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!”

Life is Like a Roller Coaster

Life is Like a Roller Coaster.
I’ve been enjoying the photos shared by FB friends that are having the times of their lives on their summer vacations. They didn’t waste a minute getting their summer fun on! Some have made trips to the mountains and others made their way to giant roller coaster mountains at theme parks.

While on OUR vacation last week, I heard the news that should make everyone who has ever been afraid to ride a roller coaster feel better. A power outage at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio left passengers on many rides stuck and a group of passengers was stranded on the Millennium Force Roller Coaster. And not just anywhere, but on the gigantic 300-foot-tall, record-setting hill. The park lost power when a car hit a utility pole. I heard a news commentator say “Aren’t we so thankful that it wasn’t one of those looping roller coasters and they got stuck upside down on the loop?” Thankfully, all the passengers survived with no injuries – but I can imagine there may have been some who threw up from utter fear and anxiety! It took over 45 minutes to restore power.

I've always loved the thrill of the craziest, wildest rides at amusement parks. Maybe that's why becoming a private pilot was no big deal for me. I wrote about that in one of my first blogs that shared the “roller coaster ride” faith journey that we were on.

For over 43 years, my husband, Ron, and I had many opportunities to encourage many people in their faith. We shared with many "When it comes to facing difficult situations in your life, just get on the roller coaster -- throw your hands up in the air, take the ups and downs and twists and turns.....and enjoy the ride!" Little did we realize when we shared that with others, we'd be getting on the "Big Kahuna" Roller Coaster, ourselves. Throughout my husband’s crusade against cancer, we remained constant in our faith. Each new day brought new hope AND new concerns. He’d make progress and then he’d have struggles. We found that with each doctor visit, test, treatment, and surgery (6), the ups and downs of it all, that God gave us new strength, encouragement, and peace.

We were on a roller coast. And we would climb, climb, climb and then encounter many twists and turns. It was tempting to get sweaty palms, white knuckles holding on so tight, but then, once again, we would remind ourselves, “God is in charge of the start and finish of this ride so we'll continue to throw our hands up in the air and enjoy this ride!" And, we did.

Life is a lot like a roller coaster and we will ride it with white knuckles and be holding on for dear life and sometime we may even feel like throwing up from all the twists and turns. Sometime we might even get stuck on an uphill climb. There will be other times when we will throw our hands up in the air, let the adrenaline give us the ride of our life and move into the twists, turns and ups and downs along the way. But, embracing the ride with a victory attitude will bring about the thrill of it all and at the end, we’ll yell “What a ride!”

Happy Birthday to ME!

My good friend, Debbie Moutsos, inspired me to wish myself a Happy Birthday. Next month, she’s giving herself a 65th birthday party. I love that! Debbie isn’t waiting on a celebration. She IS a celebration and she’s just looking for a place to land. That’s the way I want to celebrate my birthday, too! I AM a celebration because, on this day, I'm celebrating God’s goodness in selecting my Mom and Dad to give me life. They didn’t plan me. But, God did. Mom had determined my 12-years older sister would be her last, but “God’s ways are so much higher than our ways”.

I checked on a date calculator app to see how long in days I’ve been here on Planet Earth. At the time of this posting, it’s 24,837 days. 2 hours 50 minutes. That’s a pretty sobering exercise, especially in the consideration of “What have I done with those days?” I like to think that I’ve done a pretty good job as a wife, mother and grandmother and I’ve been able to grab the hands of dear friends and helped them in some ways. I like to think that I’ve left some footprints in the sand that might cause others to follow them. That’s who I’ve been so far.

I realize that I am in Act III of my play, and I seriously think 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, making most of the moments and sharing as much good news as I can in those moments. I’ve read in God’s Word how He will make me flourish in old age. I’m counting on that – not that I consider this ripe number of 68 as old age because I still feel like I am in the prime of my life. My son called me yesterday and asked how I was doing and my reply was “I am so thankful to be so healthy, strong and still ALIVE!” He told me he was glad I was, too.

Here’s the deal. As I am moving closer and closer to the end of my play, I’ve determined to NOT be burdened with anger, worry and being cynical. Who wants to hang around that old gal? I want to stay free-spirited. I want to have a spring in my step, full of vitality and life. I don’t want to give up, throw in the towel, complain about all that and this. I don’t want to be grumpy and cranky and the one that no one wants at their party. I want to be the one they celebrate. I don’t want to be a boring old person. I want to be sure to die living and not living to die. I want my family to go “Wow – she LIVED!” I’m not dying until I’m dead. I’m making sure I’m living every moment. Just like Jesus said on his last breath “It is finished!”, that’s when I’ll be done – not one second before then. I’ll be finished when I am finished. I’ve had an awesome life. Could you and I sit down and have a pity party about all the up and downs, in 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.

So, here’s my goal for this grand new year. To praise more and worry less; to celebrate more and complain less; to forgive faster, to forget past mistakes, to 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 give more, to be more thankful each day God gives me. To add a lot more into the dash (-) that’s between my birthdate and exit-to-heaven date. By the way, I’m so thankful for those 24,837 days in the past….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!”