My 40th Trip Around the Sun – Thoughts on the First 39 Years of My Life

Tonight is my last night to be in my thirties.

For some of you, you’re probably thinking “Oh shut up, I’d love to be turning 40.”  For others of you, you’re saying “Geez – 40?  You’re ancient!”

I’ve done a whole lot in my 39 trips around the sun.

1. I was born.
2. I’ve been to Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize, Canada, England, Scotland, France, Germany, Belgium, Amsterdam, China, Japan, Jordan, and Israel.
3. I’ve lived a lot of places: Lebanon, TN; Henderson, TN; Houston, TX; Ashland City, TN; Memphis, TN (technically I lived in Olive Branch, MS too); Guntersville, AL; back to Houston, TX; back to Nashville, TN; and now in Tampa, FL.
4. I’ve owned a 97 Pontiac Sunfire, a 2002 Ford Taurus, a 98 Ford Explorer 2 door Sport, a 2001 Honda Accord, a 2004 Honda Pilot, and now a 2006 Honda Civic.
5. I’ve been a telemarketer, a camp counselor, an intramural referee, a chapel checker, a pizza maker at Pizza Hut, construction worker, bible teacher, speech teacher, choral director, theater director, head volleyball coach, assistant girl’s basketball coach, campus minister, youth minister, associate minister, worship minister, and preacher
6. I’ve been married for 14 of those trips around the sun.
7. I’ve been a father for 9.
8. I’ve paid off all of debt except for my mortgage.
9. I’ve struggled with anxiety and very low self esteem.
10. I’ve played rhythm guitar, bass guitar, and drums in a band.
11. I’ve been in 14 plays, musicals, etc.  I was one of the lead roles in about half of those.
12. I’ve only owned my own dog for about 3 years – Chloe, our little black pug.  I really hope to own another dog one day.
13. I only ever attended a Christian school.  Friendship Christian and Freed Hardeman.  I also taught in a Christian school – Westbury Christian.
14. I’ve never had a cup of coffee.
15. I’ve never had a sip of alcohol.
16. I’ve never smoked.
17. I’ve never seen Terminator, Die Hard, or The Godfather.
18. I’ve driven a bus from Tennessee to Canada and back.  It was a 26 passenger bus.
19. I’ve been on television at least 4 times that I know of.
20. I’ve seen the Great Wall of China.
21. I landed in Tokyo the day the great tsunami hit Japan on my way to China.
22. I’ve seen Les Miserables in London 3 times.
23. I’ve never tasted lobster.
24. I’ve been bald since I was 18.
25. I’m afraid of aliens.
26. I can’t sleep without a fan.
27. I once bench pressed 225 lbs.
28. When I was about 5 years old, I sang “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” as loud as I could while showering the bathhouse at a campground.
29. My family called me “Motormouth” when I was a child, because I never stopped talking.  I’m being punished for that now because my daughter does the exact same thing!
30. I asked a White House security guard while on a tour if there was an underground bunker for the president to hide in like on the show “24.”  He was not amused.
31. I have been bullied as a child and also as an adult.
32. I have a really hard time saying the word “rural.”
33. I have preached from the same pulpit that Alexander Campbell once preached from.
34. I’ve watched “The Office” from beginning to end probably at least 9 times.
35. I took a selfie with Kirk Herbstreit.
36. I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes
37. I’ve prayed at least a million prayers
38. I’ve found that surrounding myself with positive people makes life a lot better
39. I have hottest wife in the entire world.

What will 40 bring?  Who knows?  All I know is, in the words of Conrad Birdie, “I’ve got a lot of living to do.”

For all of those who have been an influential part of my life up until this point – thank you.  Bring it on 40!