This week I’m celebrating my 35th birthday! In celebration of my 35 years, here are 35 things I’ve learned throughout the years I wanted to share with you!

  1. Live a healthy lifestyle. It is true that your metabolism slows down as you get older. (Mine pretty much has went on a permanent vacation since I turned 30!) The choices you make about what you eat and if you exercise really do make a difference!
  2. Your definition of love changes as you get older.  That hot, fiery beginning love is great, but if there’s nothing to sustain that fire, it will go out. Find someone who you truly enjoy being with, you can laugh with, and cry with. 
  3. Blood doesn’t make or define  a family, unconditional love does. Sometimes families are torn apart by greed, jealousy, divorce, or anger. Real family are those people who love you despite your flaws and love you through it all. Don’t forget to return the favor!
  4. Be friends with your siblings because they are the people who will be with you your entire life.
  5. Friendships change. Friends come and go as marriage, divorce, job changes, moves, and children happen. 
  6. Learn how to manage your money when you’re young. Money is a tool. Once you learn to use it as a tool instead of letting money control you, life gets a lot easier. 
  7. Get life insurance in your 20s.  I know it’s expense that seems crazy but it’s dirt cheap when you are young. Watch out for only having insurance through your work. Once you change jobs, decide to be a stay at home mom, or have other life changes, you may find yourself uninsured and 10 years older.
  8. Take vacations.  Many people wait until they are older to travel. Guess what? There are just as many expenses when you’re older as you have when you’re young. Even worse, sometimes as you age, your health fails and you can no longer get around like you could when you were younger. Pay with cash and travel. See the world. Broaden your horizons. 
  9. Don’t waste your time worrying about what other people think about you.  Do your best, be a good person, and live your life. Life is too short to worry about things out of your control. People that care about you accept you for yourself, those that don’t are missing out.
  10. Learn to say that you are sorry.  It takes a big person to step up and apologize. Be the brave one, you might save a relationship.
  11. Find a career that you love.  You will be doing it for another 30-some years. Feel good about what you are doing. You will be a happier person.
  12. Take chances.  Playing it safe can lead to a life of regrets. Don’t be someone who played it so safe that you look back on your life and wish you had been brave enough to follow your heart.
  13. Learn how to take care of yourself.  Practice self-care. Sometimes the only way that you are going to be taken care of is by doing it yourself. Read, write, do those hobbies that you love. Don’t forget that you are worth it!
  14. Find a church that you love to go to.  If the first place you try doesn’t feel right, keep looking. 
  15. You are not too old to make a change.  I remember when I was 20 thinking 35 was old. It’s not. Trust me!
  16. Surround yourself with people who make you a better person. Try to find a spiritual mentor, professional mentors, and people with goals similar to your own.
  17. Be the mentor you needed in your 20s to someone in their 20s. There are a lot of people lost that need someone to come along and help them develop into the person they want to be. 
  18. Learn how to cook at home.  Not only is this cheaper, but it’s healthier. You might even like it!
  19. Write down your goals.  People reach their goals more often when they write them down. Don’t know where to start? Try here!
  20. Read more than you watch television. 
  21. Payoff your credit cards.  It’s really hard to live your dreams when you are drowning in debt. 
  22. Pay yourself first each pay period and set up an emergency fund. 
  23. Learn how to say no to yourself. It’s always easy to make up an excuse that we “deserve” something. Sometimes we might, but can’t afford it. Say no until you can. 
  24. If you have children, teach them good habits early. Children are sponges that soak up the good and bad. Practice what you preach.
  25. Be grateful. Practice gratitude journaling. Say thank you. Mean it.
  26. Give back. Each of us needed help somewhere along the way.
  27. Some people are users. Find friends that support in you and support them back. Let the others go.
  28. Know your priorities. Don’t be afraid to say no to something that’s taking time away from those priorities!
  29. You can invest everything you have into a relationship and still have your heartbroken.  Sometimes it’s not your fault. There are no guarantees with people. 
  30. Be trustworthy. Don’t spread gossip. You never know who you are going to hurt by doing so!
  31. Learn self-discipline. It will get you very far in life!
  32. Be yourself. You are uniquely created by a wondrous God. The world needs more of you.
  33. Smile.  Life might not always be easy or fun, but it costs nothing to smile. 
  34. The less stuff you own, the easier it is to keep a clean home.  Clutter results in extra, extra time spent trying to find something, extra time cleaning and taking care of things, and extra money buying duplicates because you can’t find the first. Keep the things you love. 
  35. Let go and have some fun.  Sometimes we get so caught up in “grown up” things like our jobs and bills that we forget to have some fun. Live life. 35 years has went by very fast. Those are words that I never thought that I’d say. Enjoy the ride!
So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Check out our new Keepsake Companion Journal that pairs with our So God Made a Mother book!

Order Now
So God Made a Mother's Story Keepsake Journal

Jenny

Hi! I’m Jenny! I grew up on a farm in between the 2 small towns of North Loup and Scotia, Nebraska. I spent my childhood chasing cattle, laying out irrigation pipe, bottle feeding bucket calves and racing turtles at Popcorn Days. My husband, Jason and I live on a farm south of Kearney and I am blessed to be a stay at home mom to 5 energetic kids and wife to my favorite farmer! Our oldest daughter is 11, our boy/girl twins are 7, our son is 5 and youngest daughter is 3. I created my blog, Women With Intention (http://womenwithintention.com) where you will find tools for living your purpose, managing your home, saving money, simplifying, growing your faith, loving your family and relationships, and embracing the season of life you are in. I believe that each woman can have it all, but not necessarily have it all at the same time! I'd love to connect at my blog, Facebook (http://facebook.com/womenwithintention1), Pinterest (pinterest.com/womenwithintent) or Twitter (@womenwithintent).

I Thought Our Friendship Would Be Unbreakable

In: Friendship, Journal, Relationships
Two friends selfie

The message notification pinged on my phone. A woman, once one of my best friends, was reaching out to me via Facebook. Her message simply read, “Wanted to catch up and see how life was treating you!”  I had very conflicting feelings. It seemed with that one single message, a flood of memories surfaced. Some held some great moments and laughter. Other memories held disappointment and hurt of a friendship that simply had run its course. Out of morbid curiosity, I clicked on her profile page to see how the years had been treating her. She was divorced and still...

Keep Reading

The First 10 Years: How Two Broken People Kept Their Marriage from Breaking

In: Journal, Marriage, Relationships
The First Ten Years: How Two Broken People Kept Their Marriage from Breaking www.herviewfromhome.com

We met online in October of 2005, by way of a spam email ad I was THIS CLOSE to marking as trash. Meet Single Christians! My cheese alert siren sounded loudly, but for some reason, I unchecked the delete box and clicked through to the site. We met face-to-face that Thanksgiving. As I awaited your arrival in my mother’s kitchen, my dad whispered to my little brother, “Hide your valuables. Stacy has some guy she met online coming for Thanksgiving dinner.” We embraced for the first time in my parents’ driveway. I was wearing my black cashmere sweater with the...

Keep Reading

To The Mother Who Is Overwhelmed

In: Inspiration, Motherhood
Tired woman with coffee sitting at table

I have this one head. It is a normal sized head. It didn’t get bigger because I had children. Just like I didn’t grow an extra arm with the birth of each child. I mean, while that would be nice, it’s just not the case. We keep our one self. And the children we add on each add on to our weight in this life. And the head didn’t grow more heads because we become a wife to someone. Or a boss to someone. We carry the weight of motherhood. The decisions we must make each day—fight the shorts battle...

Keep Reading

You’re a Little Less Baby Today Than Yesterday

In: Journal, Motherhood
Toddler sleeping in mother's arms

Tiny sparkles are nestled in the wispy hair falling across her brow, shaken free of the princess costume she pulled over her head this morning. She’s swathed in pink: a satiny pink dress-up bodice, a fluffy, pink, slightly-less-glittery-than-it-was-two-hours-ago tulle skirt, a worn, soft pink baby blanket. She’s slowed long enough to crawl into my lap, blinking heavy eyelids. She’s a little less baby today than she was only yesterday.  Soon, she’ll be too big, too busy for my arms.  But today, I’m rocking a princess. The early years will be filled with exploration and adventure. She’ll climb atop counters and...

Keep Reading

Dear Husband, I Loved You First

In: Marriage, Motherhood, Relationships
Man and woman kissing in love

Dear husband, I loved you first. But often, you get the last of me. I remember you picking me up for our first date. I spent a whole hour getting ready for you. Making sure every hair was in place and my make-up was perfect. When you see me now at the end of the day, the make-up that is left on my face is smeared. My hair is more than likely in a ponytail or some rat’s nest on the top of my head. And my outfit, 100% has someone’s bodily fluids smeared somewhere. But there were days when...

Keep Reading

Stop Being a Butthole Wife

In: Grief, Journal, Marriage, Relationships
Man and woman sit on the end of a dock with arms around each other

Stop being a butthole wife. No, I’m serious. End it.  Let’s start with the laundry angst. I get it, the guy can’t find the hamper. It’s maddening. It’s insanity. Why, why, must he leave piles of clothes scattered, the same way that the toddler does, right? I mean, grow up and help out around here, man. There is no laundry fairy. What if that pile of laundry is a gift in disguise from a God you can’t (yet) see? Don’t roll your eyes, hear me out on this one. I was a butthole wife. Until my husband died. The day...

Keep Reading

I Can’t Be Everyone’s Chick-fil-A Sauce

In: Friendship, Journal, Living, Relationships
woman smiling in the sun

A couple of friends and I went and grabbed lunch at Chick-fil-A a couple of weeks ago. It was delightful. We spent roughly $20 apiece, and our kids ran in and out of the play area barefoot and stinky and begged us for ice cream, to which we responded, “Not until you finish your nuggets,” to which they responded with a whine, and then ran off again like a bolt of crazy energy. One friend had to climb into the play tubes a few times to save her 22-month-old, but it was still worth every penny. Every. Single. One. Even...

Keep Reading

Love Notes From My Mother in Heaven

In: Faith, Grief, Journal, Living
Woman smelling bunch of flowers

Twelve years have passed since my mother exclaimed, “I’ve died and gone to Heaven!” as she leaned back in her big donut-shaped tube and splashed her toes, enjoying the serenity of the river.  Twelve years since I stood on the shore of that same river, 45 minutes later, watching to see if the hopeful EMT would be able to revive my mother as she floated toward his outstretched hands. Twelve years ago, I stood alone in my bedroom, weak and trembling, as I opened my mother’s Bible and all the little keepsakes she’d stowed inside tumbled to the floor.  It...

Keep Reading

Sometimes Friendships End, No Matter How Hard You Try

In: Friendship, Journal, Relationships
Sad woman alone without a friend

I tried. We say these words for two reasons. One: for our own justification that we made an effort to complete a task; and two: to admit that we fell short of that task. I wrote those words in an e-mail tonight to a friend I had for nearly 25 years after not speaking to her for eight months. It was the third e-mail I’ve sent over the past few weeks to try to reconcile with a woman who was more of a sister to me at some points than my own biological sister was. It’s sad when we drift...

Keep Reading

Goodbye to the House That Built Me

In: Grown Children, Journal, Living, Relationships
Ranch style home as seen from the curb

In the winter of 1985, while I was halfway done growing in my mom’s belly, my parents moved into a little brown 3 bedroom/1.5 bath that was halfway between the school and the prison in which my dad worked as a corrections officer. I would be the first baby they brought home to their new house, joining my older sister. I’d take my first steps across the brown shag carpet that the previous owner had installed. The back bedroom was mine, and mom plastered Smurf-themed wallpaper on the accent wall to try to get me to sleep in there every...

Keep Reading