So, I was overthinking...
One of the main things I prayed about yesterday was how I tend to overthink. Realizing how I overthink most things might have been caused by past trauma, I am ready to let that go. Overthinking has never served me well...hehehe This is not to be confused with thinking things through. It is wise to consider things from multiple angles to form a good opinion or conclusion. I'm referring more so to the spiral my mind has gone through when obsessing over an event that has occurred or one that is coming up. Or projecting how I feel about myself onto the thoughts I think other people are thinking about me. Not to mentioned thinking about what people actually do or say to me that makes an impact on what or how I think about myself or the world around me. And so on and so on...yeah, overthinking. I'm not really describing the experience well here. However, if you are also an overthinker, you know what I'm talking about.
This led me back to:
Philippians 4:4-8
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.
On my morning walk this morning, I meditated on this passage. Yesterday, I was able to turn off the overthinking. So today, I wanted to start my day off with thoughts of what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. In doing so, my hope was that I wouldn't have to turn off the overthinking. That is to say, I would not have been overthinking anything in the first place...LOL And to a degree, this has worked so far today.
Today's Vitamin G was based on this passage: What I think about is just as important as how or why I think about anything ❤️
I began to overthink the post...LOL I wanted to say more. But I applied what I learned yesterday to this. I decided to keep it simple. Because it really is that simple. I'm not saying it is easy, though. It's hard to undo years of bad programming. It's hard to unlearned bad behaviors. It's hard to change. But, it is very simple.
Yesterday was very similar to what I experienced in California back in July. I haven't been chasing after how I experienced God while I was there. But I have wondered if I would experience anything like that again. I was very glad I did experience the same yesterday right here at home. It was reassuring. I know God is everywhere. I know I don't have to go somewhere specific to experience what I did yesterday and back in July. I know...I really do! My spirit is just not happy here...LOL I have to keep choosing the happiness I feel. And that can be exhausting after a while. Yesterday was a nice reprieve from my day-to-day happiness choice. To be clear, though, I'm not referring to contentment. I'm actually quite content with my circumstances.
Work hasn't been much of a productive day...hehehe It has been full of meetings. Such days happen from time to time. In a way, I kind of like these days every once in a while. I wouldn't want a day full of meetings every week, though...LOL
The weather has been really nice lately. That tends to happen after a hurricane. That didn't really happen after Helene because we had Milton less than two weeks later. But now we are back to post-hurricane awesome weather...LOL The mornings start off cool and get warmer as the day goes on. I feel cooler days will be here soon. Of course, this is Florida. So, it doesn't actually get very cold. We have the occasional cold day in the winter. But it is rare. I've been following along with the weather in California where I'll be visiting. It is cooler there than here right now. I imagine it will be cooler the week I'm there than it has been in Florida. That will work out nicely for my dressing dapper for Disney...hehehe Of course, it will feel cooler for me than someone who lives there. So it may still be warm for the local folks. We shall see. The differences in climate in everywhere I've been fascinates me...hehehe
My hunger is weird. I ate lunch about an hour ago. I'm already hungry as if I did not eat...LOL Yet, I imagine that hunger will be gone in an hour from now without having eaten anything else...LOL I think I'm eating enough...I hope...LOL
On my after lunch walk, I came across an alligator bathing in the sun on the edge of the pond. This is the first time I've seen one fully out of that water and on the bank here. And this is the closest I've ever been to an alligator in the wild. I've been much closer to those in captivity. But this fella had no barrier between himself and me...LOL He was too small to even think I'd be on the menu. So I wasn't worried about him. I was able to capture a video and some photos of him. I posted the video on my IG/FB stories just for fun. It is part of today's story. But I didn't want it to remain forever as a normal post.
I was chatting with one of my neighbors this afternoon. I found myself to start complaining about something here at our complex. I felt really bad and apologized for complaining. I do not normally do that. I'm not sure what came over me. She apologized as well as she was also complaining about things here. She and her husband are moving at the end of the month. Perhaps the mood of that move was caused us both to complain...hehehe I feel bad for them. And I felt really bad for complaining.
What I was complaining about really doesn't even matter to me...LOL It was related to my being locked into the pool area yesterday. I was out there enjoying being outside and praying. They locked me in by mistake. The pool area is closed until tomorrow for a chemical treatment. The gate was unlocked when I went to sit in the lounge area. They must not have seen me sitting there and locked the gate while I was sitting.
My complaint was about why they closed off the chairs and grills and not just the pool itself. Of course, there isn't a way to keep people from trying to get into the pool unless they lock all of the gates and shut off the entire area. So, I get it. Again, not really sure why I complained. I sometimes absorb the energy of people and reflect the emotions of others. I'm aware of this and need to work at stopping myself...LOL
Meetings at work continue this afternoon...LOL I think tomorrow will be a more productive day...hehehe
Last night I watched The Chosen S1E1 for this week's Bible study lesson. I love how they introduce Jesus at the end...hehehe I really love how they start off this series. Definitely a character building episode. The storylines they begin in the episode come together well in future episodes. But this one gives you a lot to think about right out of the gate. I started working through the Bible study tonight. I'm already blown away about some new insight into one of my favorite chapters, Psalm 139. I started to write about my thoughts on it. What comes of that will likely look different in the end. But I think I'll keep what I wrote tonight as a sort of a side note or something. Since we are typing out our notes, it makes it easy to draft a response and revise it. But it also allows me to copy/paste original thoughts to keep track of the journey I took to get to the final conclusions. I can share such things with Cherie if I feel so inspired to do so. In this case, I likely will.
Doing the devotionals, and now the Bible study, with Cherie has helped me remain accountable to the process. I do other devotionals and studies on my own. But I'm finding the ones I'm doing in a fellowship to be more impactful. Perhaps this is one of the reasons community and fellowship are spoken of so highly in the epistles?
As I think about fellowship, I'm reminded I have a phone call with Pastor Doug tomorrow to continue our conversation about church. I'm looking forward to our chat.