Storing Goodness and Managing Changes

The trash valet did not pick up my trash last night...hehehe Pickup nights are Sunday through Thursday. Sometimes they miss due to weather. Last night, there were no weather events...LOL When I saw the trash bag in my bin this morning, I grabbed it and walked it across the entire complex over to where the trash compactor is. As I was on my way, it was tempting to be a little upset. After all, I am required to pay for this service that I did not receive. Also, the valet company is always complaining about the tenants and we get emails weekly about it. I quickly dismissed my personal feelings, though. I realize that my life could come to an end today. Did it really matter that my trash wasn't picked up last night? Not one bit! Also, it was a great reminder of how God has healed my body. At the beginning of 2023, I wasn't physically capable of carrying a bag of trash that far. It's true! It was a simple reminder of how God has healed. Yet, it still makes a huge impact on my heart.

Today's The Chosen devotional helped put this into perspective. I'm grateful I did today's lesson before encountering the lack of service from the trash valet...hehehe The parable mentioned today was the one with the farmer who had an abundant crop. He stored it all up and declared he would eat, drink, and be merry on the wealth he had amassed. Then God called him a fool and told him his life would be demanded of him that very night. So, who was going to enjoy or inherit this abundant crop after all?!?

I feel as though this lesson applies to more than just possessions. I can apply this same lesson to all circumstances. Including the trivial trash fail from last night...LOL You see, letting go of the simple means my heart remains soft. Those simple things can add up over time. If I allow my heart to be hardened by the simple issues of life, I'll amass an abundance of resentment that will eventually cause me to become angry over the bigger picture stuff. But what good would that be if my life was demanded of me today and my heart wasn't prepared for His Kingdom?

Of course, the parable itself was about being rich in God instead of earthly possessions. That doesn't escape me. That was indeed the context of the passage. However, for someone who has literally had to restart his life several times, I must look for other ways to apply such a lesson. Life itself taught me that my possessions are meaningless in the big picture. I've lost everything multiple times. But I also feel that all of the lessons of the Bible can be applied to almost any circumstance anyway. That's one of the many fascinating aspects of the Bible being the living Word of God. I believe it literally applies to everything in my life. Today's lesson reminded me to store up goodness in my heart. That goodness is one of the many things that will make me rich in God.

Every work day, I check a system called Service Now to see if there are any requests I should be working on immediately for people who are having issues or requests with the systems I'm responsible for. Today, a few tickets came through. One of them looked pretty simple. Shortly after I claimed the ticket for my pile of tasks, one of my teammates reached out to me to ask some questions about the same system. As it turned out, they were working on the request already...LOL

As he was asking me questions, I mentioned I was going to be working on it. But I was happy to help him with his questions. After some speculation, I mentioned we should just get the end user on the phone to get a clearer understanding of what they needed done. That was a good idea! Within a few minutes of conversation, it was clear what was needed. My teammate might have been spinning his wheels on this for a while had he not reached out. It was by accident that he even looked into it in the first place. It was my responsibility anyway. I just had no idea he even had it on his radar...LOL I'm glad we were able to get it taken care of quickly and that his time wasn't wasted...hehehe

So, today was my first attempt at doing a full one mile morning prayer walk on a work day. It went really well. I didn't feel rushed. And I was finished well before I planned to begin working today. I already loved doing a third of a mile most days. Doing a full mile really feels great. Plus it means I'll get in additional walking everyday. What I was doing before was do the one lap in the morning. Then I'd walk two laps at lunch to get in a total of a full mile by mid-day. I often walk two more miles after dinner. Now, I can walk one mile before work, I have plenty of time at lunch to do a full mile as well, and I can still walk two miles after dinner. It's a great time of reflection and prayer.

Cherie and I are trying something new for our friendship. This week, we are writing a short story in tandem. I kicked it off yesterday by starting the story. I finished that first session with a sentence she could use to start her session. To which, she concluded with a sentence for me to begin my next session today. We'll go back and forth like this until the end of the week. Once the week is over, we'll have a short story that evolves through tandem storytelling. Neither of us know what we'll have in the end. It's so much fun!

Depending on how it goes and how we feel about it afterward, perhaps we'll do this again sometime. Maybe a collaborative short story book is being born!? Tandem stories by Cherie and Greg?..hehehe Or am I dreaming?!.LOL We shall see. That isn't the point. The idea of a book only came after I wrote the title and byline of this story. Seeing it begin sparked something. The original idea came because we had planned months ago to spend time together this week. As those plans got redirected, this idea was born. It was something I wanted to do for her. When she gladly accepted, it became something we were doing for us.

I think I'd like to invite Malachi and Dan to join me on a similar adventure sometime. I know Dan loves to write too. I'm not so sure about Malachi, though. For Malachi, it would be a father-son bonding experience. With Cherie and Dan, it's a friendship bonding experience. This is one of those things related to what I was talking about yesterday. Shared experiences can help the heart grow fonder just as much as, if not more than, absence can.

I really enjoyed doing a full mile prayer walk at lunch today...hehehe This time, it came with a bonus prayer...LOL There was what appeared to be a search and rescue helicopter zigzagging across the state park next to my apartment complex. I said a little prayer for their efforts, their safety, and the safe rescue of whomever they were looking for. I sent Dan the videos, as he is a retired firefighter. He speculated it might have been a training exercise if they weren't actually looking for someone. That made more sense because they were zipping around for about five minutes. Then I think they left. I made the comment that we have some strange birds here in Florida...LOL

The ordeal made me a little anxious though. It was a high powered and fast helicopter. What they were doing looked extremely dangerous. Plus they were flying really low. The few videos I captured didn't show just how low they were. They went much lower than what I captured. I was anxious for them. Kind of like watching a stunt show or one of those airshows where they do tricks that look dangerous. But I can only imagine the skills of that pilot. Because they were whipping around like a pro! I applaud them!..hehehe

I decided to wear shorts this time. I've been wearing pants most of the summer; even for my walks. I'm starting to think that, although I think I'm not hot, I'm probably hotter than I feel. Feeling cool and being cool are different things entirely. Heat exhaustion can play tricks on you. I'm wondering if that is why I felt so weird a little bit ago. I've been feeling great for about five days now. Before that, I had about six days of physical exhaustion. A lot of the country, including here, went through a heatwave. It wasn't so bad here. But about the time that broke, I started to feel better.

I started the day off in pants as usual. I changed into shorts for my lunch walk. But I've kept the shorts on for now. This is the first year I haven't worn shorts very much for the summer. Summer isn't quite over yet. Even when the September equinox hits this weekend, the temperatures here in Florida will still be quite warm. I'll try to integrate shorts back into my routine for the remainder of the Florida summer and see how it goes.

I'm also changing up my diet a little this week. To be clear, by diet, I simply mean how and what I eat in general. I'm not referring to a specifically organized diet. Although named diets are a good starting point for most people, I've settled in the types of foods my body can work with. But I digress...hehehe

Along with the epiphany about my body temperature regulation, I began to notice I'm not eating enough. Over the course of this past week, I ate far more than I have in quite some time. My body was craving like never before...LOL I didn't really gain any weight in the process. What I did was ate more during the few meals I ate. For this week, I've decided to add breakfast back into my routine. I've had breakfast on occasion since January 2023. But I pretty much skipped it until today. Today, I made an omelette. It was more like brunch than breakfast...but it was nice to have...hehehe

I do eat toast often. But that is more of a primer than it is a meal but also why my omelette was more of a brunch...hehehe When I began my health journey, I cut out breakfast and waited until lunchtime to eat my first meal. I would then cut myself off before 7pm. That helped with weight loss and to retrain my body for the new foods I changed to over time. Well, I realized I never stopped this weight loss and body training routine...LOL Intermittent fasting isn't something one is suppose to do forever...LOL Oops! When I get settled into a routine I love and that works, I sometimes go on autopilot...hehehe

Something else I'm going back to is no alcohol. I've gone back and forth on this one all year. After not having it at all for two months at the end of Spring through mid-summer, I believe I mentioned I was adding it back into my diet. I felt my body was finished clearing out the toxins the alcohol was feeding. Well, I think that period of time also caused me to lose interest in it. For the past month or so, I've been drinking a little and feel it is just not my thing anymore. I do like beer and cocktails. But that's only for the taste. The alcohol part has become meh for me. So back to mocktails and zero alcohol beer...LOL Or just water and tea...LOL

Ooh! That reminds me! It's apple cider season!!! Well, technically I think that starts next week for me...bbbuuuttt...I saw some at the grocery yesterday and just had to get it...LOL This being the last week of summer, I think I'll give myself a pass...hehehe Some think of pumpkin spice when they think Autumn. I think of apple cider...yum! The one I got was made from Honeycrisp apples...double yum!!!

Another change I'm considering is giving up coffee. I'm almost through my latest beans. There aren't any true health benefits to drinking it. I find joy in enough other things, it feels no longer necessary. And I no longer associate it with my grandfather.

I didn't have coffee for a few days last week. I took my blood pressure a few times during that brief period and noticed a healthy decrease. The caffeine boost never triggered my anxiety. And I don't get withdrawal headaches when I don't drink coffee. So, aside from a lack of interest in continuing the practice of making and drinking coffee, the only impact might be a slight and healthy decrease in my blood pressure...hehehe

I just finished adding to the short story Cherie and I are writing...hehehe Yesterday, she left me with a hilarious twist to draw from. I didn't leave her with a twist. But I did leave her with something I think she'll have a lot of fun with...LOL As this is coming together, and I'm reading it, I can visualize what this story would be as if it were happening right before our eyes...hehehe Our protagonists have quite the conundrum on their hands...or should I say, on their faces...LOL

Before I added to our story, but after I had dinner, I did a two mile walk. So, I was able to walk four miles total today. I continue to be wearing shorts...hehehe I think it made a difference for me today. Perhaps I'll start with shorts tomorrow and forgo the pants altogether.

Among others who were out and about jogging, walking, or walking their dogs, there was this young girl riding her bike. I've seen her before. She is just learning how to ride a bike. I know where her family lives. I've talked to her mother a few times and have greeted their puppies...hehehe Tonight, she was wearing a familiar t-shirt. It was a serve shirt from my previous church, theChapel. I'll need to remember to ask her parents about that the next time I see them. I left at the end of June. Here I am nearly three months later and I see that I have neighbors who may go to that church...LOL

I had the idea that they might be Christians. They have a cross on their patio and I believe the kids are the ones who keep using sidewalk chalk just outside their apartment. The messages they leave point to Jesus. In one message, it quite literally pointed to Jesus. I took a video of that one because they had arrows to follow along the path that did, indeed, lead to Jesus...hehehe They live right on the pond. So, that's why I've run into them several times since they moved in earlier this year.

I've been slowly moving my bedtime earlier. This wasn't deliberate. It's just an observation. I went from going to sleep around 1:30am most nights to being asleep by 12:30am most nights. I'm going to try and make a better effort and either sticking with 12:30am, or moving it to 1am. The week I'm in California in November I'll be working four days. I need to be sure my sleep cycle is ready for that...hehehe

My California trip in July was actually why I moved to that 1:30am sleep time in the first place. Gradually moving to that hour made it easier to avoid jet lag. My new company is on Central Time. So, my adjustments worked out well to balance Pacific Time with Central time. I was essentially sleeping on Mountain Time while working Central Time and then vacationing in Pacific Time...LOL In November, it will be like sleeping Mountain Time, living Pacific Time, but working Central Time. Yeah, confusing...but so much fun! The weird part is that I currently live in Eastern Time...LOL

As I've said before, this sleep schedule has enabled me to be more productive all around. I truly get more done. And my sleep has never been better. This has been the best schedule for me since the 90's...before corporate America threw me off balance in the early 00's...hehehe