How To Stay Young~

John 10:10 (KJV)

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly

Oh this is going to make you smile. I read a devotion from Mary Southerland today that just blessed my socks off. I am going to share bits of it with you.


You all know I am having a melt down over my baby daughter getting married the first week of April. She will get married and we will kiss her goodbye as she leaves the wedding and will not see her again until we hop on a jet plane and fly clear across the states on a far off journey to Washington. When I sent my oldest daughter off to that far away place I had no idea just how hard it was going to be.


All of those who have been in my shoes ~ cry a tear along side me and tell me I will get through the tears. All those who have not been here yet~ say no big deal.  I am so sorry Aunt Kim for not crying with you when you were here. 


How did the years go by so fast? It seems like life has been one big adventure. Such a wonderful life I have lived with a few horrible moments to endure. But all in all it has been this incredible trip. 


If you are a young woman~ I say enjoy each and every moment with your friends and family. Tell those you love that you love them every day. Capture each moment with those babies and love that man you have with all your heart. Because the older you get the faster the time will fly by. I promise it is so. 


I see my babies all grown and having babies of their own and wonder where did all those years go? How did this happen?


Yet ~ I take a big breathe and thank God that I am alive. That I have the most incredible man that loves me. We will soon have time to spend with just each other. God has a plan and a purpose for your life at each stage. I am hoping He reveals that to me so very soon~ any day now. I still have by baby boy at home~ not so much a baby. 


I think I shall give that man of mine a big hug and kiss and thank him( for the 1000th time) for being a Courageous man who has never once let his family fall but kept us all rooted and grounded. I have been a well kept woman. What a blessing!


I am coming to understand that growing older does have some advantages. I think of all the things I have learned. When I married ~ I could not cook anything but an egg. Life, marriage, motherhood has a way of growing you. I like who I have become by the grace of God. 


As stated by Mary, "There is great freedom in having paid a lot of "life's dues" because I have already been there, done that and don't really care to buy the T-shirt."  I am with you Mary on that one. Would we really want to go back and do it all over again?~ NOT!


 She went on to inspire me at her age of 61 by saying, " I can say with authority that you probably will live through that crisis you think will be the death of you. What defines you today may very well seem ridiculous in ten years or even ten days."  I so needed to hear that today. Thank you Mary. 


There are many years left to live until that moment that God calls me home. So until then I am going to live life to the fullest ~ cherish each and every moment and not forget how very blessed I am.

How to Stay Young

1. Throw out non-essential numbers such as your age, weight and height.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. If you really need a grouch, there are probably family members to fill that need.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Just never let the brain idle.

4. Enjoy the simple things. When the children are young, that is all you can afford. When they are in college that is all you can afford. When they are grown, and you are on retirement, that is all you can afford.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. Laugh so much that you can be tracked in the store by your distinctive laughter.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person that is with us our entire life is ourselves.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies or whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Go to the mall, the next county, a foreign country - but not guilt.

10. Tell the people you love how much you love them every chance you get. Never assume they know.

11. Don't worry about things you cannot change or do anything about. Accept them and move on.

12. Read more and dust less.

13. Spend more time with your family and friends and less time working.

14. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. Recognize these moments now and cherish them.

15. Do not "save" anything. Use your good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the next blossom of flowers you see.

16. Wear your best outfit to the market.

17. Don't save your good perfume for only special occasions. Use it even if you are going shopping or just to the bank.

18. "Someday" and "one of these days" should vanish from your vocabulary. If it is worth seeing or hearing or doing, go and see or hear or do it now.

Life is not measured by the number of breathes we take, 

but by the moments that take our breathe away.