Happy 19th Re-Birthday to Me

I woke up this morning and as soon as I saw the date I knew the importance of the date.

Today is my 19th re-birthday.

Today is the 19th anniversary of the day I chose to follow Jesus.

And because of that, today is special.

All day today I've been reflecting on this last year of following Jesus.  It's had its up and downs for sure.  There have been times when I have not been completely faithful to the one I gave my heart and life to 19 years ago.  But there have been some really AWESOME times this year.  Times where Jesus has revealed his love for me, taught me more about him, and taught me more about myself and how he uniquely created me.

Some of my favorite moments from this last year are the times when I got to have conversations with people about Jesus and just love on people... even if they don't end up loving Jesus too.  Those have been the times that I have felt alive.  They've also been the times that bring me even closer to Jesus, because it never fails that, as I talk about what God is doing in my life with people who haven't chosen to follow Jesus, I find myself spending a lot of time in prayer.  For them, for me, for life.

So today, in the midst of my celebrating and reflection, I want to love on you and have a conversation about Jesus.  So pour the hot beverage of your choice and let's talk :-)

Someone asked me once why I believed in Jesus so strongly when I'm so young.  I really only had one answer.  Basically what it comes down to is that I've experienced God's grace and forgiveness in ways that I can't begin to describe.  After everything that I've done and everything I've gone through, Jesus is still the same.  And his love is still overwhelming.  I worked so hard to try and please people only to finally begin to realize that pleasing Jesus is the only one who matters.  I still screw things up royally... way more often than I care to admit.  But that's the truth.  I'm not perfect and I don't claim to be.

But there's another truth that I can't fully wrap my head around, but I know it's truth.  Jesus saw something in me.  He loved me even when I didn't see anything worth loving in myself.  He called me and told me I was his.  He chose me.  He adopted me into his family.  He calls me friend, daughter, beloved.

How could I not respond to a love like that? How could I not choose to follow Jesus when I've experienced that kind of love, forgiveness, grace, and mercy?

That's what today is about.  It's not about celebrating me and a decision I made.  It's about celebrating Jesus.  It's about celebrating that he chose me and he loves me.  He loved me enough to die for me.  And he loves me enough to continue making me into his woman.  It's about celebrating and remembering what Jesus has done in me and through me.

And it's a time of hope that, one day, each of you will experience that love.

I'm serious about the hot beverage and a chat too.  I'd love to have conversations with any of you... even if you don't agree with me.  We can talk via text, Skype, Facebook, email, in person, or even by carrier pigeon if you prefer.

So are you up for it?  Are you willing to have a conversation?