Another rough night’s sleep last night. I’m not sure why. I wasn’t in any weird random place. I just tossed and turned and woke up randomly all the time and just… Didn’t sleep well. 🙃
Fortunately, I had a fairly successful morning routine, as well as a really good morning gospel study, so that was lovely. 😊
I was really grateful for the little love note from God yesterday about being prepared for something that’s going to be happening relatively near in the future. That little message got me thinking and pondering in ways that I either haven’t ever pondered or thought or haven’t in a very long time.
🙏
My chatting with the Big Guy today was especially positively impacted by that. 🥰
Started answering a handful of questions online, knowing that I need to answer more questions than I have in order to not be downgraded tomorrow. Going to need to answer a whole bunch of questions tomorrow. Hopefully it’s a good day for that.
But if not, and if I get downgraded, I’m not going to worry about it at all. God’s told me that he’ll have my needs covered as long as I give a worthy effort, and that’s what I do. 😊
I spent a good little while working outside to try and get the septic tank pit bottom leveled out. There was a fair bit left to excavate to get everything down to the same level, and I didn’t get it all the way down. The nerves in both my feet started firing out of the blue, fairly painful at times, so I just hung it up mostly for the day.
I probably only spent three or four hours out there today working on stuff. 😕
But that’s okay. I didn’t want to overdo it, and hurt myself more.
Spent a good little while again working on the organization of my sacred experiences, including recording a fair number of them.
I’m excited to have sort of rediscovered many of them. 😊
Breakfast was playing Mini wheats with Frozen tropical fruit on top. Lunch was… A piece of chicken and some potato salad, both of which we’re getting to the point where I figured they probably needed to be eaten, so they didn’t go bad.
Organized one of the food cupboards because I’ve been putting so much for my own stuff in there, and I’m taller than heather, so I put all my stuff in the back and put the other stuff closer to the front.
When Hans got back, I helped him a little bit with the septic stuff. I didn’t do any physical labor really, but I did some stuff with the backhoe, helped him do some measuring, and spent some time reading through the installation instructions for the tank.
Oh, earlier in the day, I watered Heather’s apple trees and put the horses in the pasture and then took them back out later.
After that, it was just chatting with Heather and hans, eating dinner, listening to a conference talk with Heather and Hunt’s from the October 2024 conference.
Really good stuff. Good reminders of areas where I’m weak that end up causing stress for me. Good stuff to work on. 😊
Speaking of which, I don’t remember if I mentioned it yesterday or the day before. But either Monday night or Tuesday during the day sometime, I was thinking about areas where I’m needing some fairly significant improvement in my life, personal areas and whatnot, and I was really excited. It wasn’t just a cognitive understanding of Truth, the principal being that when my eyes are open to areas that I’m falling short it can be exciting because it means that as good as things are right now, when I’ve been able to grow and progress in that area where I’m weak, it will be that much better… So it wasn’t just the cognitive recognition of the truth: I actually got to live it out in reality. I was recognizing an area where there was room for improvement, and I was super excited. I was excited because being able to make progress there would mean that there could be that much more light and peace and joy and whatnot. But I was actually excited. 😊
How wonderful it is to be able to look at an area where I’m weak compared to what I hope to be and to actually find joy and happiness and excitement in that very weakness because of the potential that I see that I can enjoy as I learn, grow, and overcome.
So cool 🥰
I don’t know if that was a temporary window that will close but that I can remember what it was like to see through, or if it’s a permanent window that I can see through and look at but I’m not yet ready to live in, or if it’s a door that I can walk through and actually live in and enjoy. If I had to guess, I would bet that I’m probably at the beginning stages, because that’s what life is usually like for me. Usually, God opens the blinds a little bit, so to speak, and I get to look out a window at a vista that I haven’t seen before. Then the blinds close, and I can’t see out the window anymore, but I can remember what I saw. And as I work and strive to grow, eventually the blinds will open again, and I’ll be able to see more and more, and as I keep working, eventually, a door will open, and I get to walk into the world that before I could only see.
Don’t know if that’s a great analogy, but that’s kind of what it’s like for me, generally.
But it was a super cool experience to have. 😊
I’ve also been doing my 5x5s, trying to come at least. Living in my van, there’s much less to do, so it’s more like 2x5s or 3x5s 🙃, but there’s already a positive impact from the effort, and I’m grateful.
Speaking of grateful, I had a very successful Gratitude Power Hour today. 🥳
Another thing I don’t remember if I mentioned was how much it’s been impressed upon my mind and heart lately that one of the most effective things that I can do to prepare to grow quicker than I have is to create everything spiritually in my mind, so to speak, before the experiences come in reality.
Things that I’m struggling with. Thought patterns, behavior patterns, etc. If certain circumstances tend to bring out certain reactions, then I can practice those in my mind. I can walk myself through those circumstances and situations and practice how I want to deal with those. I feel like that’s going to be much more effective at preparing to face those experiences and to handle them the way that I want to handle them than just trying to learn good principles and then hope to remember to apply them in the moment.
So that’s one thing that I’m going to be working into my daily routine fairly significantly is pondering and walking myself through the circumstances and situations and events and whatnot that tend to bring out the less effective qualities of my nature.
Lots of pondering on the horizon. 🙃
Good day. 😊
Gratitude:
- I’m grateful that I was able to make at least some progress in helping with the septic system today.
- I’m grateful that I was able to stop myself working, even though I often feel self-conscious and lazy if I’m not out working hard.
- I’m grateful I’ve been able to be of service today in multiple different ways.
- I’m grateful that the nerve pain in my feet, at least the sharper pains didn’t last all that long comparatively.
- I’m grateful to have had a successful gratitude Power Hour. 😊
Success:
- When I was tempted to start going down my dark, negative thinking brain rut, I think because of the physical pain issues, I was move past those thoughts most of the time and let them go. 🥳
Improvement:
- I want to follow the principles in the talk that we listen to tonight and slow down. It’s so easy for me to get caught up, like Martha, comfort about with much serving, but to lose sight of what’s most important. I’m really good at working hard to try and bless other people’s lives, often times , if not most times, having that be hard physical labor. But I can sit back and let the Lord take the reins much more. I don’t mean that I won’t be working hard: I just mean that it’ll look a little different.
Thought of the Day:
“Being always in motion may be adding to the commotion in our lives and robbing us of the peace we seek.”
~ Bishop L. Todd Budge
Love to all 🥰
Lift the world.
Bring it on.
~ stephen
Lift the World 