celebrating life

I’m Back! And I’m 40!

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#40

Hey friend:), first things first: It has been a loooooooooong minute since I have taken the time to put together a post, and for that, I am truly sorry. Finding my new rhythm in my new location, with a few new seasons had me really digging deep to find the words. Words which are usually easy for me to pour out into a note or onto a rough draft on my phone suddenly became hard for me to publish.

However, there was always hope:).

Hope never left my heart, I just let it sink down further than normal. But after some months trying to wrap my brain around life and new seasons up ahead, hope gently floated to the surface reminding me that there is still a voice within me with stories to tell and messages to shared right here, with you. So thank you! Thank you for sticking with me in this writing journey and most of all, for sticking with me just to share life no matter how near or far we are in miles!

Last year, some big milestones happened:

– I was published 2 times in an awesome online magazine! (Yay Dearly!)

-I embraced being brave and auditioned to sing for the local GJ Rockies and was asked to sing the National Anthem at a game! (Yay to being brave! Go GJ Rockies!)

-I was invited to speak at a local women’s conference (Yay Flourish!)

-I was able to visit with family & friends under the best of circumstances and under the toughest of times (Seriously, let’s give it up for life-giving community!!!)

This year, something super awesome happened:

-I turned 40 …TODAY! (Yay Life! L’Chaim! Insert confetti here!)

Yes…I am now able to check the box that says “40 and Over” on all kinds of paperwork (Yay Getting Older! Haha!)

Birthday tradition of coffee with the fam:), plus an honorary daughter:)

In the lives of many people, this is usually the time where one questions their life and purpose and wonders what they have accomplished thus far. If I’m honest, I’ve been doing that for a few years now; looking back at all that God has entrusted me with, all the dreams and goals He’s placed in my heart and mind, all the messages He’s planted in my heart, and all the people He’s entrusted me to love and serve. I’ve also been thinking about how faithful I’ve been with the life He’s invited me to pursue; writing, speaking, listening, and encouraging, leading, remembering…all of it. And I come back to this one phrase:

Be Faithful.

In this new year of life, how can I be a more faithful steward of all that’s been given to me? Where can I be more faithful in the assignments I have been entrusted with? In what ways can I demonstrate more faithfulness to those under my roof & under my care? Where is God asking for a renewed commitment of faithfulness in my diligence in seeking Him and His ways?

Faithful is actually my word for 2020:)

Not just because of the questions I am processing though, but it’s the word that most reminds me of Him. Over and over I read and I know God to be more than faithful. He’s faithful to show up, faithful to come onto the seen, faithful to visit with me, faithful to recognize my cry and need. He’s faithful to provide for every need. He’s faithful to complete the good work that He started in me. He’s faithful to help me when I am weak, and He’s faithful to provide the community I need and crave every single day. He’s faithful to bring alongside friends and warriors who have gone before me that have wisdom to share. He’s faithful to provide mentors near and far from whom I can glean wisdom. He’s faithful to help me pause and soak in the moments that are passing faster than I would like. He’s faithful to remind me of the joy it is to cheer on friends making big strides in their own lives. He’s faithful to me, and I know He’s been faithful to you too.

He is faithful! Because of His Faithfulness, my first response will be praise to Him.

Friend, my bit of advice from my 40 years of life: Look for His faithfulness.

I invite you to pause and reflect on your life (just like I’m doing today), and look all around for examples of His faithful and strong love in this life. Let’s take a moment to soak it in; the enormity of His great love, and the beauty of His sacrifice for us. I’m not going to take this new year of life for granted, because it has been gifted to me by Him, the Creator and Sustainer of Life.

Will you do me the honor of leading us in prayer today? Let’s pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, we take time today to just thank You for Your faithfulness… You display Your commitment to relationship with us in so many beautiful ways- through faithful sunrises and sunsets and rainbows; through the strength and mercy that is new each morning, through family bonds and friendships that endure and grow…Lord, we thank You for all of it. Today, we choose not just to look for Your faithfulness, but to praise You for being faithful. We choose to look at the life within us and around us and say, “Thank You”, with grateful hearts. We choose to look at the dreams and goals and assignments that You’ve entrusted to us and embrace them fully – knowing that You provide the inspiration and hope and strength to accomplish each step because they have been given to us by You. God, as we hold onto Your faithfulness, help us to become living examples of Your faithful love to everyone we come in contact with. Everyone is our neighbor, everyone is deserving of love, and because Your love is enduring, ours should reflect the same intensity and longevity. Lord, embolden us to share of Your amazing faithfulness in all we say and in all we do. Amen.

Go The Extra Mile: It wouldn’t be a blog post without a song, so enjoy this current favorite of mine with a slice of chocolate cake in honor of my big day! This song by Sarah Reeves & The Belonging Co is on repeat in my personal playlist and it’s my prayer in this new season of life- ” to pour out my affection” as sweet incense to my faithful God. Enjoy and celebrate friends! #40yearsofLiz

peace-liz

37 Years In

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Happy birthday to ME! And yes, I am still accepting gifts and mass quantities of coffee too. I’m another year older, and hopefully, another year wiser. I tend to get reflective about my life when January rolls around.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting about how life is a gift.

My last birthday was spent celebrating the incredible life of my Grandma-In-Law that walked into eternity a few days before my 36th birthday. Grandma Sara was the only grandma I ever knew- she was such a role model to me in life & faith. Her life continues to inspire me as a wife, mom, and Jesus-Follower (she was the best, seriously the best). Around this birthday, our family heard of a few losses of loved ones by those we know and love. I may not know everything, but I do know this:

Celebrating life doesn’t always include cake.
Sometimes it includes a colorful party.
Sometimes it includes a room full of joy and laughter.
Other times, it includes a room full of cold, pastel-colored flowers and
deep
deep
sorrow. However…

Celebrating life is still a gift.
Friend, let’s go deep for a minute…

We are never promised a peaceful life up to the spry age of 100 years old.
We have not been promised a life absent of struggle or strain.
We are not even promised tomorrow.
What we have been given is the gift of right now and it is brief -like a vapor- in the scope of all eternity.

“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14 NASB)

When we wake up in the morning and we are able to breathe deep, it is a gift. When we are able to hug a friend during a regular day, it’s a gift. When we are able to smile at a complete stranger and brighten their day, it is a gift. When we find ourselves in the midst of a battle and are surrounded by caring friends, it is a gift. When we experience defeat or an unthinkable loss and are barely standing, it is a gift.

Let’s get even more real:
When you are holding a child who is sick or full of great need and you can do nothing else for them, life is precious and fragile and it is still a gift.
When you feel the panic of violation because articles of worth, your personal belongings, were stolen from you (true story ya’ll)…life is not about stuff; life is about people and sharing life with them. Even under these circumstances, we can know His perfect peace and know that life is still worth celebrating.

Through every season and situation of life, God is still good and this life is still a gift.
He’s given us all beautiful and mysterious gift and we need to remember to celebrate it well.

Celebrations usually include gifts.
Now, gifts are not meant to stay in boxes wrapped up with a shiny bow.
Our gifts were designed with a greater purpose and were designed for use. This life is full of opportunities to experience both. Often times, those opportunities will look more like
Pain
Struggle
Brokenness
Weakness
Loss…but when we’ve come through to the other side, whether by the skin of our teeth or with plenty of room to spare, we must remember that life, and celebrating this life, is a gift.

Your life is a gift my friend. Don’t let your gift gather dust or stay hidden. By holding back our gifts of life, we are depriving someone who is in desperate need of those exact experiences of hope and faith. Your life, all of it, matters. The glorious parts as well as those that feel mundane. The parts you want to put on display and the parts you think aren’t worth sharing. Every day that you are able to see this truth and know it deep down in your soul is a day for celebration.

“Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of His lavish gift-giving by the hand of His beloved Son.
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, His blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans He took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.”
(Ephesians 1:4-14 MSG)

Friend, I know this is not your typical birthday reflection on how wonderful it is to be 37.
I didn’t want it to be.
This is just my observation having only 37 years in.
I tried a couple other drafts, but I came right back to the deep. The exact place I try to live from. Sometimes I feel like I get it right, and others…well, let’s just say I’m a pro at the do-over;).

My challenge for you is this:
What will you do with this gift of life you’ve been given?
How will you spend it?
How will you celebrate and share your gift of life today?

Your life is precious and matters a great deal to God. Only in Him can we find the peace, joy, hope, courage, love, honesty, redemption, grace, and mercy that we can share with this world through our personal stories of experience.

I’d love to hear your thoughts today on how you will personally celebrate and share life. Please comment below or share this message with a friend (preferably over coffee and chocolate cake). Make today different by celebrating and sharing this beautiful-messy-challenging-awesome life we’ve been given.

Peace-liz

Go the extra mile:
Check out this song- I can’t get enough of it!