First Thoughtful Thursday: The Need to Do More

Hello again everyone!

Today I'm going to do the first in a series of posts I'm calling "Thoughtful Thursday," where I talk about topics that make me think.

As you can tell from the title, these will always be posted on Thursdays, but I won't post them every week. I'm working on several series that will be posted different days of the week so that you get a variety. Stay tuned.

I'm planning to start most of these after I finish my RBY challenge, but a few may sneak in sometimes.

So, my thought for today is: I need to do more.

Sometimes I am struck by the feeling that I'm not doing enough, or that what I am doing is inadequate.

The unfortunate thing about it is that I'm not sure how to fix it. I get stuck and don't know how to proceed.

So, it's been my goal recently to take a moment when I get stuck to think "What can I do now, right now?"

Example 1: My blog.

I'm really enjoying writing every day about my RBY challenge. But sometimes I have a topic I want to research and then share with you, but I don't have time to share it too. And so, I took a moment to figure out what I could do right now, and I came up with ideas for a weekly post schedule (of which Thoughtful Thursday is one). Now, I feel like my blog has direction, whereas before I just sort of posted arbitrarily.

And that's actually something my RBY challenge has helped with, too. It's given me more discipline about writing, and made me realize that if I don't post regularly when I'm done, my blog will suffer, and I won't be doing something God has called me to do.

Example 2: I believe conservation is important. As a Christian, I know that this world won't last forever, but I also know that it is a gift from God and that humans have, unfortunately, misused that gift over the years. Usually because of greed. Sometimes because of ignorance. When God gives us a gift, I believe we should treasure it, and so I want to do more to treasure the gift of the earthly home He has given me while I'm here. But I felt held back, even like there was nothing I could do. Until God told me to take a deep breath, and consider what I could do now.

So, having recently learned that less than 10% of plastic is recycled properly and that much of it ends up in our oceans, especially plastic drinking straws, I purchased reusable bamboo drinking straws. At restaurants, my family and I will decline plastic drinking straws and instead use the bamboo ones.

I know it will seem a little strange at first, but if someone asks, this is also a chance to explain why we're doing this.

These seem like small things, but for me, they're huge!

I still feel like there's more I could do, but I've taken the first step. And one step always leads to another.

I still have a list of questions: 

How can I get more involved in my community? What everyday things can I do to treasure the world God has given us? How can I help the people around me and teach them about God's love and His son, Jesus?

I'm still working on answers to these questions, but at least now I am actively seeking the answers, rather than just feeling completely stuck on "I don't know."

I hope my Thoughtful Thursday made you think too. If you have any thoughts on this post, or other everyday things that you do, either to help the environment or to help people around your community, I'd love to hear them!