July 25 2015

July 25 2015 Greetings My Friend Our niece and nephew were visiting this week and as we sat out on the porch visiting I was asked if we hang our clothes to dry. I told her that we are working our way to hanging them more than using the dryer. As I was saying this I sensed that one of lessons this summer is “ the process is the first step in making a habit.” I know this fact and I keep learning the different dimensions of this fact. In my heart I want to live more wholesomely. I want to eat wholesome food, bake, cook, clean and enjoy life at its simplest level. As I review my way to being healthy again I see this process clearly. It started with 5 minutes of work and went from there. Each summer for the past 4 summers I have hung out some things like blankets, sheets but mostly I used the dryer. This summer more of our laundry is finding its way to the clothesline. I suspect we will hang more and more clothes and build into it throughout the year. This summer I have enjoyed berries growing wild in our yard and have gone out picking them. I have not made it to each new berry that is in season but I have started roaming around picking some and enjoyed them on my cereal. I see that with time I will pick more and then make them into recipes for us to enjoy. Baking bread and sweet breads are on my bucket list. I thought that I would do these things automatically and that has not been the case. I do see though that I first think I want to then I do it piece by piece and slowly it becomes my standard, not all at once. With all the rain and humidity this past week I have been struggling with asthma big time. After pushing myself I finally caved in and slept and sat and used my mind. Today the humidity is down, no rain is forecasted and my lungs feel good. I will begin to work my way back to a level of doing again. I have learned to not rush the process and to lean into it. I wanted to be able to go back to the minute I felt better, today I know I need to go through the process and soon I will be able to be up and around. As I have learned to work slower and slower I find that breaking my work up into small manageable pieces allows me to keep at it until I get it done, even if it takes me 3 times longer than it did at one time in my life. In the learning to keep slowing down I have time to think, to pray and this is how I am growing even in my older years. Relearning to do old things in a new way keeps me flexible, keeps my brain active and I also learn to spend more and more time with God each day. My fur children know that I need to stop more and I find them on my lap quite often. I love feeling their soft little bodies, talking to them as if they know what I am saying and it feels good. I know they create havoc with my allergies so Junior and I are working out ways to lessen their impact on me by using air purifiers, sweeping more, moping more dusting more. I also know that the weather can be a struggle so I seek ways to cope there too. When the heat is too high I tend to hang out inside in the air conditioning more so. And then sometimes all the precautions won’t work too and I learn how to ride out the struggle. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet