Early in my year of "firsts," I told Hannah Grace that I would take her to get her nails done as one of my "firsts" and that she could pick the date. She starts back to school on Monday and so she chose today to have her first pedicure. Neither of us really knew what this meant other than she would get her toenails painted by a very sweet lady. I liked this better than Hannah Grace painting my toenails. She did that a couple of Christmases back when I offered to play whatever she wanted to on Christmas. Well, she had received some nail polish for Christmas and wanted to paint my toenails. She did and painted a couple of toes with a glow-in-the-dark polish that kind of freaked me out in the middle of the night.
She picked a very pretty green color. She put her feet in what she called a "hot tub for feet." She said, "Daddy, it's warm and has the little jets and everything." That sounded pretty cool. She had several different types of gels or lotions applied to her feet to make them soft. Her feet were scrubbed to get rid of dead skin. This was very ticklish to Hannah Grace. She said it felt good and ticklish at the same time.
Hannah Grace had a blast. She loved her toenails and how pretty they were. She loved how soft her feet felt. In her words, it was "awesome." It was really cute how often she said, "Aren't they pretty?" This was a really fun "first." I'm very glad I did this "first" with my daughter. She loved Mrs. Melanie and the sweet way she did her pedicure.
Joel did other things today
I read a book by a guy named Mark Batterson one time and he wrote that we ought to collect experiences not possessions. That's a unique way to look at life. Our experiences become our stories. Our stories become our testimony to God and His working in our lives. Laura likes to say, "Never pass up a chance for a life adventure." The fun times of life are the experiences and adventures and then the telling of them. Not many nights spent in front of the TV are nights that I'm thrilled about and talk about with great fondness. Not many times have I missed an opportunity to do something for Jesus and been glad about it. There have been times when I was scared, unsure, full of doubt, and worried, but I trusted God and went for the life experience and was so glad I did. Sometimes it is not what you do that you regret, but what you don't do.
Mark Batterson writes about a lady in his church that was feeling led to go on a mission trip to Ethiopia but had some real fears about it. What if the plane crashed? What if she got sick? She pushed through her fears, trusted God, and had the experience of a lifetime. Here is what Batterson wrote about it, "In retrospect, it’s hard to imagine how many memories Sarah would have forfeited if she had run away from her fears. One of the greatest tragedies in life is the stories that go untold because we don’t face our fears! But she decided to live her life in a way that was worth telling stories about! For what it’s worth, none of things she was afraid of happened. The plane didn’t crash. She didn’t get sick. And she wasn’t eaten alive by wild animals. The only bad thing that happened to her was getting pooped on by a baboon. I kid you not! I’m not sure if the baboon was aiming or not, but what a shot. I know that is a nasty, but what a story! That is living life to the fullest!" I just think about her at a party and having that story to tell. Nobody can top that, right?
So, follow Jesus and gather some experiences with Him. It will grow your faith and the faith of those around you. They will give opportunities to speak highly and much of Christ. Who knows, you might even get your toenails painted, but watch out for baboons.
Loving the experiences of the abundant life
Barry
3 things I thank God for today
1. Hannah Grace's pedicure
2. Mark Batterson's book "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day"
3. People who inspire to reach for more adventure
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