What I Learned January 2016

Time for another monthly wrap-up post with Emily. And, once again, I can’t believe we’re at this point. In no particular order, here are some things I learned in January: 1. Susanna Wesley had 19 children. Maybe I learned this at some point previously, but it hit home with me this month as I was reading Eric Metaxas’ 7 Women and the Secret to their Greatness. Now that we have five little ones, the thought of birthing 14 more, and then raising them is daunting. Susanna is called the “mother of methodism” because she was such a routine person, scheduling her children’s feedings as infants, their schooling as they grew, and all other household managements under her care. With 19 children you would need some sort of method to care for each one. One of her secrets was her apron. When she felt overwhelmed, she would sit down, put her apron over her head and pray. The children knew they had to leave her alone if they witnessed this scene. I’m pretty sure if I instilled this practice in my life, I would be perpetually living under my apron. 2. There is a little switch in the van that turns on all the overhead lights. We’ve owned our van now for more than four years and I’ve seen Bradley turn the lights on, but I never knew how it worked. While the kids and I were road-tripping on Friday night I found the switch in a moment of panic when I needed to know whether or not I had buckled Cooper in the carseat. The

light came in handy. And, yes, he was buckled. 3. Life with five is a little bit crazy, but also wonderful. You can read some more in this post, but January held with it a lot of transition with an added baby and a non-holiday schedule. I’m still adjusting to the newness, even though we’re 8 weeks in now, but I’m also still loving my role as Mom. 4. I finally learned how to use the online library hold system. And it’s almost as good as online grocery shopping. I realize this makes me sound like I’m 12 years old, but I’ve just never utilized this amazing service. We live about a mile from the public library, but I have avoided it for the past year. Going to the library with four small children is a nightmare for me. Inevitably someone runs away from me, books are torn from the shelves, we break all the rules of quiet, and by the time we get home with our bags of books, I’m exhausted. Not to mention the fact that for some reason I can never return a library book on time. I have decided that 2016 is the year of the library. My first goal was to learn how to use the online hold system, and then secondly to actually go to the library. I did both, and I now have a stack of books that I DIDN’T BUY that I can read. Next step is to take the kids… 5. I didn’t meet all of my January goals. And I’m okay with that. What I did do was take time to think through how I want to go about setting goals. I met some, like going to the library once (see #4), but others are still in the queue and I’ll just roll them over to this month. 6. My new journal system is going to be such a help. I’ve been using a journal for my devotions for years, and I have loved writing in it each day. But I needed a way to better track my prayers, growth, and study of God’s Word. My Mom gave me a journal for Christmas–one that she’s been using for a few years–and I think it’s going to be very beneficial for me. I’m still tweaking how I want to use it, but so far I am loving it. 7. As February approached, my birthday month, I realized that for the first time I actually FEEL older and it has me reflecting, evaluating, and planning. All of those are good results, but it still makes me a little sad. Life is short and I want to live it with an eternal perspective. Happy February! Image 1