(Scroll down to see my list of sixty gifts.)

Most people get gifts for their birthdays. I’m choosing to look at my birthday itself as a gift. I don’t want to waste it!

Sixty. That seems like a milestone. Especially since I’ve had a few near-death experiences. Reflecting on my birthday propelled me to do a personal inventory of where I’ve been and where I’m going. Join me if this is a process you’d like to undergo before your next birthday. Sign up to my mailing list and receive a free download, “Sixty Gifts to Give Yourself.” In it I share a formula you can use for your personal growth retreat along with a worksheet, and sixty inspirational quotes. I also give an exclusive opportunity to join the Grin Gal Pal team.

I’m using this monumental year to take inventory of my life and set some meaningful intentions. So let me tell you about my Project60 plan. I have a list of goals for wellbeing. I had fun planning way ahead because I knew achieving these goals wouldn’t happen overnight. I realized weight-loss and better lab work would take quite a bit of time, so I had to start well before I hoped to accomplish those goals.

There is so much in my life, including multiple diseases, that is outside of my control. The best thing I can do to stay sane is to focus on what is in my control. Project60 inspired me to focus on how God wants me to choose the best self-caregiving choices for wellbeing in a way that brings him the most glory. Personal stewardship. The gift of wellbeing is a great gift to give my sixty-year-old self. It has taken a lot of strategy and dogged determination. Living intentional. And that feeds into my wish for exercising more control. A yielded control that is so rewarding! I think that’s the type of self-control we experience as a fruit of the Spirit. Not behavior modification but a heart yielded to God so he can lead in what boundaries and goals we need to set in order for self-control to be activated.

The consistent act of making healthful choices for body, soul, and spirit is just as important as completing them! These intentions are not based on guilt or shame but on personal stewardship. It’s what Eugene Peterson called “long obedience in the same direction.”

In addition to the wellbeing goals, my list of sixty gifts to give my sixty-year-old self includes actual gifts or experiences. Normally, I’m quite the minimalist with purchases, and frugal to boot! So these gift ideas are extravagant and won’t happen all at once. I’ve been doing some of them gradually leading up to my birthday, and the rest will happen after I turn sixty (but hopefully before sixty-one!). I’m not listing these to impress you or flaunt what I’m doing. If you know my heart you know that’s not in me. My hope is to show you how to celebrate your life and be a good steward of your life at the same time, for God’s glory and the benefit of his kingdom. Here’s my Project60 list.

Physical

1. Fitness
2. Range of motion improvement
3. Omega-3 EPA and DHA supplements
4. Vitamin D supplements
5. Calcium supplements
6. A1C and blood glucose in range
7. Immune globulin subcutaneous infusions
8. Prescription medication need reduced
9. Cataract surgery—better vision
10. Pain reduced
11. Weight reduction
12. Diseases better addressed
13. Measurements reduced
14. Weightlifting (the gift of enjoying the sessions and the results of it)
15. Zumba
16. 5K walk
17. Fitness class

Spend

18. Massage
19. Pedicure
20. iPad or tablet
21. iPhone
22. Ice cream maker
23. Outdoor furniture
24. Outfit in a smaller size
25. Bra in a smaller size
26. Sofa and ottoman
27. Jewelry
28. Eyeglasses
29. Kitchen gadget
30. Shed conversion to gym
31. Floating desk in gym
32. Photo shoot (headshots, personality shots)
33. Tennis shoes (trainers)
34. Gourmet seasoning

Experience

35. Friendship enhancements
36. Your Life on Hold published
37. WordGirls community
38. Wellbeing Warriors community
39. Porch swing time
40. Music playlists
41. Prayer journal
42. Book chat with friend
43. Fish of the week
44. Brenham, Texas, outing
45. Roundtop, Texas, outing
46. Dinner party group
47. Classmates Zoom (joint birthday party)
48. Day of thrifting
49. Overnighter with a friend
50. Overnighter with husband
51. Picnic at park with husband
52. Photo album time (go down memory lane)
53. Funny movie date with husband
54. Concert tickets
55. Dining table and chairs refinished
56. Cooking class (maybe virtual?)
57. Martin Dies, Jr. State Park hike (https://www.alltrails.com/us/texas/jasper)
58. Photo adventure (taking photos)
59. Gourmet meal (at chef table?)
60. National Park Access Pass https://store.usgs.gov/access-pass (free w/ disability)

The post Sixty Gifts I’m Giving My Sixty-Year-Old Self first appeared on Kathy Carlton Willis.

As I write this, I’m in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Imelda. If I tell you I live in Beaumont, TX, enough said. I don’t have to look far to find examples of people encouraging one another. In fact, a media personality from outside our region said he couldn’t tell the difference between those who were flood victims and helpers. Our faces didn’t look like victims.

That pretty much proves my point that with Jesus, we are capable of having a grin on our faces, because of the peace in our hearts. That doesn’t minimize the heartache, though!

There are always always always going to be people around us who need to be encouraged. What can we do to help?

Read the full article at CBN.com

The post Ministry of Showing Up first appeared on Kathy Carlton Willis.

When I worked in children’s ministry, we had a ministry production called Caraway Street, which was very similar to Sesame Street. We had a theme for each “show.” What fun, creating hilarious human characters and unique puppet personalities. It took a lot of work to make the puppets really talk!

I love thinking of words that go together that start with the same letter of the alphabet. In today’s study, we could say, “This episode brought to you by the Letter E.” Exhort. Edify. Encourage.

Read the full article at CBN.com

The post Encouragement first appeared on Kathy Carlton Willis.

Every weekend, my husband and I watch home renovation shows on television. We own a mid-century modern home, and previously owned historic homes — fixer-uppers. We notice a trend with these home shows. The team loves tear-down day. They get carried away with throwing hammers, demo forks, and pry bars. Sometimes they demolish something that was meant to stay. It’s easy to lose track of what is being destroyed. It’s not that way with the rebuild. Each action is intentional and methodical. It takes strategy. It’s obviously easier to tear down than to build up. And so it is with human buildings. Let’s determine to demolish tear downs and plan our builds.

For the next few weeks, we’ll study the words EDIFY and EXHORT. I looked up these words in the King James Version of the Bible and then found what those verses say in the NLT. In our study, you won’t actually see the words EDIFY and EXHORT, but those are the background meanings for these verses.

Read the full article at CBN.com

The post What Are You Building? first appeared on Kathy Carlton Willis.

August in Texas is notorious for being a scorcher, making flower gardens wilt or worse, die. So you can imagine our delight when we see buds and blossoms blooming! One way I keep a focus on the positive is to capture these beauties with my camera as a reminder that even when life heats up, beauty abounds.

It takes a lot to have pretty flowers in our yard. We have the worst soil, the worst weather, rocks, roots, cypress knees, you name it! Then there are the squirrels whose sole mission seems to be stealing our blooms right at the peak of their splendor. These furry robbers jump up, snatch the blossom, and run off, separating the bloom petal by petal, not even eating their booty. They leave them decimated in a pile, a reminder of their former glory.

Read the full article at CBN.com

The post Gardening to Transform first appeared on Kathy Carlton Willis.

I love collecting church cookbooks because they have some of the best recipes. I know they include ingredients I have on hand or are easy to find at the store. Some of these recipes are favorites at church fellowships. Some churches call them potlucks, because we’re in luck when we discover what’s in each pot—a whole lotta yum!

Recipes work because they build one ingredient upon another, step by step, until we get to the completed dish. The ingredients by themselves usually aren’t that delicious, but when you pull it all together, it works. God is at work growing his virtues in our lives, step by step. Let’s look at that today by focusing on one passage.

Read the full article at CBN.com

The post Grow Godly first appeared on Kathy Carlton Willis.

When we think of learning, we often think of going to school. I just came from a trip to New York, where the students didn’t get out of school for the summer until the third week of June. And I came back to Texas, where school supplies are already for sale in the stores, so we can start back to school in August.

As a kid, I couldn’t wait to get the class list of school supplies so we could go shopping. Even as a grown up, I get giddy when I see aisles of school supplies. The rest of the year, I get that same fix by going to office supply stores and browsing. Just this week I ordered a backpack and can’t wait for it to come in. I guess you could say I’m a lifelong student.

Read the full article at CBN.com

The post Growth Track first appeared on Kathy Carlton Willis.

When I was growing up, we kept track of “reaching new heights” by marking our height on the doorframe in the kitchen. When my nephew went to visit Mom every other year or so, they’d mark his height, albeit in different houses from our childhood home.

When my husband and I moved into our Midcentury Modern home, one of the doorframes contained a similar growth chart from the former owner’s daughter. I can’t bring myself to paint over it! Growth is a big deal. And so is our spiritual growth. The day we stop growing is the day we start dying. The day we stop helping others to grow is the day we stop living.

Read the full article at CBN.com

The post Growing Pains first appeared on Kathy Carlton Willis.

We explored the woods we owned behind the fence of our Kentucky home. Russ cleared out the brush to create various paths. One thing he didn’t weed out was the wild blackberry brambles. During the entire process we eagerly watched the blackberries mature and ripen. First, we saw the blossoms, then the fruit appeared, and finally the mature fruit was ready to be picked.

I noticed blackberries don’t all mature at the same rate. Some berries ripen slower than others. Some of the fruit were smaller than others. Worst of all, some fruit never ripened, but died on the vine before it ever matured into a plump juicy flavorful berry.

Read the full article at CBN.com

The post Rooted to Grow first appeared on Kathy Carlton Willis.

The discipline of exercise has impacted me in a big way. It’s exciting to look at my “before” photos to see how far I’ve come in my weight loss efforts. I still have a long way to go!

I cherish the time devoted for exercise. I can clear my mind and have “alone” time. It helps me refresh my focus. The benefits of exercise are vast. Not only does it tone me, there are health benefits, and it gives me a natural high. Whether you choose water exercise, walking, taking a class, working out to a video, or something else, you will be glad you made the time.

Read the full article at CBN.com

The post Growth Trajectory first appeared on Kathy Carlton Willis.