an hour and a half from now

will mark the 34th anniversary of my emergence into the world as a 7lb 2oz ball of possibility. i have found myself wondering today what my parents thought or hoped my life would be like. did they wonder when i'd break my first bone (5th grade - wrist) or have my first kiss (9th grade, no seriously it was)? did they know i would love reading and music and baseball? did they think about my future wife or kids? what did they want me to be when i grew up? what did they worry about? what did they pray for? or were they like me when caleb was born, just trying to figure out which way the diaper went on?

there is no way they could have known or guessed the road i would take to get to 34. here i am. i'm desperately in love with the most amazing woman on the planet. i have three healthy, incredible kids with #4 not too far out on the horizon (at least in time, she's much further out there in miles). i have an incredible community of people that i not only get to be a part of, i get to lead. even with the bumps along the way, it is hard to imagine how life could be better. God is good. i know that sounds really cheesy or simplistic, but at the end of the day it is truth. maybe sometimes truth is cheesy and simplistic.

anyway. i'm glad i'm here. life is good.
j

ps -- feel free to accuse me of making a shameless plug for my birthday.