My Nails

Good morning, World!

Today is the Sabbath.

Now that I am able to, I see no reason to not obey God's command to set aside this day for rest and reflection.

So, that is what I am going to do.

I may venture out today, but I will not be working. (As much as I would like to).

I figure it like this: God has answered my prayer and given me the break that I have been hoping for during the last couple of years. It is time that honor Him and do according to His Will, as He has made me able to do so.

I have failed Him so many times over the past couple of years. But, God is a merciful God. He sent Jesus to pay for my shortcomings. I am ashamed that Jesus had to pay for my sins the way He did, but I am grateful that it means I can have a second chance...or a third one. (Because God knows that I am going to fail again).

Anyway, I'll be here all day. Just a finger tap away on Facebook.

Have a blessed day!

Spaghetti and sleep

Good morning, World!

I slept until 9 AM this morning. Much later than I had intended to sleep, but it felt good.

Right now I am eating a spaghetti frozen dinner for breakfast. Then, I will start my day.

Yesterday, I didn't get started until around noon, due to the phone outage. I was so glad when it finally came back up!

Today, I will only have to make $60 in order to have enough to pay my Capital One bill on the 27th, because I was able to transfer some of my earnings into my bank account from my brokerage account. That is my goal.

Ya'll have a blessed day!

Power outage

Good morning, World! I woke up at 7 AM this morning. I made tea for the day and ate a meatball bowl for breakfast. Then, I tried to turn on the computer so I can do my daily Bible reading. I couldn't get signed in because it required my phone to authenticate my signing in and the internet was out on the phone. I couldn't even turn my phone on or off without service.

It was strange.

I understand there was a major power outage.

But, now I am back online and getting ready for the day ahead.

Yesterday, I worked the whole day on Lyft and Uber. Lyft sent me to Atlanta 3 times yesterday. The first time, I got there and the customer cancelled and I only got paid $4.50. I was not a happy camper.

But, I ended the day nearly making $100. I also made about $140 in my brokerage account. But, then I spent it all when I paid my ticket I got last week when I was going to turn my rental car in. I got a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign that I didn't see.

With all the construction going on in Dallas, it's easy to do.

I'm glad I am back home now, though.

I also bought a coffeemaker so I could make tea again, and save some money.

Ya'll have a blessed day!

Blackout Curtain

Good morning, World!

I woke up at 9:30 AM this morning because I stayed up late last night watching "Outlander". It's nice to be able to watch my shows again. Today is going to be a repeat of yesterday, but hopefully, I'll be able to work more with Uber and Lyft. Yesterday, I picked up my prescription and did some grocery shopping so I could eat without having to spend money eating high sodium foods at restaurants.

One of the housekeepers came knocking at my door yesterday to tell me how to pull the black-out curtain so I wouldn't be tying my curtains together in my room. I had no idea I had a blackout curtain. I am so glad she showed it to me! She was really sweet about it, too!

Now I can sleep without the sun shining in my face in the morning!

Not sure if that is good or bad, but it doesn't matter. I am in my home town, so I can work after dark more, if I need to.

Have a blessed day!

Following His Lead.

Good morning, World!

This morning, I will be working inside my room, buying and selling stocks until around 3 PM, then I will venture out to do some Uber and Lyft, and get something to eat.

I didn't make as much this week as I did last week, but at least my bills are covered for now.

I have been praying, and I think that it is now time that I start visiting different churches in the area throughout the week.

God has given me the talent of sharing information, and sometimes information is how we help others. It is time I start gathering information, in order to share and encourage others into the involvement in the community around us.

With my health the way it is right now, I think God has finished with my traveling for a little while. Maybe I'll get back on that horse later. For now, as disappointed as I am that I can't continue, God is not finished with me yet. And, I will continue to follow His lead.

Ya'll have a blessed day!

Genesis 1:6-8

Genesis 1:6-8

6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

God created every part of me. And, I am a part of the body of Christ. Each part in the body has a purpose.

If I choose not to do God's will, then I am but a dead limb on the tree that get pruned and cast aside.

John 15:1-2

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, the word "purge" means

"rid (someone or something) of an unwanted quality, condition, or feeling"

So, all the parts of me that are not useful for God's purposes are slowly being torn away...

And, no one said it would be painless.

God divides the good from the bad.

Genesis Chapter 1:4-5

Genesis Chapter 1:4-5

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

God divided me from those who chose not to be called His. He set me aside. He sanctified me.

This means, I am special. I am somebody. I am worth it, in His eyes.

Genesis 1:1-3

Genesis chapter 1

In the beginning God created the heaven and the Earth.

A new beginning deserves a new beginning.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Today is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.

In the beginning, God created me.

It was a different beginning than the one in the Bible, but it was a beginning, nonetheless.

I've started over so many times in my life. The one thing that all those things have in common is that I carried parts of my old self into them. I am sure that this time will not be any different; but, I'm going to try.

I start with nothing. Everything I have is a gift from God.

My health has taken a turn for the worst, and right now I am praying for healing that only He can provide, in a myriad of ways.

God gave me a story to tell. I want to tell that story.

Genesis chapter 1 verse 2

The Earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

The darkness tried to overtake me. It surrounded me on all sides. I felt as if I was going through a dark tunnel, grasping for anything I could hold on to to help pull me through.

I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I knew it was there. But this long dark tunnel was so lonely and desolate.

By the time I got to the end of the tunnel, I had been beaten and battered in my heart. My health had taken a downturn and I had no way of knowing if I would ever get better.

Congestive heart failure is not curable. It is only manageable. 

Genesis chapter 1 verse 3

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

Sometimes the struggles we have in life scar us. I had spent the last 2 years begging for help from people who were supposed to be the face of Jesus.

Aside from a few people who said they would pray for me, help was very hard to get.

It made the face of Jesus look useless.

If I had not been as strongly grounded in my faith, if I hadn't known the power of my God and understood that ultimately His plan would prevail, I probably would have thrown Christianity away.

I can understand the anger some people feel towards Him and what He stands for. It doesn't make that anger justified - only understood.

Avocados, Tires, Cigarettes, and Back Seat Drivers

Good evening, World!

I got this rental car so that I wouldn't be as stressed as I have been over working.

However, today was probably the most stressful day I've had in a while!

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. this morning, and the gauge was reading that I needed a tire rotation. I thought to myself, that can't be right because I just got the vehicle! And I don't even have a voucher yet.

I reset the gauge so that it reads that a tire rotation isn't due for another 5,000 MI.

Then the little exclamation light came on and said that my tires were low on pressure.

Crap!

I found the nearest discount Tire and went to go get my tires aired up and had them check the tires while they were at it. They informed me that I needed two new tires on the front. The reading for the tires was in the red. It was way past time and nearing the danger level.

I am 40 miles away from the Hertz rental car center. So I tried to call them, but I was told that the number did not exist. I was not going to pay for two new tires out of my own pocket, and I needed a voucher to get it done. So, I drove there, praying the whole way.

I got to the rental office, and all of their computer systems were down, and they had no idea when it was going to come back up. But I was assured that it usually doesn't take more than an hour or so. So I waited around.

After about an hour, the young man at the desk came over to me and told me that truthfully they just don't know when it's going to come back up and he can't give out any vouchers until it does, but, I could call this number that he gave me and they could fix one up and email it to me.

He could have told me that an hour before that!

So I called the number and I got the voucher and I went back to Denton to the Discount Tire that had told me I needed two new tires.

It took about an hour and a half for them to finally get me serviced. By then it was about 1:00 p.m.

Once again, half of my day had been wasted on maintenance. This time on a vehicle that I didn't even own. LOL

Once the tires were fixed, I drove to Walmart because I was out of tea. I had to park quite a ways away because the parking lot was so full. I got my tea, which was regular sweet tea and not extra sweet tea because they didn't have the extra sweet tea. But any tea is good tea, as long as it's sweet, in my book. LOL

I got a phone call from a bill collector, who is wanting me to pay a past due medical bill. It was only $60 and they had been trying to call me for a while. So I went ahead and paid it since I have the money. She asked me if there was anything she could help me with after that, I said, "nope. Except, I would like for you to stop calling me. LOL" and yes, she laughed.

I also bought some basic necessities that I was out of that I didn't get the other day. Hopefully I'm fixed up for a while.

Then I went and ate at the Cotton patch. It was really good food. I was especially impressed with their fried Green tomatoes. But, I had asked for an avocado bacon cheeseburger that was on the menu. When I got the burger it had no avocado on it. When I told the waiter, he said the avocado only comes on it if you request it.

Duh! Did I not ask for an avocado bacon cheeseburger? Is that not requesting avocado? He only got a dollar tip.

Then I finally went to work. There were back to back Lyft rides. Half of them canceled on me before I could get to them. And I kept working myself closer and closer to the Dallas area. 

By the time I got halfway to Dallas, Lyft navigation went crazy. I'm in a town that I do not know the roads, and I have to listen to her. But she was so confusing! I could be sitting there at the light and she would tell me, "turn right. Go 150 ft turn left. Turn right, then turn left", and I hadn't even moved yet. I had no idea which way to go! And the passengers I had in my backseat did not speak English.

I finally got them where they wanted to go and then I picked up a guy going to Love Field airport. When he got in the car I told him I was so glad that he spoke English because I needed a backseat driver! I explained to him why it took me so long to find him, and asked him to help me with navigation.

He pulled out his Google. He was telling me what Lane to go into and where to turn, warning me not to listen to her on the app, and then he said, "I am so sorry for being a backseat driver! I know I'm bad!"

I exclaimed, "No! Don't apologize! I need you to be a backseat driver! You hear what I'm going through? LOL"

Normally I hate backseat drivers. But I really appreciated him. And he even tipped me $10.

After I dropped him off I came back to Denton. It was an hour drive. How did I end up that far away so quick?

I'm done for the day. You'll be glad to know that I did not break down and buy a pack of cigarettes, even though I wanted to really bad.

So I think I'm going to sit here for the rest of the night and just relax.

I've made all but $77 that I need to pay for my rental. 

Y'all have a blessed night!

Birds and Rentals

I was really nervous today.

But everything turned out a whole lot easier than I thought it was going to be. All I did was go in, present my insurance, my driver's license, and my Lyft app on my phone, and they gave me the keys and told me to make sure that I do whatever maintenance is needed.

By the way, I don't have to pay for the maintenance. I just have to make sure it's done.

I had to find a storage unit that would house my car for me while I'm out on the road in a rental. You would think that they would let me park it on their lot since I'm driving their car. But, I was able to find one approximately a mile away from the rental company, which was convenient.

I went and ate, and then I started my day after I drove to Denton, Texas.

It was only a 35 mile drive.

Then I turned the apps on.

I really like working in Denton.

It's so much busier than Texarkana! And, there is so many more new things to do and see!

Eventually I'll have to go back to Texarkana to check my mail. I'll do that at the end of the month. I have to pay for my mailbox anyway. I also need to grab my suitcase. I grabbed about three changes of clothes and put them in a garbage bag, because I figured it would take less room. I think the suitcase probably would have been a better idea. LOL

My plan is to get some of these bills paid off, and then get a room.

Y'all have a blessed night!

P.S.

Check out these birds at the Love's where I'm sleeping tonight! It reminds me of something out of a Stephen King novel.