Grateful to turn another page …

 As I turn the page to September, I'm grateful to take time to remember/ Rich blessings of family, friendship and Spirit / Sweet music of life: To hear it! To share it!

God sees me. He knows my heart.

God sees me. He knows my heart. 

He knows my heart needed to process some deep emotions from my childhood that have been buried much of my life. 

With God, everything has its time. It’s not time for me to have a piano or a kitty. 

It is time for me to feel feelings.

It is time for me to acknowledge (awareness) and grow toward acceptance. 

A day will  come when it’s time to act.

  

Yes, this is about a piano and a step stool, among other things. I may update it later, with the rest of the story. 

A month of honoring the 7 am alarm

The rewards have been real. 

Still, it may be time to review and perhaps adjust. 

A lesson in appreciation

 I have new appreciation for my microwave oven after going a few days without it. Sure, we could have bought a new one. But what a waste when it could be easily fixed with an ordered part.

It was a worthwhile exercise to go a few days without it, to realize it is a convenience, not a necessity!

The main problem was that more of our food prep patterns than I realized involve use of the microwave, from defrosting to cooking and reheating. 

Without it, I had to plan further ahead, especially for defrosting.

It also provided renewed appreciation for how the microwave doesn’t heat up the kitchen like the oven or stovetop. 

Honor the alarm

Sunday was the first day in more than 2 weeks that I did not honor my 7 am wake up alarm. 

And in the process, I learned what I thought I already knew: Trust the process. It’s better to get up and find good ways to use that time than to try to go back to sleep. If I need more sleep, I can pray and ask God to guide me during the day to make choices that clear the way for a nap or getting to bed earlier. 

For right now, trying to make up my lack of sleep by ignoring the alarm takes a toll on some positive structure, a boundary and a commitment — discipline — that I desire to honor and develop. 

I could tell it wasn’t ideal yesterday. 

Being back with the alarm is better, even though I’m extremely tired tonight. 

I will trust God to guide me to the rest I need. 

When the new wears off

The rewards of a 7 am alarm continue. Especially in the summer, getting up before the sun is high in the sky is a cool way to start the day. (Pun intended.)

And I’m making some progress on the other aspect of trying to shift my sleep cycle. I’m trying to get to bed with the lights out by 11 pm. Although I’m not there yet, I’m getting closer. 

I accept the fact that even if I’m in bed 8 hours, I’m unlikely to get anywhere near that much sleep, due to various aches, pains and discomfort. I try to ensure the time is restful even if I’m not sleeping soundly. 

Friday may have been a turning point. After a long Thursday and turning out the light late, I toyed with the thought of shifting the alarm to a later time. After prayer and thinking, I chose to leave it at 7, trusting God to help me get the rest I needed, either through a nap or getting to bed earlier Friday. A quick nap helped. 

Now it’s Sunday. I’m still feeling tireder than I’d like. I plan to stick with the 7 am alarm anyway. I don’t think I’ve done this long enough for my body clicks to reprogram. Plus, I’m still not getting enough sleep. 

I will continue to work on it, even though it’s not quite as exciting now that the newness of the concept has worn off. 

Amazing!

I’m still intrigued by an end-of-the-day question posed by my online quick journal. 

Amazing things that happened today: 

Prayer. Answers to prayers. Morning rain. Singing in the rain. Early church. Visiting in between. Part of late church with VBS kids. Church without showering or makeup — just go! Joy in the Lord! 

Working through dilemmas. Facing more challenges. Working through. It’s bedtime now. It is enough. 

The journal then prompts: How could I have made today better? 

For now, it’s important for me to claim the goodness of the day and to give glory to God!

Today was good. I claim its goodness. I maintain its goodness by accepting it. And going to bed, grateful to God.