I am 28 today.

I’m in my late twenties. This year, it will have been ten years since I graduated from high school. It will be four years since I’ve been married to Joe. This year, we move to another city to start the next phase of our lives with Joe in residency. It is so crazy, the places where life takes us.

2021 has been a monumental year in my life so far. My word for this year was intentional. I have felt called to be more intentional in everything that I do and in every aspect of my life.

I love to share life’s big moments with you guys and I’d like to share with you ten things I’ve learned so far in my 28 years of life.

1. Living Life Off Your Phone is Great

If you guys follow me on Instagram, you know that I have been on a journey to decrease my phone usage. I’ve learned a lot and spent time grounding myself in the things I love such as spending time with God, my family, quality time with my husband, pursuing my hobbies, and self-care. Life is a beautiful thing and not necessarily something that has to always be shared with your phone (or your followers for that matter).

2. Self-Care is Important

You must take time to take care of yourself. Whether that looks like reading a book, booking a facial, taking an hour to exercise, giving yourself a few hours of solitude, etc. It’s important to take care of your mind, body, and soul and it’s not selfish to make sure to take time out of the day to do these things.

3. Family Comes First

If you have a good relationship with your family that is a blessing. 2020 also showed me more than ever that as human beings we are flawed. A large part of life is learning to let go of these flaws and choose to love the people who are important to us. We prioritize who we want to. Winning sometimes looks like humbling yourself to put your differences aside and choose love.

4. You Have Time

Life is short and your hours are precious. Those things you keep telling yourself that “you wish you had more time for”. You have the time. Make the time to pursue the things you want to pursue. This is YOUR life! If you’d like a great resource to take control of your time, read You Have More Time Than You Think.

5. “I Lack Nothing”

We are bombarded with marketing left and right that convinces us we need a little more of this and lot more of that. At the end of the day, I’ve found that material possessions can only do so much but bring temporary happiness. You may find yourself pining for the day you get your next prized possession.

Life is about so much more than that. I have learned to be grateful for the things I have that I take for granted like a roof over my head, food to eat every day, a means of transportation, a job, a loving mom and dad, a loving husband. I’m getting teary-eyed thinking about it.

6. Learning Is A Gift

This year, I learned to find joy in the lessons that books could teach me. Lessons that I could learn from the people around me. Lessons that my challenges provided. Our life is such a GIFT and there are so many lessons to learn. I find that with each year, I gain more wisdom, and the wiser I get, the more I appreciate life.

7. Praying Can Look Like Silence

This year, I made a vow to really prioritize my faith. I wanted a relationship with Jesus. My faith has looked pretty stagnant these past few years and one thing I hadn’t prioritized was praying.

I gained a new perspective on praying this year. Praying doesn’t necessarily look like speaking and asking God for things for a few minutes. It can also look like sitting in silence and just taking in the presence of God.

As a result, I have valued silence and solitude more than anything this year. Little pockets of silence offer me little pockets in which I can pray.

8. Loving Yourself is Great – Flaws and All.

The process of learning to love myself always astonishes me every year. I have always been confident in myself and have always loved myself.

But, this past year, that looked like learning to embrace the things I am good at. Embracing the fact that I cry easily and get emotional and that it’s a gift from God. Embracing the fact that I am an encourager and goal achiever, these are gifts from God. I also accepted that I get angry easily. That I am impatient. It’s important to acknowledge your flaws so that you can continue to grow and learn from them.

9. You Have a Choice to Be Happy

When I find myself getting frustrated at Joe or at any situation in life — it was monumental for me to realize that I had control over the way I reacted. I could choose to wallow in anger or self-pity or I could choose to pursue happiness and the joy of the Lord over those things. It’s always a process but one that I am embracing more these days.

10. Work Is a Good Thing

This year, I read Every Good Endeavor and it really changed my perspective on the aspect of work. Work has always been something that I HAD to do, just to take care of the bills and any extracurriculars. But, as I grow older, I am realizing that work is a good thing and a gift from God. How you handle your work life has a large part in how you can display the Gospel. I’ve felt rejuvenated in this mission and in embracing the gifts that God has given me to enable me to be GOOD at my job!

Well, friends. Now that I am emotional over all of the beautiful things that this life has given me, I hope that this post inspired you. I am so grateful for the past 28 years. This year brings a lot of hope, growth, and new transitions. Thank you always for following along and being my confidants through life’s greatest joys. Carpe Diem!