What I Learned in October

Emily Freeman is a writer and an inspiring woman of faith.  She is also the soul and the brains behind her Chatting at the Sky blog, where she hosts an engaging, entertaining, and insightful linky party on a monthly basis.  The focus: what we've learned.

The teacher in me loves this.  We are never done learning.  The child of God in me loves this—taking the time to reflect on how the Holy Spirit is working in me and stretching me.  And this November, as I aim for a bigger and better gratitude attitude, I'm relishing the opportunity to lift up these learnings with praise and thanksgiving.  So, in no particular order, here's a random collection of what I learned (or relearned) last month.

1
It's dangerous to be a clumsy runner.  Tearing a hamstring hurts.  Limping home afterward does not produce my most positive prayers.  But God does not back away.

2
Injury aside, slow and steady physical therapy is a gift.  A good workout does not have to involve sweat to induce progress.  Patience, my young Padawan.  Hmmmmm.  I think this has applications beyond exercise and into spiritual stretching.

3
Shifting my mindset from blogging as competition (which left me feeling inferior and redundant) to blogging as online conversation and connection (which fills me with encouragement and insight) is something I should have done a long time ago.  Better late than never!

from ellierayne.wordpress.com, but Blondie's looked and tasted every bit as good.

4
My daughter is a better baker than I am.  I couldn't be more proud (and eager to sample)!

5
That said, I don't need to eat so much sugar.  Consuming sweets makes me feel like crap.  After a 14-day cleanse, I've learned I can live without sugar, caffeine, grains, or dairy.  In fact, I can live much better without those foods.

rotten to the core zombie costume — yikes!

6
Gone are the days of my cute little BallBoy dressing up like a sport-o or a super hero or a pirate.  He's into full-blown creepy gore.  I wonder if he's trying to get me ready to be the parent of teenagers?

7
I'm terrible at building a new habit.  Unless — I go public and have this foreboding sense of accountability hanging over me.  The answer to my sporadic daily quiet time with God?  Being still for 31 days straight, and publicly posting about it.  I love what doors this is opening in my conversations with my Heavenly Father.

8
Once I get a new habit going, I have a hard time letting it go.  Hence three updates to this blog today!



Lord, 

Thanks for all the ways you help me learn and grow.  Thanks for pointing out the positive in what first looked like setbacks, for pointing out the humor in what might otherwise seem horrible.

Amen.