BlogsGiving

I'm really good at coming up with new words. My word for the month of November, BlogsGiving. Yes, my goal is to attempt to write in this thing every day for the month of November. I'm really not sure if it's a realistic goal, and I'll probably have to set reminders for myself to remember to write, but I want to attempt to write in it.

I figured there is No Shave November, which, well.......I guess I won't participate in. There are people who post every day of what they are thankful for, which I've done in the past. So, I think BlogsGiving will be a combination of that. TMI and a little hairy with some thankfulness thrown into the blog. I mean, what could possibly go wrong.....right....right????

I don't even know if anyone will ever read about BlogsGiving, but I'm going to give it a whirl and see what happens. If nothing else, I've always enjoyed journaling and I've gotten out of the habit of that, so this is my own personal journal.

So, if you do read this, let me know if there is something you want to know about. It can be ask BecBec anything. Well, maybe not anything, but you know. I'm sure I'm going to need suggestions for this BlogsGiving.

What Do You Do When You Gain Time Back?

How many times have I said, I need more hours in my day?? Granted, it's usually followed by the statement that even with more time, I'd still complain that I need more time. Well, I'm about to gain about 3 extra hours in my day and my goal is not to complain about needing more time. However, with this new found time, I'm kind of terrified, seriously.

Currently, I work 8:00-4:30 in downtown Nashville. Since I'm downtown, I am unable to park at my building (unless I want to pay for a parking garage near by, which I don't). I generally park at The Titans stadium (or the baseball stadium) and take a shuttle bus to and from my office. Working the later shift like I do, I should plan on 45 minutes, on a good day, to an hour on a decent day just to get to parking lot. I need to plan on 15-20 minutes for the shuttle bus to get me to or from my office. On average, my commute, including the shuttle bus, is about an hour and 20 minutes to an hour and a half one way. That's almost 3 hours a day that I spend commuting to my job.....3 HOURS!!!!!!

Officially in 2 weeks, I'll be working from home 3 days a week and only going into the office 2 days a week, with the hopes that that goes to 1 day a week in the near future. That means for those days I'm working at home, I'm gaining 3 hours to my day. 3 hours a day I'm gaining, and 9 hours a week that I'm getting back due to not having to commute to downtown Nashville.

I'm stoked for that. I worked from home today and I love it. I have zero stress, I accomplish a lot when I'm home. I get tons of work done with no interruptions and when needed, I can do some household chores, like laundry. WOW! Amazing. I don't even mind working longer because I can. I attempt to leave the office on time the majority of the days, so I can go ahead and conquer my commute, but now, I can work and I don't mind it!

However, I'm nervous about this new found time. I'm nervous that I'm not going to be a good steward of my time. This is a gift, this is 3 hours given back to me to do whatever I please with it. 3 hours added to my day. I complain that I don't have time to do stuff, but I can't use that any  more. What if those 3 hours slip away from me and I completely miss them? What if I waste them doing trivial things, like playing candy crush or perusing Facebook. What can God teach me in this time?

Yesterday in church, the sermon was discussing Joseph. The sentence that stuck with me the most from the sermon that  I have been pondering is, "We go to God when we are faced with troubles, but we don't go to Him as much when things are going good. We are short-sighting ourselves by doing that." (Paraphrasing, because I'm too lazy to get up to get my journal!) I'm giving an extra 3 hours a day, I have no excuse but to spend time with God. I'm not saying spend the whole 3 hours with him, but I  need to be better about making time for Him.

It's so easy put yourself on cruise control when things are going good, and things are going good for me. Every year I say I'm going to read the bible from front to end, I have yet to completely finish that. Do you know how many times I've read Genesis?!?! I should have that book memorized by now! It's so easy to find an excuse to put quiet time with God on the back burner, however that excuse is about to become extinct for me, at least for 3 days a week!

My prayer is that I can utilize this time I'm being given. Not everyone gets that. I can learn so much from spending some of that time with God. There are things on my heart that I'm specifically praying for, but I know I need to be more intentional and listen more. I'm great at praying, but not always great at listening.

I'm about to receive the best gift, I better put it to good use!

Slowing Down

Almost daily, I travel McEwen Drive to get to the interstate. There is a spot on the road with a sign that tells you what your speed is. Every morning when I get to this sign, my speed flashes really fast, followed by "SLOW DOWN" flashing really fast. Yes, every day I'm far enough over the speed limit to have slow down flashing at me. Every day, I ignore this and continue on at my current speed that I'm going.

It has dawned on me that that sign is a metaphor for my life. I should slow down, seriously! I go, go, and go until I wear myself out, take a small break, and then continue going at full speed.

The scary thing is, compared to 5-10 years ago,  I've slowed down considerably! I use to be able to go out multiple nights throughout the week and still have tons of energy left. That's not me anymore, but I still keep going and going, just like the energizer bunny.

That sign is telling me to slow down, and I don't. I've realized that is also a metaphor for my life. Why don't I slow down? I have a bright yellow sign flashing at me telling me to slow down, and I don't. I just smirk at it and keep going. It's almost a game to see if I can get it to yell at me on a daily basis.

That sign is a metaphor of how I've always been. I'm the youngest, I don't like people telling me what to do. The sign is no different. That sign is telling me to slow down, just like in my life, if you tell me to do something and I don't want you to tell me to do something, I may do the exact opposite, just to be a rebel and do what you told me not to do. I may be considering slowing down and going the speed limit, but because you told me to slow down and go the speed limit, I'm not, because I don't want that sign to think it can tell me what to do.

I then question, why doesn't that sign trust me. I grew up driving like a maniac on this road, long before it had a speed limit, long before it was paved, long before it was widen, long before people started moving here and traveling on it. Just like most of the roads in this area, I should be grandfathered in to speed on McEwen, because I know how to handle that road.

I also think, if I just keep speeding every day, that sign is going to stop flashing at me, and just be like, ok, it's Becca, let her go, she's good. She's not going to listen to me anyhow, let me get the next person.

And then I think, that sign is like God. How many times has God given me a flashing sign in my life to protect me, and I ignore him. How many times have I heard God tell me what to do, and I ignored him? How many times has God tried getting my attention, and I just blast past him? What if God is using that sign to tell me to slow down in my life? What if that sign is a metaphor, and I'm just writing a blog about it and not acting on it?

I need flashing signs in my life, like I need God in my life. How many times have I listened to God flashing something in front of my face and how many times has it made my life better. How many times have I sat quietly and listened to Him and gained wisdom and knowledge. How many times have I sat and soaked up his love for me? How many times have I been comforted by Him? Everyday, that sign is there, not giving up on me, just like God has been there every day, thankfully not giving up on me. Just like that flashing sign has mine and everyone else's best interest at hand, God has my best interest at hand as well and when I see God flashing a sign at me, I should listen to it, because it's going to be good. And maybe, just maybe, I may try going the speed limit on McEwen the next time I drive to work....maybe.