Until we meet again...

Well, I just got done helping my youngest brother, Nick, pack up the u-haul and prep to move to Kansas City. It is a bitter sweet moment. I cannot express how proud I am to be his brother. Nick is a solid young man, well-mannered and compassionate, intelligent, good looking and humble. He is also one of the funniest guys I know (both intentionally and unintentionally) and simply hilarious to be around. I've been spoiled the last few weeks having him live with Mom and Dad next door. Whether we are watching a movie, playing a game or going somewhere it's ALWAYS more interesting with Nick around. And now he's moving 6 hours away. I'm sad. But I also know this is just a taste of what's to come. At some point he is going to move to another country (more than likely Africa) and it's gonna be a bit trickier to visit. I will visit, but certainly not as much as I'd like. However, I'm really ok with that for a very specific reason. Which brings me to my thought for the day.

One of the things I love about my walk with Jesus is knowing that anyone who has a relationship with Him will one day be in Heaven. And while there are a HUGE number of people I love here on earth but I don't get to see much if ever, I will meet them one day in Heaven and there will be no more separation. That is such an indescribable blessing. I have friends on both coasts, different continents and every place in-between, and if I never got to see them again it would break my heart, and I'm so grateful that is not the case. So if you are reading this and I haven't seen you face to face for awhile, know this... I can't wait to see you face to face in heaven. It's gonna be a blast. :D

Well, ok...

As promised here is another post... however, it's gonna need to be quick. Due to all the snow, Jennifer didn't go to work and hence Kaylee is at home too. So I don't have time to wax on all philosophical like. I will say this for the snow. Is there anything quite as demoralizing as finally admitting you need to get off your butt to shovel the driveway and sidewalk just to look outside an hour later and you can't even tell where the sidewalk is because it's snowed enough to fill in that part and level it off with the rest of the yard. Grr. Praise God for my dad and his snowblower this morning. Til next time... God bless.

The first step is always the hardest...

It's been forever since I've done this, and every day I'm aware of it more than the day before. So why haven't I written? Well, it's complicated.............................

I live with low-grade Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). What does that mean? Well basically if I don't get a lot of sunlight I tend to get grouchy and lethargic. In higher grade cases it can easily lead to severe depression and even suicide. For me it means I just am unmotivated, easily annoyed, and basically slightly depressed. And living in central Illinois in January and February means it's a good bet there could be a lack of sunshine. Add to the mix my issues with low self-esteem and yup... a great recipe for home baked depression.

This directly relates to my blogging in that I like to blog about what I'm thinking/dealing with. But lately all I've been dealing with is trying to stand against that constant creep of depression. The other issue is I struggle to reconcile the fact that I'm a Believer who really does love God and truly has a great life because of Him and really have no reason to even begin to be depressed... but yet there it is pressing in nonetheless.

So what have I decided to do? I'm putting it out there for anyone to read. Talk about nerve racking, lol. But I am determined to stand on the truth of my Father and Lover. For depression is simply part of the darkness and darkness can't stay when the Light is there. I've also restarted using very specific checklists for my day in order to keep taking those steps forward. And one of those steps is to blog more, no matter what the situation is. I don't know if that's good news for you all or not, but there it is. God bless. :D