The Rational Rabbit Hole no. 6

“The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me; Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever— Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.”

Psalm 138:8 AMP

Embrace the Within.

Today’s blog comes from Halfway. I came up to the land of my birth yesterday to visit my folks while my eldest daughter attended a Korean pop concert with my brother as a present for her graduation from high school. While she was away, I went back to the house where I spent nearly two decades of my life and sat and shared the company of my parents.

Things are never the same when you return to your old home or when you return to your family. Time apart changes all things. The struggles that I face growing older I see in them as they grow older as well. It makes me sad to see folks that were so full of energy, so witty and clever, so full of hope and faith, ravaged by the passing of time. And it makes me consider my own future and my own mortality. BUT I am also heartened to see the optimism and the unwavering love between them no matter the obstacles, the challenges, and the struggles. And I hope for that in not only my relationships BUT in all our relationships. That, as the psalmist wrote, “The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me”, rather than worrying about what does not concern me or that which I cannot influence.

There are many things we selfishly and unselfishly want to accomplish with our lives. We think about tangible and intangible treasures that will make our lives more comfortable for a time. BUT time, circumstance, and change can take all those things away. Bad timing, bad people, bad ideas, bad policy, bad laws, and many other bad things can take all those treasures away from us BUT what they cannot take away is our love. The fruits of the Spirit are things that time, people, ideas, policy, law, and not even evil spirits can take away. They are the gifts that we have to see that even though things on this planet change, even though time ravages us all, even though the march ahead leads us to another mysterious and sometimes scary and fearful future, we need not fear because the love of the Lord “endures forever”.

And I know I could always use a little more of that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Maybe we could all use a lot more of those things and a lot less worry and fear and anger.

Bless your heart, mind, and spirit. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin

The Rational Rabbit Hole no. 5

“The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9 AMP

Embrace the Within.

I am a bit delayed this morning in sitting down to write because today is a travel day and, as such, I am doing some resting in between responsibilities. The resting is to prepare my mind, body, and spirit for the journey and the responsibilities are to make things easier on those that remain behind to look after my plants and animals. So, I spent some of this morning moving my young Brahma pullets into the mix with the other chickens. This will make it easier while I am away so that there is only one coop to tend. They are getting to the point where they are ready to begin the transition process and what better time than now?

So that is out of the way and I found a new use for my PPDs that I have accumulated over the past fourteen days. The face shield was used so that I did not have a repeat of the last time I moved pullets and one came straight at my face. So, here I am using the things that I didn’t use during the fourteen days BUT I now can incorporate them into usefulness.

Yesterday was a day of painting that turned out well. It was a rather humid and sweaty day to do painting BUT I managed to get the tape to remain in place while I added a light blue paint of some variety to the front hallway. Getting at that responsibility early in the day allowed for two coats in one day. While I was waiting for the first coat to dry, I was breaking down boxes and removing some items from the house with my eldest son. Whomever acquired the toy horse and toilet seat, you are welcome.

So, the show is going on the road. There is a journey today and tomorrow and another journey on Thursday and Friday and some work jammed in there on Wednesday. So, this week looks a bit more mentally and physically exhausting while last week was physically and spiritually exhausting. BUT, it is what it is. There are plenty of responsibilities that we have to ourselves, to each other, and to God. And we need to work them in the time they need to be worked. There is a time for everything to be done and there is also a time for rest. So, remember to take care of yourself this summer. Hydrate. Do the work. And take the time to rest. If you don’t put in the time for yourself to be well, then your body will force you to make that time.

Bless your heart, mind, and spirit. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin