Lake Kittamaqundi

I am retiring in four days. 

It’s time to reflect, reorient, resize.  Time to take a walk!  

Today’s walk of choice was two circuits around Lake Kittamaqundi in Columbia.  Two circuits, because….bird photography ≠ exercise.  Bird photography is a skulky pastime, wherein you do your best to get close the bird, get a pleasing angle of the bird, get photo-worthy light on the bird—all without basically freaking out the bird and having it fly away.

Although some birds don’t really seem to care as much…

And the Mallards followed me like paparazzi, assuming I was going to (illegally and unethically) feed them.

“Retirement” = the action or fact of leaving one’s job and ceasing to work.  

I object!  I very much expect to keep working…but not in an office [not that it wasn’t THE best job ever!!!]  

• Teach 4 year-olds about God, the Creator who made us; about Jesus, who loves us and died for our sins; about our response of gratitude and praise
• Teach adults English–very slowly and clearly, because this is “Level 0” and English is a nasty, nasty language to learn, especially if you’re 70 (!!! honestly, that lady is SOOO brave…)
• Spend more time with these pumpkins:

• More friend time.  I’m not very proactive about this, but I encountered a dear friend on the walk and we pledged to get together, and I also got a text from ANOTHER dear friend, “F”, and we have a date next week.  I haven’t even retired yet, and my social calendar is filling right up!
• Declutter so we can downsize 
• Clean the house more
• WORK WORK WORK at downsizing MYSELF.  

We just finished reading this book   during weekly staff meetings, and the take home message is that we need Theological Fitness for a Fighting Faith, but heck, some physical fitness might be a good thing, too.      <<<<sigh>>>>

My besetting sin, my over-and-over-and-over engagement and disengagement, struggling against overeating (with a heaping side dish of lazy).  But, once more into the fray.  

“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial.
“Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything.

And so, there were two circuits around Lake Kittamaqundi, and I didn’t stop nearly so much for photos the second time ’round.  Although I did stop for this:

And this:

May you WALK with heads held high and look at the BIRDS.
(Leviticus 26:13 and Matthew 6:26)