Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Turning 50!


Today I turned 50 and I am excited about the future!

Here are a few thoughts on my 50th birthday.

I used to admire people mostly for their gifts and intelligence. Now I admire men and women who finish well by following Christ and serving him for a life-time! Besides my parents there are several men who inspire me to want to be like them:

I admire:
  • My father-in-law Vic: He is energetic. He gets things done. He loves to learn. He enjoys life whether hunting, playing his trumpet, fishing, reading, playing pool or golf, preaching, or writing notes to his family and friends!
  • My uncle Jim: An evangelist who has invested his life in leading "forgotten people" to Christ whether serving poor African-American churches in east Arkansas, men in jail, truckers at truck-stops, or the aging in assisted living centers.
  • Bud Hart: My pastor growing up, a faithful teacher of the word of God, patient and forgiving when wronged, energetic, lover of people, and always gracious!
  • Paul Null: A man who has encouraged me, admonished me with great kindness and patience, challenges me to think about the true measure of success, and makes me laugh when I feel like blowing a fuse or telling someone off!
  • Glennon Culwell: Faithful messenger of God's word and servant with the board of Next Generation Churches when most men are dead or waiting to die!
These are just a few men who have marked my life! Thanks!

I am grateful for:
  • Every day I spend with Joy! My partner for life, best-friend, and wonderful mother of my children!
  • Caleb: a heart tender for the Lord, loyal friend, scary smart, athlete, loves to excel, Razorback-fan, and funnier than many of you know!
  • Casady: bright, eager to explore and learn new things, lover of animals, creative, witty, personable, fun, and makes a pretty darn good chocolate cake!
  • Faith: a reader, adores all things beautiful, artistic, lover of people, friendly, compassionate, smart, and feistier than most people know!
  • My parents, sister, in-laws (or as Joy's mom likes to say, my "in-loves"), uncles, aunts, cousins, and my friends spread out from coast to coast!
  • Four people who said they wanted to surrender their lives to following Christ as their Lord and Savior this past Sunday!
  • Good health!

I hate:
  • Anything that looks or feels like quitting!
  • Complacency about our spiritual lives or the status quo!

I am excited about:
  • The future!

A few thoughts on aging:
  • "You don't get old until you outlive your dreams!" ~I would like to think that I was the first one to say this. But my guess is that there are probably a few thousand people who said this before I did!
  • "Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." ~Samuel Ullman
  • "In dog years, I'm dead." ~Author Unknown
  • "A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams." ~John Barrymore
  • "Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read." ~Francis Bacon
  • "I don't believe one grows older. I think that what happens early on in life is that at a certain age one stands still and stagnates." ~T.S. Eliot
  • "First you forget names, then you forget faces, then you forget to pull your zipper up, then you forget to pull your zipper down." ~Leo Rosenberg
  • "None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm." ~Henry David Thoreau
  • "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12 (NIV)

May the Lord bless you and teach you to numbers your days and gain a heart of wisdom!

Warmly in Christ,

Gary