Here it is...My 40 before 40

Took me a few days to actually finalize my list, but here it is. Over the next few days, I will explain a few more in detail. For instance, I will give the reasons why I picked what I picked. So now you have it. My Top 40 Countdown.

40 THINGS TO ACCOMPLISH BEFORE TURNING 40

1. Hike to Enchanted Rock
2. Run a mile without stopping
3. Participate in a 5k
4. lose 125 lbs
5. Read the Bible straight through
6. Paint a landscape
7. Hike Clingman's Dome
8. Write letters to the top 5 people who have impacted me the most
9. Do 30 days of random acts of kindness
10. Take a class on something I normally wouldn’t take
11. Get a new wedding ring made
12. Attend Grapevine Christmas including ICE
13. Read a Classic American Novel
14. Take an overnight retreat
15. Record an album
16. Go to the theater
17. Make Angel Food Cake from scratch
18. Take a digital detox
19. Take a spontaneous trip
20. Pay off credit cards
21. Drive to middle of nowhere and watch meteor shower
22. See the Marfa lights
23. Go to a professional sporting event
24. Go to the Texas State Fair
25. Get my handgun license
26. Make my own root beer
27. Swim at Balmorhea
28. Go to Big Bend National Park
29. Watch the bats at Congress Avenue Bridge
30. Finish a jigsaw puzzle
31. Bury a time capsule to be dug up in 20 years
32. Visit the Groom Cross
33. Go to the intersection at the end of Castaway
34. Visit the Aurora Space Crash
35. Eat a Chicken Fried Steak at Mary’s
36. Send a message by balloon
37. Read a book on a subject I normally wouldn’t
38. Take a picture good enough to frame
39. Take the kids to a pumpkin patch
40. Meet someone famous
41. (bonus) keep a blog updated!

Today I Start!

You may be thinking what in the world did he start?  He's been going for years!

Years is right!  Today I turn 39.  It's not a big milestone, and I'm actually not dreading becoming 40, but today I have begun to look back at my life.  I'm not complaining because I love my life and everybody in it.  As I looked back, however, I have noticed one trend.  Because of family obligations and God's call on my life, I have spent an extreme amount of the past 39 years taking care of everybody else.  Sometimes this has occurred at the cost of my health.  Other times this has occurred at the cost of me accomplishing things for me.  All of this has added up to me not doing things I have always wanted to do, and not attempting things that I may have been afraid of.

Well, this year I hope to change all of that.  This is the year of my Top 40 Countdown.  This is my 40th year bucket list.  This will be the place where I share with the world me trying to accomplish a list of 40 things before I turn 40.  I am still working on my list.  I will post it shortly.  My real goal is to have a well balanced list of things that are easy that I just have never done, as well as, things that will be a great challenge to accomplish throughout this year.  I may or may not finish the list, but I have 366 days to try (this is a leap year).

I invite you on this journey with me as I laugh, cry, celebrate, and mourn all of the things I will accomplish or fail at along the way.  Follow this blog for updates and posts about my progress.  This ought to be a great year or great things.