I turned 40 in October. The big one! It is true what people say, time just keeps going by faster and faster. I still feel about 26 in my heart and mind!

Many people have asked me how I feel about turning 40. There is a negative stigma about aging isn’t there? My response is, “I feel great! I love it!”

The older I get the more compassion I have for myself. The older I get the more I am comfortable in my own mind and skin. The older I get the more I love who and what God has made me to me. For these reasons and more, I am grateful for every year the Lord chooses to give me.

Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.”

It seems so simple doesn’t it? Love God. Love others. One part I think we often skip over is that in order to love your neighbor well, we have to first love ourselves!

We live in a world that measures us by status and success. We often tend to our harshest critics. Now, I’m certainly not talking about crossing over in to pride, but I am talking about a healthy self-love. God made you and God loves you. God wants you to see yourself the way he sees you! Are you able to love others well because you have a healthy love for yourself?