Turning 35 and Life Lessons

Today is my 35th birthday!  My hubby planned a wonderful surprise getaway at a very fancy resort.  We never do things like that, so it was very special and the best gift for my 35th year.  I will be honest for the first time I am starting to feel old, but with age comes wisdom.  I have gained a lot of knowledge thru the years, particularly, the past 10.  I started jotting down some of the most valuable lessons I have learned and thought I would share them with you all today.  You can also see how  I have aged thru the years and laugh at my bad haircuts!

1.   Never say never.  I would have never believed it, if you told me 5 years ago that I would be a homeschooling mom.  In fact I would have told you, I would never do something like that.  Though our school year has only recently started, I finally feel like I have a purpose-FUL life.  It feels good, satisfying and meaningful. 

2.  True friends take little effort in developing and maintaining a friendship.  If you have to work hard at a friendship its not meant to be.  It should be natural and easy.  The best friends I have are the ones, we can pick up where we left off like no time has passed at all.

3.  Your words matter.  You have a choice to make every time you open your mouth.  You can complain or be thankful.  You can encourage or discourage.  You can speak anger or peace.  What an amazing power we have, use it wisely. 

4. True joy comes from selflessly giving to others.  We live in such a culture of narcissism.  To get the most out of life we should not be focusing on how we feel or what we want.  Giving to others is so much more lasting and rewarding.   

5.  What you want in life, may be not what you get.  I have no doubt that God has a plan for me.  When I stopped trying to get what I wanted out of life and accepted the life I was given, I became a much happier person.

6.  Live with what you have now and make the best of what's to come.   (a line from Phillip Phillips song Tell Me A Story).  Life is a constant roller coaster full of ups and downs.  Some days are fantastic some are just dreadful, thankfully many are uneventful.    Live in the moment and learn to deal with difficult circumstances the best you can. 

7.  No one is perfect or has the perfect life.  It may seem that way, especially with social media and blogs promoting everyone's highlight reel in life.  People are posting the good stuff and rarely post the negative.

8.  Nothing is wasted.  All life events are meant for your growth or the growth of someone else.    From the unthinkable events to the ones we celebrate.  They are all setting us up or someone else for something bigger then we imagined.  Joy will replace sadness.

9.  Not everyone is going to like me.  This was a big one for me.  I grew up in a small town and always wanted everyone to like me and be popular.  In high school, so much importance was put into being voted for student council rep and homecoming queen.    As an adult, each time we moved I wanted to be a part of  the "cool crowd" and felt terrible about myself when I was left out.   Once I stopped caring so much about what everyone thought of me, I suddenly felt so much better about myself. I realized, not everyone has to like you. That's ok!  Focus on the great friends you have, not the ones you don't. 

10.  The Lord never fails me.  He is constant in His love.  He is never failing in His grace.  He won't disappoint me like people will.  He can give me peace and comfort like no human can.

11.  Don't be afraid to do what you feel in your heart is right.  I'm sure most of my family members and friends think I am crazy for pulling my kids out of public school to homeschool them.  Maybe it is, I won't know unless I try it.  But I do know that life is short and you should invest in things that are lasting. I can't think of a better investment then my children. 


12.  Pray for everything and thank God for all good things.  God has answered so many prayers of  mine.  He cares and is very present, I can see Him actively present in my life almost daily. He cares about even the smallest details in your life.

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