It is time for Emily P. Freeman’s monthly linkup What I Learned This Month. I love this linkup because it reminds me to stop and reflect on the past month; the good, the bad, and even the ugly. April was a busy month.

Here are 7 things I learned in April:

1. Ten years doesn’t seem possible, but that is exactly what April brought. April 23rd was my 10th anniversary as a Diaconal Minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Ten years was also the last time I saw my friend HL. We grew up together. It may have been ten years since we last saw each other, but it was like no time had passed at all. It was so good to eat lunch, meet her family and catch up on life.

2. One is never too old to keep learning. I decided to buy Crystal Stine’s Creative Basics course even though I took the free course last Spring. I love learning more and more about how to make awesome social media graphics.

3. It is good to look for the lovely among us at all times. There is lovely all around us. After reading Annie F. Down’s latest book, I even ventured to try something different: sushi. It was a veggie sushi but I tried something new and different. April is full of all sorts of lovely: reading on my patio, sun beating down, flowers blooming, and so much more.

Oh and pretty sure that Annie F. Downs and I could be best friends!

4. My smile is captivating! 🙂 While at country artist Canaan Smith’s concert, one of Canaan’s guitar players caught my eye. I smiled at him and sung along to the song. Next thing I knew the guitar player was throwing his guitar pick at me. It went over my head and under the seat behind me. But the young woman behind me was kind enough to give it to me.

5. A girl’s night out is sometimes just what the doctor ordered! My aunt and a friend were in town for an ambulance conference. We ended up going to a hibachi grill for supper, cruising around the mall, coffee at Starbucks and then capped off the night with a 3-D viewing of the Jungle Book. So much fun!!!

6. I think I might be a tad obsessed with LuLaRoe clothing! The Julia, the Azure, leggings, maxi dresses and so much more. The only pieces I haven’t tried are the Sarah sweater, the Lindsay sweater, the Ana dress and the Nicole dress. (I almost embarrassed to say that!) The clothes are so fashionable and best of all they are so stylish and fashion forward. My latest favorite combo is my rhino leggings and my matching colors Irma! 🙂

7. Showing up for one of my fave little girl’s dance recitals totally made her day and MINE! She was so worried that her parents were going to forget about me which of course, they didn’t. I had supper with them and enjoyed her  dance show. So much fun. And the added bonus…was getting to see other church kids perform too.