Three-Oh!

Ha! I just opened birthday e-card from my Memaw. It said, "You might as well face it! You're 30." The card makes me laugh! Is that a nice way of saying, "You're not a spring chicken any more"? (Thanks, Memaw!)

What is it about those milestone birthdays of 30 and after that make some of us little uneasy?

Perhaps it is just a little reminder that time keeps moving forward and that none of us are left unaffected. Maybe it is because our culture worships youthfulness and is embarrassed by age and wrinkles. Or, maybe it is that we are not quite where our twenty year old selves pictured we would be when they imagined what the next ten years would bring....

But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hands. - Psalm 31.14-15

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. - Psalm 16.5-6

To celebrate 30 years of life, I have made a list of 30 things to do this year. Here they are in no particular order:
1. Visit a new state
2. Break 25 minutes for 5k
3. Break 2:00 for half marathon
4. Finish 42 books
5. Take guitar lessons
6. Write 12 songs
7. Save money
8. Create/Put on a Spanish Summer camp for kids
9. Grow out fingernails and get a manicure
10. Make a budget
11. Train Maggie the Dog
12. Create a missionary prayer calendar
13. Fix my bike
14. Cook a recipe from a cookbook once a month
15. Learn how to cook Tilapia
16. Decide what Masters program to do and apply for it
17. Try to write a kid’s book
18. Have my niece over for a weekend
19. Have my nephew over for a weekend
20. Visit Grandmom Wertz in VA
21. Visit Memaw in FL
22. Build a Patio in the backyard
23. Do a Triathlon
24. Take dance lessons (salsa, shag, or other)
25. Pressure wash the house and paint the shutters
26. Paint the extra bedroom and the laundry room
27. Make a birthday calendar of friends and family
28. Learn how to make salsa with the tomatoes in my garden
29. Memorize 12 Psalms
30. Weekend getaway with Mom