32 trips around the sun.....

Wait.
I better stop and check the math on that!
2010 - 1978 ======= yup. 32 years.
The older I get, the more often I have to pause and recount the years!!!
For a while I thought I was still 25. I was actually 29. Oops!!!


Birthdays are exciting events around here.

Not so much because of the fuss and fanfare (though I thoroughly love getting cards, well wishes, going out for lunch with my mom, hearing "Happy Birthday" from my little family members, having Jon treat me to dinner --- lately we've been ordering in our our birthdays, finding time for a date night sometime in the birthday vicinity! --- and usually a glass (or two, maybe even three if I'm feeling particularly sassy!!!) of homemade wine (this year reserved for AFTER baby's arrival!). I also love getting ready for the girls birthday parties, especially the "delightful" habit of creating a cake, which usually happens at untimely hours of the night! All in a days work, right :)?

However, birthdays are special for another reason too.
As I take time to pause and reflect on God's faithfulness throughout another year, I am completely blown away by His generosity, gentleness and grace.

Life is not always easy. 
Sometimes it's the little things that add up. Just this week, as I dealt with a series of tantrums, terrible nights, development issues, and a host of other things, I had to send Little M to her room (which was quite the fanfare of kicking and screaming!) and I stood in the kitchen and sobbed. Fatigued and frustrated, I fought the urge to run and hide away myself.

Other times it is the big deals in life. There are situations and circumstances that I would change if I could. Things I would never have let happened if possible. Though I can pray for the strength and integrity to influence things in a positive way, there simply are things that are beyond my control. Yet, in spite of these things, even BECAUSE of these things, God continues to meet with me in a powerful way and redemption unfolds before my eyes.


² I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
       apart from you I have no good thing."
  ⁵ LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; 
       you have made my lot secure.
 ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
       surely I have a delightful inheritance.
 ⁷ I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
       even at night my heart instructs me.
 ⁸ I have set the LORD always before me.
       Because he is at my right hand,
       I will not be shaken.
Psalm 16


Lately, as I have witnessed hardships unfold also in the lives of those I love dearly, a line from the David Crowder Band song How He Loves has been a constant refrain (and if you wanna see a dude with some pretty funky hair, click here to see the video!!!)...

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, 

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. 

When all of a sudden, 

I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, 

And I realize just how beautiful You are, 

And how great Your affections are for me. 

So, for me, birthdays are a day to step out of routine a bit, get together with loved ones, laugh and reminisce and all around have a good great time!

They are also a day for me to stop and declare....
Thank you LORD for your faithfulness.
Thank you for the joy and satisfaction of the good work you've called me to at this time.
Thank you for peace that passes understanding and joy that is beyond circumstances.
Thank you for the good things you give as gifts.
Thank you for the hard things you also turn into gifts.
Thank you for everything.
I am grateful.

Today should be a very fun day. I am anticipating a lunch out - chinese food maybe :)!? I will putter in the gardens and take out the kids sprinkler. We will enjoy supper THAT. I. HAVE. NOT. HAD. TO. PREPARE!!! I may or may not tackle a few pre-baby-arrival projects, we'll see how much energy is left at the end of the day. I have lingered over a cup of coffee, donned a pretty shirt (one of the few left in the closet that actually FITS anymore!!!) and appreciated many notes of encouragement that have already come my way.


Yes, I have a feelin' that today's gonna be a good day, that today's gonna be a GOOD DAY, that today's gonna be a GOOD GOOD DAY!!!

Happy birthday!