Goodbye January!

Since today is the last day of the month (how did this happen?) I thought I would look back over these past thirty days, which have been very good. I made a number of adjustments to my life and schedule, but I'm so excited to see what the next eleven months will bring after seeing what happened in the first one!

* A Proverbs Run-Through. One of my commitments this year is to read through the book of Proverbs every month by reading one chapter per day. In January, I chose to read just the verses...no commentary, no study notes, no other influence. Just the text. I began to notice the themes that run throughout the bits of wisdom, and I definitely found myself under conviction more times than I would have liked!

* Forty-One Cent Stamps. What happened to letter writing? Oh, I know. The development of e-mail and the price of postage. This year (this decade, actually) I've committed to writing a letter every week...and it was so much fun this month to hear back from some of the people who received a letter. I don't do it to receive a reaction, but it is really fun to hear their surprise and excitement when they get something in the mail that does NOT require sending money.

* Loving Less. Another commitment for this year is to read one book every month on how to improve some type of relationship. My first book (because it came alphabetically first on the shelf) was Stephen Arterburn's book When You Love Too Much. I'd heard him interviewed on the radio about this book and decided to see for myself if it could offer advice on how to avoid repeating the dysfunction of past relationships. The book was tough to read - no girl likes uncovering all her faults and weaknesses. But by the end I had a lot of hope that through significant work (and probably an equal amount of tears) I can someday find myself in a relationship that is healthy.

* Learning About Mornings. I started doing part of my devotions in the morning, and while I'm still not a fan of pre-noon hours, I'm already seeing a difference in my heart after spending even five or ten minutes studying Scripture before beginning the day in earnest.

* Fully Alive. The good old "Fully Alive in the Spirit" chorus is my theme song for this year, and I've tried to relax a bit this month to allow myself to live out its words. Long naps if I'm tired, sleeping in if I had a late night, disciplining myself to exercise, walking away from the TV in favor of reading, hanging out with my newfound buddies at the ballgames, cooking up a storm, squeezing in a little shopping, writing for fun, renting movies, impromptu trip-lets (that would be miniature trips, not 3 children), choosing to sit for ten minutes if Braeya feels like snuggling up...all this is not very Bekah-like, but I'm truly having a blast!