At the women’s conference my mother and I attended on Saturday she purchased a book by Kerry and Chris Shook called One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life. I had seen the same title as I perused the bookstore, but passed it by without even reading the dust jacket. Well, my mother has a gift of seeing the potential in things that I tend to overlook (I say that here and freely because she does not read my blog!), and this book was no exception to that rule.

The book is broken down to be read over thirty days; today I read Day 1. I like it. The authors are a husband and wife team, and the husband is a pastor. Over the years he has counseled many people who were faced with imminent death. He noticed that most of them made drastic life changes for the better upon hearing the news that their lives are almost over. “What if,” the author wondered, “we lived our lives as if we only had thirty days left to live?” He challenged the ministry team at his church to live this way, and the results were incredible! The team members rearranged their priorities, spent more quality time with loved ones, and fulfilled lifelong goals and dreams. The challenge to the reader, then, is clear: Live like you’ve only got one month to live.

One of the first exercises in the book is to make a list of five things you would like to accomplish within the next thirty days. My very first reaction is that if I only had a month left, I would want to finish my book in that time! Not completely finish—the revision process is more grueling than the initial writing—but I’d love to have a working rough draft in thirty days time. That will require a lot of writing! But if I rearrange my priorities, watch a little less Bones on Netflix Instant Queue, I think it could be done.

Here’s my list of five things:

1. Finish my book
2. Clean my room and bathroom and keep them clean!
3. Spend more time connecting with loved ones
4. Do daily devotionals/spend time with God/write/journal/blog
5. Buy polarized sunglasses

So far, I completed #5-- I got the sunglasses on sale for $30 at the Wal-Mart Vision Center! Why sunglasses, you might wonder? Because, as I told my father earlier today, if I only have a month left to live, I’m gonna live it in polarized lenses.

I’m going to try to blog every day as part of my spiritual and writing disciplines to discuss if/how this book makes an impact in my actions. So don’t forget to stop by soon to check in on my progress (or lack thereof)!

Cheers!

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Jenna

1 Comment

1. Rebekah on April 26, 2010 at 3:47 PM

   Yay! You're blogging again! Your new book sounds really great; I'm looking forward to reading more about your progress!