10 Things about being 40
No filter, no make-up, comfy clothes. Apparently, my chicken-pox cheek scar has gotten more pronounced.
I really enjoy having time alone to think for my birthday. Especially on significant birthdays (this is a significant birthday). Part of how I think is writing. Which is why my birthday present to myself is the $160 to annual pay for this website. Do I need a website? No. Do many people read it? No. But do I enjoy it? YES. So much yes. Happy Birthday to me.
Birthdays over the decades:
a. When I was 10 (1992) I had a McDonald’s birthday party. Mostly I remember this because they gave us this plastic plate that we used for years. YEARS. I remember everyone had McDonald’s birthday parties then. And I needed to be everyone.
b. When I was 20 (2002) I’d started working at the Good New Ministry Youth Center. I wore skirts every day and for every activity (sledding was a bit complicated). I was going to save the world, and I was going to do it in a skirt.
c. When I was 30 (2012) I was living in an apartment in the middle of Carpina, Brazil for most of the year, going to grad school, teaching English, and coordinating Living Stones. But I returned to the USA to work in Hong Kong for the summer and started long-distance dating this guy named Caid.
d. Now I am 40 (2022) and have an amazing husband named Caid (the same Caid) and two creative, sparkling daughters (ages 4 and 7). We moved back to the USA from Brazil 8 months into the pandemic with 8 suitcases. I still work for World Renewal., representing Brazil in the USA, and as head of publications. Life is going really well.
When I turned 30, I was a little extra. I wrote a whole book called “Wondering on 30.” I posted 30 things for 30 days around my birthday, starting a new blog. I am not sure how all of that happened. I was single, working 60-70 hour weeks in Brazil and there was just all of this TIME laying around everywhere. whelp, that’s all gone. Some of the entries were: autobio in 30, 30 best poems, 30 things I believe, 30 lessons I have learned, 30 things that make my life better, 30 heroes, 30 best Calvin and Hobbs, 30 ideas to do for free, 30 favorite song/singer/bands, 30 favorite one liners, 30 favorite quotes, 30 favorite movies, 30 favorite TED talks, 30 favorite authors, 30 ways to say I love you, 30 lies/fears I’ve believed, 30 tips for working with kids, 30 stories of children…
I write a letter to my future self every birthday. I’ve done this for long enough that now I get to read one that I wrote to myself 5 years ago. Here is some of the highlights: “At 30 years old I realized I wouldn’t and didn’t want to lie about my age: which years did I want to hide? None….I hope you go on lots of adventures as you open the world up to your kids….I hope you grow mellower rather than uptight, grow younger at heart rather than weighed down. Because…it just seems like a better life. And if I’m ever going to sit down and write good books, i need a life worth sharing about…I had a milkshake instead of a cake. Quite nice.”
I am working on my eulogy. Because that is the kind of person that I am. And because Donald Miller says to:
Rachel Winzeler Ferguson loved faithfully, worked creatively, and laughed loudly. She loved God and from that, loved her family, loved Brazil, and shared her love through her hospitality and sharing thoughts through writing, teaching, videos, and other innovative ways.
God was her rock and she held to Him, even when she didn’t understand. Rachel wanted everyone to have that intimate relationship with Jesus that would flourish and enrich everything else in life. She grew more childlike rather than old. She worked hard and played hard.
She supported and encouraged her husband Caid to be the best version of himself- which was spectacular- and found adventure and beauty to share with her daughters in all the day to day tasks. She worked hard to bring light and health into their home, and worked out to be able to keep up with her kids.
Their home was filled with fun, laughter, and music with old and new friends and family. Rachel knew how to celebrate and appreciate others. She firmly believed that beauty was everywhere, and should be found and grown. She wanted to leave every place and person she met better off than how she found them. She was a lifelong learner of how to share and invite more people into her family.
Rachel wrote over 20 books, taught many courses on interesting subjects, and made over a thousand videos to encourage others to find beauty in the simple things around them, and make the best with what you have. She loved finding innovate ways to share thoughts on her website.
She felt called to Brazil and serving those there, especially at-risk children there and all over the world. She served with World Renewal faithfully, seeing multiple generations of leaders grow to serve God and their communities.
Here are my ten major goals, written in present tense as Rachel Hollis says to.
I am full of wonder of who God is and what he is doing, as I grow more childlike
I am a healthy, strong, beautiful and professional woman
I am a supportive, fun, stylish wife
I am an intentional, inspirational mom who’s kids have ideas for after high school by high school
I have a mentor, an accountability partner, and am actively discipling others
My family owns a clean, quality, efficient home that is ready for hospitality. We live debt free with growing savings
My family has been to Disney, Jamaica, and Brazil before they graduate high school
My family eats real food, stays connected to family and likes to be active and artistic together
I publish something weekly, whether that is a blog, podcast, video, or teaching course, and I have published many books
World Renewal is faithfully sharing stories in creative ways of what God is doing around the world. WR Brazil is sending missionaries around the world, with healthy leaders growing from Living Stones
I would share all my current favs, but I don’t do that on my birthday, I do that at the end of/beginning of the year.
When I think about my life, its kind of summed up in a conversation my friend and I just had: “Start with big dreams. Learn to let them go. Learn to be faithful in the mundane. Embrace being normal. See what God does.”
I have a memory box. This morning I opened it up with the girls and showed them all of things. They tried on my glasses from when I was like 8. They continued to be scared by the fake bug/bagel. I read some of my old journals. I am continually shocked by the inordinate amount of time I spent worrying/writing/wondering about boys. There is something about getting married that makes boys less interesting: but makes my process of trying figuring out boys highly interesting. Today I bought another box: to start saving Sofia and Jessica’s memories. That made me feel really good.
Facebook. So yes, it has so many problems and is probably going to inadvertently lead to the end of the world, but I gotta say: I kinda really love it on my birthday. I love the little blurbs from people I haven’t connected with in forever, just popping by to say happy birthday. I especially like the pictures from the past. Until it ends the world, I’ll enjoy it on my birthday.