If you were given a book of blank pages and asked to write a short version of your story for the day, what would you write? Because…that really is the story of your life. We each get a blank page everyday and it is up to us how we fill it.
My husband and I have moved to what many think is strange place, but then again, we have moved many times and I think it is the move that makes them wonder, and not just the place. But it IS an unexpected place for me. It has very warm summers I’m told, and I don’t do well in heat at all. Thank the Lord we have AC!! However, if you have read my posts, then you all know about that decision that led to our move here. But I am so happy for the position this move has given us and allowed us to accomplish! It hasn’t been a smooth ride for sure, but we are here and have accomplished a lot with the home and property. I would like to share with you what I have felt the Lord drop into my heart the last few days regarding this move and its meaning. It may be something that you have felt a nudge toward also, not a move maybe, but the ideas I will share may ring a bell and help you recognize it within yourself.
I am finally able to sit in my studio to write again. It has been a long few months of first, packing up the house for a move, and then make the move, and then unpacking it all. But today, I am sitting in my studio, sun shining outside, and promised myself that I would enjoy some time catching up with you. Thanks for you patience in waiting til I came back around again.
My feeling looking back now on the last few months is that God is moving and shaking this world. Sifting… asking us to rethink and maybe even reinvent ourselves a bit. In my case, it has provided an opportunity once again to hear what God is saying to us, and then step out into the unknown and see Him work. If we had not learned the value of listening to those nudges, ideas or dreams before in our lives, we might have missed it. You see, in our case, when we feel those nudges, ideas or dreams come up for us, my husband and I have learned to lean in and do what we feel He is encouraging us to do. Sometimes, it feels like a push! This change was similar to that kind of direction. I have learned not to be afraid of change and I have had a lot of it in my life. So here is the big idea: He has been speaking to me about looking at this season in my life as a blank page; a page I can fill each day; only I can fill it. I have shared before that we all have a story, and this move has been all about our story. I felt that my blank page was the first of many in my story book of this season of life. It has just begun anew in a different area. Now I am not a writer of books, but as a visionary lesson, that analogy works for me. I am fortunate to know a friend and a niece that live right close in the area and a few friends and a cousin who are 2 1/2 hours or so from me. So I am not totally alone. However my family, boys, grandson, and my many of my life time friends are around 5 to 6 hours by car from where I live. So that is a big adjustment. But you know, when God calls us to something, I know it is something good for me and it is for a purpose. Can you catch the vision of what a blank page and this insight may be? Does it resonate with you in some way? Because today you had an opportunity to write your own page. Do you like how you wrote it?
So… what is going to fill my pages? Part of my page is filled with a life I enjoy. I am living a slower life style. God put nature around us to enjoy as a way of connecting with Him. I have come to really enjoy that. In my case, when we go to the lake or for a drive to look at nature, we can appreciate its beauty and it makes us feel grateful for that beauty and the ability to go out and enjoy it. So I have already written on a few pages in my visionary book. I have started using my gratitude jar again and that will be like writing on my page each day. I think my page for a while may be like a series of pages that belong in the first chapter called “Let’s Get Reacquainted” for a while. When we get our lives so tied up in DOING, we can slowly find ourselves desensitized to the feeling of having things so busy that we don’t enjoy BEING. Another thought to consider is maybe in reality, we don’t like ourselves enough to just be with ourselves. Or, it makes us think about our lives, what was done or not done, and we deal with guilt. I don’t know what your situation is, but I know I have spent years rewiring my brain to not feel like I have to be doing something all the time. To drop kick that guilt out of my life years ago, I can tell you, it is a VERY liberating feeling!
So… here we are in this new little town, in very different house, not knowing many people at this point. So what will I do? I have found more and more that slower life is my joy. My plan is to enjoy the outdoors and nature as much as possible before it gets too hot this summer. We are exploring the area and finding spots by the water. We have a fire pit to enjoy a fire in the evenings when there isn’t a burn band on, which may not be all summer here. 😦 I enjoy taking pictures of the surrounding areas just because I love to create. I will establish relationships and get back into my studies now that my desk is all set up. Have mochas on the deck. I have stories already filling my pages. I am letting God direct where my emphasis goes because He knows best. I am now slowly getting back to reading which I love. My point? I am looking forward to getting acquainted with myself in ways that bring joy to me, and choosing where I will get involved. I eliminate drama from life as much as possible. I lend an ear most certainly, but I also set bounderies. I can walk around our yard and find joy in it. I will never take that for granted, nor my freedom to live my life as I choose. I am even drawing a few small pictures here and there on my page. Why not? It is for my page. In my vision for my pages, I can see the joy in doing so, even if I am not an artist. I can use photos to encourage myself to stop and see life happening around me. Another goal is making a photo gallery of photos that I have taken and mount them all across the space above my windows. I love taking them so why not have them available to see? I want to use my time to be an encouragement to others. My page is already full today!
I think many individuals think that they are too busy with their lives and families to have time to stop and enjoy the moment. But that doesn’t have to be true. You get on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok many times a day watching what others are doing and in the process you may be missing out on things happening right in front of you. I have learned, with many losses in my life, that enjoying our life is important because we have more behind us than we have in front of us. We can’t be sure of even that because only God knows when. So… we want to live it well. We aren’t going to heaven and be asked how many movies we saw. Or, how many “likes” we got on that one post, or how much did you amass in things you own? However, you may be asked why you didn’t give your children or those closest to you, more of your time. Why you didn’t help where you saw a need and COULD have helped. Why didn’t you come talk to Me more?
My advice to you is don’t wait to take time to write on your own page. Don’t wait for age to be the reason to free up time to stop and sit a minute with yourself. Stop. Listen to life around you. What do you hear? It can settle a heart right down. Take a few deep breaths too while you are there.
Did you know that you are on my page? Most certainly. When I write, I write for you to have something to think about and ponder. So today, you are a part of my page and story. I hope you have found this story worthy of your time in reading it, and that it has given you time to think about your own page. Ask yourself what that might look like if you thought of each day as a blank page to be written. Don’t leave it blank for someone else to write on. Write on it yourself with what you choose as a memory. It is your proving ground.
You may only live once but that doesn’t mean we get one life. We can deliberately choose one each and every day. ~ A friend of Elissa Joy Watts
May this day be a moment to slow down and search inward. May urgency dissipate and delight remain. May inspiration abound, and may you choose well as you journey forward, one deliberate decision at a time, into all your wild and precious weeks ahead.
~ Elissa Joy Watts
Until next time…
~JoAnn
~~🥰~~ In loving memory of my special friend, Betty, who always wrote her own page..
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