Birthday blessing

As of early this morning, I am now 28-years-old.  My life is a mixture of family, education, church activities, sickness, blessings and regrets.  Over the years, I have done many things I take pleasure in remembering.  At other times, however, I have done much to regret.  What I must always try to remember is that now is the only time I can come close to controlling.  I cannot go back and undo my mistakes anymore than I can continue to live in my past successes.  Each day, each hour, each moment of the present must be spent in growing and maturing as a person.  I want to be the type of person that other people can follow to a more Christian way of life.  I want people to be able to imitate me and, in doing so, become more like Christ.  I pray that we all will continue to grow up into the image of Christ regardless of what age we are.  May God continue to bless us as we continue to grow in Him.

Pi Day

It is March 14, 2012 (3/14/12).  

Some of my more academic (dare I say, nerdy) friends call this day Pi Day based on the mathematical figure that begins 3.14 and carries on into infinity.  Other friends will be marking today as the halfway point of Lent as they are on their journey to the cross.  For me it is Wednesday, the day in the middle, never my favorite day.  Wednesday seems so far from the social times and fun of the weekend ahead and also so distant from the refreshment of last Sunday's worship.  The vast majority of our lives it can seem are spent in the middle...looking back on past failures and successes and dreaming of future adventures yet to come.

Learning to live well on days that in all ways seem ordinary is a skill that it is wise to develop.  Not everyday can bring excitement and if we had excitement everyday it would no long excite us.  Not everyday can lead to breakthroughs and beginnings for us.  Some days are just in the middle of life and have no outward specialness of their own.  We don't grow most though on our birthdays, but rather we grow on the 364 days between the lighting of candles and eating of cake.  Never forget that even in the most ordinary of days you have an opportunity to grow.  Whether it is in renewing a friendship, expanding your mind or being good to your body, the small acts of kindness you pay to yourself will in the end define your days.  Be gentle with yourself and use the ordinary to grow better and bolder.

Happy 24th!

Happy 24th birthday to my sister, Sarah Beth! 

I am so proud of my sister and the person she is. 

Looking forward to celebrating tonight with our family. 

Thank you for all the cards, e-mails, Facebook messages and Happy Birthday expressions over the last few days. As we grow older, we begin to think about our lives and if we are making an impact on the people around us. While the words we say are important, the example we set is even more so.
What do you want to accomplish spiritually in the rest of 2011? Perhaps you need to be more faithful in your attendance at worship and Bible Study. Perhaps you need to make a public commitment to Christ by being baptized into His church. Perhaps you need to begin reading the Bible across the course of your week. Some of us no doubt need to improve our prayer life. We may even need to make things right between ourselves and someone we've offended or hurt.
Whatever we need to do to improve our relationship with our Heavenly Father, we can start today. God is always ready to hear and see us and He wants us to make the changes we need to in order to spend eternity with Him.