30 things about turning 30

sunrise on my birthday on my back porch

1.  Remember how smart you were at 20 by 30 you realize you know nothing.

2  You might make a list that may not get completed and it's ok, you should still make a list.

3.  It's not that your getting old so much, but your parents are and you may have to sit with them at the hospital all day on your birthday but you want to.

4.  Getting up before everyone else and having a quiet house is a treat!

5.  When you turn 20 crazy people are running around  at 11 o clock and the night is still young and when you turn 30, crazy kids are running around and by 11 o clock you are hoping to be sleeping like a baby.

6.  By the time you are 30 you start to have a clue about who you really are but you still don't have it all figured out.  Maybe that comes at 40.

7.  You have lived 15,778,500 minutes and wasted quite of few of them or at least I have.

8.  You hope your kids do better than you did, even the kids you may not have yet.

9.  You start to sound like your mother.

10.  Your dreams get bigger and your wallet gets thinner.

11.  Cartoons, music, and amusement parks are not what they used to be.

12.  You have figured out who you real friends are and why they are and hopefully how to be a good friend yourself.

13.  You have lost people who you loved and loved you.

Me on my 30th birthday with my birthday necklace and
my son photo bombing in the back.

14.  You realize you have done some really stupid things but at the time were great ideas.

15.  Your body starts to make noises and things don't work like they use to.

16.  You start sentences with "You remember that time...."

17.  Responsibility has snuck into your life....well for most of us, most of the time.

18.  They have started playing your childhood music on the classic rewind channel.

19.  Shoes are no longer about looks but comfort.

20.  You begin to realize the sacrifices your parents made for you.

21. You have seen the human race do horrible things and amazing things.

22.  You have mastered cooking at least one thing and you have to take it to ever family gathering and holiday event.

Birthday presents from Above

23.  You probably have more debt than you want.

24.  You have bought something big with money that you earned all by yourself.

25.  Things have happened to you and maybe you questioned whether you would live to see the age of 30.

26.  40 no longer seems that bad.

27.  Family has became more important than your self.

28.  Beauty is not skinny, tan, and perfect....it is stretch marks, scars, wrinkles, and grey hairs.

29.  The little things have became important and it is not the end of the world when you don't get your way.

30.  By 30 you have had your heart broken, you have loved deeply, you have attended a funeral of someone you don't won't to let go of, you have seen injustice, you have had your feelings hurt, you have worried, and you have been loved and along the way you have created a journey that is only yours.

my rambling on being present

the dishes are piled in the sink 
the clothes are folded on the couch but not put away
there is a giant fort in the living room
the beds aren't made 
the bathrooms are not spotless

but yesterday when i crawled in this fort and brought with me oreo cookies
their faces
their conversation
that was being in the present
living in the now
not thinking about the number of days till school starts or till christmas comes
but just loving that minute

i then looked over at my son after putting little girl down for nap
and said what are you doing as he lay across a bench with his hands on his chest
he replied by showing me a heart with hands and saying
"i'm showing my heart to God and saying I love you to Him"

that was being in the present
living in the now
loving God right then and right there

Owen and I pulled over on the side of the road to take a picture of these sunglasses in the clouds yesterday.

Thankful God is always present with us, where ever we are, what ever we are doing.  He says I'll be there.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9


lovely linky

Lisa Jo @ Five Minute Friday

green beans in the garden

Your mind is a garden...

Your thoughts are the seeds...

the harvest can be either flowers or weeds.

William Wordsworth

or maybe...perhaps....some pretty green beans.

Combs' Garden 2013

prayers from David

sometimes it is a whisper

sometimes it is a shout

but it always without a doubt

that i lift my voice to you my Heavenly Father

yesterday as we discussed King David and his plan to build God a temple and Nathan telling Him God said No....What?.....God said No...He doesn't want a temple built by me....because

"The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you."

 2 Samuel 7:11

this idea David had is not foreign. we are all building "temples" for God expecting great blessings but we forgot how good God is and that He will build a house for me, you, and David

So David prays this prayer:

Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!

 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

2 Samuel 7:18-22

So as I am mere human....I ask who am I, Father, that you have brought me this far and gave me so much....let me remember that there is no one like you and there is no God but you.  Thank You and I love you.

http://www.swtblessings.com/2013/07/chalk-verses-set-2.html
free printable from sweet blessings

lovely linkys

beauty in my day

lightening bugs

dirty plates

sunlight through the rain

a garden growing

wild curly hair

fireworks

parents holding grandbabies

the song of singing children

handprints

boys bags packed for their first father son camp

the sound of God clapping through the night

my husbands sweet face

ann voskamp's words on patriotism

kendal's words on beauty

my grandma's flowers

the many shades of the sky

my hummingbird that's not really mine but i call him mine

the faces of my children

God's word

 In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;   

 make known among the nations what he has done,and proclaim that his name is exalted.  Isaiah 12:4

where are you finding beauty today?

Lovely Linky:

Lisa Jo @ Five Minute Friday

words to hold on to

yesterday the lady at chick fil a looks at my exasperated face and says

the days are long and the years are short

and as i take these long summer days and try to make memories

while putting up with the whining and arguing

i must remember this short sweet statement

because in 22 days i will have a 2 year old little girl 

who sings when she wakes up

and dances even if there is no music

and in a couple months I'll have a 2nd grader 

who will still hold his moma's hand

but doesn't need her to reach the things in the cabinet for him anymore

the days are long and the years are short

rhythm of my life

the rhythm of my life begins everyday day with 
"hey mommy"
the clash of cereal bowls
and diaper changes

the rhythm of my life has arguments about responsibility 
and laughter of the sounds of farts

the rhythm of my life includes the hmm of the washer, dryer, and dishwasher
with the occasional rumble of a tractor and a cry of a cow

the rhythm of my life has songs in tune with made up words from a sweet baby girl
and the picking of mandolin by an independent 7 year old

they rhythm of my life has phone calls from my moma and husband and Jessica and steady bubbles as text come in from friends

the rhythm of my life waits for the sound of the door every night when the husband comes in smelly and tired but still smiles at the sight of his children

the rhythm of my life is high and low and sometimes loud and and sometimes soft but it ebbs and flows into a beautiful song that has an every changing melody but the beat is still the same and hopefully others see it is being conducted by the Great Almighty 

Jessica and I chillin at the zoo

what is the rhythm of your life these days?

lovely linky

Five Minute Friday with Lisa Jo Baker

the abc's of being a christian.....all of them

it is vacation bible school season and across the country churches are singing and teaching and crafting away at children.  they are learning all about Jesus and His plan of salvation.  i myself took that scary step up to the front in June 1991 at VBS.  For several years now the literature has taught the ABC's of becoming a christian.


 "A" stands for Admit. A person must admit to God that she is a sinner. She must be sorry for her sin and turn away from sinning. Verses that support this step are Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Acts 3:19; and 1 John 1:9.

"B" stands for Believe. A person must believe that Jesus is God's Son and that God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for sin. Verses about believing include John 3:16; John 14:6; and Romans 5:8.

"C" stands for Confess. A person must confess her faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Read Romans 10:9-10, 13. 

simple.  easy to remember.  and I know God wants it that way. 

but what has always bothered me is that we don't help them with what comes next.  now that i have abc'ed and i'm saved, how to LIVE, how do i be a Christian?  i don't think God wants that to be hard for us either.  So Monday night as we sang the ABC song with this years music God spoke and said write it down.  As soon as the opening was over I ran to the car, grabbed my little note book and started writing the ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ.  And the words flowed from the pencil.  Then I thought they need verses so I turned to the concordance of the Bible and all the words were there with VERSES!  God is always ready for me.   Here ya go the letters after the ABC's

"D" - Depend - stop depending on the world and depend on God

 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. Romans 9:16

"E" - Encourage - Encourage one another always.

 Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:18

"F" - Faith - God is always in control.

 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith. Romans 1:17

"G" - Go - Tell!

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Mark 16:15

"H" - Heaven - Keep your eyes on the eternal.

 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Philippians 3:20

"I" - Iniquity - Only He can save us.

 Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.  Psalm 51:2

"J" - Joy 

Rejoice always.  1 Thessalonians 5:16

"K" - Kindness

 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

"L" - Love

 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.  Matthew 5:44

"M" - Mercy

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

"N" - New

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  1 Peter 1:3

"O" - Obey

Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! Acts 5:29

"P" - Pray

 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26

"Q" - Quench

Do not quench the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19

"R" - Rejoice

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

"S" - Seek

 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:31

"T" - Trust

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me." John 14:1

"U" - Uphold

for the power of the wicked will be broken,
    but the Lord upholds the righteous. Psalm 37:17

"V" - Vow     (this was the only letter I couldn't think of, I admit to cheating and using the concordance)

I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people. Psalm 116:14

"W" - Worship

Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Psalm 95:6

"X" - eXalt

I will exalt you, Lord,
    for you lifted me out of the depths
    and did not let my enemies gloat over me. Psalm 30:1

"Y" - Yearn

My soul yearns, even faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God. Psalm 84:2

"Z" - Zealous

 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11 (one of my favorite verses in the bible)

I heard a preacher at revival once say that we should be so full of the Holy Spirit and Christ that we should smell like a Christian.  God has the instructions right there for us all written down.  I didn't think of anything new or different from Him.  He just gave me the words to lay it out.  I pray these words help you as they have helped me.  

i fall down.

write for five minutes on fall......GO

how often do you fall down?
i mean really fall down.
i fall down all the time.
last week i was watering the garden and slide down the hill on my butt.
yesterday i was closing addie's little umbrella stroller and my shoe got caught in the latch and down i went right there in tweetsie.
about a week after my gallbladder surgery i was going outside for the first time.  we were going to church and it had been raining and who missed a step and fell all the way to the bottom.  me.
i told my husband that its a good thing to have little extra weight on the rump.  gives you something to fall on.
and i don't think i'm clumsy.
but i get in a hurry
and i don't pay attention
and i fall down
isn't that the story of life......

lovely linkys:

Five Minute Friday with Lisa Jo

my sweet ones and i at tweetsie railroad

in case you haven't stood in awe of God lately

it never fails that when i get too sure of myself or get to thinking that i might be something

God brings me to my knees not because i'm not special to Him

but because He is so much more special than me

it's not about me

we studied creation this week in sunday school and the teacher in me came out as we read the first verse of the bible,

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."  

This whole book is about Him.  

This  is His story not Adam's or Eve's, not Moses, or Paul's, or mine. 

HIS

by Him, for Him, about Him

because He is an awesome God

        from the prophet Isaiah chapter 40

“To whom will you compare me?

    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:

    Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one

    and calls forth each of them by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

    not one of them is missing.

thank you Jessica for sharing this with me

i hope you stand in awe today and every day

because He is worthy of our praise


Lovely Linkys
Kristen @ We are that Family
Emily @ Imperfect Prose

backseat sermons that speak to you

i hear the familiar sound of the pages turning
and then i hear him read
"Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good;"
and in the 3rd row seat of the new car
i hear them listen
and he says "did you hear me that is Psalm 85:12"
and the cousins begin
"yeah, i can find that verse too"
and "yeah, God is good"
and he says "yeah, i like that one"
and then the youngest says "hey you got some money, i forgot"
and he excitedly pulls his wallet out 
and says "yeah i got 3 dollars, one for each of us, i got it from the tooth fairy last night"
and the dollar bills go out, one for each of them

from the driver's seat i fight back the tears
6, 7, and 8 years old, these boys have it figured out

read His word and believe it 

give, put your hand out when one is without

they will take their three dollars that daddy and i put under his pillow late in the night
and give to bible school offering for the victims of the Oklahoma tornado
and they will smile and not think twice about keeping it for themselves
because they have faith in the Word that says:

"Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good;"

what biblical truths have you learned from children lately?

lovely linkys:

michelle @ hear it monday, use it on sunday
jen @ soli deo gloria