The Big 30...

Today marks the beginning of my 30th year!

Lots of people have been asking me if I will stay 29 forever and I even remember my mom wanting to be 29 for a little longer. But now that I am here, it really isn't that big of a deal. Or maybe it just hasn't sunk in yet. ;-)

I have been mulling over where God has brought me in the last decade and thought I would share a few things.

20:I was newly married and going to school full-time at Tarleton finishing up my bachelor's degree in Dietetics. I was also working for the 1st time in the hospital and enjoying living in our own tiny little apartment. This was a really peaceful and fun-filled year!

21: I was in graduate school at Texas Woman's University and living in the big city. This was a switch and I had to deal with traffic, new types of professors and a whole new world but quickly came to love it! I found a great running friend and started running more seriously. Jonathan and I found a wonderful group of friends and a church home this year so spiritual growth really took off!

22: I was finishing my dietetic internship and getting ready to become a dietitian while finishing my master's degree in nutrition. This year was very busy with work as I also started my 1st full-time job in a hospital. I quickly determined I wanted to work for myself again! I also started teaching exercise classes for the 1st time. I also became very active in my professional associations.

23: I trained for and ran my very first Marathon. Jonathan started his own financial business this year and I decided to go back out on my own for work. God began to bring contract jobs in and build some fun opportunities for us. I really began to expand my exercise class part of my career and start putting nutrition and exercise together in my work.

24: I started working in sales for the 1st time and had a lot of fun traveling all over the south and mid-west. I also added a lot more exercise classes to my work schedule. Jonathan's business started hitting some roadblocks but we both continued working for ourselves. We got another lab puppy and had to start the training process from the beginning. It was like having a kid that you could crate! ;-)

25: This was the 1st birthday where I realized I wasn't a little kid anymore. I truly was a grown up! ;-) We climbed the tallest mountain in Colorado and in Mexico with some friends this year and I ran another marathon. We also bought our 1st home and this was a complete God miracle!

26: I began and ended working in sales full time this year. God seemed to open and door to what I thought I wanted to do and quickly showed me that I was not following Him in complete obedience while trying to do sales too. He shut that door and sent me out there to work on my own again. Jonathan started a different job for someone else and God worked on both of us a lot. I met some new running friends and ran another marathon this year. We also started going to a new church and God began to take us through a spiritual transition.

27: I decided that I wanted to try and qualify for the Boston marathon and started training harder than I ever had before. For the 1st time in my running hobby, I started to race and try to get faster! This was fun and exhausting. I also started running the employee wellness program for our city and found something that I loved doing with both nutrition and fitness. Jonathan started his own business again and we continued to grow in our faith. Many of our friends started having families and babies were everywhere. I started the Centurion Program with Chuck Colson and really started deepening my learning with God.

28: I continued to attempt a marathon to qualify for Boston. I continued to race and started coordinating a running program to inspire others to go for their running dreams. We quickly became one of the only couples without kids of our friends. Jonathan's business continued to grow with lots of time, sweat and tears. Jonathan turned 30 this year so I got to tease him about getting old! I finished the Centurion's program and became a mentor for new Centurions. I started teaching bible studies for the 1st time.

29: I continued to attempt qualifying for Boston and still didn't make it. This was one of the most discouraging years for my race goals because I felt like I had worked as hard as I know how and still hadn't met the goal I set for myself. God and I had to really work on this one together. Then I had to rediscover my love of running just for running. Jonathan's business really grew with the addition of many more employees and the headaches that go with that. Sometimes we were just ships passing in the night. I really started digging deep into theology, original language word studies and lots of in-depth bible study and could feel God pushing me beyond head knowledge to action and obedience.

So here I am. Continuing on in the grace that God has given me daily and waiting to see what He will do next! Come on 30, let's see what God will do!