Thoughts On Turning Twenty Five + Inspiration Monday

 Whenever you pass a big milestone in life, it makes you stop and think. You are either satisfied and happy with what you see your life becoming or completely disappointed.

Turning twenty five isn't that big of a deal but still, it's a number that shows I'm approaching thirty (it's a dirty word in vocabulary). It is a milestone and a turning point that certainly got me thinking.

Am I doing something with my life to serve God? 

What have I achieved?

Am I in the center of God's will?

What are my goals and dreams? 

Am I headed in the right direction spiritually, emotionally and socially? 

What kind of memory and legacy will I leave behind?

I mean, there is a lot to consider. 

One thing that I'm sure of is I'm blessed. I have more than I deserve and ever would've of dreamed of to have. In the petty little every day problems, I seem to loose the sight of the big picture, of God's enormous blessings in my life. 

Life is good when it's shared with the ones you love. It's even better when you invest your life into others and help make some one's life better. I do not want to live for me and mine, just doing what's necessary for my family. I want to help others beyond my front door, to love people and serve any way I can. 

If I say I have no regrets, I would be lying. There are things I wish I would have done differently, and advice I would've have listened to, but it's not what's important. Important thing is to move on, to grow, to change things that I can and to accept things that I can't.

I want my life to matter. I want it to leave an imprint on someone else's life, to show others what love of God really means. 

Do I fail? Sure... I burn out, I struggle with things, I don't have enough faith and I get discouraged. Doing the right thing isn't easy. Sometimes it feels lonely and sometimes I don't want to do it at all - I want to throw in the towel and quit. 

Life isn't all roses and pretty pictures. Life is hard and behind every face there is story, there is hurt, there is pain and there are those who help us go through it all. I want to be that person. I want to help people, to leave a lasting impression on life, to do something that matters, to leave a legacy that's worth mentioning in a eulogy. 

I want to...

learn to love people like God does.

forgive and truly let go

move passed disappointments

inspire others to do the right thing

be thankful

have mercy with people

serve God with my talents (as little or much as I have)

help people through the storms of life.

be soft spoken
being able to admit that I'm wrong and change 

raise responsible and God-fearing child(ren)

I don't want to... 

quit because it's hard.

get bitter

forget God's blessings and mercy

worry about tomorrow

be judgmental 

live carelessly

be angry
lose sight of what's important 

Life is a gift so we need to start living like you are only given today because nobody is guaranteed tomorrow.
Thank you for reading and God bless!
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For Better and For Worse

When I go through perfectly edited blog posts and see nicely done family photos, I start to think that some couples have it all together. Their kids look great on Christmas cards and their Instagram accounts are just a mile-high pile of perfect corners of their house. How do they seem to have it all and I have a snotty infant and a messy kitchen? 

First I got jealous but then I got real. We only show what we want on this little space and paint the image we want others to see. It goes with everything from clothes to children to bedtime stands. Yes, great images and perfect posts help build following and people may PINterest the heck out of your images but that's not real you they see. They see a version of you, and usually it's the best version. 

I, for one, don't have it all together. There are times when I feel discouraged by the smallest following ever, feel angry at my husband for not being a bit more sensitive and run out of patience with my son. We are far from perfect and that's something I want to share

We started as any couple - full of dreams, hopes and aspirations. I really thought that we were different than everybody else, that our story was special and the love we had would keep the fire burning forever.          But I was naive, young and very wrong. 

Fire will not keep burning unless you keep putting firewood into it. If you keep burning on the first love logs, soon the fire will die and you will be left with nothing but cold coils. 

Behind every outfit, lovely smile, and baby picture there is always a story.

The cute pictures of Jonathan at the park have a less then perfect behind the scenes story. 

We started the day off with nice family breakfast and as I was cleaning up, hubby went outside to rake leaves. The weather was gorgeous and I thought we could go for a nice walk. I asked him, and he said, later. Fine. Later it is. (I probably had a little bit of attitude there)

I thought we would go the park near by, take some pictures of Jonathan, enjoy the warmth of the autumn sun and just hang out as a family. My husband on the other hand, thought that I meant walk around the neighborhood. So we were bickering and getting impatient about who said what, and in the process, I forgot to grab diapers and a bottle for Jonathan

Then, of course, I had to do my make-up and hair and was taking a little longer than he thought was appropriate amount of time to get ready to go to the park. 

(We have very different ideas about time limits, apparently)

As we got into the car and drove off, I realized that the stroller was still in the garage, as I took Jonathan for a walk the day before. We had to turn around and go back for the stroller, as husband reminded me about my absentmindedness yet again.

Needless to say, by the time we got to the park, we were in less than pleasant mood. 

But those are the times when it takes some work. 

It takes a calm and gentle voice of one person to bring the other one back into the good place. To remind yourselves, that everything is OK and the most important part is that you are together. 

I have to admit, it's not easy. Sometimes, I fail at being gentle and calm and blow up like a hot air balloon. Other times, I'm full of love and good intentions and nothing seems to bother me. 

Life is full of those moments. But it's the ability to learn, to moved passed it, to enjoy life in every way, to laugh at the weird parts and to forgive each other for the mistakes. I'm still working on that.

After all, we sighed up for better and for worse.