Welcome, Spring! I’m Getting Spring Into My Step!

I've been thoroughly enjoying the photos displayed on social media of the beautiful array of bluebonnets that are seemingly opening the doors and welcoming Spring to us Texans! Thank you, God, for your handiwork! Before leaving home for this Spring Break trip to Mexico, I sent a little text message to my Frisco family that I wanted to turn in my birthday gift coupons that they gave me in August. It was an amazing gift that included power washing my screened-in porch, trimming hedges and trees, raking and bagging leaves, and laying mulch. I told them I was dealing with peer pressure because my neighbors were way ahead of me in getting their properties all spruced up to welcome Spring! So, we talked about dates to get it all done. Teamwork will certainly make my dream work!

Of course, here in Mexico, it looks like springtime year round, so that’s inspired me, even more, to get spring into my steps. We’ve been going to the fitness center each morning here and getting ourselves spruced up for celebrating this most wonderful season of new life, new hope, new dreams, and new great expectations for this spectacular soon-to-be Resurrection Sunday! Talk about NEW LIFE!

At home, the trees were already budding, my hot pink phlox was unveiling a carpet of color, and the yellow daffodils were sprouting. All of it was shouting “Springtime ahead!” Old things were passing away and the new was being birthed. I had been hearing the doves cooing in my back yard announcing they were making preparations for the new life of their little ones soon.

In Steve DeWitt’s outstanding book, “Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything”, he explains enjoying God's presence this way:
“Creation speaks to us — every day, all the time, constantly shouting truths about spiritual reality. Did you hear it this morning as you got up? Did you feel any truth about God this morning as you took a hot shower? Did you taste any truth as you delighted in your morning coffee? Did you hear any divine reality as you heard a bird singing? Did you see any truth as you saw the blue of the sky? What have you actually felt, tasted, touched, seen, and heard today? The whole earth is filled with His glory. Every day creation shouts to us, God is glorious! God is creator! God is provider! God is love! God is there! Everywhere I look, everything I feel, hear, smell, and taste transmits the beauty of God through the beauty of creation. He is the beauty behind all beauty.”

As for me, I’m gearing up for stepping it up -- getting Spring in my step -- to be filled with vigor and vitality. God saw that His creation of man and woman was VERY GOOD. Shouldn’t we be the evidence of God that awakens Spring in the steps of others, too? The cold, dark days of winter are over. Resurrection Day is upon us. It’s time to take off our grave clothes because He lives -- inside of you and me! Of course, we need to have Spring in our steps because Romans 8:11 reminds us “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.” So, step, Stepper, step!

Sweet Seventy! Happy Birthday to Me!

It's awkward to wish yourself a happy birthday, but I sincerely do. I've now celebrated 70 birthdays. Why are folks so ashamed of their age? I thank God everyday for yet another day, and today, for yet another birthday! 70 years on this earth -- perfectly planned to be here for this day and time to continue to fulfill my assignment by my Creator, Master Designer, and Planner.

All you youngsters out there who view 70 as old.....I was you. I remember when my aunt turned 50 and thought how old she was. I know that age is just a number and I will cherish every year that God gives me on this side of heaven -- and best of all, each year gets me one year closer to going home.

I’m so thankful for the love of my mom and dad that brought me into this world and the beautiful man I married that gave me these precious children and grandchildren that have gone way over the top in giving me a birthday to remember this weekend. They've taken "I love you so much" celebrations to a whole new level in my record books. Yesterday we started out at Baguette et Chocolat Artisan French Restaurant for breakfast, then it was to the "postcard" and "I love you so much" walls in downtown Austin. Then we headed to The Escape Game, a live 60-minute adventure where you and your team take on a challenge and you get one hour to uncover clues and complete your mission and escape. So. Much. Fun. Obviously, from these "family" photos, my sweet children know what I treasure most are my "family" photos. They were "on purpose" to make sure that happened and today, they've assured me there will be more! My hopes for Franklin BBQ were met yesterday afternoon, topped with a sweet "Christopher Robin Movie". We definitely packed a punch into this day!

How thankful I have been that God blessed me to live in these days and times on Planet Earth. One of these photos below that sweet Shawntel did for me shows how long I've been alive here on Planet Earth. At the time of this posting: 7 decades, 70 years, 840 months, 3,652 weeks, 25,569 days, 613,632 hours. That’s pretty sobering, especially in consideration of “What have I done with all those years, months, weeks, days and hours?"

Based on my dear husband’s affirmations, I’m pretty sure I was a good, faithful and loving wife and based on my children’s precious actions and comments over the last few days of celebrations, I think that I passed the test of being a good mom and grandmother. And, from so many wonderful friends’ cards, comments, and blessings, I’m overjoyed to know that I was able to grab some hands and hearts in some ways that touched their lives. I like to think that I’ve left some footprints in the sand that might cause others to want to follow them.

Now, I realize that I am into the 3rd Act of my play, and I think seriously about how I can make the most impact in every day I have left. If you follow me at all on my blogs and messages, you’ll know that I do my best to live in the moments and making the most of them, and sharing as much good news as I can in those moments. Could you and I sit down and have a pity party about all the up and downs, ins and outs, twists and turns of our lives? You better believe it. But, every day the past gets cloudier and cloudier because I’m refusing to go there. I’m forgetting those things behind.

Here are my goals for this grand new DECADE!. To refuse to be angry, worried, grumpy, cranky, cynical and the one that no one wants at their party. Who wants to hang around that old gal? To be sure to die living and not living to die. To praise more, celebrate more, forgive faster, forget past mistakes, encourage and cheer others on more, to reach out and touch more, to give warm hugs and high-5’s more, to learn more, to be more thankful each day God gives me. I want my family to go “Wow – she LIVED!” I’m making sure I’m living every moment. I’ll be finished when I am finished. To add a lot more into the dash (-) that’s between my birth date and exit-to-heaven date. I’m so thankful every day that led to this day, but each day added to that number just gets me closer to that exit-to-heaven date…..when I’ll slide into heaven with my arms up in the air, yelling “What a Ride!”