I Do This Every Day

Routines and activities are missed, especially when you don’t do something in the time window you usually do them. There are habits engrained into our routines. When life hiccups and our day is rearranged, it’s hard not to look for a new time window to complete the routine.

My morning hour has a typical routine. It’s totally quiet, and generally, no one else awake. But I’ve created a new focus that makes life a bit less stressful and prayerfully more focused. What is it?

I work hard on keeping my focus narrowed to my lane
and not being scatterbrained about wanting to do everything that pops up on my radar!

It has nothing to do with delegation or selfishly doing all because I’m not sure anyone else can do it any better. Rather, it has everything to do with wanting to try my hand at anything that attracts my attention.

I like to be in control of my computing life, from learning how to manage a blog website, installing a new computer system, or even setting up a new digital platform. Confession is good for the soul, right? I like to do it all. During these learning and doing tasks, my toolbox keeps filling up with “Been there. Done that.” awards and rewards!

Along the way, I find I’m not good at everything. Delegate or pay someone else to do it. Equally, I learn when it’s better to let someone else do something because they are better than I am. A…N…D… There are many playgrounds I find I’m just not interested in once I enter the yard.

What’s My Focus?

My time is valuable. To me. No one is paying me to show up at a specific time to clock in and out. That part of life is history. My value is found in doing what I want by keeping my focus on a goal that will give me satisfaction.

Sometimes this creates a stumbling block. I trip around the desire until I twirl the focus button to put that interest out of reach. Make it about money, and I’ll find the resource. It may be too spendy if it’s about time because minutes and seconds are valuable commodities I cannot find nor create.

On the one hand, maybe it’s good to ignore the sidelines and keep my eye on the goal. On the other hand, one song suggests you must stop and smell the roses along that dusty road of life.

Can you have both? Sure. Factor in some daydreaming and wishful thinking time. Only, don’t let your wishes outweigh what must be accomplished.

Clarity and Substance

“I am only one. But still, I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”
~Edward Everett

I’ve learned what it’s like to be a researcher this late in life. Looking back, I realize I’ve done it for years, but I never knew how much fun it is to dig things out. Get to the root of something and know where it comes from.

This is one area of my life that I refuse to blur out. A few minutes of looking at my sources of thought brings many speakers to my mind, and I can get lost in what someone else says.

That’s why I enjoy reading!

I looked up the quote from above. Edward Everett was a multitalented personality. Born after our nation’s founding, he experienced many factors of life.

Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865)
…An American politician, pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and (the) United States Secretary of State. He also taught at Harvard University and served as its president. [Source]

He spoke at the dedication of Gettysburg for two hours, just before President Lincoln gave his famous two-minute address. That’s probably a fact you never knew and may never have been interested in digging out for yourself.

That’s why I enjoy reading!

Here’s My Thought Today

I’m learning that many are uninterested in the backstory. The internet is fodder for the masses, although I love to research through the internet. For most, gone are the days of enjoying the card catalog and dusty shelves of a quiet library. Shhhh! Remember those days?

My bride would take our kids to the local library in Channelview, Texas, by DeZavala (school) and next to Interstate 10. They were allowed to check out 11 books. Those books would have to do them for an entire week! No wonder they are both thinkers, readers, and writers today!

When they were dedicating a new library experience at a new junior school, I checked the shelves, and most of the books were sadly outdated. This was about 1990, and they still had a book from the ’50s titled “So, You Want To Fly Rockets!”

Books can quickly become outdated! In today’s sensitive world, what was popular and accepted back then, is frowned upon and tossed in these current times. (1984 might be better titled 2022.)

I’m primarily electronic today. I have thousands of books available at my fingertips, but there is no easy way to search them all simultaneously. You must still know your resources and research like you once did in that library of your younger days.

I can take my library with me just about anywhere on the internet in an electronic world. Since I’ve not tested this theory in every corner of the globe, I’m sure it’s still a guessing game if it will still work in some countries.

What Will Be Important In The End

We will memorialize my uncle in a few weeks—the last sibling of my dad’s family. When Henry was approaching the end, it felt very uncomfortable to think he could pass and not have some family around his bedside. So, we traveled to him.

There was a sense of closure, knowing he wasn’t too far away and we could be there when he needed us. That’s not always the case. The Apostle Paul, when he was nearing the end of his life, talked about those who fled him when he needed them. (2 Timothy 4:16-18)

We read his last words recorded to his protege, Timothy, just a few verses before.

Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come
—and the books, especially the parchments.
(2 Timothy 4:13 NKJV)

When you reach the end, what or who will you want close to you? Something to warm your body and keep your mind researching and reading? Probably not. Paul was expecting Timothy to come and instructed him on what to bring.

We are living in trying times. Getting the family involved in life-altering situations is difficult, so many are facing life-ending decisions without loved ones. This may sound morbid, but I’m tired of family and friends passing with no one able to be with them. The pandemic has taught us the cruelty of isolation.

When it comes my time, I want my family with me. And, I cannot imagine being too far from my electronic library, so I’ll keep my computer nearby. Regardless, I’ll want my Bible. As with the Apostle Paul, I know the Lord will be there.