Friday Freewrite Fifteen

Me at Peavy Arboretum 

The sun will rise in 22 minutes. So, I will use 15 of them for a nice Freewrite on my trusty blog. I have been blogging since 2004 (this is the second blog because the other one disappeared for a while and reappeared many years after I had started this one. I cannot remember when I switched to this one.). 

So I am feeling 100% better. I think the last few days were not COVID but were JETLAG! It is a real thing, and I don't care if others say, "Oh it doesn't take me that much time to recover from it...blah...blah...blah." (Telling me I am wrong for feeling jet lag SO MANY days after my return from Europe or wherever. Not wrong for feeling this way people. It is just that you are probably always tired. I am a person who is rarely tired. So, when I am tired it is usually for a reason which can be JETLAG or sickness.) I ALWAYS take 1 day for every hour difference in the time zone. So, this is day nine back, and I slept until I usually sleep (which is 4 am) and stayed up as late as I usually stay up the previous night. So, I have a TON of energy this morning. No sniffles. No cough. Lots of energy. I am a bunny this morning. YAY!

Note to self: DO NOT SCHEDULE things for at least five days after you return. It was crazy to have an out-of-town guest and start a contemplative cohort and meet 2-3 directees a day. GIVE YOURSELF SPACE, Carol, next time. But I loved having Bene here. It could not be helped. Maybe could have cut our time in Northern Ireland short to have space to recover (also would not have gotten COVID in the first place). Oh well, live and learn!

Today, I listened to Trevor Hudson's podcast that came out last Monday, and it was so spot on about two things 1) that often the spiritual formation movement can leave out mission. This is one of the reasons I did not connect with Renovare. In fact, one book that we read for the book club was SO OFF BASE when it came to mission [I will not mention the name of it or the author] that I almost threw the book across the room! So, I thank Trevor for having the humility to admit this. I loved what he said, "The world is God's first fiance. Where I am is to share God's love with the world." Good words. 2) that we need to be "shaping a life that has space for joy... we are a people who should be overwhelmed with joy...notice our resistance to joy."  AMEN again. I 100% agree. I am not saying to deny our emotions but to really notice if we think it is something we should not be characterized by. God gave me the name Carol (song of joy) for a reason.

Speaking of joy. I had a clean cancer check again eight years after Melanoma. Many don't know that I had it. But I had the beginning stages, and my friend, Abigail, caught it early on. So, as a celebration, I went for a walk in McDonald Forest/Peavy Arboretum. I love that place. I almost did not do it because it was foggy and cold, but it was above the fog. So, I had a glorious 45-minute walk among the fall leaves. They are down earlier this year due to the storm that came in over the weekend, but I got the glorious tail end of it. I did a little video about seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting nature. I will see if I can post it here.

Now is the time to leave after 15 minutes. 

Happy Friday!