Eight Things I Learned In January…

1. A Few Minutes with Jesus Each Morning is a Life Changer (Duh!)

Deep down I have always known this. But motherhood is chaotic and quiet moments with Jesus are hard to come by.

Jeannie Cunnion in her book Parenting the Wholehearted Child, says we get so wrapped up in the daily obligations of parenthood that we forego our own intimate encounters with God and neglect our own parch souls in the process.

As the holidays came to a close, my soul was dry and my attitude was in need of a major adjustment. I decided to start simple. I would read Jesus Calling each day, pray and journal. I’ve stuck with it for 30 days and it’s been life changing.

God has asked me to be intentional in my time with Him in 2015. I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church believing that in order to be a good Christian I had to read my Bible every day, go to church every time the doors opened, and wake up at the crack of dawn to meet with God. But God is teaching me a new way – more relationship and less religion. I enjoy His presence when I’m in the Bible and when I glimpse the sun and the moon together in a bright blue sky.

2. My Son Has Apraxia

Childhood Apraxia of Speech is is a motor speech disorder. Children with CAS have problems saying sounds, syllables, and words. This is not because of muscle weakness or paralysis. The brain has problems planning to move the body parts (e.g., lips, jaw, tongue) needed for speech. The child knows what he or she wants to say, but his/her brain has difficulty coordinating the muscle movements necessary to say those words. (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)

Yes, there have been moments of worry and fear the past few weeks, but overall I have had an extreme amount of peace. I’ve connected with other Apraxia moms and have surrendered this new journey to God. It’s just the next chapter of our story and it’s my prayer that He receives the glory with each step we take. There is way more to this little boy than his lack of words. 

3. A TV Series Really Can Make a Profound Impact 

I said goodbye to the Braverman’s on January 29th along with millions of others. There’s no telling how many tears were shed as Parenthood ended it’s six season run. This show captured my heart from the first episode. I connected because the story lines were real – I saw a glimpse of myself when Joel and Julia faced infertility and ultimately chose adoption. I understood both the struggles and joy Adam and Kristina experienced raising Max. Watching Max’s character develop gave me hope. There were tears of sadness and celebration as Kristina battled and beat breast cancer. All these story lines touched a place deep in my heart because in some way I’d lived them, too. Thursday night just won’t be the same.

4. God Cares About the Smallest Details of Our Life (Even that long-ago childhood dream)

When I was 9-years-old my parents took me to Nashville. We stood in line for 8 hours so that I could see Garth Brooks in concert. I was a mega fan – like knew every word to every song, owned every cassette tape, and several t-shirts that I wore proudly to school. For Christmas my Dad bought my mom, sister, her husband, and I tickets to see Garth in Tulsa. Imagine my surprise when one of Garth’s people walked up to the nosebleed section where we were sitting and offered us tickets to sit on the second row. We were so close I could see Garth’s spit! For three hours I sang all the old songs, screamed like crazy, and felt like that 9-year-old girl again. It was a dream come true…

5. Nothing in Our Life Is Ever Wasted

After learning that the adoption agency we were once with closed their Ethiopia program, I reflected on our own journey. We had heard God correctly when He told us to walk away, but that didn’t mean our journey to Ethiopia hadn’t served a purpose. I wrote about the lessons learned and you can read more here.

6. I Prefer a Book in My Hands Over Reading on my Ipad

I love a good book and have made reading a priority this year, but I must say I want to hold the book in my hands. I don’t finish books near as quickly if they are on my iPad. Probably because Jackson thinks it’s his iPad and I can only use it when he’s not around. This month I finished six books, which I’ll be reviewing on the blog later this week. I’m currently waiting for the UPS man to deliver a box from Amazon so I can start the next book on my reading list.

7. If you upload photos to Facebook through iPhoto they will disappear when your iPhoto pics are deleted. UGH! 

8. Little Debbie makes RED VELVET Valentine snack cakes and they are delish! Jackson agrees! 

 

 

What did you learn in January? I’d love to hear! I’m linking up with Emily over at Chatting At The Sky, where other bloggers are sharing the things they learned this month, too.