2022

Spring Reset With Mel Robbins And Catching Up Currently

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“You can’t control how you feel. But you can always choose how you act.” — Mel Robbins

Hey, Y’all!

I am at the last minute getting information out about a very important opportunity that could change your life.

The other evening I was going through my Facebook feed when I came across Mel Robbins offering a free Spring Reset 3- Part training. Mel Robbins is a motivational speaker. I jumped on the chance for this opportunity and hope that many others take this FREE Opportunity as well. Please Click The Link  https://courses.melrobbins.com/reset you will not be disappointed.

I have followed the instructions thus far and already have the training 1 video waiting for me to watch and work through in my email.

I have shared before and continue to share that a year ago when I was in the hospital and rehabilitation Nursing Home, I would not remain the same when I returned home.

I was released the Weekend of July 4th, 2021. My Independence Day personally, was July 4th, 2021. When friends did what they could but especially one friend who asked someone to help me move to a street-level apartment.

My life has not been the same since coming home that day. I have not, nor has anyone else found it necessary to call an ambulance for myself since the Spring of 2021. I want to continue my journey of change.

I am down to two wounds on my left extremity on either side of my ankle. A year and a half ago we were looking at 11-15 wounds total and maybe even more than that. I have lost a total of 75 pounds in the last year and I am hoping to press on beyond that.

I have made my apartment home and refer to it as my house. I feel like I am a sponge taking in everything I can learn, hoping to implement more changes in my life. I have plenty of room for improvement and want more than anything to keep growing and changing.

Emotionally and spiritually there has been an improvement in not having to take other people’s temperatures to see if I am okay.

I am closer to God than I have been in almost the whole seven years I have moved to South East Missouri. Again I have much room for improvement. I am finding I am for once, reasonably happy and content in my surroundings.

I am finding joy in my life. I have accused others of stealing my joy and maybe one or two monsters that were once in my life did steal my joy. But I realize today, I mostly traded my joy for fear, anger, resentment, hatred, self-loathing, and self-pity, Do you get it? I became my monster.

I am working to rid myself of all the monsters today.

I am learning to surrender, pray, and meditate. I have hope and a future.

I get the choice to listen to others and realize they help me more as I listen.

I do not have to defend myself today in stories others may hear about me or see. I have both been a good friend and a jerk. Both are true.

My life is not even close to what it once was and I am pushing forward.

Let’s Do this Spring Reset With Mel Robbins

Thanks for reading!

This has been another blog post entry by Boxcar Mike, over and out!

God Bless Y’all Everybody!

I Have Updated The Links Page and Sharing Life

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Hey, Y’all!

I am pleased to announce I have fully updated the cooking shows and other favorite links page to this point.

I hope to add in my planting of a few plants. I am limited in living space being in a one-bedroom apartment with a small square of a patio. It is still my refuge and where I can have my sanctuary of peace. I am very grateful for it.

I do want to share more of my life and the favorite things I like to do. I also want to dabble in new things and share those along the way as well.

To have a quality of life means living and doing things as well. It takes action. Doing things even when you know might fail.

I would rather have the enjoyment of at least trying something than not ever knowing if I could do anything. I am like a lot of people sometimes I bite off more than I can chew. When that happens I know it is time to regroup and start smaller.

Changes and cycles are all a part of life’s way.

I want so much more out of life in doing and being. While this is one page I have updated it is just part of my favorite things. If all I did was watch cooking shows and never try a recipe well then it is kind of pointless. Though my meals may not always have the desired appeal to them, the fact I try at all and come out with a result makes me happy.

I am having to reuse a lot of pictures as far as my pictures because I am running out of them to share.

I hope to take more pictures and do more things. I want to make more memories. Especially as a single in this life, it is important to me to document more and make my mark in this life.

Last year I am not sure I was hanging on to a string of hope. This year is different. It has been a year of healing and hope combined. I am learning more to self-sustain but even more so develop spiritually more in faith.

While I hope for many more years to come at the end of my life I do want to be able to say it has been a fun, wild, ride, I hope to make a difference even if it is only in one person’s life. I hope I see the 80s and 90s of old age and do everything people said I could not do. I want to do the things that I say I never could do!

A year ago, I truly believed in my heart I was having to try and figure out how to leave this world peacefully and with as much grace as possible being angry still.

But it was prayers of faith good thoughts, goodwill, and hope. I am never going to stop trying to take greater care of my precious life. I may give in to a few things. But I will continue the journey to the end.

I do find one thing no matter what to be grateful for each day!

Joy comes in the morning!

Thanks for reading!

This has been a blog post entry update by Boxcar Mike, over and out!

God Bless, Y’all Everybody!

This World Is Too Much With Us

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A photo I took out by Bismarck Lake Bismarck, MO

Hey Y’all,

I am back. I am recovering from being sick and it has been challenging to say the least. I did enjoy my birthday, as it was one of the best!

The topic at hand grabbed my heart in the past week or so. I was watching a cooking show and saw someone had a devotion book with the title on the page that read: “This World Is Too Much With Us.”

When I saw the title, I instantly imagined God saying that out in the open as a statement.

I see God as the Ultimate Parent in my world. I see God as The Creator. I see God as love and the Spiritual Being or Divine One.

God in my eyes had rules and expectations, but most of all God had a plan. That plan included us. My views keep changing but the constant is that God loves me accepts me, created me, sees me as enough, and provides for me. He always provides a way out if I look for it. I find myself when going through a difficult time, that Life was never meant to be this hard! There has to be an easier way!

I know when I begin a new adventure I will spend my energy foolishly, thinking if I just start full force with all I have I will plow through with no problem. But it does become a problem because I get worn out realizing I must start at the beginning once more.

It seems when we are the most worn is when we are needed most or that we need to be needed. We want to fulfill some impossible tasks. Because we want to help in some way, be a part of, and build a bridge to make it easier for others as well as ourselves.

We keep hoping for an easier softer way. The reality is if we just do what is in front of us to do is the easier way. The other way just becomes a way of using and being used up. It is like using some unearned credit to make it for what we think might be an easy ride up the mountain. What I fail to realize is that unearned credit is going to be time to be paid back plus interest. This is what living life on credit or a bartering system is like. Because in the very beginning we start using scales that are not balanced, It is just like gambling. Only we do it with our very lives, The house always what? The house always wins! We lose more than what we were supposed to gain.

The ways of this world just do not work. In the faint distance, I can hear my mom and dad calling after me. “We never meant that for you!” In the same way, I hear God today saying: “It was supposed to be easier, did you not hear my instructions? Did you not listen? I never meant that harm to you. That was not my plan for you!”

This world will use you up, chew you up, and spit you out. We get used up trying to find an easier, softer way.

Being on this journey means doing what is in front of me. Letting go of my expectations of what I think the instructions mean and following the instructions makes it easier. I see more beauty in life when I find my gratitude.

Safety comes when I just do my part and it becomes an easier mountain climb just one foot in front of the other. God has been here the whole time. This World is too much with us.

In the end, this is how we walk each other home. My Mama is calling for supper time … I just heard her…”Michael, Michael, Its’ time to come home!” Be there in a minute Ma!

Thanks for reading!

This has been another blog post entry by Boxcar Mike, over and out!

God Bless Y’all!

Reflection, Mourning, Celebrating, And Letting Go of Selfishness

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Photo By: Boxcar Mike I use these reminders

HeyY’all!

I have much love and appreciation as of today the 500 plus likes of Boxcar Mike. I am grateful for this platform.

I am gonna get right into it. I have had a few moments of melancholy and that homesick feeling of wanting yesteryear back. You see, every year right before celebrating my birthday, I have cause to reflect on the year and many years now, before it.

I have 56 years to look back on. Some of those years were harder than others. All of them meant some kind of change was going on.

I want the times with my brother back. I want all the good times with my mama and dad back. I want the good times of more recent years of my mama back. No one sang that country song “You’re Gonna Miss This,”  to me way back then. I took so much for granted.

Oh to have my dad alive, healthy, and well. But if I ever wanted that wish so selfishly well my Mama wouldn’t have the man she does today, who she loves and he loves her. It is not that my dad didn’t love her, or that she didn’t love him, it is more life moved on.

Sometimes our selfish wants to step all over our loved ones. So we learn to love and accept life on life’s terms. Some of those terms mean they get to have a life they couldn’t have otherwise. For there is a season for everything under Heaven.

As for my brother, well he’s alive and well living the closest to a wonderful life as he can. He is with a wonderful wife with whom I just skip in law with and call my sister! They have one handsome son, all grown up now and couldn’t be prouder of as I am also.! Ladies, he’s off the market last I heard. He’s now living the awesome dream he wants as well, all out on his own.

I could go on with all my siblings, aunts, uncles, etc Even Grandma and Grandpa. But do you not know my selfish perfect world if granted, would put an end to their close to perfect worlds, that they get to live in and or finally rest in peace. I love my whole family! I never want to invade or try to trump their way of life with my selfishness.

I did choose to live an hour or more away. I knew it might be hard and some days are harder than others. Especially when you want to help or change things. But the reality is there is no more I could do if there than me here. I would be in the way and selfishly stomping all over what God is doing.

I screw up enough in my own life. I am not perfect! Some days you just cry because well, in the past you see where you made it hard for people to love you. But you do not get to wish their lives away for your selfish dreams. Sometimes I wake up and bust out laughing about a dream or a memory that was funny. This sometimes happens, In the wee hours of the morning.

I have been through many changes, hardships, scares, and looking like I could not come out of the woods, this year alone!

There are probably a good 35 years I want back, Right now, I am just trying to make up for the last ten years. They tell me “Mike buddy, all you got is today.” It is back to simplicity. One day, one heartbeat at a time. That is all we have. I just want another hug, another I love you!

May we all be around for the next entry of Boxcar Mike.

Thanks for reading!

This has been another blog post entry by Boxcar Mike, over and out!

God Bless Y’All  Everybody!

Integrity Happens Because I Decide My Behavior

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Walthers Park DeSoto, Missouri 2016

Hi Everyone!

I hope once again to dive deeper into the subject of integrity.

Choosing my behavior begins as soon as I stumble from my bed and get my coffee ready so I can say a prayer.  While it has only been as of late to be consistent with this, so far I am finding it works.

My prayer starts simply: God, please help me today I cannot do this without you. God, please direct my thoughts today to help me to be divorced from self-pity and that I may be of help to others where I can. Help me to pause when angered or agitated. Help me to stay in the right behavior and help me to be mindful of you. Thank you God for another day and help me to live life to the fullest amen.

I look at past behaviors and realize without doing my prayer I would stay stuck the whole day because I did not take that needed moment. I do this before I talk to anyone. Unless of course, I am awakened abruptly.

I try to be as open and honest as I can. I try to be motivated by the right things realizing I am not perfect. None of us are perfect.

I have key people in my circle who I run things by to make sure I am on the right track. Sometimes, it means a talk just to see what is going on inside my head. A lot of times, it means listening to others and not just so I can think of the next thing to say. Sometimes it means being a sounding board to stay out of my head.

Integrity for me means being true to myself and admitting when I am wrong revealing my motives. It also means slowing down a minute and looking at myself through the eyes of others. We cannot always see what others see in us. It also means doing the right thing when no one is watching.

I do my best to avoid behaviors that are going to threaten my freedom. I do my best to avoid behaviors that can lead me back in my addictions. I avoid situations that will threaten my sanity. Peace of mind and minding my own business are priceless today.

I do my best to stop myself from gossiping or entertaining gossip. It has no value in a productive life. However, yes do we all not enjoy a good story every once in a while? I will say it is a trap and can start a trend. It messes with my peace today. I want better for myself.

I write gratitude lists from time to time because otherwise, I can slip into not being grateful. I do not want to be selfish today. Being ungrateful certainly does lead to being selfish.

One of the hardest parts I believe is looking at the exact wrongs and harms I have done to others. But perhaps the hardest of all is making those harms and wrongs right.

Some people and situations will never be the same. My hope is never to do the same wrongs and harms ever again.

For me, it has come down to doing the right thing or not doing it at all. There is no middle ground anymore.

There is more to be continued with this subject of integrity and behavior.

Thanks for reading!

This has been another blog post entry by Boxcar Mike, over and out!

God Bless Y’all Everybody!

Confronting Every Aspect of My Life’s Hypocrisy

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Walthers Park DeSoto Missouri 2016

Hey, Y’all!

I am here and we have some new viewers and new followers. I welcome you all and I hope everyone feels free to comment and post.

I also added one new page of links to this blog “Cooking Shows And Other Favorites.”

I am excited with today’s topic continuing where I kind of strayed off-topic with integrity. I took a break from it. Without further droning on.

Here, we go!

Hypocrisy would mean lacking integrity. Saying I believe one way and then acting differently. However, I would be preaching to others the importance of holding up a moral code. One I did not follow myself, therefore making me a hypocrite.

I decided after a talk with my mama to look up the definition of integrity I ended up with a good summarization of the word after surfing the internet. One plain definition in just plain talk is, behaving in such a way that one does the right thing even when no one is watching.

A quote shared with me is and found spot on.

“Integrity is choosing courage over comfort. It’s choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy. It’s choosing to practice your values rather than simply professing them.”

— Brené Brown, via twitter.com Dare To Lead

Definition of integrity

1: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values: INCORRUPTIBILITY

2: an unimpaired condition: SOUNDNESS

3: the quality or state of being complete or undivided: COMPLETENESS

Cited from: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

My self-examination and inventory of my life over the years have finally gotten me to scream to myself; “your words and your actions must match up to have any quality of life.”

The things I have had to look and test with are the quotes below:

  1. “Say what you mean and mean what you say.”  George S. Patton
  2. “Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don’t say it mean.” Stephanie Lahart
  3. “Is it true, is it kind, or is it necessary?” Socrates

I have had to look at my life and something helped that I took hard at the time was when a friend mentioned, “Oh so a lot of your problems have been self-imposed and self-sabotaged?” Well, I was taken aback and embarrassed by the truth in front of me. I sheepishly answered, yeah.

But that seed planted was enough to grow and finally get me to face me.

I started changing as I feel granted more years to live than what could have been. It was not enough. There had to be more crucial changes my diet had to change. I had to admit to my innermost being that I was addicted to food as much as I was an alcoholic and addict.

I started over on my step work I started getting more honest.
I had to get past being a victim of circumstances and I am working hard on that today.

In the not-too-distant past, I had to admit I was addicted to more. I had to start changing what I was feeding myself through screens. It was taking me down and giving me a paralyzing fear.

I listened to a message yesterday at Browers Wesleyan Church. I listened with more intent on receiving a message just as much, maybe, even more, than when I decided I was defeated by my other addictions. You don’t have to agree with me or what was spoken.

Now I have already been making changes before this message was ever spoken. The real question for me yesterday was, will I keep doing what I am doing or go back to old ways.

I want my whole life above board. If I feel the need to hide anything then I am not walking the life of integrity. The thing is I am not hiding anything anymore. I will not go backward on this.

It is the secrets that will kill you.

Colossians 4:6 (ESV) 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Everything I say is about my journey, my walk; if it helps you then great.

I know this was still a basic overview and hope to dive deeper in the next blog post entry.

I am not done with this subject by a long shot!

Like I have said before, I was told I could have a better life. I want that better life. I am doing what I have to for me to get it.

Thanks for reading!

This has been another blog post entry by Boxcar Mike, over and out!

God Bless Y’all Everybody!

A Way Out Through Writing To Myself

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Photo by Snapwire on Pexels.com

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to update you about the coming soon pages to my blog. I have been lazy as far as those are concerned.

The thing is, this post turned out the way it did. It just is.

Today I am sharing a letter to my younger self. He has been waiting for freedom, and now he is finally free.

To give you the background in my lifetime I have two first names, so I am combing them for the younger guy.

I want to talk to this guy right here!

me at about 15

Jeffrey Michael,

The monsters are gone, and they cannot hurt you anymore. I did not know how to protect you. I tried my best and asked God to rescue you. Through it all, I believe God was there.

You made adult choices between 11 years old to 15 years old and probably even farther. You lived in so many worlds not being satisfied with where you were. You did just want to survive.

My little man, you could not run your life. Your answer to everything was running away.

You got your first-weekend job at 12 years old and had your first drink on the job. This was both comical and sad. You needed all kinds of help. You woke up the next morning forced to do a mile run puking your guts up swearing you’d never do it again.

It was too late you were ready for the next buzz as soon as stuff hit the fan.

You were born into a world of sickness, disease, addiction, and full of dark secrets. You were unwanted on many levels. You carried it with you throughout your life.

There were people assigned to help you along the way that did not always have your best interest in mind.

However, there were people along the way such as clergy, your new parents, and other people, who did and do have your best interest at heart. But you undermined them all to try to get your way.

In the end, regardless of it being your survival tool it only served in self-defeat and was designed only to end your life.

God had to have carried you. That is the only answer to over 20 years of rebellion, addiction, alcoholism, being suicidal, and hospitalizations before you got help. Some people pointed the way, but you could not see your way through.

I am telling you now in the past 9 months you have finally come to terms with some of the things that had you so locked up inside yourself.

Seeds were planted and you were planted right here.

You are finally getting to bloom and accept the life changes. Finally, you are picking up the pieces of your wreckage. You have lots of life left in you. I am not going to let you waste it.

I am ready to surrender you to God to be able to self-parent you with His guidance. They are in the steps of this program which came from God’s word originally.

  1. My life was and is a mess anytime I try to excuse my behaviors.
  2. I had to come to believe I couldn’t be God and had to decide He either was or is not. He Is.
  3. I had to offer myself up and ask for help in turning my life over to God. I can not be running the show.
  4. Had to find my moral compass making a searching and fearless moral inventory. A total self-examination.
  5.  I had to admit to God myself and another human being, the exact nature of my wrongs.
  6. I had to be entirely ready to let God remove my defects of character. I have been holding a rock in my hand the entire time with bitterness, resentment, hate, and judgment. I had to drop that rock. I cannot be throwing rocks. I have to forgive people too. It only hurts me and it puts my life at peril.
  7. I have to humbly ask God to remove my shortcomings, and that is no shortlist. It is an honest appraisal of my short-comings. This gets me ready to do the following. All my secrets are out whew!
  8. Make a list of all persons I have harmed a Good portion may come off that 4th step moral compass we wrote out. Don’t burn that baby.
  9. Our list will let us know who to make direct amends to where ever possible.
  10. Continue to take personal inventory and promptly admit when I am wrong this doesn’t mean I have to wait for this step this is just a good check-in by this point we are getting ready for the next step because step 3 has now been defined by all the steps before and what remains is this:
  11. Sought Through prayer and meditation improve conscious contact with God as we understood God asking only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out!
  12. I am going to be ready to take this message to another person.

This is what is freeing you by laying it all down you got quite a few things to go. Being at step7, you do not have to hold on to the past anymore.

Anything is possible. Like they say Do not quit before the miracle happens. You have had plenty happen and many more are in your future.

I love you.

Love,

Me

Thanks for reading!

This has been another blog post entry by Boxcar Mike, over and out!

God Bless Y’all Everybody!

Integrity Not Only In Words But Action

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Hi Everyone!

I am very excited to finally be writing tonight. I have had many technical interruptions that held me off from writing today.

There has been a series of events that happened because of my willingness to change and trust different processes along the way.

In my previous posts, you will have read about my hospitalizations and time in a rehab center following many falls from bed. Plus, there were a host of many things brought on by my health difficulties, of gaining weight, diabetes, wound ulcers swelling, and unwillingness to be hospitalized until a time it was close to the last call.

So, the very first thing I want to share is my right leg and foot are wound-free. Every wound is closed and healed on that leg and foot!

To me, that is a huge miracle! I am so thankful to God for this very thing. I am thankful to drivers’ nurses, doctors, friends, family, and support in all different ways. It took everything and everyone. I do have to keep compression wraps on that leg. But is so amazing.

The left leg and foot where the wounds are, very close to closing. They have a little way to go yet. However, it is so much better.

I left the rehab right before July 4th, 2021; It was then, I made a promise to myself and others, that nothing was going to be the same ever again.

Used by permission of meltblogs from Facebook.com

This right here is what I am replacing my negative self-talk with. Read the words in that meme picture.

I began making changes in my diet asking for help more. At the time I needed more help.

My own photo of What I prepared homemade.

There has been a mountain of changes. Exercising and working with physical therapy, walking more and more so recently. Doing my best to make life less complicated, more organized, and simpler.

I have had to clear my mind of the junk I have held onto for years. I have had to stop excuses for my behavior. It has truly become a program of action. It comes in forgiving others and learning to let myself off the hook for things that were not my fault.

In The last few weeks even, most recently, this week I have drawn some lines in the sand for myself. I have had to get real with God and my faith. I have had to admit some wrongs. I continuously take inventory of myself and even a few lingering details of my past.

I have had to return to a relationship with God built on total honesty and his mercy and grace through all my trials.

I went home and moved to a street-level apartment. I was home for two months or so. Then it was to only be back in the hospital for like a week and diagnosed with osteomyelitis.

I was doing everything I could to get off the PICC line. I was scared I would be on antibiotics for the rest of my life. I have been off antibiotics for about a few weeks now think.

The night I got home from the hospital I talked to God and said I was not ready yet.

I found out I have a whole lot of life left in me. I am making the changes, I am sharing who I am today, what I have done, and this broken mess of a life, I have been leading.

Walking With my walker “Cadillac Jack”
Photos of my walk

I am stopping the negative self-talk, the complaining about not enough. The secret thoughts, I am bringing them to light; I want to show them for what they are and to put them down.

I do want to figure out something as I heal more and more to generate an income and be able to get off government aid and disability. I want to own my own home.

The time is getting real folks! Inflation is going to eat us up.  I won’t sit by and just be quiet anymore. I am also ready to say let’s fire every single one in office as “We the People.” Because almost every single last one in the office is not for the people of this country. We are going to have to pull together no matter which side you are on and be self-sustaining people! Buy Local! I am hearing it from farmers and truckers alike. We must figure out how to replenish what we take from our communities. If we do not, we all go under.

I am getting off track but on track too!

Integrity is taking on the responsibility of my whole self and being true, through and through.

I want to live comfortably in my skin and call a spade a spade. No more hiding. No More on the fence!

I hope you enjoy the many pictures I am sharing as well.

Thanks for reading!

This has been another blog post entry by Boxcar Mike, over and out.

God Bless Y’All Everybody!

Working On Updating Two New Pages To Boxcar Mike

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Photo by: Michael D Radin

Hi Everyone!

I am currently in the middle of drafting two new pages to be added to Boxcar Mike.

One of the pages will feature recovery link resources.

The second page will have the cooking shows I watch and follow on Facebook and Youtube social media.

In my most recent post, I mention how important it is for me to have a routine and schedule. I hope to share more content such as pictures and more specifically, sharing how I live out my daily life.

I have a list of things to do today. These things include laundry, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, cooking, taking out the trash, and walking.

There is always plenty of action to be taken. This is where my phrases of doing the next right thing and first things first, come in as help to remind me to breathe in and out. The next right thing is to take the action.

Lists are helpful for me, but it means taking action again. Lists are not helpful if you don’t take the action. I sometimes have made lists and have not even taken the first step. It all just becomes words on paper never getting anything done.

There are many times when I must keep moving items to be done to the next day’s list. That is until I bite the bullet and complete, said items.

It is the simplest things that can determine how my day goes with my reaction to taking charge of them. The important thing is for me to keep moving forward with exercise health, faith, prayer, and meditation.

Sometimes I must stop in the middle of something go back to the last next right thing. For instance, I had to stop writing for a minute and go grab my phone and put it on the charger, so it is fully charged for my walk.

When walking any distance alone I must have my phone with me for any emergency and my safety. But anyone who knows me, knows I hate being attached to a phone. I think I was born a rule breaker. The phone has that rule of reminding of a routine.

I have rebelled against a routine because I just wanted freedom. I am finding out today that having a routine does give me freedom. It is just about breaking habits now. I mean the habits that get in the way of me following a routine.

I hate discussions on habits, but I know I will be asked about it. It is the habit of laziness and wanting to pull the covers over your head and scream at people to get out!

I am constantly questioning my motives in doing everything because, in the past, all my motives did not always have the best intentions. Here is the best thing about questioning myself today; I have better choices to make.

I do not always choose the better choices. But again, there rings that freedom in making choices. I can always improve.

I went back to writing on my routine again.

The original intent of this entry was to update you on what I plan to add to this blog. Well, originally, I was going to try to feature this stuff on Facebook and have people come over there and interact with me there.

However, Facebook just didn’t have the appeal to me as the platform to share the same pages.

So here we are. I hope to get more updating done today but it will come after my list of stuff to get done.

Thanks for reading!

This has been another blog post entry by Boxcar Mike, over and out!

God Bless Yall Everybody!

Routine, Recovery, Gratitude, Spirituality, Integrity, and Normality

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Good Morning Everyone!

I am enjoying my coffee and feeling encouraged by the forecast calling for 68°.

One of my most difficult tasks is staying on track with a routine. I do have the routine of going to the doctor’s office and the visiting nurses coming in to help me take care of myself. I am very grateful for this.

Until the past few years, I never understood why a routine was so important. The thing is I crave a routine now. I am just starting at it again with waking up, making my lists, calling someone every weekday morning at 7:00 am, and drinking my coffee.

I believe it is important for me to have a few friends where we discuss recovery, spirituality, gratitude, and integrity. It gives me a normality zone to work with. But even more important, is for me to me have that same relationship with God.

One buddy gave me a detailed rundown of his routine schedule. It all begins with thinking ahead of even how to be prepared. Many people were taught this growing up. However, for some of us, it is an art that we lost along the way.

The thing I want is a life of quality and improving that quality of life. It has been proven to be the only way to do that is through having a routine.

One of the ideas that come to mind, is if insanity is defined as doing the same things over expecting different results, then sanity is doing the same things over and expecting the same results.

The catch is we have to be careful about those expectations. For me, expectations in other areas of my life can often lead to trouble. I believe I am safe, though when it comes to building and keeping a healthy routine.

I have forgotten at times how important it is to have 3-5 meals per day and that they are balanced meals. It is also important to do any exercise I possibly can do and for the most part, it is doing the cleaning and walking as much as possible.

The other thing I am going to throw into the mix is my spirituality. It is vitally important to have that intact. My spirituality has suffered much, and yet it is so necessary.

My spirituality comes in the form of my gratitude and always find at least one thing to be grateful for each day. Along with that gratitude is being truthful and hopefully having integrity. Integrity is a noble thing considered by some men.

For me, integrity is part of living life and being truthful in what I worship. It is when you have peace and have nothing to hide from anyone. I have failed utterly in many ways with integrity.

But having a routine and following healthy examples, as well as giving it all to God and asking Him for help. I believe this is the answer. It is my only hope for peace in God.

Milk may do the body well, but I need the meat and vegetables too.

At some point, the acting has to stop and action must be taken. This is necessary for a routine of healthy living to take effect. I want to always be who I say I am; otherwise, they are just words I am spouting off with no action behind them.

Thanks for reading!

This has been another blog post entry by Boxcar Mike, over and out!

God Bless Y’All, Everybody!