Filling My Bucket

In the first chapter of the book I'm reading there was an action step to find things that fill your bucket.  I've been taking time to try to figure out what those things really are.  One thing I've stumbled upon is walking.  In the evenings, I've started walking after supper to get some extra exercise.  I start at our driveway, walk a little over a mile and then head back.  If you would have asked me before I started the walks if this would be something that filled my bucket, I would have definitely laughed! No way, exercise filling my bucket?! You've got to be crazy!

I don't think it's really the walking that is filling my bucket.  It's a combination of things.  First, the scenery!  I usually go on my walks around 6:00pm. Perfect timing for the sunset! 

Second, alone time.  My walk is a time for me to be by myself. No work, no kids, no husband, no responsibility except to walk.

Third, the music.  I love listening to music and my walks give me a chance to do that without interruption.  I've been using an old iPod that I haven't updated in a long time, so I've been reminiscing lately, listening to music from years past: Caedmons Call, Smalltown Poets, Nouveaux, Newsboys, Sonicflood, and some old Jars of Clay, dc talk, and Third Day. 

Alone time listening to my favorite music, enjoying God's creation....bucket filling for sure!

When you get depleted, it's tempting to start looking around for someone to pull you out. But let me state with crystal clarity: It's your responsibility to fill your bucket--not your boss's, not your board's, not your church's, not your staff's, not your spouse's. It's your own responsibility to keep your own bucket filled, to identify streams of replenishing energy that will take you from a depleted state to where your tank is filled to the brim and overflowing.   - Simplify by Bill Hybels

Have you been filling your tank lately? And if not, maybe it's time you sat down and figured out what replenishes you and make it a priority.