What I Learned Wednesday #1

Welcome to the first installment of What I Learned Wednesday (OR WILW if you prefer to abbreviate it). I was thinking about how I was going to do it and ended up decided to do it in list form. I like making lists so it made sense. If you're taking part in this, you can do it any way you want. I'll have a space for links at the end of this post if you want to share yours (blog post or tweet). If you tweet it, hashtag it #WILW or #WhatILearnedWednesday. :) I'll have a graphic hopefully next Wednesday. :)

Alright, so what did I learn this week? To be honest, not much yet so much. Allow me to explain.

1) I've been noticing that the more work I have, the less I am likely to take time off to pray. The funny thing is that, since I am my own boss and I can work whenever I decide to (all freelance writing assignments are done from the comfort of my own home), I can make time... but I haven't been doing it. I do pray in the morning and at night before I head to bed... but that's it. I used to pray the Rosary almost daily but I haven't since a bit before my stomach problems started. I can blame the fact that my schedule was messed up when I got sick (because it was) but I know I shouldn't use it as an excuse. Attending daily Mass is giving me more time to focus on God and less on myself. Yes, I have to work because I have student loan payments, car insurance payments, etc etc, but I think I've been more focused on being financially stable than most anything else and that's not the way it should be. It took a couple of wonder Advent videos (which will be the last item shared) to remind me that Advent is a time for us to slow down and open our hearts in preparation for Christmas. I wonder how many of us have really stopped what we're doing and really thought about what Advent really means.

2) It's come to my attention that, the more comfortable I am talking to people (and I'm slowly getting there; I'm not as shy as I was a couple of years ago), the more the lighthearted side of me comes out... and the more careful I have to be around my guy friends. Unless you really know the person (especially in person), it's pretty difficult to know what a person means when they talk to you. For example, as soon as I get comfortable around someone, I love to joke around and I'm very friendly. The problem with that is that, online, some of my guy friends (who only know me online) may mistakenly misinterpret that as flirting (fyi, I don't flirt; not only would I be terribly awkward in any attempts I would make but it's really not my style... unless I'm dating the guy). I don't know if that's the case but I've been thinking about it during my vocation reflections. I just hope that there haven't been any misunderstanding. Having said that, I think both guys AND gals have to be careful, especially online. We shouldn't be only abstaining from sex until marriage and/or from falling into the trap of lust ourselves, but also protecting members of the opposite sex. Just as my guy friends look after me both in person and online, I should be doing the same thing for them. Check out this Q&A on the subject if you're interested on learning a bit more about the dangers of flirting.

3) Here are the Advent videos I mentioned on #1.

First is from XT3.


Second is from Spirit Juice Studios.


And that's it. Like I said, not much but a lot. I am sure these WILW posts will get better; I'm still in experiment mode. ;)

Anyway, I really should work now so I can have time to pray and read later in the day. :D

I hope you're all having a great week thus far. Don't forget to add your link to #WILW if you're participating. below. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God bless. :D