Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Daily 5 - Day 174

Today's Daily 5:
  1. Made it through another day at work.  And one where I forgot to grab my painkillers off my nightstand this morning and throw them in my purse at that.  (I did snag painkillers twice during the day from a friend who also carries ibuprofen with her.)
  2. Chicken Caesar Salad for supper.  Have I mentioned that the George Foreman grill my parents gave me as a birthday present last year is the best gift ever?  So easy to cook on nights like this when I'm really not up to putting a lot of effort in.
  3. Showered and in bed, resting by 7 p.m.  (yep, that's how you can tell I'm definitely still recovering.)
  4. Came across a few new blogs today.  always pleased at new reading material.
  5. Really enjoying the audio book I've been listening to on the way home from work the last couple of days.  Glad that I'm enjoying it, since it seems to be the only "reading" I have enough energy for this week.
  6. Accomplished pretty much everything on the (admittedly very basic) to do list for tonight.
  7. Did another budget update.  Still so encouraged to be managing to live this way.
  8. Got the first statement the other day for the line of credit that I applied for.  So delighted still that that worked out, and I could have danced and cheered when I saw what the interest amount was.  Let's just say that it was roughly $140 a month less than what I was paying on the credit cards!
  9. Got the news at work today that we are getting a VERY unexpected year end bonus.  It's not huge, but at the end of the week, I'll have roughly half of what I was going to have to borrow from my parents to buy a replacement for George.  And that half is after I put a little bit in savings.  I had hoped that if a bonus came this year, I'd be able to save half, and use half to put an extra payment against my debts, but I'll settle for minimizing the additional debt that's going to crop up because of the accident last week.  Funny how it goes.  Last year, the day after I got the bonus (which last year I'd hoped to save for traveling), George's alternator died.  There went the bonus - but hey, at least it wasn't debt!  So, this year, wanted it for something else again, but no such luck.  On the other hand, it's a blessing that the additional debt I'll accrue will be so much less than expected.
  10. The plan is to move the first load of stuff to my grandmas' this weekend.  Though I won't be living there until the end of February, we're hoping to do this move a bit at a time, to minimize what needs to be done at the end of the month.  So we'll take a carload or two a week, and hopefully, come the end of the month, there'll pretty much only be the big pieces of furniture to move, and it'll be a quick thing!  I'm thankful for my mom, who is going to drive for this first load this weekend, since I'm carless.  She's also chauffering me the same morning to another natural health appointment, for which I'm also grateful.

A Couple Things Worth Reading

Tonight I came across the blog of Michael Hyatt - the CEO of Thomas Nelson publishers.

I have a couple of posts from his blog to recommend to you, and I'm looking forward to reading more in the days to come.

How to Read a Non-Fiction Book:  I liked some of the ideas here.  Mostly because I've been reading non-fiction almost exclusively for well over a year, but still find I struggle to get through almost all of it, except maybe some memoirs.  It made me smile, too, to see a publishing executive comment that "most books aren't worth finishing."  That's quite the admission!

How to Have Better Dinner Conversations:  I've been part of a few great dinner conversations, and I'd love to be part of more.  I thought these tips were relatively practical and doable - especially the one about only one conversation at a time.

Mish Mash from Henri

I'm cleaning up email inboxes again - that process was sort of derailed when I spent most of last week in bed recovering!  So, you can expect several mish-mash posts again over the next little while, including this one with lots of great content from Henri Nouwen.  (More with content from Henri to come!)

From Unceasing Thinking to Unceasing Prayer


Our minds are always active. We analyze, reflect, daydream, or dream. There is not a moment during the day or night when we are not thinking. You might say our thinking is "unceasing." Sometimes we wish that we could stop thinking for a while; that would save us from many worries, guilt feelings, and fears. Our ability to think is our greatest gift, but it is also the source of our greatest pain. Do we have to become victims of our unceasing thoughts? No, we can convert our unceasing thinking into unceasing prayer by making our inner monologue into a continuing dialogue with our God, who is the source of all love.

Let's break out of our isolation and realize that Someone who dwells in the center of our beings wants to listen with love to all that occupies and preoccupies our minds.

Building Inner Bridges


Prayer is the bridge between our conscious and unconscious lives. Often there is a large abyss between our thoughts, words, and actions, and the many images that emerge in our daydreams and night dreams. To pray is to connect these two sides of our lives by going to the place where God dwells. Prayer is "soul work" because our souls are those sacred centers where all is one and where God is with us in the most intimate way.

Thus, we must pray without ceasing so that we can become truly whole and holy.

Two Crucifixes Standing

Another stunning picture from Jeremy Cowart in Haiti.

And Repeat

When I made it home last night, I did the minimum.  I cooked dinner, washed a few dishes, and headed for bed.  Not really to sleep right away, but simply because I was so exhausted that I just couldn't move anymore.  I did a few things from my bed - a few emails, a phone call or two, but mostly I just watched a dvd and played a game online.

I did manage to sleep a bit better last night, and for that I was very thankful.

I'm a little less sore today.  It's been a week, now, since the accident.  This time last Tuesday I was sitting in a truck, on the median of deerfoot trail, waiting for the police to show up.  (They took about an hour and a half to arrive.)  I remain thankful for the many small blessings of that day.

And so, I'm back at work again.  Another bus and train and walk later.

And I have another busy day at work ahead, and am still pretty low energy.  I'm thankful that my body is healing slowly.  But I'm guessing that tonight will be kind of like last night.  I'll go home, make dinner, and head for bed, maybe doing a few little tasks once I get there, but mostly letting myself rest.

It's an "and repeat" sort of day.