Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.  Gal 6:8-10

In many ways, I really enjoyed posting Monday-Friday for our last book.  I knew it would be good to exercise my writing muscles and keep my mind and heart in the study.  I loved getting feedback from those of you who contacted me (mostly through FaceBook but some through the comments).  On the other hand, at times it has been overwhelming to fit all the writing into my schedule of homeschooling the kids, keeping house, taking care of my husband, and trying to be available for our family.  For the most part, we have been a good distance from family for about nine years.  Now we are around two hours away.  This is both easier and harder.  We are closer, so we can easily accomplish a visit in a day…on the other hand 3-4 hours of driving round trip on a regular basis is exhausting.  But because we are “close”, expectations are high.  Now that Momma is having her chemo treatments, it seems even more pressing to find time to spend with her…but this has been difficult too.  I find myself, at the end of 2011, a bit weary.  I know it was good to complete my personal commitment to posting daily with our last book, but I wondered if it was time for a change.  I had to ask myself whether I could keep up that kind of commitment and still diligently serve the Lord in the other ways He would have me serve Him.  I have prayed about it, and feel like it is time for a new direction for the next 3 months…God only gives me just enough information to get around the next bend.  Beyond that…well, I just won’t know till I get there!  I feel reassured though that, as long as I seek His will, He is compassionate and will find my offering acceptable.

So here is the schedule I have prayerfully devised.  As always, I will try my best, and hope for the best…The next three months:

Mondays: Abundant Living – I will post in the categories Proverbs 31 and Wholeness.

Wednesdays: The Living Word – we will work through our next bible study, Embracing Your Strengths: Who Am I in God’s Eyes (And What Am I Supposed to Do about it?), a Women of Faith study

Fridays:  Inspired Living – I will post in the category HERstory, host a book club discussion, or share another encouraging story

So next week, I will post about New Year’s Goals on Tuesday and Thursday and may add some other odds and ends in if I have time.  We will start the new schedule above, the following week on Monday January 9.  I will be updating the calendar soon to reflect these changes.  The first actual bible study day will be January 11 (Happy Birthday to me!), so if you want to join me, plan to buy the book by then…thankfully it is available via Amazon Prime!

Please pray about joining the study.  It only takes three or four regular participants who will commit to keeping up and posting comments to really enrich the process for all of us.  It would be really encouraging and meaningful to me to have more participation and comments on the website; but really, I know that growing in participation is “Lagniappe”, New Orleans-speak for “just a little something extra”.  As always, I must first sow to please the Spirit; so I really write for my Audience of One, rather than to sowing to please my own flesh (which is the part of me that likes to please other people and can be easily discouraged).  My overarching theme in the New Year is based on this scripture: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).  We must be mindful of the ways the devil can distract us from God’s work and we must choose to live in Jesus: The Life Abundant!

JustaGirl…just like you!