learning new things – Carol Ann Erhardt, Author

Yesterday I was in a learning mode. Ever have one of those days? And then at the end of the day I looked back and felt guilty that I hadn’t really accomplished anything visible!

My writing program had a huge update and I’ve been having difficulty finding all the things I need. I knew they were there and lots more new stuff, but I hadn’t taken the time to go through the tutorial. So I started doing that in midmorning and continued through early afternoon.

After dinner, I did my Bible study and decided I wanted to see how other people were taking notes in their Bibles. So I watched a few videos…long videos! LOL!

Overall, I learned a lot, but my brain was in overload. I knew it would be difficult to go to bed with my head swimming with thoughts and ideas. Sigh. Then I remembered…I could actually turn on the television tonight because my fasting time is over.

There is nothing as relaxing as a nice warm shower, body lotion, soft pajamas, and snuggling under the covers to watch a light-hearted program. Soon my eyelids were drooping and the program was watching me!

I’m hoping to have a more productive day visibly than yesterday…after I finish that software update training! All in all, I spent a lot of time with God yesterday and that always uplifts my day!

Here is my buddy coloring picture from January.

For Mother’s Day my youngest daughter gifted me a puzzle book filled with various types of Bible related puzzles. There are crosswords, word search, cryptograms, and so many more. The ones that are the hardest for me are word scrambles.

You’d think these should be the easiest for me since I’m a writer. Honestly it took me a week to solve this puzzle:

My mind struggles to find words that make sense. If each letter was on something tangibly moveable, I’d do much better. But something about doing this visually in my mind becomes very difficult. I want to solve it myself and not refer to the answers in the back. I only look after I’ve finished to make sure I’m right.

It’s my belief that no matter how old we are, we need to engage our thinking processes. I love to learn and I’ve always loved to solve puzzles. Maybe that’s why math was fun for me in school. I planned to be a college math teacher…but my path turned in a different direction. Today I couldn’t solve a calculus problem if I was promised a huge reward!

I love the scripture: “A person’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps.” (CSB) Every single day I have plans for what I want to accomplish. Sometimes they come to fruition, other times not. I believe one of the things we need to develop as we age is how to be flexible.

I have a routine to follow. Most of us do. But if we get frustrated when that routine is disrupted, we are not living life the way God would have us live. We need to learn patience, and how to find joy in the disruptions of life. Those can be great blessings in our day or not. In both cases, we need to turn to God and thank Him or to seek His guidance and comfort.

Aging is probably the hardest thing we live through. But we shouldn’t get upset about the wrinkles, the pull of gravity on the body, the gray hairs, and the aches and pains. Instead open a puzzle book, work a jigsaw puzzle, build a model, paint, knit, or find a new hobby to learn! Keep the brain active.

I have a suggestion. Try Bible verse mapping. That’s my newest venture for 2022. Don’t know what it is? Look it up or stay tuned for my next post!

Until next time…

Tag: learning new things

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