Another Year to Serve

On the way to my surprise gathering

Thinking of the day of my birth, just really has me reflecting on the things that God has done just for me.  I am so special to Him (you are too), that he was sitting up, individually contemplating how he was going to bring me into the world, who would have the privilege to parent me, what He wanted my nose to look like, who my soul mate would be, and what my life's mission would be.

At my old church, Sheffield Family Life Center, the pastor at the time, Pastor Westlake, would conclude every sermon with something like this, "God loves you more than anything else.  If you had been the only one in the world that needed to be saved, He would have sent His only Son to die on the cross for you."  Although he said this every Sunday as part of his altar call, I still would go completely into LaLa Land trying to wrap my mind around 1) Creating a Son that you know will suffer a horrific death, all to save some sinners and a whole bunch of people who will never accept Him 2) Doing all of that just for me.  Wow!  I still don't have words for it, but I'm thankful for God's master plan.

Surprise

Also, there are things that I strongly believe in my heart that God has His hand all over in my life.  For instance, my mom started making me carry a purse when my "mother nature" started.  Subconsciously, I never liked carrying purses, so I forgot it everywhere, and even still to this day, I'm known to leave my purse behind.  These last 18 years that I've been carrying a purse, I've probably left it somewhere about 25-30 times, and every time, I go back to where I left it or to the lost and found and it is there, still in tact, nothing missing.  Every time!  I'm trusting that that is God.  Another thing that I truly believe God has protected for me is my eyes.

14th Birthday

  I rarely take my contacts out.  I've gone weeks without taking them out, and I still have eye balls.  YEAH!  Never really had any eye problems either.  I'm not bragging about this, because I know I should be taking them out, but I just get so tired and busy.....ok, just got me, I get lazy and I kind of skip that step.

The hubsters planned a surprise dinner gathering with our closest friends here in Rockford.  Although, he says that I've been saying I wanted a surprise party for the last year, I truly was surprised....and thankful, and blessed that he would go through all of that after being in school for eight hours that day and that people would even consider celebrating me.

22nd Birthday (opening a gift certificate to a full day at the spa)

 I am thankful for the life I've been given, and birthdays give me the inspiration to keep moving forward in my purpose (more on that at another time).

Birthday Ramblings

Ok, so my birthday is in one week; and I'm not going to front, I am super stoked!  I'm like a little kid anticipating Christmas.  I think a little excitement for one's birth is normal human nature, and I don't know what to attribute the other half of my excitement to.


But, what if I don't have fun on my birthday?  What if I don't do anything exciting?  What if no one else cares that it's my birthday?  My only response is that it's still the day that God chose to bring me forth and start His ministry through me.  So that deserves some celebration!


This year, I'm choosing to celebrate myself!  I have $80 in my "Blow" envelope (money I get to spend in whatever way I want), and I am going to get a pedicure, some more of Shea Moisture's Deep Treatment Masque (after weekly deep conditioning sessions, I ran out pretty quick), and I want my eye brows done.  And what do you know....my favorite retailers also remembered my birthday.  Sephora always sends me a birthday e-mail to tell me to remember to pick up my birthday gift, Victoria's Secret sent me a birthday card with $10, and Texas de Brazil also sent me a birthday e-mail and free meal.  I'm still trying to figure out which ones I'll spend my special day celebrating with.


The hubsters said that he is going to take me out as well, so we shall see what he has planned.  One year (when we were "going together") he  told me to get dressed in something really nice and then he blindfolded me and drove me to.........a really nice restaurant called, Skies, in Kansas City.  Skies is an upscale place at the very top of a hotel and it spins around as you're eating and you can see the entire sky line; it's beautiful.  After dinner he took me to listen to some jazz music and we had a blast.


Well, I'm starting to ramble, so let me stop.  I just want you guys to check out this card that Trent Man made for me.  If I don't get anything else this year, honestly, this is enough.

I'm curious to know how you like to celebrate your birthday.  Please do tell.

The Beginning of the End

5 Years Ago.  I miss being this skinny AND my string of pearls

In just 3 WEEKS, I will begin the last year of my twenties!  I'm a surprise bag of mixed emotions.  I go from embracing it and wanting the hubsters to take me out with friends to celebrate and then I sit back and think about where the time went and what I've done with myself for the past almost decade.

I even find myself watching and admiring the older women at my church, many of whom bring their grandchildren with them, and I am inspired.  These women are youthful, alway put together, and just full of life and energy, which is exactly how I want to be when I am their age.  I sometimes find myself daydreaming about being a grandmother myself....I KNOW, it's crazy, to say the least.  I just always want to know what I will be doing and look like NEXT, which shouldn't be my concern.

Throughout highschool, I had this vision for my future, and "no" I did not consult God.  I didn't even know I had to do that.  But anywho...I had a vision of myself as this high-powered business woman, who made lot's of money.  So much money that I was going to take 20-30 family and friends on a world-wide cruise vacation, all expenses paid.  Hey guys, I'm still working on it!  Not only was I going to be very successful in my career, but according to my plan, I was supposed to get married around 28 and start having kids at 30, you know so I could have time to work, make money and be successful.  It's just hilariously funny to me that my life is no where near this vision that I'd concocted in my head so many years ago.  Thank God!

Thank God that even when I was bent on sabotaging His plan, He loved me enough to pick me back up and set me on the correct path.  I'm just so thankful for His mercy and grace, because without it, I'm sure I'd be destitute.

The reality is that I'm not business-savvy, I can't think on my feet, I'm not good with impressing others, I don't want an MBA, and I could go on.  He knew this about me when He created me in my mother's womb, before I even knew it about myself.

Now that this post has gone in a totally different direction than planned, I'm going to wrap it up by saying I am excited for my birthday to come this year, because it's just one more reminder of God's faithfulness.  In a world full of evil and corruption; I need those reminders.