Fifty-one Years

Today is my birthday!  51 years of challenges and growing and stretching myself.  I always love taking time each year to think back over my life and evaluate where I've come from and where I'm going.  I thought that to celebrate I would list some things that I have found meaningful in my life over the past 51 years.

1.  My relationship with God.  I love the Lord and want to serve Him all my life.  Hence, the title of my blog!  I hope I have another 51 years to work in His service.


2.  My husband.  Anyone who has read my blog or knows me, realizes that my life revolves around my family.  My husband is one of the kindest, most patient, and most supportive men I've ever met.  I can't imagine my life without him!


3.  My children.  I thank God every day for these three gifts.  They challenge me, make me laugh, and at times, make me crazy!  But I love them with all my heart.


4.  My extended family.  My greatest sadness is living so far away and being in a financial situation that makes it difficult to see them on a regular basis.  But I love my extended family - both my own and my in-laws.  The greatest joy is when we get to see them and spend time with them.


5.  My church family.  On May 1st, Dan and I will have been here for ten years.  It's been ten years of laughter, tears, joy and frustration, and at times, sorrow.  But I love these people God has given to us to shepherd.  We laugh.  We love each other.  We challenge each other. We encourage each other.

6.  Education.  It's important to me that my children get a good education and that they do well.  I don't mean getting straight A's or learning a bunch of facts, because I know how quickly you can lose facts.  What I am interested in is that they learn to think for themselves.  That they challenge themselves.  That they have the desire to learn. 


7.Teaching.  I am a teacher by nature and love helping others learn new things.  My passion is helping those who struggle with reading.  I love being able to take someone who cannot read well and helping them learn.

8. Writing.  I express myself best through writing and am always mulling over new things to write.  It's such a part of me that it would be hard for me if I suddenly was unable to do this.


9. Being creative.  I can't imagine my life without being able to create!  That includes crafting, sewing, decorating, photography, as well as cooking. I love creating new things about of various materials and foods.


10. Trying new things.  I get bored easily and love to try new things.  I'm not content with just the same old, same old year in and year out.  I want to constantly stretch and grow and learn new things.


There are many other things that are meaningful to me as well, but these are the top 10!  I'm looking forward to another 51 years to celebrate these thing. ;-)