third Tuesday check-in

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! It's day two of being snowed in for us in the greater Memphis area. It's so pretty! I'm not tired of it yet, but check back in tomorrow. And on that note, I am starting a new monthly series for myself called "third Tuesday check-in", when I'll share a very honest assessment on how I'm doing spiritually, physically, emotionally, and personally. 

I know this may sound strange, but sometimes how I feel spiritually changes from day to day. Sometimes I feel like I'm doing really good with my relationship with the Lord, and some days I feel like a fraud. I know that is not really the case, but sometimes the enemy is good at his job and I doubt things about this with myself. Are you like this? I feel like this is something that is normal for most of us. That being said, I am in a good place spiritually, only because God is good, and He has made me love His word. I read it everyday, and I spend time with Him in prayer leading up to that and following what I've read. This all because of the mercy and grace of the Lord, by the way. I will say that even when I don't "feel" like reading the word of God, I do it anyway. It takes faithfulness and diligence on my part to feel close to God, much like it would between two best friends. A relationship requires connection, and those are the ways that I connect with Him, even on the days when I'm not feeling it. 

That may sound slightly terrible, but it's the honest truth. There are days when I just don't want to open my Bible, but I do it anyway. I never let myself get too far behind, or I'll fall so far behind that it'll overwhelm me. This is why I like having a Bible plan to read the Bible. I'm doing that this year with The Bible Recap, which I loved last year when I read through the New Testament with them. I am a huge fan of reading or listening on my phone, and then listening to the five to ten minute podcast or YouTube teaching video that follows. She teaches us to look for Jesus everywhere throughout, because even though He doesn't make a human (fully God, fully man) appearance until the New Testament, He is actually all throughout Scripture!

This was what I shared on my Instagram story yesterday after I finished reading in the book of Job. It's true, what I shared; God is faithful and He restored to Job much more at the end of the book that he ever had to begin with. Are you familiar with his story? Job was a righteous and blameless man, we're told in the first chapter, and God allowed Satan to sift him to test his faith. He lost everything that was important to him, but at the end, God restored it all in abundance. 

I am thankful to say that I feel good physically this month. So many people have been sick, and I don't want to take for granted the good health that I have. I say that as far as my health, because it goes down from there. 🤣 Even though my health is intact, I feel bad physically because I have not been eating great. I really need to get back to doing better again; Todd being gone last week is what I'm blaming. I don't have as much willpower when he's not around to hold me accountable. It makes a huge difference! I have put a few pounds back on, even though it hasn't been anything too crazy. I can tell a difference in how I feel because when I don't eat well, I feel bloated. Have you felt like this before? We truly are what we eat; not that I eat a whole foods diet by any stretch of the imagination, I do try to eat nutritiously as much as I am able. I've been indulging way too much lately, and I have to stop! I do not want to lost the momentum I gained last year, and because it's early in the year, I will be better at this. 

I am so glad to say that I feel better and stronger emotionally this month than last. I don't know if it was a hormonal issue or what, but I felt very emotional the closer the date crept to Christmas. The day of was the same. You've all heard me say that as much as I love the season, I am never a fan of the actual day, because I always feel a little melancholy. Part of this, I think, is because our sons are grown. It's just not as much as fun when you don't have little kids at home! There were several times that day that I cried. 

I also feel like some of this has to do with the fact that I have let go of obsessing over things that I cannot control. This could be a variety of things—it may be something like worrying over my sons' futures (or decisions), what other people perceive to be true about me, a number on a scale, or the condition of the world we live in. It feels so much healthier and freeing to live this way! I highly recommend it. 😉 I saw a meme recently about how wonderful it is to live in a world when we know that we cannot control what other people think of us. Social media can be such a fun thing, but it can also be a very damaging thing, which plays into this type of thinking of ourselves more often than we should. I know so many of you agree with me on this.  

Personally, I feel very grateful. There are so many things that make me feel like this today as I write this blog post. I am in a warm home with a cozy fire, with lots of snow on the ground. My family is all safe and sound, and I know where they all are. I love knowing that they're out having fun in the snow. Is one ever too old for that? I love being at home indefinitely, too. I don't know if I'll work this week or not yet; each day will be decided as we get closer to a new one. I do know that even if the church offices stay closed, I need to go there one day to do the deposit for the week and to restock the drink cooler. I don't mind the thought of this, because I so love my job! I love having snow on the ground to look at! It is beautiful outside, and we have at least six inches of it on the ground. It snowed for close to twenty four hours, in big, beautiful flakes. I love having an excuse to be lazy and sit around reading all day. All of these things make me so happy on a personal level. 

So does this book! I love this author who is also a fun follow on Instagram. I love that she corresponds with her readers; show me an author that does that, and I will almost always invest money in their books. She and I messaged back and forth on Instagram one night; the more we talked, the more I realized I like what she has to say. She's fun and funny, and I highly recommend this book. 

Do you have anything you want to contribute about how you feel spiritually, physically, emotionally, and/or personally so far this month? I would love to chat more about this! 

I'm linking up with Joanne for this post.

Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!