Celebration, Reflection & Contemplation

47 years ago today….I was born.

 

My Celebration

Today I will celebrate my life!  My God given life – my abundantly blessed life – my 47 years on this earth – my health – my family & friends – my faith – my future!

I will celebrate with those I love and I will enjoy all the delights of the day! I will probably continue to celebrate throughout the week as well.

Yes, birthdays are a great time to celebrate life but they are also a time to reflect on the past and contemplate the future.

My Reflection

As I look back on my life, there is much for which to be thankful.   Mine is a life truly blessed.

• I was blessed to be born to a father & mother who loved life, loved the Lord and loved each other

• I was blessed to be born in America – land of the free and home of the brave!
• I had the wonderful experience of growing up with two sisters and a brother to play with, fight with, share with (no matter how unwillingly at times) and make memories together!

• I moved many times growing up in a military family which produced positive character qualities in my life as well as the awesome friendships that I made throughout the country
• I had a very unique and amazing high school experience, especially my senior year and senior class.  It was stellar and stands out as a highlight of my youth

• As a 16 year old, I encountered the Lord in a very personal way that has clearly affected most of my important decisions since that day in 1979

• I had a life changing summer at Hume Lake in 1981

• I experienced and got to be involved in  a season of amazing revival at the University of the Pacific through Chi Alpha ministries  in the early 80’s

• I had the honor & joy of being the youth pastor to the most amazing group of teenagers from every high school in Stockton & Lodi for four years.

• After praying for six years,  I was given by God the very best man that I could ever imagine to marry and share a life together. I am still in awe of God’s gift to me.

• I became passionate about the ministry of Christian education during my early years at Brookside Christian . It was my time at this school that molded me, shaped me and caused me to grow immensely.  The students & staff from that era  are precious friends and will always hold a prominent place in my heart.

• I have been blessed by God with children.  Truly there is nothing better in this life than the gift of children.  Sometimes I stop and wonder what I did to deserve these wonderful blessings.  I look at them in awe and thankfulness….they are my life!

• I  was “forced” into homeschooling by our life circumstances (as I would have never decided on my own to homeschool) and this has been the single best thing for my children and our relationship.  I will never give it up now!

• My Creative Memories business has brought a richness to my life that is beyond anything I could have ever imagined.  I have gotten to use and improve my gifts & talents, invest in others lives, experience amazing opportunities and make life long friendships in this committed community of consultants.

• Jim Elliot Christian High School is a miracle and I got the opportunity to be a part of  this one of a kind school.  After 11 years this school and the people involved continue to bring me joy, love and inspiration every day! I can only hope and pray that it will never end.

Now in my reflection of the past there are also regrets, sorrows, things I wish I could change and life lessons to be learned:

• I regret my indiscretions and poor decisions of my youth as well as the way I often treated my mother  & older sister when I was a teenager
• I did not fully use the intellect that I have been given to study and learn throughout my high school & college education years
• I would offer greater grace and show more compassion to the youth who were put under my charge as a youth pastor and teacher
• I would be more humble and vulnerable to those around me
• My older children would not have spent anytime in daycare and I would have trusted the Lord for His provision as He always proves Himself faithful.
• I would have been more frugal with my finances, especially during the more prosperous years
• After years as a high school & college athlete, I would have made healthy eating & daily exercise a life long habit, instead of  a “up & down” lifestyle
• I lost my father when I was 33 years old…I wish I could have been given more time here on this earth with him
•  I would have lost my temper less with my children, not “sweat the small stuff”  and spent more time praying with them and teaching them the Bible as well as studying and meditating on it myself
• I would have held my tongue and attempted to only speak words of encouragement, love and appreciation to my family

 My Contemplation

Reflecting on the past is always a good starting point for contemplating the future.  Looking at the positive & the negative of your past can help you purpose in your heart to plan a better tomorrow. 

The next time your birthday rolls around what do you want your life to look like?

What do you want to do, accomplish and change in the next 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?

What were you born to do?  What is your unique and special purpose here on this earth?

When you are at the end of your life (which when you are my age, if you have done the math,  you are aware that there are fewer years ahead of you than behind you)…what will you want your life to have looked like? What will be your legacy? What difference will you have made in the lives of your family, friends, church, workplace, city, country or world?

As I do every year around this time, I will once again be contemplating these questions and be purposeful about making needed changes in my life and making a plan to do and be all that God has for me in this life,  that He has given me.

When the final day of my life…my “deathday” arrives I want to not only be ready but I want to have lived a life that glorified God and I want to leave a legacy to future generations of Lambdin’s that will inspire them to live a purposeful life fulfilling their destiny.