Too young for a midlife crisis...

...nevertheless, upon turning 33 years old "officially" about 40 minutes ago [I was born at 8:05 pm, August 16, 1976. The bicentennial year of our country. There was no pink to be had for baby girls - only patriotic red, white, and/or blue. Perhaps this is why I do not enjoy wearing pink. I was just not exposed to it enough at an early age! Anyway, I digress], I was struck with the realization that my life has become quite "blah." And for someone in the line of work that I'm in, who has the passions and gifts that I have, that is just plain ridiculous.

No more...

...sitting in my office aimlessly wondering what to do, lost when there's no "event" or "project" to work on. MAKE things happen when I'm there!! I am the children's pastor at my church - not an admin assistant.

...coming home, eating, watching t.v., and then going to bed.

...living life passively.

...not writing a word and then lamenting the fact that I'm not published. Duh.

So, today, on my 33rd birthday [this seems like an odd age to be having an epiphany, but for some reason, it's making me feel really old], I am committed to:

*Entering that writing contest that my mom e-mailed me about.
*Starting my "church brat" project from scratch and writing at least 5 quality pages per day.
*Getting serious about my health.
*Trying at least one new recipe every two weeks.
*Recruiting at least 10 new leaders to kids' ministry by this time next year.
*At least doubling the average Sunday morning attendance by this time next year.
*Finally reading ALL of Les Miserables.
*Reading the Belgariad by David Eddings because it means a lot to my husband that I share this experience with him.
*Reading at least one "instructional" book per week in the area of writing, theatre, or children's ministry.
*Watching only the t.v. shows that I intend to watch - no more channel flipping and getting sucked into the everlasting vortex of time wasting.
*Because I don't get QUANTITY time with my husband, making the time we have together QUALITY time.
*Make some new friends.

I'm sure there are more goals that I'll think of, but this is good for now. To quote Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act 2, "If you want to be somebody...if you want to go somewhere...you better wake up and pay attention."

My life is great. I just need to grab onto that greatness and make the most of the opportunities that have been given to me.

I've been alive for 33 years. I now need to start LIVING.