My Bucket List

I (Jana) had a birthday this month!  Last year was my "big 4-0" and the other day I was reading over something I wrote on my birthday last year.  I never posted it because I didn't want to sound like I was bragging or anything.  But I reread it this year and decided I should post it.  And just to remain humble, I will tell you that this year I got my hair highlighted and here I am getting it done! Enjoy the photo, I'm sure I'll regret this later...

So, I have never actually seen the movie, but this year (well, TODAY actually!) I (Jana) turn 40 years old!  I think I want to make my own "reverse" bucket list!  I keep thinking of how full my life has been.  If 40 years was all I had, I'd have no regrets.  I'd have done so many things already.  So I decided, instead of trying at 40 to do 40 more things, why not celebrate 40 things the Lord has already allowed me to do?  Besides, "done" lists are so much less stressful than "to do" lists!  So,

40 AWESOME THINGS I HAVE DONE IN THE PAST 40 YEARS
(but in my mind it will always be "My Bucket List"!)

1.  Saved and baptized on the slopes of the volcano Mount Merapi 

2.  Lived in 6 different countries 

3.  Visited 27 different countries 

4.  Seen some "wonders of the world" like Borobudur, Giza Pyramids and Sphinx 

5.  Went on a cruise 

6.  Got a SCUBA license (and a Ham Radio license) 

7.  Got married! 

8.  Have 3 awesome kids! 

9.  Studied 4 languages (2 with other scripts) 

10. Wrote a book! (ok, sort of) 

11. Led some folks to Christ 

12. Lived almost on the Nile River 

13. Went to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jericho 

14. Graduated from college 

15. Went to a Thai cooking class 

16. Studied Balinese dancing 

17. Learned to embroider on a treadle machine in Eritrea 

18. Went snow skiing 

19. Went water skiing 

20. Camped in the Sahara desert 

21. Boogie boarded in the Indian Ocean 

22. Rode a dogsled on the highest point in Europe (Jung Frau) 

23. Camped in New Zealand (in a camper) 

24. Para-sailed in Mexico 

25. Had an ALMOST lead role in a musical! ha!  (Mikado) 

26. Watched all three of my kids ask Jesus into their hearts and watched 2 of them get baptized in the Nile River (since then our third was baptized in a swimming pool in Thailand)

27. Visited the castle of the MacLeod clan (my ancestors) on the Isle of Skye in Scotland 
28. Watched Phantom of the Opera in London 

29. Seen at least 14 states of the United States 

30. Trained in spiritual disciplines by my parents! 

31. Watched a hernia operation 

32. Personally met many persecuted believers 

33. Proud of my parents and siblings (not everyone can say that you know!) 

34. Enjoyed a fabulous relationship with my grandmother, Betsy Crane

35. Bought a clam in Hawaii that had 2 pearls in it 

36. Spent the night at the circus 

37. Floated in the Dead Sea 

38. Rode an elephant in Thailand 

39. Rode a camel at the Red Sea 

40. Continue to watch my kids have similar awesome TCK experiences

Thank You, Lord, for 40 fantastic years.  They haven't always been easy, and they haven't always been happy.  But You have led me and have been faithful and today I am a stronger and better person because You have taught me so much.