What I Learned This Winter
I’m back on the train of taking notes throughout the year of things I’m learning (little or big!) and sharing them seasonally here — thanks to Emily P. Freeman for this idea and for the beautiful free downloads!
ps — this is a side note, but I’m on Emily’s launch team for The Next Right Thing book that’s coming in April, and there are some great preorder goodies available if you want to grab it now and get those!
Here’s what I learned this winter:
I don’t need to race through Scripture — I need to savor it.
I’ve read through the Bible in a year several times, and even read the Bible in 90 days last year, and started 2019 thinking I would focus on going through the New Testament in 90 days… and then I quickly realized that what my soul needed most was not a timeline and a to-do list, but the chance to really sit with Scripture on a smaller scale and learn to savor it. It’s hard for me, but it’s good, too.
“Kaizen” is a Japanese term for continual improvement.
It was in a book we were reading as a team at work that I first heard this term, and it struck me, because I (as an #enneagram1) always want to be improving. It’s a term more geared toward the business world, but it felt applicable to my personal life too. Plus, learning new words is always cool to me.
How to brew my own kombucha!
This was SO FUN and surprisingly so much easier than I ever expected. Hello, new (and delicious!) hobby!
I can make easy, yummy protein bars from scratch.
Easy, peasy, no-bake, vegan, gluten-free, delicious, cost-effective… yes.
Boundaries are HARD but life giving.
Oof. Let’s just say I’ve been making the most of every minute of counseling lately…
Social media free Sabbaths are crucial.
I’ve started disconnecting from all of my apps and social media starting at 6 pm on Saturday through 6 pm on Sunday, and it’s been SO FREEING. (Also so hard because hello, I’m very much addicted to my phone!) It’s helped me discern which apps I miss and which ones I don’t (like Twitter + Facebook, so I deleted them entirely!), and really just be present on the weekends. Game-changer.
I’m actually 1w9, not a 1w2!
THIS HAS BEEN HUGE. Honestly, I don’t know why I ever thought I was a 1w2. The more I’ve been reading and studying about the differences, it’s so clear I’m a 1w9. This is why I love the enneagram so much! So much to learn always. (If you are curious about the Enneagram but don’t know where to start, this post will help!)
I AM an influencer.
I went to an influencer event last month here in town and I definitely felt like an imposter at first, but it helped me to realize that I do have a platform and an audience and influence (we all do, in some way!) and I want to be a good steward of that. I want to share things that matter, speak life into others, and be encouraging. I want to use whatever influence God has given me to build his kingdom here on earth, and that’s a helpful heart-check as I go about my days!
An open bottle of thieves stops you from crying while cutting onions.
Who freaking knew. I put a few drops in a little bowl of water and set it near me and didn’t cry ONCE while chopping an onion for dinner. Halleujah, praise Jesus.
God’s timing is always, always perfect.
I’ll write more about this… but you can hear about my big news here for now! It’s been 6+ months in the works, but God’s timing was (as always) perfect, and I’m so grateful. Plus, I learned a lot about patience!
The difference between resourcing and de-resourcing thoughts.
Thanks, counseling! I wrote more about this here.
Listening to spoken word as you fall asleep is better than music if you have anxiety.
My counselor and I discussed a lot about my sleep last week, and the most surprising takeaway for me was that listening to spoken word is better for people with anxiety than listening to music as you fall asleep. I usually have Alexa play instrumental music or something mellow, but I’ve switched to either an Audible audiobook or the Sleep With Me podcast, and I actually think it’s working! Not sure why, but I’ll take the better sleep however I can get it.
