conclusion

Here we are. We made it. Gracious Living: 31 Days of Refinement is over. I won't pretend that I'm not a little relieved. I'm not used to this space of mine being so loaded with heavy posts. I prefer more variety with my regular posting. And I haven't ever posted every day in a single month. Ever.

This month has been one of stretching for me, and it been both good and difficult. Some days it felt like the universe conspired against me to upend all my real-life efforts at gracious living. I certainly wouldn't want you to think that because I chose to write about graciousness that I'm some kind of expert at it. That is far from the truth. I think about deep subjects, and sometimes maybe I think too much. But getting all that thinking into concrete words was good for my soul. And I hope it was good for yours.

I received so much kind and valuable feedback from you throughout this series: emails, texts, Facebook likes and comments, and blog comments from people I know and from people I don't know. It was humbling, and I'm glad the response to this experiment was so great. Maybe I'll do another 31 days next year. But then again, maybe I won't. Who knows?

Before I sign off for the weekend, I thought it would be fun to go through the month and let you all know what the most popular posts of this series were.

The Five Most Viewed Posts
:: Table manners matter
:: Notes from Emily Post
:: Happy birthday
:: 10 gracious characters in literature
:: Filled with compassion

My Favorite Posts
:: A napless day
:: For when you don't feel gracious
:: Throwing a party
:: What it means to have grit
:: Year three

I really love how some posts turned out. And I also wrote some posts that felt lackluster. But I made it. And so did you. Thanks for putting up with daily posts from me, posts that I hope weren't too didactic and preaching. I'll be back next week with lists, TV updates, and probably some pictures of my babe almost-toddler.

Happy weekending!