Post One

Well, here goes... I've tried one other web journal before, which I keep up with miserably. So my goal with this blog is just to keep it current, as much as possible, with life and thoughts. The best way for me to do that is not to feel pressured to always be profound and/or interesting. Sometimes life is just life, so I'll just record it as it comes.

Romans 12:12 (see profile), for anyone who doesn't want to look it up, says simply, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." So that's why it's my theme verse for seeking simplicity.

Today I am at work, which is at a nuclear power plant. It's a Sunday, so things are pretty slow, hence the random idea to start a blog. One of the redeeming things lately about work has been the drive home, watching the gorgeous Fall sunsets. Since the time change last week, it's pretty much dark by the time I leave, but I can still catch a few minutes of the setting sun.

This past week has mostly been marked by a flare up in my neck/back pain. I have some mixture of degenerated discs, ankylosing spodylosis, and maybe some facet joint inflammation. So if you know what any of that is, then I am sorry because you probably suffer from it too. I was reading up yesterday on some symptoms associated with chronic back pain, one of which is depression. I can definitely see how this happens. I thankfully am not depressed, but I have noticeable differences in mood when the pain is bad. The only way I have found to combat this is prayer, lots of prayer. Just like with any dissatisfied attitude, only Christ can redeem the sickness in our hearts that broods bitterness and anger. This might be easier for me to say today because the pain is improved greatly from the last few days. But I've been through enough ups and downs to know that it's not easy. I probably would be depressed without having hope to cling to. It doesn't have to be fancy hope, just hope in the right God. Back to Romans 12:12. The key is not to force myself to be joyful, patient, or faithful, but to ask God to brood these things in my heart. I can't do it. Thank God that he can and does.