Traveling Well

After three years of pouring my soul onto the pages and rearranging, my hard work has finally emerged as a living book! 

Because traveling has been such a love in my life, I chose a traveling theme. The book starts off with a few travel tips and some fun travel stories, both with my sweetheart and since our last goodbye in 2013.

The theme then continues with traveling through the unexpected twists and turns in life -- because isn't "traveling well" a daily endeavor? We can remember that some of the most beautiful scenery is also the most rugged -- and it can be difficult to navigate those places. It is a challenging but beautiful truth that we grow the most when we are stretched the hardest.

The book is about rebuilding life after loss, facing more significant losses, navigating Dad's dementia, traveling through transitions -- when good things come to an end, traveling through pandemic -- when no one knows the way, and finally, traveling inside ourselves and finding inexplicable peace in walking with God, come what may. It is about growing faith through using it.

My son, Zach Westerman, created the beautiful cover with a shot he took when we visited the Cascades together in September. He used my handwriting as the script font. Please check out the gorgeous website he put together to help get the word out: remaininhim.com. Share it with others who need hope and inspiration through traveling a difficult road in life.

To God be the glory, because He brought me through some very scenic routes thus far, all the while showing His abundant, unfailing love. My hope is for you to experience His extravagant love in your life.

Mindless Media

In the new year, I have challenged myself to look at social media in a new way. 

I had become overly attached to connecting to the world through my digital devices. A good variety of work and events fill my every day, but in the idle moments I was grabbing my phone to check my feeds to see what I was missing. The photos, the feedback, the availability, and ease of use became addictive. Because I live alone, I would turn on the TV in the evening for company. After all, this is the way modern America lives, right?

As the year rolled to 2022, I told myself, "No more mindless media!" I realize these tools and technology have some very useful purposes, and I'm thankful for them, but they don't have to consume my life or make me a slave to them. 

The major difference now is that I will open an app or turn on the TV only if there is a specific purpose in it -- no more mindless scrolling or surfing to pass the time or feel connected. I have consciously cut my usage way back. For example, I don't touch my phone at mealtimes, when waiting in lines, at stoplights... or just because!

It's been nearly three weeks of working to change these habits, and I'm definitely feeling more peace and purpose. I have found so many more meaningful things to do, connected with several friends via phone or visits, and accomplished creative projects I'm happy about.

Faded memories have come back to the free spaces in my mind and I am reliving the gratefulness. I've strung together ideas that surprised me. I am enjoying being in the company of myself! It is like clearing clutter and being pleased with all the new space.

Best of all, I can better enjoy God's presence filling those spaces, by talking to Him in the idle moments, and asking His direction. The words I read in the Bible each morning can recirculate in the open spaces, and new priorities can form. Abiding in Him this way reminds me how I am being available to Him, transformed in His image, and seeking His approvals and affirmations (not the world's). It has been a good move for mind, soul, and spirit.

God, thank you for the gift of modern technology, but help me keep it in its proper place. Thank you for the new playground in my mind.

Ritu Ailani writes, "Mindless scrolling results from a subconscious state of living that lacks purpose and priority." Check out this article: 7 Ways to Cease Mindless Scrolling on Social Media, August 19, 2020.