Tomorrow I turn 60! Forty years ago that sounded ancient. Today not so much. I’m blessed with health, family, faith, friends, a sense of purpose, the power to forgive and be forgiven, security, and an incredible sense of peace despite the brokenness that invades our beautiful world from time to time.
So much has changed over the past sixty years.
- In 1959 gas cost .25 a gallon.
- The TV shows Rawhide, Bonanza, and the Twighlight Zone premiered on our tiny black and white televisions.
- Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to our great union.
- Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba.
- Vince Lombardi signed a 5-year contract to coach Green Bay Packers. Go Pack Go!
- And if that were not enough, “Bozo the Clown” premiered on TV.
If you were to have told my parents that we would be talking to people on an “apple watch” or using our phones to “google” the weather in Siberia they would have thought you were crazy or have been reading to much Dick Tracy or binging on the Jetsons.
The big question for me is “Now What?” How am I going to live the next thirty years of my life? According to Bob Buford, the author of Halftime, the second half of your life can be better than the first. It’s the transition between living for success to significance. As I sit here pondering turning 60 tomorrow, I am even more convinced that I want to live a life of significance.
Here are a few of the goals that I hope will help make this a reality:
- I want to become a more thankful person. Here are a few things I am thankful for:
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- My incredible, beautiful, godly, creative, wife. I am so thankful I get to share my life with Brenda.
- My amazing boys and their families. I am thankful for Christopher, David, and Daniel. I am thankful that God blessed Chris and Dan with their beautiful wives, Brittney and Katie. I am thankful for the confidence that David is with Jesus in heaven. Do I need to say anything about how thankful I am for my three grandsons?
- My involvement in David’s Refuge, Door County Bridges, and Pastor to Pastors. These three nonprofits allow me to serve in three areas of my life that I am passionate about. It allows me to use my experiences, both the good and the bad, to serve others. I am humbled and honored to serve on the board of these amazing organizations.
2) I want to be bolder in my faith.
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- When I am hurt or offended, I want to be more quick to forgive. Having lived sixty years I know I have been in need of forgiveness more than once. I love how the Apostle Paul states this in Ephesians 4:32, “Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”
- I want to love others as Jesus has loved me. Wow is this hard sometimes! I am all too often critical and judgmental and prideful. Jesus says it beautifully in John 13:34, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”
- I want my relationship with God to be more personal and intimate. It is so easy to check off my “relationship with God” checkbox. Prayed! Check! Read my bible! Check! I want to experience God and his love for me as I pray, ride my bike, hike in the woods, cook dinner for friends, serve the needy, and worship in my church.
3. I want my life to count.
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- I have been given time, talents, and treasures. I can use them for my own betterment or I can use them for others. I am choosing to use them for others.
- I want to be more generous. All I have ultimately came from God in the first place. I want to emulate God’s generosity.
Sixty years! I wonder what the next thirty will bring? I’m ready. Bring it on! Happy Birthday Wendell. 🙂