Hello 30's!

Well, it's official I am not longer in my 20's. And I am actually ok with that. I lived a LOT and I learned a LOT in my 20's and I am excited to see what I do in the next 10 years. So I want to write to all of the readers that are in their 20's or are going into their 20's. Here are some things that I learned or wish I had learned sooner.

1. Pray everyday. I wish that I had received this revelation sooner. I knew that it was important, but I didn't realize HOW important it was. Things will NOT change in your life unless you pray for it to get better.

2. Learn to say "I am sorry" and "I forgive you." These three words will stop an argument quickly. Even if it wasn't your fault, suck up your pride and say I am sorry anyway. Your relationships are more important than the need to be right. Jordan is really good at this, I am still learning....

3. Don't wait to say "I love you." You never know how much time you have on this earth or with the people around you. If you love them, say it. And don't use the words if you don't mean it. They are powerful and they carry a lot of weight. If you are dating a guy, don't say "I love you" if you don't.

4. Tell people what you want. Especially in relationships. Men do NOT have the ability to read our minds. So do them and yourself a favor and tell them. People will treat you the way you allow them to.

5. Your family is a gift. They may not "get" you or give you advice you didn't ask for. But they will be there when everyone else leaves you. Treat them with respect because you reap what you sow.

6. Find out what clothes look good on you. Things that will never be ok to wear, booty shorts....NEVER and especially not in public. What you do behind closed doors is your deal but no one wants to see that. A crop top....a cat suit....anything that leaves little to the imagination. If you want to be treated with respect and taken seriously, dress like it.

7. Learn to drink wine. In your early 20's your interested in taking shots, but that gets old, expensive and lame. Drinking wine brings out the flavor in food and has history behind it. It sounds better to order a glass of Moscato on a date, not a red headed slut....just sayin.

8. Learn who YOU are. God has created all of us different, with a plan and a purpose for our lives. Don't try to be someone else, you are robbing yourself and God of who you were created to be. This world needs you, not a clone of someone else

9. Don't get married until you are ok with being alone, and who are are to God. I WISH I had know this early in life. Marriage is not intended to fill the hole of loneliness in your life, it's meant to compliment you. If you don't know who your are you will become who someone else wants you to be and you will always look to people to tell you who you are. Let God do that, so when your future husband comes along you are a team.

10. Recognize the good friends in your life. You will have friends that will always be there. It might be 1 it might be 5. Never take them for granted. Tell them you love them and always maintain those relationships. The ones that come along that are bad friends, don't invest your time into those.

11. Forgive. Even if they never say I'm sorry. Unforgiveness hold you captive, not them. Forgiving someone doesn't say it's ok, it says I refuse to stay bound by this.

12. Set high goals for yourself. If you don't push yourself, no one else will. When you set a high goal and reach it, you see what you are really made of and it builds your confidence.

13. Read books. Knowledge is power. Learn something new. A book I recommend is "How to win friends and influence people."

14. Smile. It makes you more personable and people want to be around people who smile.

15. Learn to listen. We often think we have all the answers and think of responses while the other person is speaking. When a person talks, listen. You learn a lot about people when you listen and take your time to respond.

16. Firm handshake. Don't break their hand. It indicates that you aren't weak and that you are confident.

17. Sit up straight. Being hunched over shows that you are insecure, and it's just bad for your back.

18. Take care of your teeth. People notice your teeth. They don't have to be perfect but people notice when some are missing (stay away from Meth should be obvious, but it destroys your teeth. So does smoking).

19. Learn to drive a stick shift. If you are ever in a situation where you have to be a designated driver and you are put into a manual transmission car you want to know what you are doing. Not only that guys think it's "cool" if you can do that.

20. Don't be afraid to get dirty. It's only dirt, you can wash it off.

21. Babysit for FREE. Again you reap what you sow, when you have kids you will appreciate it when people do that for you.

22. Hug people. I personally don't like people in my space but giving hugs can feel good and so does receiving them. Lahoma Graham is the BEST hug giver.

23. Learn to bake. Sometimes you just want a chocolate chip cookie and homemade ones are the best. Your future husband will appreciate this.

24. Learn to cook. Eating out is expensive and unhealthy. Again, men love a woman who can cook.

25. Men are drawn to the color red, the scents of vanilla or grapefruit, baked goods, a smile and a confident woman.

26. Some do not agree with this one, and I wish I had done this but, don't have sex until you get married. You will regret it if you do. It is a gift, and you can only give it away once. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's doable. There will be one person worth the wait. Plus, you don't want to get knocked up, or an STD. STD's are for life and nothing says, "hey don't date me" like and STD.

For any of you who want to add to this list please feel free to do so. There are more but I just don't have any more time today. Watch out 30's I'm gonna kick your ASS.

God, don't leave without us

Tonight while we were praying with the boys before they went to bed Brayden prayed for the Firefighters (obviously), Dominic prayed for his friend at school that is sick then Asher prayed, for a little while there I wasn't too sure what he was saying, but God does then he said the most profound thing I have heard in a while, although I don't think he knew what he said. "and God don't leave without us." I don't know why he said those words, maybe he's dealing with separation anxiety and this was his passive aggressive way of telling me, but they hit me right in my heart. Not just because the sweetest sound is hearing your kids pray, but because of the depth of those words. And I will get to why in a minute.
I am a part of a church plant here in Dallas, and it has been one of the most rewarding, and challenging things I have ever done. We officially launched our Sunday morning services in January, but we have been meeting for a year now and we have already outgrown the theater we are meeting in so God has literally opened the door for us to get a building, and an amazing building at that. So we are believing for $180,000 by the end of June, that is a lot of money but I know God is able to provide because I know that God has his hand on this church. Not because we have a really cool pastor or really friendly people (which we do), it's because we have our priorities in order, and that is to simply preach the Word of God and to help those in need (we do more than that but these two are important to the Lord). This church has grown so fast that it's hard sometimes to keep up with what God wants us to do and where He wants us to go. Thank God our pastor has a God bat phone and he leads the way. He is definitely power walking our church right now and I have short legs, so I have to pretty much jog...It has been an honor to get to lead the children's ministry and there are so many things God has put on my heart to do for them and I have been struggling to keep up. Tonight God reminded me to have child like faith, so those words Asher spoke tonight are going to be my prayer not just for this church but for me personally.
"Let our hearts stay humble and open to what You want us to do and where You want us to go. It's not about me or my agenda, Lord it's all about You and the people You want to reach. Let us empty ourselves out so that we can be your hands and feet and to go out and do Your work. Give us Your grace to do it and that we will have the endurance to continue to run this race. Give us Your eyes to see the need and to break our hearts for what breaks Yours. Let us be sensitive to what You want us to do and go before us to make a way, Lord where You go let us go, what You say let us say and what You pray let us pray, God don't leave without us."

Maybe those small 5 words mean something to you as well.