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| SURPRIIIIIIISE!!!! |
The Shock of the Year… We were invited to a friend’s house
for dinner last weekend. We pulled up promptly at 7, walked in the house and received
instructions from my friend. She said that her son wanted to show me his new
puppy in the backyard. I open up the door to the backyard and immediately see
all my close church friends gathered around in expectation, and hear a loud “SURPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!!!!!!”
In that moment, my heart was flooded with emotion. Tears gathered in my eyes as
memories and thoughts of great times spent together came rushing upon me in an
instant. I was so excited and touched to know that they had been planning this
for weeks and prepared a special party for me with all my favorite things. One
of those favorite things included the art of celebration; I love to celebrate
and mark moments in time with good memories and good friends. I love for each
person to feel special and distinguished when good things come their way.
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Cheesecake Factory is a
birthday must!
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Last Friday night, it was my turn to be celebrated! My
husband and I had so much fun celebrating my birthday. In fact, my birthday has
jumped the boundaries of a single day and has rushed into a full week of
celebration. I use the week leading to my birthday as a time to anticipate the
close of a year and the birth of a new direction. Instead of mourning the loss
of my twenties, I get to rejoice and seek the direction of God in my thirties. It
doesn’t hurt that the week comes to a close celebrating the birth of our nation.
Whether I was born with an innate ability to celebrate or if it was built into
me from my joyous family upbringing, I can’t help but become part of that
intangible element called “celebration” that makes everyone feel special. I
love the fellowship, joy, presents, food gatherings, cake, singing, candles and
kind words that go along with celebrating. It gives me great happiness and
fulfillment to be celebrated and to celebrate others.
Zephaniah 3:17 (my favorite) says, “For the Lord you God is
living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with
gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you
with joyful songs.”
Psalm 138:1-3 – “I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my
heart; I will sing your praises before the gods. I bow before your holy Temple
as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for
your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. As soon as I pray, you
answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.”
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The start of my annual birthday
extravaganza with my hubby
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My husband and I feel like a celebratory nature comes straight
from God. A simple internet search of the word “celebrate” in the Bible yields hundreds
of verses that speak on celebration of God, Jesus and victories on Earth
through their power. God is a natural celebrator – he looks down on us and
rejoices with gladness over his creation. As his children, we imitate his
nature and celebrate the things he has blessed us with. Celebrating things like
birthdays, jobs, retirements, weddings, babies, holidays, new homes and much
more is just one way of bringing his glory to Earth. Dancing with joy and
singing praises are acts that were instilled in us when we handed our lives to
God. We can’t help but be delighted by his glory and righteousness – it’s part
of our DNA as Christians.
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| Good friends, good times. |
My hope is for you to find reasons to celebrate – whether it
be with a huge party or a head nod in God’s direction, I hope you recognize the
blessings for what they are and from whom they came. This is my challenge to
you: pick something specific to celebrate and do it with the joyful attitude
that comes from God. Start your new life as a celebrator of all things big and
small. Show gratitude and joy over your everyday blessings and your life
altering gifts from God. It’ll be fun, I promise. J
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