Saying goodbye to the 20s

On the eve of my 30th birthday, I have decided to write a prayer of thanksgiving for all that God has done in my life in the last 10 years and I want to share it on my blog. (You know, you don't have to read it all because it's pretty long. The gist of it is that in the last 10 years, God has blessed me with an awesome husband and 4 awesome sons. He has moved me from Oklahoma, to Idaho, to Maine, and back to Oklahoma again! He has brought into my life some of the most awesome friends...I just praise Him and thank Him for my life and who I am becoming in Him, only by His grace, mercy, and power! I am looking forward to what He has planned for me in my 30s...I am SURE that it is bigger than anything that I can imagine!)

Father,
I am amazed by You. I praise You for my life and everything that You have brought me through and how You have blessed me so much. I praise You for my awesome husband who I met when I was just 20. I do not deserve someone as awesome as him, but in Your mercy and grace, You gave him to me. He is more than I could ever have hoped for or imagined. You truly have blessed my life through him. I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined You having a plan for my life that included a husband that was all the way from Idaho, from a town smaller than my hometown!
What an adventure the last 10 years have been!! My fours years in Idaho when Mike and I were first married were sweet years. I graduated from college there. I had my first and only "real" job there. Although You have since taught me that being a mom is more than just a "real" job; it is a high calling!! In Idaho, You blessed my life through an awesome church and great friends. You especially blessed my life through my dear friend Kecia. She has been more than a friend to me. She has been a role model, a mentor, and an example of the type of mom that I want to be. When I first met her, I remember thinking that I hope I will be a godly wife and mom like her. In Your divine plan and I think even in Your humor, I became a mom sooner (and later I would find out more often) than Mike and I had planned! In Idaho, you blessed us with Nathanael. When Nathanael was just 7 months old, You blessed us with another pregnancy!
In the next 9 months, our lives changed drastically. I praise You and am amazed by Your constant provision for our family. Your ways are definitely higher than our ways. As part of Your plan and as Your way of providing for us, You moved us from Idaho to Maine! Wow! What a move that was!! Just a month after moving to Maine, You brought Kyle into our lives. Through Kyle, You taught me just how different 2 babies can be. I remember thinking, "We are so done having children." In Your divine plan (and once again I believe, humor), You blessed us with little Ian just 18 months later and then with Caden just 21 months after Ian. Often, more times than I can count, I have told You that You picked the wrong gal to have 4 boys in 4 years. However, sweet Father, I wouldn't change it for anything now. Even in all my craziness and in the chaos of my life, You have blessed me through them and taught me so much through them. You continue to mold me and refine me into who You want me to be. Oh Father, I so desire to be a living sacrifice to You, holy and pleasing in Your sight. Thank You for my life. Thank you for my Michael, my Nate, my Kyle, my Ian, and my Caden. I am truly blessed.
Father, our time in Maine was hard, but sweet also. I was ready to move from there, but I miss it more than I ever thought I would. I praise You for growing me so much there. Once again, like Idaho, You blessed us with a great church family who truly became our family. I praise You for Pastor Mike, Sue, Jordan, and JonJon. I don't think we would have made it our first couple of years in Maine if it weren't for that family! I cherish our time spent with them and all those times at their house watching the Red Sox!! You also blessed me through close friends who were like sisters to me. I praise You for my friend Lisa, who was my sanity over and over and over again. I miss her. Please provide a way for me to see her soon! I praise You for my "coffee center" friends. I praise You for Angela, who I believe You may have moved there just because I SO needed a friend! I praise You for teaching me how to truly WORSHIP You through music there. Wow! I am humbled that You could ever use me to lead others into worship. You grew me, stretched me, and strengthened my marriage so much in those 4 years.
Father, again, You blessed me more than I ever could have hoped for when You provided a way for our family of 6 to move to Oklahoma, just 2 hours from my parents. Now, once again, You are surrounding us with awesome friends and have provided an incredible church home. Much to my surprise and to the surprise of many of our friends, You have called us to homeschool. It isn't easy. Help me to remember that this is Your will and that You will provide the means! Thank You for my homeschool co-op. I couldn't do it without those moms!! Father, I praise You for all You are doing here. I continue to lift Michael's job up to You, but again, I know that Your ways are higher than our ways and that You can do more than I can even imagine. I trust that You are working it all out.
Again, I just praise You for my life. Help me to trust You more, love You more, depend on You more, rejoice in You more. Help me to spend more time with You and to truly live a Spirit-led life. Grow me into a prayer warrior. Help me to never doubt You and to always remember that You work all things together for the good of those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. Help me to trust in You with all my heart and to not lean on my own understanding. Help me not to be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, to present my requests to You!! Help me to smile at the future and to seek You daily for wisdom in my mothering and in my marriage. May I truly be pleasing to You in everything I do. May I be joyful! May I be a loving, kind, gentle, caring, compassionate, peaceful, and fun mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend.
Father, I am excited to see what You have planned for me in my 30s. I am sure that it is more than I could ever hope for or imagine! I love You and praise You! In Jesus name I pray, Amen.