You say it's your birthday...

...it's my birthday, too!  No, really, it is.  Today I'm 31 (notice that Heidi's most recent birthday brought a close to her 33rd year).  And frankly, it doesn't seem like that big a deal.  I'm not against birthdays; I don't cringe at the thoughts of being in my 30s.
 
But the thirties are suppose to being with them pretty big things -- success, financial stability, productivity...all the things that prepare you for your forties.
 
Here are my goals for my thirties...
 
1)  Get out of debt.  I'm okay with a car loan and home loan.  But other than that, I don't want  credit cards, family loans, or school debt hanging over my head.  Why?  Because it hinders my ability to give. 
 
2)  By 35 I want to be in the community that will house my burial plot.  On staff at Hamburg Wesleyan, I'm seeing the great benefits of long-term investment in a community -- Greg has been senior pastor for more than 25 years and Bill, the Associate Pastor has been here over 20.  I want that kind of long-term perspective and leadership in my life.  I don't know where this will take me.  And I may not get what I wish for.  But in the next 4 years, I would like to be settled in a community that will be better in 40 years because of my family's investment.
 
3)  Part of #2 is my sense of "calling" to lead a church as a lead pastor.  I have been affirmed in that notion in my time here.  I suppose that might play out here, in Hamburg.  But sometime before I turn 40, I'd like to be in that role and leading a worshipping community in making a difference in the world.
 
4)  New house.  1 boy.  1 girl.  1 set of mommy and daddy.  2 bedroom house.  Not good.  At some point, we're going to need to remodel, move, or build on the back of our land.  All of which seems to rail against the spirit of #1.
 
5)  Be more like Jesus.  I'd like people to be attracted to Jesus living in me.  That will mean that I'll get a little less aggitated when someone turns left in front of me at an intersection; it means I won't get quite so mad when the snowblower won't start.  It means I will be quick to give a word of encouragement at the right time and a little less quick to hand out criticisms.  It means that maybe, just maybe, I can finally put to death the selfishness that lurks inside.
 
5 goals.  9 more years.  I'll check back with you around 2013.
 
Peace,
 
M@