ONE WEEK AWAY......ANOTHER BIRTHDAY

WOW.....another year is fading away quickly.  One week from today, I will be celebrating another birthday.  I will say goodbye to 63 and hello to 64.  Next year, I will be 65.  I am not sad or upset about it in the least.  Life has been full of surprises and disappointments.  Yet, what a great gift to have.

Most American Birthdays are celebrated with a birthday cake that has a birthday candle for each year the person has been alive.  After the candles are lit, the birthday person makes a wish and then blows out the candles.  If the person blows out all of the candles with one breath, the wish is suppose to come true.

Birthday wishes are often not spoken or told to anyone.  I am going to be different this year.  Here are my ten birthday wishes for 2013.

1.  I wish that everyone especially my children and grandchildren could and would experience UNCONDITIONAL LOVE in their lifetime.  This is such a difficult concept to grasp.  Yet, we see it in the Bible as God came to earth to show us its meaning.
2. I wish for PEACE ON EARTH.  I have seen the destruction of war and the loss of those who fought them.  Peace is more than the time without war.  Peace is about contentment.  Peace is about exhibiting the fruits of the God's Spirit and letting go of the hatred, the bitterness, the jealousy, the anger, the selfish ambition, the division, and the dissension that separates us and destroys the peace we have.
3. I wish for JOY.  Joy is the ability to feel and to know happiness.  The cravings for selfishness is replaced by unconditional love for God, others, self, and God's creation.  Joy is being content with the simple as well as the complicated.  Joy is living in peace.
4. I wish for JUSTICE.  Micah 6:8 asks, "What does God want from us?"  One of the answers is to do justice.  Justice is about doing what is right.  Justice is doing unto others what you would have them to do to you.  Justice is about equality recognizing that there is no difference in God's eyes.  We are all the same in God's eyes and this is how we should treat each other.  Justice is not about eye for eye.  Justice is being merciful, kind, gentle, and humble.
5. I wish for FORGIVENESS.  Jesus taught us to ask God to forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Forgiving those who hurt us physically and emotionally is not easy.  Jesus showed us the way on the cross when Jesus asked God the Father to "Forgive those who crucified Jesus for they do not know or understand what they did.  
6. I wish for WISDOM or understanding. Making good choices comes from knowing truth.  Truth is learned from Scripture, Tradition, Experience, and Reason.  Good choices may not always follow what society or culture says is a good choice.  Good choices come from experiences of unconditional love, peace, joy, justice, and forgiving.
7. I wish for TRUTH.  Jesus told us that we would find freedom when we discover truth.  Wisdom is the ability to see the bigger picture.  Wisdom is the ability to plow through the distortion of truth in culture and society.  Wisdom leads us to truth when we do justice, forgive, give and receive unconditional love.  
8. I wish for TRANSFORMATION. Transformation refers to growth and change.  The more wisdom or understanding of truth I receive, the more I grow or change or evolve.  God continues to reveal Godself to us in what we read, what we see, what we hear, what we taste, and what we feel.  We are life long learners as we grow in our relationships.  Jesus taught us how to be transformed.
9. I wish to dwell in the KINGDOM OF GOD.  The Kingdom of God compared to the reign and rule of the Roman Emperors is a common theme of the New Testament.  The New Testament proclaims that Jesus is Lord.  John writes that Jesus is Logos or God in the flesh.  Jesus taught us to pray for the kingdom to come.  God's kingdom is here.  When we declare Jesus is Lord, we live and answer to God who is greater than any king or ruler on this earth.
10. I wish for LIBERATION or FREEDOM.  Liberation or freedom allows me to see myself as God sees me.  God is love and love is God so when I seek truth, I gain wisdom and through my transformation, I live in the Kingdom of God because Jesus is Lord and my Lord has given me the ability to love unconditionally, to know joy, and to have peace.  My Lord opens my eyes to see the need for justice.

I wish this for my wonderful children, my grandchildren, my friends, and all residents of the earth.