Update:
I drove my truck to Stevens Point and back on Tuesday for a meeting at
my denomination’s District Office. I
chose the truck over the motorcycle because of the forecast: 60% chance of
severe thunderstorms. On the drive there
and back again it was sunny with barely any clouds in the sky!!! Oh well!
Better safe than sorry—but still wish I would have ridden the
cycle. I enjoyed the meeting and got
back to Fall Creek by about 3 p.m.
At dinner time, I rode my bicycle for about five miles. Then I went to the church for a meeting and afterwards
spoke on the phone with our computer tech concerning not receiving all the
emails being sent to us. I came home and
did about 30 minutes of floor exercises and then headed to bed.
Today is my daughter Ruth’s birthday.
I wish I was there with her to wish her ‘Happy Birthday’ in person. I know she and her husband are doing well
where they are at—so that is enough for me.
Surprisingly, my leg continues to fit well in the prosthesis—at least
so far. I haven’t been doing a lot of
walking; but it has been great not constantly needing the wheelchair and not
being in pain. If this trend continues,
I might try resuming some of my “two-legged endeavors” that I stopped doing a
month ago when my weight loss triggered a decrease in my reliability in
walking.
Even if this doesn’t last, this respite has been a needed mental break
from what I was experiencing. If you
know someone who has been ill or recovering from a stay in the hospital, etc.
why don’t you send up a prayer asking God to give them a respite from the pain
and struggle that they have been going through?
Ask that they get a taste of their old self back and experience some
temporary relief at least.
Thought for the Day:
Have you stopped and taken time to thank any one today? Whether it is writing a letter or short note,
or speaking to someone on the phone or in person—who have you thanked today?
In premarital counselling I use a popular curriculum called “Prepare/Enrich.” One of the homework activities that it
assigns couples is to give a Daily Compliment.
“Daily Compliments help us to focus on positive things you like about
each other. Every day give your partner
at least one genuine compliment. These can
be general (‘you are fun to be with’) or specific (‘I appreciate that you were
on time for the concert.’).”
Richard Carlson in “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff—and it’s all small
stuff” encourages people to “once a week write a heartfelt letter.” “Taking a few minutes each week to write a
heartfelt letter does many things for you.
Picking up a pen or typing on a keyboard slows you down long enough to
remember the beautiful people in your life.
The act of sitting down to write helps to fill your life with gratitude… Not only does writing and sending a note like
this focus your attention on what’s right in your life, but the person
receiving it will, in all likelihood, be extremely touched and grateful… Chances are, there are a number of people in
your life, or from your past, who are quite deserving of a friendly, heartfelt
letter. Even if you don’t have people in
your life to whom you feel you can write, go ahead and write the letter to
someone you don’t know instead—perhaps an author… or to a great inventor or
thinker from the past or present. Part
of the value of the letter is to gear your thinking toward gratitude. Writing the letter, even if it isn’t sent,
would do just that.”
Stopping to give thanks and displaying a grateful heart is a very
healthy thing to do. It helps keep our
mind focused upon the very many positive aspects of our lives for which we
should be appreciative. A very common
example might be a teenager who can choose to find fault and develop a very
negative attitude towards their parents.
By practicing gratitude, this teen could come to see the very many
positive things that mom and dad are doing and develop a greater respect for
them. Adults might need to write a note
concerning their work place or their boss.
And let’s not forget to spend time and give God thanks for all He has
done and continues to do in our lives.
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