When I’m not at the chiropractor I’m either going on a walk/jog, reading, running errands with Leona, talking to friends and family or doing whatever comes around. It’s very exciting to see what each day brings because it's never the same! I’m open to doing anything but, also, don’t mind spending the day at home, reading.
At the beginning of this week, after the chiropractor, Leona and I went to visit our friend Mahlon. I’ve known Mahlon since I was six years old, he’s like a grandfather to me, so I always enjoy going to visit him. At the moment, he is living at an elderly home in order to get better medical help and more assistance. Leona was caring for him for the past six months, but that season ended when his health went downhill and he started to need more assistance.
It was really pleasant to spend time with him and see all the people he lives with. Leona and I had a good laugh when we heard about all the love affairs that are going on in the house. Apparently, there are ninety-year-old women who both have younger male lovers and they will go to the men’s rooms in the middle of the night yelling for them to open the door so they can have a hug! Haha.
Later, on Monday, I went to the movies with Leona, Steve and my friend, Carrie. The movie we saw was For King & Country’s new movie, Priceless. If you haven’t seen it, I definitely you recommend you do! It was incredible! For a small indie film, everything was perfect! The message was also extremely powerful, I was speechless by the end of the movie!
The next day, Tuesday, I woke up with an inkling to write! It’s been a while since I’d picked up my story, Invisibility, so when I felt my creative juices churning on Tuesday morning, I quickly sat down at my computer and started writing. It was really great to get back into the swing of things and have the inspiration to write five pages!
This week, I started going on a walk/jog, every morning after breakfast. I’m trying to get up earlier, around eight, so I can get more done in the day, but getting out of bed can be really difficult. Some mornings, I fall asleep as I’m reading the Bible, other mornings I wake up ready to go.
However, even if I’m tired, or the sky doesn't look very appealing, I force myself to get dressed and take my walk/jog. So far, it’s been very rewarding. Each morning, I seem to be able to run for a longer period of time and the ache in my legs only encourages me to keep moving forward. Thankfully, I don’t feel the pain while I’m walking or jogging, that only comes when I get home and sit down.
Having a hot tub at the house is the greatest because I’m able to soak my aching muscles in the evening while enjoying a very tasty cocktail, called a mojito. Don’t worry, I don’t drink every night and Thursday was the first time I’ve ever had a non-virgin cocktail. Not gonna lie, it was quite delicious. :P
Thursday evening, we were all feeling like we needed to get in the hot tub to relax. It was Steve’s idea to make the cocktails since Leona had bought all the ingredients he would need, the week before. It was very nice to chill in the hot tub with everyone, sipping on our drinks and talking about the Bible. I was even able to quote scripture, which I’ve never been able to do before!
Wednesday seemed to be a day of fellowship for me. In the afternoon, a lady named Lorraine came to visit me for an hour, while her kids were at a Christian miming class. I really liked getting to know Lorraine because we hadn’t really had a chance to talk while I’ve been here. She’s a sweet lady and I look forward to getting to know her more, in the next two months.
Later on Wednesday, we had a small youth Bible study. Ryan picked up Jacque so she could join us, Sofia was there and so was Michael with his fiancee, Holly. It was a good sized group and very encouraging to hear what everyone had to say.
Steve started the evening’s study by reading Psalm 19 and talking about the meaning of each verse. I love how poetic the chapter is. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you check it out. Psalm 19:7-10, “The Torah of יהוה (YHVH) is perfect, bringing back the being; the witness of יהוה is trustworthy, making wise the simple; the orders of יהוה are straight, rejoicing the heart; the command of יהוה is clear, enlightening the eyes; the fear of יהוה is clean, standing forever; the right-rulings of יהוה are true, they are righteous altogether, more desirable than gold, than much fine gold; and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.”
After talking about the chapter, Steve asked each of us two questions; what is your passion and what is the thing that draws you closer to the Father the quickest? Both were really great questions that, for me, had the same answer, writing.
Whenever I write, I ask YHVH to give me the words and He does. Almost as soon as my hands take their place on my keyboard, there’s no stopping them once they start dancing along the keys. I love seeing where YHVH leads me each time I go to my computer and write. I never want to write for me, only for Him!
One of my goals for this week was to buy at least one pair of boots. I really wanted to get some boots before my trip, next week. On Monday, I’ll be flying to Charlotte to spend a whole day with Anthony (YAY!) and to meet my parents when they arrive at the airport. I’m super excited to spend an entire 24 hours with Anthony and our friends! I’m also happy that I’m going to see my parents for the first time in a month! Can you believe I’ve been in the States a month already? I can’t.
Anyway, back to the boots. I really wanted to buy a good pair of boots, instead of constantly wearing the one pair of sneakers I brought with me. So, Thursday afternoon, Leona dropped me off at a shop called DSW to see what I could find. I probably tried on at least twenty pairs of boots, but alas, there was nothing that lit up and said, “I’m the one!”
I was a little upset that I wasn’t able to find anything, but Leona wasn’t going to let me give up that easily. After going to the chiropractor, Leona asked if I wanted to have a quick look in Target for anything nice. I wasn’t very optimistic about what I would find, but I should’ve been because I ended up walking out with THREE (yes, three) pairs of boots! I’m so happy with what I bought and can’t wait to wear them when I go to Charlotte and Johnson City!
This week feels like it was a week of accomplishments. I was able to buy boots, finish reading the book Black (check out my book review for it), and complete the book of Numbers! It’s really encouraging to know that not every week has to be a crazy, dramatic, one. Instead, there are weeks that are almost perfect.
For over a month I’ve been trying to tackle the book of Numbers. At first, I felt like I was walking through the desert with the Israelites! For some reason, I couldn’t get through the book; however, after going through all the drama of last week, something snapped and I was able to finish reading the book!
As soon as I was able to read Numbers, there was no stopping me from finishing it. There were so many interesting parts to the book of Numbers that I didn’t want to miss what was going to happen next! One of my favorite chapters was chapter 22 where Balaq’s donkey spoke! That chapter really sticks with me because I find it astounding that when Balaq’s donkey opened his mouth and talked, it doesn’t say that Balaq was stunned by this crazy situation; instead, Balaq just communicated back to his donkey like it was nothing unusual!
The next book I’m getting ready to start is Deuteronomy. I’m looking forward starting Deuteronomy because I’ll finally have the full picture of what the Torah is. I’ve never read this much of the Bible before and I'm finding that there’s still so much I don’t know! I’m so happy I’m having a relationship with YHVH and reading His Word because there is no way I could go through life on the right path without them both.
Shabbat was almost a terrible day. I woke up and it was like I was getting one disappointment after the other. The first disappointment came as I read through the texts on my home screen, the second was caused by a friend who had made plans before asking if I would be free and the last was when I talked to my mom and got worked up over nothing.
As I turned on my phone, Saturday morning, I noticed that there were a lot of sad-faced text messages. At first, I didn’t understand the reason behind the sad faces until I opened up Whatsapp and read the rest of the messages. Unfortunately, my aunt, uncle, and cousin, Gabriella, had to put their 22-year-old cat, Santos, to sleep after he’d had a really bad week. Santos had been going downhill for years, so I’m happy he’s no longer suffering but Gabriella and her parents are heartbroken.
I called Gabriella as soon as I read what happened. She had been curled up on the couch, crying, for over five hours, unable to move and not interested in doing anything except cry. I felt so bad and didn’t know what to do so I just chatted with her and tried to make her feel better.
While talking to Gabriella, I got a phone call from my friend Libby. She was hoping that she would be able to pick me up that morning so I could spend the weekend with her and her granddaughter, Faith. I had to tell her that I was unable to come because had to pack for Charlotte and go to the chiropractor. She was really upset at this, but there was nothing I could do.
Once I’d finished talking to Gabriella and Libby, my mom called. I had been asking her some questions about why she and my dad had to take our little apartment off Airbnb and she seemed to snap. Turns out, we were both really sensitive and tired so we weren’t listening to the each other correctly.
Thankfully, I noticed that the devil was trying to ruin my peaceful Shabbat with all the sadness, but I wasn’t going to allow let that happen. That afternoon, I went to the fellowship and had an awesome time worshiping and fellowshipping with some great people!
Later that night, I went out to eat with nine others! We had a blast taking over the local pub and eating someone else’s fries, which kept getting delivered to our table. I love going out with my new friends because it makes me feel a part of something. I’m never left out and can enjoy laughing with people close to my age!
This next week is going to be a lot of fun! Like I wrote earlier, I’m super excited to spend a day with Anthony and finally get to hug my parents. It’s also going to be great to see all the other people I’ve yet to hang out with. Just praying that the drama stays where it belongs, locked away.
My prayer for this coming week is that YHVH will continue to lead me down the right road and that my neck, back, and head won’t be in pain while I take a week off of chiropractic treatment. I’m also praying that my dad will be able to make the trip and be able to speak at his conference because he’s still not doing well! It’s definitely going to be a week full of prayer, so please remember my family during your time with the Father.
There’s a lot that’s going to happen in this next week, I can feel it in my bones, so I'm excited to see what YHVH has in store for us. There will be a time where we'll have to make some decisions, so I'm praying for wisdom when that time comes. On another note, I really hope my little spider plant survives a week without me. ;)
Isaiah 30:20-21, “…But your eyes shall see your Teacher, and your ears hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the Way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right, or whenever you turn to the left.”