Saturday Sixteen Freewrite

 The summer is winding down. It has been a good summer. Some highlights:

1) I have lost 14 lbs

2) I have walked, biked, hiked, canoed, and kayaked. Since July 27th, I have covered 275 miles on the Virtual Camino de Santiago. 

3) I completed this website, and I love the result: https://bodyandsoulcompanion.com/. It was so hard to "put myself out there," but I did it in obedience.

4) I stood up for myself when I felt uncomfortable with the format of the retreat I was at in August. That was HUGE. 

5) I, really and truly, believe that God has healed me from my December encounter with someone who I have suspected has not liked me for many years and was confirmed. It was such a turning point to do the "Walking with God" Exercise in Central Oregon and truly experience the touch of God. I have not been the same since. Turning point.

6) Finding Christ in the World was a very good thing for the three months of the summer. I am also grateful that I finally got a group together, even though it was only for three of the six times. 

7) I have such JOY. I am so GRATEFUL. I have such HOPE. 

This week was pretty amazing in that I went for a bike ride with no particular destination in mind, but as I headed on over to the covered bridge, I prayed that one of my college friends would come out of his house because he has been on my heart for the last 20 months because of the life difficulties he has been facing. JUST as I was riding by, he came out, and two hours later, I had a fuller picture of what he has been going through. My heart broke, and I fasted and prayed for his situation all day yesterday. I will continue to listen for what "active good" (One of the fruits of the Spirit that goes beyond the "goodness" most translations give but the Scripture I read THREE days in a row [from two different sources] had the translation "generosity," and it led me to discover that this Greek word means "beyond goodness" and it can have a rebuking aspect to it.) So I am waiting for further direction from the Lord. In the whole scheme of things, it is in my "Circle of Concern" but not in my "Circle of Influence." Actually, he is probably more in my Influence circle, and the other party is in the Concern circle. So far, I feel actively good toward him, but I am not sure the other person is even open to anything. I got that impression when I met with them soon after I heard of the crisis. The whole thing is very sad. 

All that said, I had some epiphanies since that conversation two days ago. I am SO GLAD I moved on from that group of people from college days! I was never really a part of their "inner circle," but I did not fit in it. I am so glad God led me to the Navigators. I will be forever grateful for the people I met and the love and community I have had with those people. I am also so thankful for the on-fire believers we are a part of now. It was right to move on and not wait for depth to occur. We are seeing the long-term fruit of their dependence on each other. I was sad when I was rebuffed in March of 2019, but I remember walking away unscathed. I move on with JOY! 

I don't even know if this makes sense, but I wanted to freewrite it.