January Recap

What I Did:

• Spent the New Year's visiting with Memaw, Poppy, Paul, Sharon, Casey and the girls.
• Traveled to Bossier City to spend a few days with some of my favorite people: 

  

  'The Jenkins Girls': Live from Margaritaville
  (Kristy, Dana, Rosa and Me)
  All dressed up and ready to go see Jason Aldean and George Strait.

• Celebrated Will's birthday
• Attended 'Uptown Swirl' in Brenham with Brianne and Chelsea 

  

  Our favorite wine of the evening...we had to improvise a little as they were out of tickets when we arrived.  But we still had a wonderful evening.

• Started Tuesday Night Bible Study with Beth Moore (Really looking forward to this study!)
• Endured the Great Houston Ice Storm of 2014 

  

  Photo c/o Facebook

• Celebrated Robin's birthday
• Endured the Great Houston Ice Storm of 2014: Round 2 (no ice this time, thank goodness)
• Met with Tino of TG Safaris to finalize our plans for South Africa later this spring.  (So Excited!)

What I Learned:

1. When I am stressed (whether business or personal related), I forget the wonder of creating, especially here on the blog.  Great ideas come but I don't take the time to relish them...much less to record them.  NOTE TO SELF: Write on the blog at least once a week, even if you don't feel it.  The feeling will come later.
2. Sometimes You Tube is a better source of information on an artist than their own websites.
3. People are not very accommodating of the handicapped -- even in handicapped designated areas.  NOTE TO SELF: Be patient when trying to get around in a crowd...especially of those needing walkers, wheelchairs or just an extra shoulder to lean on.

What I Listened To:

• "Wonderstruck: Awaken To The Nearness of God" by Margaret Feinberg (Audiobook) -- actually, I am listening to it AGAIN.  It is that good.  Her prose wraps warm around my heart and draws me in to really listen as she uses illustrations from her own life to document her journey to being 'Wonderstruck' with God.  (Remember that quote I shared with you a couple of weeks ago?)
• "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream" by David Platt (Audiobook) -- Okay, I admit that I have been avoiding this one like the plague.  But when a trusted friend told me how much this book was affecting her life...I agreed to give it a listen.  I may have been a bit predisposed to find criticism with it as the first few discs had me mostly 'disturbed' by my perception of legalism.  However, by disc 3 I was able to agree more than disagree...and when I heard the author's heart at the very end, I could more easily swallow some of his earlier comments.  Maybe that is why my friend listened to this twice.  If I had heard his heart in the beginning, I don't think his comments would have sounded so critical or legalistic.
• "Raised On It" performed by Sam Hunt -- this song so speaks to me right now.  I turn it up LOUD when driving in the truck.  And I may or may not have been seen throwing my hands up in the air as I sang along.  This just may be my 'summertime' song for 2014.

What I Read:

1. "Whispers of Hope: 10 Weeks of Devotional Prayer" by Beth Moore -- I'm only on Day 19 and the challenge to pray according to the PRAISE format has been difficult for me.  But I will persevere!  I decided this year to purchase several shorter devotionals rather than a year-long contained in one book.  There are a lot of one-, two- and three-month plans out there.  And well, Beth?  Who could go wrong with Beth?  She is one of my favorite teachers.  I am taking her challenge to PRAISE seriously, but last Sunday I had to grab my journal and write a prayer out in longhand.  It had just been too long and my heart was too full!
2. "An Unexpected Guest: A Novel" by Anne Korkeakivi -- Technically, I'm not finished reading this one yet.  Three chapters to go.  It is an easy read and interesting enough that I can remember the characters even though I am reading it in stops and spurts due to various distractions.

So how was your January?  Anything interesting I should add to my lists.