Each month of this year, I have enjoyed rifling through the pages of my journal, looking back on what I’ve written, and then writing a blog post about it all. You can check out the other posts here-January, February, March, and April.
Making Time to Read
I really enjoy reading books that help me to grow and learn. However, I never seemed to have the time to do it. This month, I looked at my days and found places to fit reading in. I have been reading 3 or 4 pages most mornings and I also read in the afternoons. I actually finished 3 books this month! So what did I learn from this? I learned that we as human beings often say we are “too busy,” but if we are honest with ourselves, we are probably all wasting time in some area. It is possible to change our priorities.
Intentional Declarations
Honestly, I have heard a lot about speaking the Word of God over the years. I have always thought it was a good thing to do, but I haven’t been all that faithful to it. After seeing the movie “War Room,” awhile back I was inspired to write out my prayers and declarations. (Side note: If you haven’t seen this movie, I suggest you check it out) The problem was, that I didn’t actually take the time to pray out these prayers and declarations. This month, I’ve been taking all those papers that I have written out and am actually speaking out these declarations almost every, single day. I am already noticing how this is changing my mindset even after this short amount of time. I highly encourage you to think about what you are saying to yourself. If it doesn’t line up with the Word of God, find some verses in the Bible to speak over yourself instead.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.
Faith without Works is dead
I have prayed for more passion for Jesus for a while. This month, I learned that I have to be intentional about creating that habit to get into God’s Word even when I don’t feel like it. As I continue to work at being intentional, the passion that I was praying for is coming. It’s an amazing feeling! I am loving to get into the Word and reading what he has to say.
Restructuring Work Time
I have stopped writing in the afternoon. Instead, I read in the afternoon. I was finding that it was really hard for me to get out of work mode and go back into Mom mode. So this month, I have been getting up early in the morning to work and I also work in the evening. I may not always be able to do this, but at this point, it is working really well for me.
Growing Takes Patience
As I have mentioned before, I am taking a blog course. I have felt like it has gone very slowly this month, as we are at the point that we are working on a blog re-design. My husband is doing most of it and he is very busy with his businesses so it’s taking longer than I’d maybe like. Sometimes it can feel like I’ve had all these ideas and all this that I want for so long, that everything should just happen like right now. I am realizing that growth takes time. It isn’t an overnight “snap of the fingers.”
My Why
Why do I do what I do? Why do I want what I want? I am re-examining this. For me, this means that I am realizing everything I do is really about loving on people. With all my heart, I want to be an encouragement, inspiration, and light.
Everything is Subject to Change
I journal almost daily. I love to pick up a journal from a few years ago and read through it. Last week, I read about some discipline issue with one of my daughters and how I was struggling. It was so neat to realize that the problem is absolutely not an issue anymore! It’s such a perspective for me because there are often discipline issues I deal with and I can feel like they are never going to go away. But they do. They just change slowly and we as parents can often miss the change.
Sunshine
Have I ever shared how much I like warmth and the sunshine? Of course, I have! That’s not something I’d ever miss talking about. May has been wonderfully warm this year and I’m loving it. I have learned, though, that I am not quite myself in the winter. Each year when winter is through, I realize that I wasn’t the same throughout the winter. It feels a little like I was just surviving and dragging through it all. It’s interesting that the older I grow, the more aware I am of who I am.
Well, those are some of the things I learned this month. How about you? What did you learn about yourself this month?