I have survived.

I am here to tell you, 30 can be done. I survived a whole year of it. And I'm a week into 31, and that's a piece of cake. Those five long years I spent dreading 30 weren't really worth it.

In other news, it was Easter. You're welcome.

I really enjoyed Easter this year. For lent I gave up emotional spending. Phew. That's a tough one for me. But it was good to spend some time thinking about what was a frivolous junk purchase for the sake of purchase, and what was useful. At least for me, it's hard to fill holes with the right stuff. For a long time I leaned more toward emotional eating. Then I switched to emotional spending. But at some point, you have to stand up and ask yourself what the real issue is. Which is a work in progress. For the rest of my life, probably.

On the heels of some personal discovery and a birthday (yay me!), with some sunny weather to boot, Easter was a joy. For the icing on the cake, our church did cardboard testimonies. If you don't know what I'm talking about, grab some kleenex and click here (I should note, these are from a different church). I was blessed enough to participate in all 3 services, and got to see a lot of cardboard.

All things together brought me here:

God is real and powerful. Powerful enough to defeat death. Loving enough to do it for you and me. But He is also personal. Personal enough to reach each person in a way unique to them and their needs. Personal enough to know what holes I need filled, and how to fill them so they don't gape open again.

I can grasp the thought of a great big all powerful God. I actually get that. Makes sense. But it's the personal interest that He takes in me that mystifies me. I'm not a speck on the planet, I'm a beloved child. So are you.