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	<title>After the Altar CallTo everything there is a season...Cherishing my 40th Birthday... - After the Altar Call</title>
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		<title>To everything there is a season&#8230;Cherishing my 40th Birthday&#8230;</title>
		<link>https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/2013/09/08/to-everything-there-is-a-season-cherishing-my-40th-birthday/</link>
		<comments>https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/2013/09/08/to-everything-there-is-a-season-cherishing-my-40th-birthday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Sep 2013 12:44:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jackieholness</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birthdays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Journey to Publication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[love and marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[40 years old]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birthday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[desires of your heart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dreams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ecclesiastes 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hope]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pray]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seasons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wish]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/?p=6806</guid>

				<description><![CDATA[<p>Hello World, One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Ecclesiastes 3 in which we are reminded that time is not arbitrary, there is a season for everything in God&#8217;s world&#8230;And now is my time to turn 40 years old&#8230;I thank God that He allowed me to reach this milestone in my life&#8230;I don&#8217;t like [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/2013/09/08/to-everything-there-is-a-season-cherishing-my-40th-birthday/">To everything there is a season&#8230;Cherishing my 40th Birthday&#8230;</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.afterthealtarcall.com">After the Altar Call</a>.</p>
]]></description>
					<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hello World,</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/bride.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6809" alt="bride" src="https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/bride-200x300.jpg" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/bride-200x300.jpg 200w, https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/bride-682x1024.jpg 682w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a>One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Ecclesiastes 3 in which we are reminded that time is not arbitrary, there is a season for everything in God&#8217;s world&#8230;And now is my time to turn 40 years old&#8230;I thank God that He allowed me to reach this milestone in my life&#8230;I don&#8217;t like the idea of aging but such is life&#8230;aging is a blessing especially when you consider the alternative&#8230;</p>
<p>As I reflected about my life on my birthday (which was actually Sept. 7), I realized that some of my birthdays in years past were bittersweet&#8230;I was always grateful that God allowed me to live another year, but I was confused about why some of my oldest dreams had not come true&#8230;I remember when I wrote one of my most introspective posts <a href="https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/2008/12/31/hope-wish-pray/">&#8220;Hope. Wish.. Pray…&#8221; </a>at the end of 2008, the year that I start my dear blog&#8230;Below is an excerpt&#8230;</p>
<blockquote><p>For today, I have decided to hope, wish &amp; pray that my dreams will come true…According to the Word, you are to “delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 When I first read this verse years ago, I thought it meant that God will give you whatever you want if you serve Him. I know that’s not true now.</p>
<p>Now I believe that if you come to know the Lord in an intimate way, He will guide you to your true desires – that is He will give you the desires He has for you. He will guide you to your God-given destiny. So over the years, God has shown me what are my false desires and what are my true desires.(I no longer desire to date a man from every continent, ha,ha, for instance.)  Anyway, two dreams or two desires remain…at least for today. Well, that’s not true. I have more than two dreams, but I am thinking of two in particular…(What dreams do you think I am referring to? Guess?)</p></blockquote>
<p>I had two dreams that I desperately longed for but did not reveal in that post&#8230;I wanted to <a href="https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DSC_2854.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-4889" alt="DSC_2854" src="https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DSC_2854-262x300.jpg" width="262" height="300" srcset="https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DSC_2854-262x300.jpg 262w, https://www.afterthealtarcall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DSC_2854-896x1024.jpg 896w" sizes="(max-width: 262px) 100vw, 262px" /></a>meet and get married to the man God kept for me, and I wanted to be a published author&#8230;And it seemed for a long, long, long time, no matter what I did those two dreams eluded me&#8230;I literally chased them and every time I thought I was getting closer, all of a sudden it felt all of my chasing was for naught&#8230;But I now know that I was on time all along, it just wasn&#8217;t my season&#8230;And FINALLY, God saw fit to bless me with the right man, and He blessed me to become a published author&#8230;So this is a new season in my life&#8230;I don&#8217;t know what awaits me, and I&#8217;m still hoping, wishing and praying for the best&#8230;I&#8217;m thinking about new dreams too&#8230;</p>
<p>Happy Birthday to Me <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>P.S. Since I moving on up in age, I decided to post Curtis Mayfield&#8217;s &#8220;Move On Up.&#8221; This captures how I&#8217;m feeling&#8230;.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" width="420" height="315" frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6Z66wVo7uNw"></iframe></p>
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