Burdaaaaaays!

Song of the post: "This is the first day of the rest of your life" (Hold Us Together, Matt Maher).

If it's your birthday...
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthdaaaaay dear (or is it to?) YOOOOOOOU!
Happy birthdaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy tooooooo yooooooouuuuuu!!!!!

Yaaaaay. Hip hip hurray for birthdays!

A lot of people have been having birthdays recently, so I'm in the birthday mode! (Although I have yet to have any cake or ice cream!!! What the heck?!) But for real...I've been thinking a lot about birthdays. I feel like there has been so many of them recently (seriously like almost 1/4 of my residents have had birthdays within the last 3 weeks) that I can't keep up with them! Which I then feel awful for because I like giving cards to people...cards/letters/notes are my favorite things everrr so I just assume other people like them too, just perhaps not to the degree that I do. I've also been thinking about my pals that aren't in Flagstaff...and how I have to miss their birthdays which is rather unfortunate.

And it may seem like I'm big on birthdays...but I'm really not. I more just like to make sure people feel cared for, particularly on the day that they're celebrating their day of birth.

I've also been thinking a lot about my past birthday. On July 17, 2010 I turned 20. I was in South Africa from July 7-July 27. In case you didn't pick it up...I got to spend my 20th birthday in South Africa. And it was pretty tight, not going to lie. I got to go to the lion park and play with a baby tiger and baby lion. I can legitimately say I've been mauled by a tiger and got a rip in my pants by a lion. It was amazing.

At midnight, South Africa time (9 hours ahead of AZ), my cabin mates woke me up and sang to me and gave me a card--it was beautiful! I got to spend the first 10 days of being 20 serving Christ surrounded by people who are wholly committed to Jesus. And thinking back to those first ten days serves as a reminder of how I wan to spend the third decade of my life. I want to spend my twenties simply loving Jesus in the most passionate and powerful ways. Jesus gives me such joy. "Like sunlight burning at midnight, something so beautiful, beautiful" (Beautiful, Beautiful, Francesca Battestelli). Being woken up at midnight with people who have the light of Christ was truly beautiful.

I want this decade to begin and end with Christ. For He is the I AM, Alpha and Omega.

I think that's why I am so excited about birthdays. I want people to experience something cool. That doesn't mean they have to go to South Africa. That doesn't mean they have to go hang out with a tiger or lion. It does mean that I want people to feel joy, feel loved, feel cherished, feel excited. Excited for their life, for the year, for the decade. And that means that those of us who call ourselves Christ followers, have got to step up. And go share the Good News of Christ. Because it's fo' real good news, ain't gonna lie.

Have a very happy birthday!