Grateful

The world tells me to do what feels good. It says that it's okay to put me first. It encourages me to do as much as I can because you only live once (YOLO). That sounds pretty good, right?!?

Jesus tells me something completely different. He tells me to do what is right. He says I should seek His Kingdom first, loving God with all my heart and to love others as myself. He encourages me to follow Him because, yes, I do indeed only live once. What would I profit to have gained the world but forfeit my soul!?!

Although I've always known what Jesus said, and for the most part tried to do that all my life with the exception of those few years I was away from the church...it wasn't until this past year, since October, that I've been open to seeking what that actually meant.

The world is very distracting. Yet, when I put Him first, my life really does turn around for the better. I say this from my point of view. To the world, things may not look better...LOL The world will see me denying a want or desire and be like, Why would you do that Greg!? You've earned that! Seize the day, man! Every time I've denied myself, though, a Blessing shows up. I cannot really talk about specifics. But I can confidently say that what I ended up with was far greater than anything I wanted.

And lately, I'm beginning to received Blessings I didn't even ask for...hehehe God didn't really say this...I'm only describing what it feels like...but it's like God is saying, Okay Greg, here is something you asked for. And while I'm at it, I've got this for you too! LOL Yes, I am literally laughing out loud. Not out of disrespect for God. More like laughing in amazement!

Originally, I was suppose to be in California the first week of September. I then moved it to this week. Basically, I thought I'd be in California today...hehehe I was summoned for jury duty for tomorrow and I threw out all hope for traveling this week. Well, as of this past Friday, I was dismissed from this round of duty...LOL I'm clear for at least another two years...LOL

Part of me wishes I would have stuck with my plans. Life doesn't actually give you a glimpse into the future, though. Murphy's Law tells me that if I had kept my plans, I would have had to report to jury duty tomorrow. Since I canceled my plans, my civic duty was naturally canceled as well...LOL Yeah, that's how life works sometimes...hehehe You know what? That's okay ❤️

Cherie and I talked about a few things we might have done this week. One option was Color Me Mine. I may have mentioned before that it was also an option for my trip back in July. I really hope we do get to do that sometime. Doing things like that are simple and fun. Plus you have a keepsake afterward. We get to express ourselves with paint, have great conversations, and leave with memories we'll always cherish.

The more likely option we would have actually done was the Natural History Museum. That's something else I'm really looking forward to doing with her someday. I'm especially looking forward to experiencing the bird exhibit with her. That's one of her loves and to see her enjoying it will make my heart so happy ❤️

Something came up in her personal life that prevented her from being available this week. So, in the end, I'm actually thankful I had to cancel my plans. My July trip was for me and getting to see her was a bonus. But this trip was going to be more about our friendship than anything else I was going to do. That's the case for our November plans for Disneyland as well. Although I'll be doing other things that week, spending time with my deer friend is the point.

Shared experiences are an important part of any healthy relationship. I try to do my best to be available when I can for friends and family. And I also invite them to join me on experiences. These things help form bonds that keep us connected even when we are far apart. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Well, so do shared experiences.

I don't expect anyone to join me or invite me into shared experiences, though. I still apply the expect nothing, but appreciate everything mantra to this part of my life. This leaves room for flexibility when life's circumstances get in the way. It also helps ease the pain of disappointment when things simply cannot work out.

That's actually why I was able to accept that I'm not in California right now. Both Cherie and I had life shift our focus this month. Hers is her story to tell. So I won't go into that here. As for me, I believe God wanted me to rest for a bit this month. And as it turned out, it has been way too hot to enjoy travel this month. I'm normally fond of the heat. This year, nope! Even I'm hot this year! That's really hot...LOL Honestly, though, summer isn't the best time to be doing things. Between the temperatures and storms, traveling this time of year isn't the best idea. And with California, they deal with wild fires due to dryness and the heat.

I finally went to the grocery today...hehehe I picked up enough food for the week. I was surprised at how little I spent this time. I didn't need any side extras like soaps or toilet paper, though. I often need those extra items and that stuff adds up. This time, it was strictly food. And I actually got more than I'll need for the week. So, some of it will carry over into the next.

Once again, I was dancing to the music being played over the store speakers. There was this little girl with her mom who noticed. She was around three or four years old. She smiled and giggled at me and told her mom, He's dancing! The mom looked over at me and I smiled. She probably thought I was a crazy person...LOL I didn't say anything. I just kept on dancing...hehehe

I get all sorts of reactions to my personality. I'm so grateful I've finally started finding self-worth. It has allowed me to simply be me. I like me...hehehe I'm learning to love me now too.

I received a wonderful surprise tonight! Originally Cherie and I weren't going to be able to do our weekly call today. Well, out of the blue, she asked if I'd be available because she was able to find some time to chat. Yay!!! We had talked earlier about how we'd both miss having this weekend's call. I'm so grateful we were able to after all. God is so good! Thank you, Cherie, for our wonderful chat ❤️

I received my copy of The Chosen season one Bible study guide yesterday. It looks like it is going to be a wonderful way to study the parts of the Bible related to the TV show. Cherie and I have been doing our daily devotionals from the same show. But they aren't deep studies. Although, they did inspire deep thoughts...hehehe We are almost finished with book four of that series of devotional books. So, it was time to start something new. Book five isn't out yet. Of course, we don't know yet if there'll be a book five...LOL

It seems only natural to transition over to the Bible study. It is going to be so great diving deeper into the Word itself. This one will take us through the connections between Jesus and the Old Testament. The format for this one isn't daily. This one will be more of a weekly thing. We will independently watch an episode each week, do the lesson in the study guide related to that episode, and then discuss it on our weekend calls.

There are currently four of these study guides to go along with the four seasons currently available. I believe they plan to do them for the future seasons as well. This first one has a total of nine lessons. The first one is an introduction. The other eight align with the eight episodes of season one of The Chosen. As a result, it will take us nine weeks to go through this guide. Assuming all four seasons are the same, we'll be working through these up until about the time season five comes out next year...LOL That sounds perfect, doesn't it?..hehehe

Well, I'd better call it a night. I still have some winding down to do before I take my shower and go to bed. Today was another great day. That makes four great days in a row, I believe. My day was already going swell. But being able to see Cherie truly took this day to a whole other level of great ❤️