On 30...

Okay, so, sorry for ignoring you blog. I guess my little angel going off to school choked me up a little more that I had anticipated. That and football has been on. But, alas, my pondering mind has brought me back to you to share in the most recent milestone of my life.

About two weeks ago the whole world came crashing down as I was thrung into the wretched stage of life known as 30. Dun, dun, dun!!! I mean come on, now I'm part of the age group who has to eat their Luann platter at 4 o'clock so that they can make it home in time for "The Wheel" and bedtime at 7:30. Just go ahead and put me in Depends and a Rascal!!! Life is just downhill from here, or so I thought. It turns out that 30 is not so bad. In fact, it may just be the climax of life. Let me explain.

For my birthday the love of my life, once again, gave me a gift that all husbands should get for their birthday. No, not that, this is a family blog. Get your minds out of the gutter. (BTW YES THAT TOO!!!) I am talking about BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!!! Okay, here's the premise. From Friday afternoon through Sunday night the husband, as the recipient of "birthday weekend," has no responsibilities. No cooking, no cleaning, no giving kids baths, no putting kids to bed and no changing of diapers. In addition to that, I was blessed with a visit by the holy trinity of tex-mex: Chiloso for breakfast, Taco Cabana for lunch and El Paseo for dinner. In the name of tacos, enchiladas, and salsa, Amen. (If you never see me again, I was struck by lightning for that comment.)

Aside from getting to be lazy and eating the food touched by God, I had a great opportunity to practice the three R's: Rest, Relaxation, Reflection. As I went out for a morning run, I began to ruminate about the past thirty years. Thoughts began to flow through my head about goals and dreams that I once had and whether or not I had accomplished any of them. As I remembered defining moments in my life, I began to realize that life just hadn't quite turned out like I had planned. At 8 I was going to be Dallas Cowboy, at 15 I planned on becoming a youth minister, at 22 Kristi and I were going to get married and move off to San Francisco to prepare for a life overseas, at 24 we were going to be the "cool parents" who never uttered the words "because I said so." Between then and now I have aspired to do everything from being an attorney to owning a cupcake business. (The cupcake thing is still not a bad idea.) We all go through these times, times when we aspire to be something greater than we are, times when our dreams and our realities just don't match up, times when we wonder "Have I given up on _______?"

Now, you may be thinking that this realization was depressing, but your wrong. You see, thirty is a unique place in life. I may joke about "The Wheel" and Depends, but in all honesty, thirty is great. At 30 you are just young enough to still follow the passions of your heart, yet just old enough to allow failures and life lessons prepare you for the future. I've never been one to let failures get me down. Stuff happens in life, and just because it is not exactly how I pictured things doesn't mean that I am not being divinely lead to the exact place I need to be. By the way, his thinking is explained alot better in a message I heard this last weekend. Check it out if you get a chance Hostage: Breaking Free.

All that being said, towards the end of my run I figured out that, regardless of age, the next 30 years is something I am really looking forward to. As God continues to show me a little more about how the desires of my heart can match the desires of his great things are going to happen. In fact I am hoping to tell you guys about some specific things God has placed on my heart over the next month or two. Stay tuned my friends, same bat channel, same bat place, but next time is won't be the same bat six months.