Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

As I mentioned in my last post, I got to celebrate my birthday this year with my 2 best friends - whose birthdays are both within a week of mine.  We've done something together most years since 1997 but the last several years when we're together, one of the things I always ask is

"What were the highlights of your last year?"

For the same reason I like to be reflective on New Year's Eve/Day, I see a birthday as the beginning of  a new year of life, and I'm a sucker for nostalgia.  Plus - I believe reflection is good for the soul and often leads me to set different (or better) goals for the future!

This year we were all turning....3 dozen!  As we were planning something to celebrate, I really wanted to work this idea in somewhere.  The way it was resolved allowed the teacher in me to assign us all "homework" the week before our birthdays:

Identify the Top Twelve events of your last year of life.
....and the three of us together would have 3 dozen highlights!

It was really a sweet time of sharing the highlights over dinner- blessings, joys and honors of our year.

Jenni had her list on her iphone, Katie's were the colorful notecards, and mine was in pencil on paper!

I actually had to "cheat" and combine some of mine into "categories" because as I brainstormed the year and went through pictures, I had SO many good things!  For this person who seems to so easily dwell on the negative, being someone who "looks on the bright side of life" is effort - but OH SO REWARDING!

So without further ado, here were the top 12 highlights of my 36th year of life (in no particular order):

* 1st experiences:  Eating at the Oasis in Austin with the Holt family(Apr), Visiting Cowboys stadium to see ACU play a football game (Sept), my first Rodeo(Feb - TVCC in Athens)


* Musical Performances:  "West Side Story" at Fair Park during the State Fair (Oct), Amy Grant with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Oct)

* Renewing Spiritual retreat/conferences for women:  Pink Impact at Gateway in Southlake (April), Beauty for Ashes at Richland Hills (Oct)

Kari Jobe led worship and it was a powerful experience with 3000 women!

* Experiences with my church Life Fellowship: a Passover Feast (Apr), Opening our first building (Dec), Life Groups

* Celebrating parent's 40th anniversary at Rosemary Beach, Florida

* Times with nephew Holt

* Harry Potter 7, part 2....an era ends.

* My friend Leanne's first trip to TX!

* Supper Club/ Bible study every Wed with 3 dear, new friends in Athens

* Procedure to have 5 moles removed - including 3 to my face.  Facing a fear I had put off for a long time.

* iphone.....yeah, it's changed my life :)

* Labor Day weekend with my 5 Girls.  (I just realized I never blogged about this! But here's my friend Jenni's post!

Do you do anything reflective on your birthday?  If not - I highly recommend this!  And even better if you get to share it with friends :)
p.s. Post title is a song from "Spamalot" - a musical I haven't seen, but would like to - just because of the funny songs I've heard on the Broadway music channel I listen to on my TV.  Oh yeah - you read that right :)