all laws are right, good, and just… but I take the approach that says, work to change the laws that need to be changed, but until they’re changed, obey them.)

Anyway, so I’m dialing in. Over the course of the next handful of days, I think I’m going to get a new routine fully dialed in, and I’m going rock it.

Bring. It. On.

My faith in God and in my future are being stretched right now, and you know what? I’m… doing really well right now. I’m grateful for that. I’ve had the opportunity to choose faith, choose to trust, choose to let go of outcomes and just live my life as best I can with my only requirement of myself being that I have integrity and give a worthy effort.

Faith in the nature of God, faith in myself, and loving others. Those priorities, like I mentioned yesterday or the day before or whatever… those are key for me right now. And… I’m doing really well right now.

I feel like I’m repeating myself. I’m a little distracted at the moment. 🙃

So… I’m grateful today.

#1. I’m grateful that I’m dialing in, on the path to a new routine, much like the one I had in Utah before I moved to Arkansas. That time was one of my most productive times ever, and I aim to have this time be even more so. I have full confidence that it will.

#2. I’m grateful for smoothies. So good. So good for you. So little to clean up. So… easy to eat! (er… drink!)

#3. I’m grateful that the alternator job I did today turned out well. I was coming back to it, and another car of the same make and model that I replaced the alternator in still had the same problem. Now I have a little more faith that perhaps that one was a bad alternator out of the box. We’ll see. I’m going to go pull it out and, we’ll see if it tests good off the car.

#4. I’m grateful that it’s warming up a bit. It’s actually going to be hot tomorrow–86 degrees. I’m not thrilled about that, but I’m becoming more and more a lover of temperate climates, so I’m not looking forward to the bone-chilling humid cold that Arkansas’ winter will provide. So… if we can delay it a little bit, that’ll be nice. I vote for 4 months of fall, and 6 months of spring. And winter… only if I’m not working outside. 😁

#5. I’m grateful for my dear friend who I said goodbye to today. She’s the best. It’s hard to say goodbye to friends. I’ve done that… so many times. But I have lots of good memories, and that’s a gift.

#6. I’m grateful for this little TENS unit I bought. I think I mentioned it yesterday, but… I really do think it’s helping with some of my physical issues. I think my neck is actually better than it’s been in a while! And my nerve issues in my ulnar nerves haven’t been as bad? Coincidence? I don’t know. But the neck thing. That’s… totally different than it’s been in a long long long time, I think. So… that’s… super cool. Cautious optimism here, but… cool!

#7. I’ve been starting to refresh my memory on the mountain of scriptures that I memorized years ago in Utah. So far, they’re coming back fairly decently. I’m grateful for that. It’s such a blessing, especially now that I’m not texting and driving, to be able to fill my mind with thoughts and things that are meaningful for me.

#8. I’m grateful for my growth in faith and trust in God. I can feel a significant difference in my life at the moment, more peace, more optimism, more… clarity. It’s really nice.

Well, my lovelies. Thanks, as always, for being part of my journey. Go make yourselves a bean smoothie! 😁

Oh, had an opportunity to lift someones world today. I think she was financially struggling and David said she was on the verge of tears as she paid for the service today, so I asked David to go and give her some of the money back. I think she was grateful.

One more thing I’m grateful for. I’m grateful for my tech David. He’s such a good guy. Such a good guy. He’s looking out for the customers, and I appreciate that.

Loves and hugs to all you wonderful people!

Lift the World.

~ stephen