age gracefully

• More patience
• Less judging

Makes me think of this poem by Audrey Hepburn describing beauty tips. I believe it really falls in line with grace.

For attractive lips,speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes,seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure,share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair,let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.

For poise,walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things,
have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed,and redeemed;never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands;one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

Who got carded this weekend? Lil’ 30-year-old me, that’s who! :)

While I don’t typically stay out late, I’m still thinking my days of late night going out are numbered if I plan to be successful with this goal. I can handle the staying out late (for the most part) but I can’t stand burning daylight the next day because I’m so exhausted. I love weekend mornings and I don’t like losing them that way.

Balance = grace. I need to get back to my step #2: Regularly getting a good night’s sleep. Addendum to that: making sure the majority of it is on the “night” side of night rather than the “morning” side. :)

I’d like to continue to physically qualify for student discounts at least until I’m eligible for senior discounts! :)

About a month before I turned 30, I went to the movies with a friend and the woman at the ticket counter asked me,”Student?” She didn’t want ID or anything – she just assumed that I was a student. I couldn’t help but laugh. I used to hate that people thought I looked younger than my age, but now I think it’s funny.

This February I turned 30 and you know, I’m okay with that. I could be sad about leaving my 20s behind, but when I think about it, I’m not. I learned a lot during that timeframe, but (much like high school) I would not want to do it again. I’m happy. Not everything is perfect (nor do I expect it to be), but every day I’m feeling stronger and wiser. Grace is something that I’m constantly pursuing and trying to reflect. Some days it’s more of a struggle than others, but that just means it’s all the more important.

Steps I am taking to take better care of myself and live more gracefully:

1. Studying, praying and focusing on my relationship with God
2. Regularly getting a good night’s sleep
3. Eating healthier meals
4. Drinking more water
5. Establishing exercise routines
6. Adding more positive routines to my life (morning and night)
7. Focus on positive relationships (and overcoming less than positive relationships)
8. Regularly finding happy ways of viewing difficult situations
9. Spending more quality time with my dog
10. Enjoying the beautiful weather that led me to live in the Sunshine State (always with sunblock and sometimes with hat, of course)
11. Reading more
12. Trying more new activities – being more adventurous
13. Continuing to learn new things
14. Establishing more of a “community”, be it friends, family, church, clubs, teams
15. Saying “no” to activities I don’t really enjoy (when possible)
16. Living in an increasingly more environmentally-friendly way
17. Helping to nurture the living beings around me (people, plants, animals)