How was your week, friends?  This week, my theme song has been “I’m late.  I’m late… for a very important date (I just have way too much on my plate!).  We spent a few days away last weekend, and all week I feel like I have been playing “catch up.”  If only I could squeeze a couple of more hours into my day….

Time passes so quickly!   That’s why I am using these weekly posts to chronicle some of the things God is teaching me.  I don’t want to let things “slip by”… I want to be intentional about remembering what’s important.  So, here in no particular order are ten things I learned this week:

1.  My spouse deserves my focused attention  (i.e., put down the phone and close the laptop, Lyli).  This past weekend, my husband and I attended Family Life Today’s Weekend to Remember Conference for couples.  I am so thankful that we took some time away to re-connect and invest in each other.  My big takeaway from the weekend is that I need to be more intentional about focusing on “us.” 

2.   Elisa taught me the 4 T’s of Communication — timing, tone, technique, and truth.  This is such a practical post, and it came at the right time for me after our weekend away. 

3.  Shauna outlined 7 things I should do to be a great dinner party guest. Have you read her book Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes?  I am love, love, loving it so far.   Here  are the details on the (in) courage book club — I would love for you to join us in reading this great book.  

4.  “God is comfortable in my chaos.”  — I missed this encouraging word from Lisa Jo a couple of weeks ago and was so happy to discover it this past week — I love her “Monday Morning Check List.”

5.  I need community.  Max Lucado is one of my favorite authors, so I was so excited when he guest posted for Ann at A Holy Experience.  I love what he shared about not isolating yourself during dark times.  (He also has a new book coming out in September!!!)

6.  Community is hard!  That’s why this post by Robin for (in)courage really challenged me.    Am I really going to live out the Gospel and forgive as Christ calls me to do?

“Love and forgiveness are possible when we surrender our right to have rights, when we relinquish any sense of entitlement–

• to expect others to behave how we want them to
• to withhold a loving/forgiving response until they’re truly repentant or compliant
• when we’re the wronged party, or in any obvious sense, are ‘right'”

7.  Jean at Healthy Spirituality reminded me to “fasten my helmet” and intentionally choose joy and thankfulness.  I love this story she shared about her granddaughter.

8.  “Our lives, our brokenness, our flaws and failures are precisely what God designed to reflect a perfect love.” –– This beautiful guest post by Adele  for (in) courage touched me deeply. 

9.  I need to be more intentional about carving out times for quiet reflection during my day.  Rachel at Finding Joy provided some helpful tips on how to do this in her post “Five Steps to Finding Quiet in a Noisy World.” 

10.  Face to face time with those I love is important.  I need to spend less time “socializing online.”  Holley explains this well in her post for (in)courage “What It Looks Like to Have a Cyber Sabbath”:

“Sabbath realigns us with love.

It reminds us we’re not created for tasks but for relationship.

It reassures our hearts that we’re not slaves

but instead cherished sons and daughters.

It relieves us of the burden of controlling our own lives.”

Q4U:  What did you learn this week?

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I am joining Jesse and friends this weekend for