“Intentional.”
That was my word for 2016.
A year after leaving my long-time job to be home with my kids, homeschool, and start my own business, I looked back over what had been accomplished and realized that, other than spending quality time with my children, not much had happened. My days had been filled to the brim, but as I sat there on the edge of a new year, there wasn’t much I could point to that had moved me toward any of my life goals.
I was tired of drifting along.
So…. “intentional” became my word. If it wasn’t in line with where I was going, it wasn’t going to find a place in my day. Period.
Or so I thought.
Don’t you love it when God’s plans are not even remotely similar to your own? That was exactly the case for me over the last twelve months.
As January rolled in, complete with six weeks of miserable illness, so did opportunities to learn, and learn, and learn. And not about topics I wanted to study, but ones I needed to.
Philippians 4:19New King James Version (NKJV)
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:19 New King James Version
And so began the Year of Learning.
Books, summits, conferences, courses, webinars: you name the format, it was part of my year. My kids began telling people, “Mom is always taking some class or another.” And it was true. Every spare moment. If dinner was cooking, I had a video-based class playing on the iPad. If we were waiting at an appointment, I had a book open or a podcast playing on my phone. If one child was reading and another was finishing math, I had a book open to study until they needed me again. It was a feast for the mind and heart.
But now, as 2017 gets underway, it is time to take action. God didn’t give me all of that exposure to knowledge and wisdom so I could listen and forget it. He gave it to me to share with others and to apply the truths gleaned to improve my family’s health and well-being.
That’s what the “Learn with Me” segment of this website is all about. Each time I start a new class, or read a new book, or sign up to attend a summit, etc., I commit to posting it here and inviting you to join in for the things that speak to your heart and add value to your life in that moment. Then, as we learn together, we can add comments and even spark discussions about each topic so that others can benefit as well.
2017, here we come!
P.S. In case you are wondering what all I studied/read/watched last year, here is a partial list:
Home Grown Food Summit
Global Leadership Summit
Parents’ Guide to Natural Remedies
Trim Healthy Mama (all three books)
Fat Summit
Ultimate Start-up Bundle
Craftsy: Extending the Harvest
Listing Building School
Women’s Weight Loss Summit
27 Habits
Money Making Mom
The Truth About Cancer (the book and the Global Quest docu-series)
Vintage Remedies courses
Healthy Moving Workshop
Essential Oils Revolution 2
Food Summit
Essential Oil Roundtable
5-Day Cooking Challenge
Writer’s Summit
Living Forward
Fervent
Letters to My Daughters
Make Over Your Mornings
Make Over Your Evenings
(That’s just the short list after trying to recall for about five minutes. There were many other books and webinars as well. She, I’m tired just thinking about it! But it was worth the investment. Every single item on this list taught me something I ended up needing or needing to share. Praise the Lord! He knows what we need before we can even begin to see it!)
