Moving Day!

 Good morning, everyone! I know it has been a while since I posted, and I'm sorry for that. I had to finish my Master's degree (finally done!), and then I needed some time to rest and get new routines in place.

Today, I want to let you know that this blog has moved to a new wordpress account and I hope you'll follow me there.

I've been considering this for a while, and I like that Wordpress has the option for you to follow me by email (if you want) and some of the other options they have for my blog's content and presentation.

Of course, you can still follow me on Facebook and Twitter, as you have before.

Thank you all for following me here, and reading my posts these past few years!

I do hope to see all of you as well as some new faces over there, as I post new content this year.

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!

Readers' Choice

Hello everyone!

Today's post is going to be a little different. I want this blog to be interactive. I don't always want to just be throwing information, or my thoughts and opinions at you.

Also, I'm having a little trouble deciding what to research for my next post. Ultimately, I want to study all these things, but I have to narrow it down. That's where you come in. Poll time! Out of these next topics, what would you most like to learn more about?

• Angels
• The armor of God (multiple posts)
• The 10 commandments (multiple posts)
• Baptism
• Fear

In addition to this poll, I wanted to know if there are any topics or verses I haven't covered or talked about yet that you'd be interested in seeing on my blog. I'm interested to see what my readers are curious about.

So, please leave a comment here or on my Facebook page to let me know which topic you want to read about next, and if there are any other topics you want to see. Thanks!

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Today's verse of the day on my Bible app: 

"Instead, speaking the truth with love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ" (Ephesians 4:15).

My Blogging Days

Some days I am excited to blog, and others I couldn't care less. When I learn something, I'm especially excited to blog! Now that I've been doing this blog for a while, one thing I've learned is not to force a post. If I try to force a post, often it comes out disjointed, jumbled, and doesn't make sense. Even if it does make sense, it seems that there is something that isn't right in the post. So, some posts just take more time and more thought before I can post them.

I've also found that realizing that I don't have to do a post every day takes a lot of pressure off. After all, this blog is about my personal reflections and musings, and if I don't have a thought to follow up on for one or two days, that's okay.

One thing I've been bad about lately, though, is getting complacent about blogging. Sometimes I think "Oh, I did a post yesterday. It can wait." But if there's something to say, or research, or reflect on, I should do it, even if I just did a post yesterday. Right?

Sometimes finding the motivation for that is hard, but I'm trying. It's not easy, especially when daily life gets in the way.
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Today's verse of the day on my Bible app: "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you" (James 1:5).

Not entirely relevant to today's post, but I just finished reading the book of James, so it works. :)

Gird Up!

I randomly found this blog one day. It has a post about girding your loins. Seriously. It's about how to literally gird your loins. It has a really neat diagram too!

Have you always wondered what that meant? Neither did I. But it was really neat to learn anyway! For anyone curious about how men girded their loins back in the day, this post will be of particular interest. It was so cool to learn, even though I'd never wondered before.

Basically, girding one's loins meant making ready for battle. Literally, as the clothing they wore would get in the way if not gathered up and tied like shorts.

But it can be used figuratively too, as today's verses point out. We can gird ourselves, focus, and prepare for battle - mentally and spiritually.

It's kind of a neat phrase if you stop to think about it.
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Today's verses are from the KJV, because it mentions girding one's loins, while the NIV has changed the wording.

"Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning" (Luke 12:35).

"Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13).

Slack

So, I know I've been slacking in my blog posts. I missed a post yesterday because I didn't do it when I was supposed to and time got away from me. I have a lot of posts saved as drafts and they're almost ready to go. I just have to do a little research. That's fun for me! I like doing research, and I love learning about God's Word.

So, why is it so hard for me to sit down for a set time every day and work on my blog? One word: slack.

I'm slacking. I've let my inspiration go slack. I've let everything else I have to do (or want to do) become more important than studying the things I want to learn about God's Word. It's bound to happen that life gets away from me sometimes, but if I know I'm going to be super busy one day, I can do the research early - a day or even a week before - so that I don't miss that lesson.

I still have a lot to learn. Part of that is learning how to combat the procrastination that sneaks up on me. I'm starting to get my drive back, and I think I've almost worked out a better schedule. I hope to do better in future!
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So, I found several Proverbs dealing with slack and laziness, but I didn't like them when applied to this situation (of course) so I'm going to use a different verse.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Colossians 3:23-24).

A Great Book, A Great Blog

My dear friend Ms. Birrer has a dad. Her dad has a blog. His blog is the place where he can post chapters of some books he has written. They're very good. Sometimes instead of chapters, he comes out with inspirational posts instead.

The blog, Walking with Faith, is one I would recommend to everyone. He is also looking for constructive feedback on his book, so feel free to give him some advice.

I hope you all enjoy it! It's very interesting.
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"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Ephesians 4:29).

"For we live by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Skies of Blue

One thing I have decided to do here is to promote and recommend Christian blogs that teach, encourage, and engage me. Today's post is the first of (hopefully) many.

Chasing Blue Skies is amazing! Real life examples and engaging stories pull together for a wonderful Christian blog. She doesn't post every day, but does post often. You can subscribe via email if you wish (and you get a free ebook if you do). I use Feedly to subscribe to most of my blog posts, but I have subscribed to this one via email.

I encourage you to check out this blog. It truly is wonderful!
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"My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long" (Psalm 35:28).