Important

While emotionally difficult, the film “The Sound of Freedom” is an important and valuable film, especially for those who have little exposure to information of human trafficking and its statistics.

Human trafficking is a true thing, unfortunately, and, many could say, undeniable work of the devil, as spooky or odd as that might sound. I, myself, had the thought tonight, Why does God allow this? And I realized immediately: He doesn’t. It is not God’s will or work at all…

So, go see “The Sound of Freedom”, a film that portrays rather well the true story of a Homeland Security officer who was moved by the encouragement of God to valuable, illogical, immensely dangerous, and life-saving action. Then, spread the word to upload hotel and hotel room photos to TraffickCam.com in order to help AI help to identify where trafficked people are being kept, transferred, and photographed. They are both small yet significant steps on helping to heal the world and to slow down the terrifying rate of human trafficking, in hopes of eventually ending it altogether.

If you’re ever in Houston, stop by A 2nd Cup, a coffee shop dedicated to educate on and to help end human trafficking. As they say, they are more than a cafe – they are coffee with a cause. And their coffee and teas are actually quite good to drink, too.

In addition to that, love. Please, love. Especially those who are the worst of company, show them mercy’s no show them love. If you cannot show your own love to these people, show them God’s love. The only way truly to heal our world and its many sadnesses and evils is with love. Let people know that they matter – they, too, are children of God, even if they have strayed from His path and will in their lives. It is likely a lack of love that led them astray in the first place. They, too, and they, especially, need love. So, I ask you, please, to love.

Dear God, help us to love, please. Give us the courage we need to help heal the world through your love. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Talk about mysterious…

All I will say for now is that today started out very differently than how it turned out. Note this exchange between a friend of mine from college and me from just after midday today (though, morning still for the friend).

J: How are things with trying to find work?
H: Iffy
H: I had a clear message from God to do other things while waiting for a reply for this one particular job interview. But it has been a few weeks now with no follow-up after the second interview.
J: Ahhh that’s hard to wait through. His timing can certainly be mysterious.
H: Yes!!

Fast forward to 18:45, and I sent that same friend the following message:

H: What did you start this morning?????

Suffice it to say for now that my prayers and understanding of God’s guidance proved true, and to an extreme. He kept telling me that I would understand and know how to proceed once they reached out to me, meaning the school where I had applied for the IT position. He didn’t say anything about whether I’d get the job or even that their reaching out had to do with that job – just that I would understand after talking with them when they reached out. And I had started getting antsy just the past two days, like it was getting close, whatever it was…

And, boy… what an unexpected conversation – two conversations – I had with them this evening when they reached out. God led me truly and clearly, that’s for sure. I have at least one more conversation to have tomorrow morning, but this much of a turn of events was certainly unexpected, though not unbelievable. God truly works in mysterious ways and with mysterious timing. To put it simply, though vaguely, God has just offered me almost exactly what I asked to have several years ago, but that I likely wouldn’t have been able to manage and handle at the time I first wished for it. Now that I say that, I’m not sure I ever prayed and asked for it directly, though I certainly wished it were possible and could and would happen. Man… what a wow-filled evening…

Thank you, God. Help me to act according to your will and to see clearly, especially tomorrow. Help me also to speak clearly and to have the words that make the best difference, tomorrow and always. Thank you for this blessing of an offer. Please, heal all those in need of healing, and help them to feel your love clearly. Thank you. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Sorting it out

We love each other. God, do we love each other.

But we are still struggling to figure out how to let go of all the insecurities and junk that doesn’t serve us, in order to accept the love each of us has for the other.

And that part has proven surprisingly difficult and incredibly annoying.

‘Why do we have to piss each other off so much?’

‘Because we’re so hard-headed.’

‘And defensive.’

‘What? Me? Speak for yourself!’

😂😂

I’m just glad we can see it all. It isn’t easy to work through all of this, but it would be loads harder and nearly impossible doing it blindly.

Thank you, God, for this love and this relationship. Help us always to become better with each other through your love. Help us to let go of that which does not serve our highest selves and you, as you intended it to be in our lives. Thank you for this life. Help all to experience and notice your love. In your name, I pray. Amen.

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Getting closer…

One more day, and then he’ll be heading back to me. I can hardly wait. I’ve never missed someone – not even him – like this.

God, keep him safe, please, and give him a safe and easy passage back here this Friday, along with all his things and the car and the dog – keep them all safe and well and together, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

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Getting back into it

I dropped off the cousin with another fourth cousin (this one twice removed!) today at midday, and have been working on getting back into it all since then. I got some studies done (though very little), picked up some, rested some, and ran some errands (specifically buying some hooks for the chickens’ fence to connect and disconnect easily to our yard’s fence and a wheelbarrow – woohoo!).

Then, I picked up my aunt and uncle at the airport as they returned from El Salvador. Unfortunately, they never looked outside to the pickup area, so they had no idea they would have to spend several minutes fighting their way out to me once I finally made it through the terrible traffic trying to pick up those hoards of people waiting in the heat, all caused by terrible construction at that terminal of the airport – construction that has been going on for over a year, at least, and is only getting worse. Nonetheless, they made it out just in time for me not to have to spend another half hour barely moving after circling the airport.

There were hundreds of people crammed into nowhere near enough space for them, let alone for their luggage, too. It was dreadful, and even freaked me out a bit. It was at least 200 meters long, the pickup area, plus the walkway to get there, and that was all packed just like in these photos, even more packed on the walkways and ramps at the start. It was frightening. What was more frightening was that the airport folks didn’t seem to be bothered by it one bit, as though it weren’t a major problem. Why was I not going to pull away when I was clearly parked at the end, the officer is asking (though kindly)? Because my family is over there, but they are trapped in the crowd and can’t get out. (I wasn’t even lying, y’all.) Fortunately, the officer then asked what they were wearing. I had no idea, though. Just as I said so, they suddenly popped into view in the roadway a few cars back, shoving their way forward by hugging to the vehicles that clearly weren’t moving very quickly or at all. As soon as they got to the car, they threw in their luggage and told me to get in and drive. I obliged. They were worried I wouldn’t be able to get out, due to the cars all trying to cram out. I’m no India driver, but I am a good Houston driver. Just as I had snuck my way in to be able to pick them up at the curb, I forced my way out, back into the third lane, the one with moving traffic, and got us out of there quite quickly. (They were impressed, and specifically commented on how they’d forgotten that I was a Houston driver and could do stuff like that. 😛 )

Anyway, they’re here and they’ve showered and gone to bed. Now, I’ve showered, and I’m going to bed, too.

Goodnight!

Thank you, God, for the safe travels today. Please, make us all well and healthy, and heal where we could use healing to help us become our best selves. Keep my man safe, please, as well as the dog and all of his stuff and our stuff. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Fireworks

I didn’t see any fireworks for July Fourth, though I heard plenty from my bed.

It would have been such hassle even to consider how to go see fireworks, I didn’t even bother looking into it, and I just went to bed that night when I was ready.

Tonight, without having to go anywhere or figure out anything, we got to watch great fireworks to music from the 1980s after the baseball game ended. We didn’t even have to leave our seats, and they had a perfect and central view of the fireworks. It was awesome, and way better of a view than I’d have had for anything on the Fourth, anyway. Plus, it was hassle-free and after a baseball game we enjoyed attending. Great surprise at the end there. Great surprise.

Thank you, God, for the blessing of today, and for that fun turnout with my getting to see fireworks after all. Thank you. Keep my man safe, please. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

A great day

Today, I did outdoorsy stuff and spent time with people I love and who love me. I had a great lunch with my dad, a great workout with a friend over FaceTime (and her little sister who was doing a lot of the stuff with us, on and off, which was adorable, including her counting aloud when she was on a way different count than either of us had been at the time :P)), and then I had a great evening playing pickle ball with friends for my friend’s birthday – none of us had ever played before today, and there is definitely an adjustment to be made from tennis – and then having dinner with them afterward. I got home tonight close to 9pm, absolutely exhausted and sun exhausted.

I could barely stay up half an hour to talk with my man before I went to bed. And my skin is only slightly burned, but I definitely spent some time in the sun today, and I can feel it throughout my skin and body.

Dear God, thank you for such love and fun and satisfaction today. Thank you, loads. Please, help us all to sleep very well and effectively tonight, that we awaken tomorrow ready for Church and your word, as well as pursuing and fulfilling your will and our daily goals! In your name, I pray. Amen!

And goodnight!

Post-a-day 2023

P.S. Happy July! Welcome!

Found it

Today was another great day of getting done things I hadn’t done yet, despite having them on the list for more than a short amount of time. Tomorrow, I hope, I shall continue to do such things(!). And I’m actually quite excited about that. One of the things I did today was just to spend a few minutes to sort through e-mails and to delete or mark as read the ones I had missed over time or that had expired relevance. That dropped my unread e-mail count by over a third. That was a big deal in and of itself. Hopefully, I remember to do more for actually reading those daily inspiration e-mails that I’ve stocked up. Tomorrow could be a day filled with inspiration! ;P

Post-a-day 2023

A good book

Have you ever avoided finishing a book, because you were enjoying the book so much, you weren’t ready to finish the story of the world within it? Even if you know the ending will be great, just as the book has been great so far, you resist finishing it, so as to live that much longer in the joy of reading the book, being in the middle of such a great story. Ever had that?

I have. I once had it for over a decade, actually, though that was, by far, the longest. It was the last book of a series I had been loving for years. It just wasn’t ready for it all to be over, you know? For there not to be anything else to look forward to reading… Though, by the time I went back to that book, I actually had no idea who several of the characters were and what was going on anywhere near where my bookmark had been. Even when I restarted the book itself, I was lost. It was too important a series to start off the final book confused. So, I then re-read the whole series up to that point, and finally finished the final book 11 years after I’d begun it. It was great, to be sure. But it was also worth waiting those 11 years of anticipation.

Today, I had a similar feeling for a book I had already read – I just wasn’t ready to finish it. However, the feeling wasn’t nearly as strong as that series’s one had been, as I picked ip the book and finished it later this afternoon. But that waiting period still felt great. 🙂

Anyway, happy reading!

Thank you, God, for wonderful books and for reading and knowledge! Amen!

Post-a-day 2023