Welcome to What We Learned, a series I’ve been hosting here for over two years. In the past we did it monthly but we’ve switched to a quarterly schedule where we spend a little time reflecting on the past three months before we move ahead into the future.
At the end of this post, you’re invited to link up to your own list of what you learned this month – be it silly, serious, sacred, or just plain useful.
Here are 12 things I learned this Fall:
1. How to create and launch an online course.
At the end of August I was deep in the work of learning how to create an online course. At the end of September, I finally launched it.
As it turns out Marie Forleo is right – everything is figure-out-able. (At least when it comes to stuff I didn’t know how to do online.) Course enrollment is closed now, but here’s where you can see proof that I did it and get on the waitlist to be notified when enrollment opens again.
2. Vivian Howard’s chicken and rice tastes as good as it looks on TV.
Vivian is a chef in Kinston, NC and host of the show A Chef’s Life. We haven’t been to her restaurant yet, but we got to taste her food from her book tour food truck in Chapel Hill. Her mom’s chicken and rice recipe with the magic celery leaves on top was divine.
3. Grace for the Good Girl has been translated into Dutch!
Two years or so ago, my publisher told me a Dutch publisher bought the rights to publish my first book in their language and I promptly forgot about it. So when I got the book in the mail, my first thought was “Why has a foreign businessman put my name on his book?!”
Evidently they did not consult the English Urban Dictionary when titling it. (insert cry laugh face and also red-face emoji).
4. Instagram stories are fun. I think?
Do we like Instagram stories? I think I do. Now, I’ve never been on Snapchat, though I have a username because it seemed like the right thing to do. But when Instagram launched their story feature a few months ago, it seemed an easy place to experiment with video.
I’m still figuring out how to use it well, but I already know my favorite ones to watch are the ones that actually feel like stories. To be continued.
5. I am more fully myself with Yoga and Zumba in my life.
I tried spinning (once – yuck), run-jogging (my knees!) and elliptical action (this one I still do some). But this past year I finally found the movement combination that fits my body. And then I promptly stopped going in August because of traveling and TV and deep work and making dinner and the Internet.
Finally a week or so ago, I’ve gotten back to it and I remember all over again why I started in the first place. Give me all the deep stretching, thoughtful breath, and old lady latin dancing thank you and amen.
6. Kitties are yoga masters and John isn’t allergic yet.
We’ve had a dog for years but never got a cat, mainly because John is allergic. I grew up with outside kitties and loved them so very much. But then to my sister’s cat had kittens and I brought one home in October to try it out and never gave it back.
He is friendly and lovely and flexible (is he right side up or upside down?!) and lives inside my house. Also he matches our dog. And John hasn’t sneezed yet.
7. Hope*writers has a life of its own.
It’s been a year now since we first launched our membership community for writers.
We hosted our first live workshop last month and after meeting over 200 of our hope*writers in person, I realized this is more than an online membership site – it’s a community and a mindset.
Theres me, my dad, my sister, and our friend Brian taking a selfie with the hope*writers just before we recorded The Hope*Writers Podcast Live. (You can listen to it here).
8. From now on I will vote on election day (not early).
I voted early this year because I was nervous about long lines and didn’t think it was a thing. But then when election day came, I had this weird FOMO thing happening and remembered how much I enjoy voting on actual election day even if the lines are long.
9. Acknowledging the feelings and experience of others goes a mighty long way.
The morning after the election, I wrote a post called I Dare Not Tell You How to Feel This Morning. It is now my most visited post in months. This reminded me how important it is to be sensitive to the experience and perspective of other people.
10. I still have trouble knowing how to rest well.
Even after that book I wrote about celebrating smallness and learning to waste time well, after writing for over 10 years about the importance of creating space for our soul to breathe, I still have to work on resting well.
For example, my number one biggest work goal this year was to create and launch my first online course. And then I did it (I did it!) and promptly forgot to feel like I accomplished something. While I’ve been wise enough not to take on another giant project like that yet, I still have this brain gremlin that pushes me around, bullying me into productivity.
11. I love recording audiobooks.
This month I had the honor of recording the audiobook version of my third book, A Million Little Ways. It was so much work and so much fun. It felt like such an honor to read the words I wrote directly to a reader. What a gift. (I’ll let you know when it’s available!)
12. Israel is more beautiful than I ever imagined.
Surprising to absolutely no one, I still haven’t fully processed my trip to Israel at the end of August. (Slow process much?) I did write one post about it: This is Not How I Pictured Jerusalem. But one thing I learned for sure is this: Israel is a stunningly beautiful country.
megan says
November 30, 2016 at 12:09 PMAwesome things you learned
Lauren says
November 30, 2016 at 12:38 PMYour lists always make me smile and challenge me to pay better attention to life. Your Insta-story yesterday was SO good (no makeup and all), and I’m with you–they are much more interesting when it’s actually a story.
Kathy Cheek says
November 30, 2016 at 1:17 PMYour list is awesome, you look very busy and all good things, the Dutch version of your book made me laugh-good heartedly of course, the cover I mean.
I will share one thing I learned here in the comments, and that is a character trait that my husband of 33 years has. He has a young high school aged cousin playing in a championship football game in Waco this Friday night. Problem, his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are all on a trip to Israel, which I am sure is awesome and they had no idea when they planned this trip months ago that this team would be in the championship game. And so my husband is driving from Dallas to Waco to watch his cousin’s game so someone in the family will be there for him. I already know he is a caring and generous person, but this just takes it to a higher level and I admire him so much for it. He challenges me to be a more giving person.
Dolly@Soulstops says
November 30, 2016 at 1:29 PMEmily,
Wow, what a month! Your Dutch book cover made me chuckle, and I agree about exercise, although I’m not quite talented enough to do Zumba 🙂
Marian Vischer says
November 30, 2016 at 2:21 PMI so look forward to these posts. {Reading yours and writing my own.} Yay for quarterly link-ups! Also, your book in Dutch still makes me giggle every time. : )
Kim Rettmann says
November 30, 2016 at 5:06 PMThanks so much for encouraging us all, through your example, to stop and remember before charging ahead into the future! I’ve never ever done a link up before, but I gave it a try today. It was a profitable soul exercise 🙂
Also, I’ve seen a few of your Insta stories – what fun!
Thanks again and God Bless!
Gail Golden says
November 30, 2016 at 7:52 PMI understand your having to process your trip to Israel. I’ve been twice. The first time, I cried the whole time and didn’t write about it at all. The second time, it took me months to write about it. I wrote a series of posts over a few months because there was so much I saw, and felt, and learned. I look forward to reading about your experience.
Blessings, Merry Christmas, and Happy Hanukkah!
GG
Jessica C says
November 30, 2016 at 7:53 PMI’m so jealous you met Vivian!! Her show is my absolute favorite 🙂 I need to try again to make a reservation at her restaurant…last time I thought about it, I heard there was a three month wait!!
PS I love these What I Learned posts — thanks for challenging us to stop and reflect on what our lives are teaching us!
Lucille Zimmerman says
November 30, 2016 at 8:20 PMEmily,
I enjoy your posts. I feel like I resonate with you on so many levels (spirituality, mystery, quiet, productivity, etc.) Yet you seem light years ahead in the ways you and your family use technology. I’m learning from you.
I so enjoyed the Hope Writer’s workshop and getting to know you and your family and Brian better. I’m inspired by fellow Hope Writers. I’ve been to Israel twice and found the experience hard to describe. It’s a vacation, it’s a spiritual experience, and it is history coming alive. Mostly when someone asks, I resort to tears. Keep up the good work!
K Ann Guinn says
November 30, 2016 at 11:28 PMThanks again, Emily, for this wonderful opportunity to link up! I enjoyed reading your post, as always, and happened to relate to several of your points.
I was also deeply affected by all the discord and even hatred expressed during and after the election, and need to remember to let people feel what they feel.
I’ve always had trouble resting. I’m learning (especially now that I have a more manageable schedule), to take time out most days to rest, but still struggle with getting to bed on time (as I sit here and finish this late at night!).
I’ve never been to Israel, but my parents loved it enough to go twice.
I love the cat “yoga” pose, as I’ve always grown up with cats (usually two), recently had three in our family (until our older girl passed away), and am also amazed at how flexible they are! I’m glad your husband has not had an allergic reaction, and I think your kitten is “cat side up”. 😉
Jeanine says
December 1, 2016 at 12:16 AMI really enjoyed reading your list, but my favorite was your kitty because we have one that looks just like him, and ours matches our dog too, lol! My daughter is a little allergic, but she still wants to pet our cat, so she washes her hands a lot! The other thing that helps is that our cat spends most of her time on our screen porch.
Bethany Colas says
December 1, 2016 at 10:33 AMI’m a big fan of old lady latin dancing too, and I’m with you that there’s something about doing Zumba in tandem with yoga (not at the same time, but in the same week), that I find so helpful. I tend to think a lot and can get lost in my own head, but both Zumba and yoga get me out of my head and into the present moment. So cheers to downward dogs and old lady booty-shaking!
Andrea Jacole says
December 1, 2016 at 11:15 AMGreat list of things learned. Thanks for sharing!
amy says
December 1, 2016 at 11:23 AMI love Vivian Howard!! You mentioned her show on PBS a couple of months ago and it perked my interest. I was totally hooked and being from Texas I find her accent so soothing to listen to. Thank you for recommending her and her show! I have watched them all!
Gabby says
December 1, 2016 at 7:36 PMHaha! It took me a while to “get” what you were talking about with the Dutch title. I should know better because my teenage nephews text that. Anyways. Speaking of that book, I was recently going through my old email account and found an email I sent you, which you so gracefully replied to. My early twenty-something year old self wanted to discuss a few things with you about that book! 🙂
This fall, I learned first hand all about childbirth – tough stuff we girls have to go through. 😉
Jordan Harrell says
December 1, 2016 at 11:17 PMI came to your site after listening to the HopeWriters podcast and feeling a strange kindredness to you. When I saw the picture of the four of you I was like, “OH MY GOODNESS! It’s how I pictured them all in my head!” (Except Brian/Bryan… totally pictured facial hair. Womp womp.) But congrats to you all (except Brian/Bryan) that your voices match your faces. That’s great, right? I guess? So REALLY though why I’m here…. is just to say thank you and I love all the words. Keep saying them and writing them. I am one of the many who is sitting at your feet.
Michele Morin says
December 2, 2016 at 11:33 AMReally enjoying the HopeWriters podcast! Thanks for all you do.
Beth williams says
December 3, 2016 at 6:06 PMEmily,
I used to be into exercise big time. Then came stress, life, etc. I enjoy lifting weights (dumbbells). Also enjoy walking to music.
I learned this fall-that God is still in the miracle business, and it never ceases to amaze me. Told hubby that I would start job hunting right after vacation. Friend called about a part time job on Friday. I immediately applied-told another friend who knew the owner. She called owner on Monday & I turned in my resume, got a quick interview. Owner called & did a phone interview on Tuesday. Thursday (not even 1 week after hearing about job) I was offered the position. WHOOT WHOOT!!
I rediscovered the joy of cooking and that I am a pretty good cook!
Blessings 🙂