Well let’s just say I didn’t get to bed right away after I posted my journal entry for yesterday. 🙃
In fact, I didn’t get to bed until after 2:30, I think it was. 😅
I got on a roll reading some old Facebook communications from way back in July of 2020, and I just…. kept reading and reading.
And not sleeping 😅
Eventually, I managed to get myself to close my eyes for the night, gratefully. I could have gone on and on.
I like having important communications saved in some electronic form, voice recorded or written, whatever. It’s nice to be able to go back through the important stuff, whatever it might pertain to.
Think I woke up somewhere around 7:40 for the last time, tired, and feeling way behind on the day.
I was also feeling really… weak.
Not necessarily in a bad way, just recognizing my utter dependence on God if I’m going to avoid some pitfalls that can be really destructive for me.
I know I can’t do it without Him. I also know that I want to give everything I have. Whatever comes… glory to God.
But oh how I felt the poignancy of my concern and how… almost naked… almost helpless, even with a capacity for tremendous effort.
It was quite the experience for me, and I’m very grateful for it. The intensity of my expression of my thoughts and feelings to God was much more akin to what I want my conversations with Him to be like, generally.
Texted Cory about what was going on inside me.
Chatted with the Big Guy very personally–again, so much more like how I want it to always be.
Spent pretty much the entire day working and widening and cleaning the dirt out of third septic trench. Lots and lots of work.
I didn’t ready breakfast or lunch: I just worked and worked, shoveling and shoveling.
Chatted with a neighbor for a bit about house and then business stuff. He’s a business guy and always poking around, mulling business ideas around in his head, and he knew I’ve started businesses and wanted to ask what my intentions were in South Dakota, if long term or what, sort of scoping out business possibilities.
This area is absolutely ripe. There is so much that could be done, business wise, it’s gonna explode soon. It sort of already is…
Anyway, worked on the trench all day. Periodically answered questions online as well.
I think Hans got home around 5:30 or 6, and I showed him what I did today (finished widening and then completely clearing out the last trench, as well as cleaning up some of the leftover muddy residue for the gully washer storm we got last night).
Wonderful rain storm. 😊
Ate some cold cereal (plain mini wheats with mango chunks) for dinner, taking it to go as I headed to Cascade Falls for a pre-temple-trip bath. 🙃
I ended up sitting in the Cascade Falls parking lot for a little while finishing up a question online for a customer, and then, after looking at all the cars in the parking lot, I decided I was going to try my luck going back up to the other little Park where the Springs first come out of the ground.
That Park had had zero cars in it when I passed by it earlier, but it did have one when I went back, an old man who was periodically soaking in one of the pools that were formed around where the springs bubble out of the ground.
He was in one spring area, so I used the other one that was more private, and gave myself a little bath.
All clean for the temple tomorrow. 🥰
Then I set off to try and knock out the first 2/3, or so, of the drive tonight, originally hoping to make it all the way to the last parking area stop before Casper, but realizing it was already going to be later than I wanted it to be by the time I got to even the parking area that I stayed at last time, so I let go of the idea of making it further and just sort of played it by ear, ending up back at the exact same parking area that I was at last time.
It’s 10:36, so I’m better than I was last week, but I’m still over an hour and a half late for bed. 🙃
Oh well.
Gratitude:
- I’m grateful for the sense of urgency that I felt today in my prayers acknowledging my dependence upon God and my hopes for the future.
- I’m grateful for my gratitude power hour. It wasn’t perfect today, but I think it was the best one I’ve done. 🎉
- I’m grateful for my friend Cory’s support. It was a hard day for the first couple two or three hours of the day–really hard day. Hmmm… Hard probably isn’t the word. Just spiritually poignant… feeling sinking in so… profoundly.
- I’m grateful to have been able to make really great progress. I wanted to get the trench finished before I headed out for my little Temple trip, and I was able to, so it was nice to have that as a comfortable blessing.
- I’m grateful to be where I’m at emotionally and spiritually, feeling a powerful drive to be free of my pride and its many manifestations.
Success:
- I turned to God again and again today. 🎉
Improvement:
- I noticed a couple of times when things went a little sideways, that I had some lightning quick negative reactions. Very very mild, gratefully, and what I mean by lightning quick was that the feelings came and were dealt with super super quickly, so in one sense, it’s actually a success, but it’s also true that I don’t even want those negative reactions, even if they only last a split second. I want them out of my heart and soul and mind. But I’m grateful for the progress, and even though there’s room for improvement, it’s a win. 🥳
Thought of the Day:
“Whatever diminishes our relish for spiritual things, whatever we cannot consistently invite the Spirit to attend is not for us…Christ’s way is song—a new song, a lifting song…Christ’s way is light. And light cleaves to light…Christ’s way is beautiful. And everlastingly so. There is no joy in iniquity and, contrary to the world, there is no joy in inequity. We are promised that one day, should we be faithful, we will be equal in heavenly things and even ultimately in earthly things.”
Truman G. Madsen
Loves 💚
Lift the world.
Bring it on.
~ stephen
Lift the World 