Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday to Me! Today I decided to do something brave.

I've decided I'm done being a victim to my circumstances. I've decided I'm done making excuses for not going after everything that's in my heart to do. I decided that today I have the ability to build and create the future I want for myself. I don't have to wait for the perfect time. The time can be now. Carpe Diem! I decided 30 was a good year to leave it all on the table. No excuses anymore. If I stumble, fine, but quitting is just not an option.

I'm too old to waste time not trying and too young to waste the youth I still have.

So Happy Birthday to me, I'm going to grow into all I'm meant to be. That's the best gift I could give myself.

I hope you don't wait till your thirtieth birthday to gift yourself the same.

Take everyday as a fresh opportunity to dream, to grow, to be inspired. You may have days where you want to crawl under a rock. I feel that often. But don't give up. Don't run away and hide. You are far too valuable and the world needs you. I need you. Paul the Apostle says it best.

"18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part!20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” - 1 Corinthians 12:18-21

You have such a unique part to play in this story called life. If you don't play your part, the way it was created, then not only are you missing out, but the world is missing out.

I want you to get it out of your head that it's prideful to think of yourself in that way. When God created you and me, He intended that we would be lights shining on a hill for His glory. Not for our own selfish ambitions, but for the purpose of showing the world how good He is.

So next time you have a creative new idea, I want you to dream about the wildest thing that could happen if you took the risk. What if your wildest imagination wasn't just an imagination? What if it was the very Spirit of God moving through your heart to believe for the unimaginable, the crazy, the wild, the only God could do it kind of dream?

It's easy to encourage others to believe and take risks. Youtube is chalked full of motivational speeches encouraging people to take a leap of faith. If you're anything like me, you eat that stuff up. But I want to say that in my experience, your greatest cheerleaders are God and yourself. Family is amazing, Pastors are a gift, friends are the best, but if you don't root for, motivate, and believe in yourself, then it won't matter how many TedTalks you watch.

So I leave you with these thoughts on the eve of my thirtieth birthday. (That sounds so official.) Don't wait another day to believe in yourself. Don't wait too long to take risks. As cliche as it sounds, you are not too young or too old. Start now!

Till next time!

xo - Leah