How No Small Life Does Birthdays…and also Lots of Pictures

34 years old. To some, I’m “still a kid” and to others I’m ancient. Today, wherever you land on that broad spectrum, I hope you’ll leave this post encouraged.

            Last weekend was my birthday so if you “forgot” to get me a gift…there’s still time 😉 That morning I woke up to a coffee maker ready to rock ‘n roll, balloons, an amazing card and my favorite design magazine.

I’m so thankful for a hubby who knows me and loves me how I am wired to be loved! (Curious about how you’re wired to be loved?  Check out the link in this post!)

Then, as is my custom, 🙂 I started my day with “Jesus Calling.” It’s truly amazing how this little book can touch the deepest strings of my heart; reminding me of the truths of God’s word and His heart towards us all. That day was no exception.

This entry inspired the artist in me. It’s words thrilled my heart as I reflected on the passionate beauty of the ultimate artist and lover of my soul. I mean, when you hear a phrase about the God of all creation flinging “glorious sunsets across the sky” and continually speaking to you be it through His creation or “the faces and voices of loved ones,” doesn’t that just do something for you? And to think, that entry just happened to fall on my birthday. Huh. 😉 You gotta love those little kisses from heaven.

Today, I want you to be assured that YOU are passionately and feverishly loved. Despite what you feel you deserve, despite what society tells you, despite what your biggest critic…you know, the one staring back at you when you brush your teeth, will convey to you on a regular basis.

And to take that a little deeper, you are loved individually. Say whaaat? 🙂 It’s true that God “so loves” the entirety of the human race. But just covering His love for you in that kind of blanket statement minimizes His vastness. He can love everyone equally at the same time, which is mind-boggling. BUT, sometimes, He just likes to “show off” and demonstrate His love to you in ways too personal to ignore. He loves you and loves to celebrate how He wired YOU.

How is it that the God of all creation wired you specifically to receive and give Him love? Busyness, the nag of technology and just the world in general can easily distract us from being in tune to God’s subtleties. Even as I write this post I’m forcing myself not to check the constant barrage of buzzes from my cell phone. So will you allow me to offer a mini-challenge amidst some very fun b-day “How we celebrated life” pics?

This week, let’s be on the lookout for His subtleties. Let’s be on the lookout for those “kisses from heaven,” those reminders of God’s love that are just too personal to ignore. He is so good and is in constant communication with us if we’ll just tune in.

Alright, ready for a few pics from, “How We Celebrated Life: the BIRTHDAY Addition!”

On my Birthday Eve, I got to spend an entire day with my little sister. AH-MA-ZING! We made allergy-friendly“red velvet ice cream” from this recipe at one of my favorite blogs Chocolate Covered Katie!

(Check out this post for the time I sort of made her black bean brownies.) It was delicious, BUT Needless to say, we’ll perfect the “art” of allergy-friendly ice cream making over time 😉 What? You mean sharp objects and Ice Cream don’t USUALLY go together???

Gunther was poised and ready in case any ice cream should happen to land on the floor. Always. helpful.

My actual day o’ birth started out really great as you already saw.

Hubby spoiled me with some fun jewelry and nail polish from “Charming Charlie’s.”

Arguably, one of the most anti-dude stores ever!  How great is he for venturing into a land where so few men have trod??? And just to cement his status in the awesome club:

We got Vegan Food for lunch.

2 delish salads and a bowl of what used to be Cashew-Cream of Broccoli soup.  We ate it too fast to photograph. #sorrynotsorry  If you’re in the SE Mich area, you’ve got to check out “The Clean Plate!”

The weather and my Mr. had differing view about how the afternoon should be spent, so we consented and hung out in Barnes and Noble.  WHICH added 3 new books to my wish list:

Never be afraid of Plan B. 😉 #nosmalllife

AND, If you follow me on Instagram, SPOILER ALERT! B-day dinner included some great Jazz…but NOT the best lighting for photo opps.  ;D

Thanks for sharing my birthday with me and letting me share my heart with you!  Praying you’ll take up the challenge to tune into the subtleties of God for you this week!

Until next time…

Meg

PS I’m always looking for new ways to Celebrate Birthday’s and I’d LOVE to hear how you celebrate your precious No Small Life! 🙂