Annie Pliego Photography

Yes, today is my birthday and I am very grateful to God for giving me one more year of life under the sun and by His grace.  He is good. All goodness is found in Him and it comes from Him.

40 + 1 is a good number to celebrate and today is a good day to share 40 + 1 things I have learned so far, and a few others that are among my favorite things in this God-given life -all are listed in no particular order- :

1. Never cease to see life as a gift from God. Every day. Every hour. Every minute. Every breath. All is a gift from His hand.

2. Sitting in a stool in your friend’s kitchen waiting for a pie to come out of the oven is priceless.

3. Take time to see the beauty in the vegetables you are slicing. Make a pretty salad.

4. Red wine, coffee, and chocolate are pure goodness.

5. I absolutely love being the wife of my Man.

6.  Being a mom is one of my greatest joys. Nothing to compare with.

7. It is not easy to have a disciplined prayer life. Once you start don’t break the habit. Not one day. Not once.

8. I believe in magic. I read books.

9. Having friends over and a full table are two of my favorite things on earth.

10. Traveling is always welcome. (note to self: when are you going to learn how to pack lightly?)

11. Relationships are not always easy, but they all are necessary. Every person the Lord brings into our life is there for a purpose. Open your eyes.

12. If you don’t want to say something, cover your mouth with your hand -literally-. It does help.

13. Don’t stop singing aloud in the car, in the kitchen, in the shower.

14. Cry.

15. Laugh.

16. Death is always in God’s hands.

17. We don’t need to have all the answers, we are not God. It’s OK not to understand all things.

18. Read books you would normally not choose to read. You will be surprised.

19. Don’t just think about helping others, or blessing them, or writing notes and letters. Do it.

20. A day without prayer is a day in which I cry to God, “I don’t need you, I can do this on my own.”

21. Never, never, never, never neglect reading, meditating and memorizing God’s Word.

22. When I feel that God is far, the first question I must ask to myself is, “How much time did I spend in prayer and in God’s Word today? What about this week?”

23. Read aloud to your children. No matter how old they are.

24. Always listen to the rain and the wind through the leaves.

25. Learn new beautiful words like mistpouffer, adoxagraphy, gumusservi, phosphenes, and petrichor.

26. Write.

27. Don’t forget that hearts are very fragile.

28. God is the only one than can fully restore a broken heart.

29. Don’t miss the moment your children become adults. Be ready for the change.

30. Embrace the seasons. God has appointed a time for everything under the sun, there is nothing I can do to change His timing.

31. Keeping friendships is hard work. Invest in those you don’t want to lose.

32. Believe that people can change. God is in the business of changing our hearts.

33. Kiss tears.

34. Call a friend, no matter if its long distance.

35. Hug those you love.

36. Pray God’s Word.

37. Keep a commonplace notebook.

38. Have a drawing notebook and a nice box of colored pencils at hand.

39. Don’t stop baking muffins on Saturdays while everyone is still asleep.

40. Fight the sin you love.

41. Live.

Thank you for being part of my life. All my love to you, dear friends.

Becky