My Bucket List
I like to celebrate things. In fact, it’s no secret that I celebrate just about everything!
Yesterday I wrote on Facebook,
“Praising God for an amazing and way-too-exciting birthday month. Can’t believe I’m about to admit this, but I’m so glad it’s over so I can go back into my writing cave AKA my office and write stuff to encourage others, including myself!!!”
With that said, I can’t wait to celebrate a few things this July!
(1) I started working out exactly one year ago today.
July 2nd means a lot to me because I overcame the fear of exercising while taking anxiety meds (it just feels differently). I used to have no problems motivating myself to lose weight and stay in shape, but for some reason I was having a tough time. That’s why I started the I Love My Body series on the blog and exercising on a regular basis. I encourage you to take a look at what other people have to say about their bodies here.
(2) I wrote my bucket list exactly nine years ago this July.
I found my bucket list of the 30 things I want to do with my life, and couldn’t believe how many things I had actually accomplished (21 of the 30 things). I hope you’ll keep in mind that this bucket list is mine and only mine. {Just an FYI: One of the things I’m really looking forward to writing about on the blog very soon is what happens after you check things off your list? Like when you no longer have excuses to hide behind (like weight, debt, failed dreams, or health issues) or when you’ve checked things off your bucket list (then, what)?
I am choosing to share my bucket list to show you that none of this would have been possible without God.
I sincerely hope and pray that you’ll rediscover your list or make a new list–and watch God enable and empower you to achieve your dreams (His dreams). When I was praying about how and if I should share I read this in my devotional time:
“Our calling is impossible to fulfill, apart from the power of His Holy Spirit. As soon as we think we can handle it on our own, we become useless to Him. But as we are willing to get out of the way, let God take over, and allow Him to overshadow us, we will see Him do what only He can do, and those around us will be moved to believe” (The Quiet Place, Nancy Leigh DeMoss).
(1) Write a 365-daily Devotional and publish it (Faithbook of Jesus, 3/8/2010)
(2) Publish “Forgiving Me: A Self Portrait” (Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me, 8/1/2013)
(3) Write and publish 8 more books (I now have 6 left)
(4) Get married to my Proverbs 31/Isaiah 34:16 man (Married Marc, 10/15/2011)
(5) Go to Hawaii (5/2008)
(6) Have at least one child, a girl, adopt?
(7) Be a speaker to young people (ONGOING, CHECK)
(8) Learn how to sew (No longer interested ha ha!!)
(9) Overcome my fear of boats (Parasailing, 07/2009)
(10) Have lots of really good married sex (Uh….)
(11) Own another orange male tabby cat (Allergic to cats, but I adopted Star on 05/2012)
(12) Own another Black Lab! (No longer interested in black labs now that I own a pit bull mix)
(13) Own a home in Southern California (Marc bought us a home before we got married, 10/2011)
(14) Travel to Germany
(15) Help my husband fulfill God’s purpose/calling on his life
(16) Be a pastor’s wife
(17) Lead hundreds of thousands of people to Christ
(18) Be a soccer mom (No longer interested in this ha ha!!)
(19) Own a mini-van (Bought a Hyundai Elantra, which is big enough for me 01/2013)
(20) Lead a home group for hurting women (06/2010)
(21) Play piano again for worship (2004, 2007-2008)
(22) Be a best selling author
(23) The Lord would speak and prophecy through me for others (ONGOING, CHECK)
(24) Be a racehorse! Open those gates Lord! (Cindy my first mentor called me a race horse and fully believed one day I would become everything I dreamed of becoming, CHECK)
(25) Be an intercessor (ONGOING, CHECK)
(26) Become a Christian Writer’s Guild Mentor (Switched to San Diego Christian Writers Guild board member, 06/2013)
(27) Travel to a foreign country on a mission’s trip
(28) See at least one grandchild
(29) See my dad with my daughter
(30) Go to Romania and help the orphans
[Photo: BusyBee-cr, Flickr]