Why We Celebrate Birthdays

I've been reading different online posts about birthdays and I'm finding out that birthdays are celebrated (and are NOT celebrated) for several different reasons.
First, I'll address why some people DON'T celebrate birthdays:

1.  Obviously, if someone doesn't like the thought of getting older, they might avoid birthday celebrations every approaching year. To me, this is kinda ridiculous! Why pretend like or run away from something that everyone on this earth has and will experience...aging? It's a part of life. Get over it!
2.  Some take the religious stance that celebrating one's birthday is sac-religious, because of certain scriptures from the Bible, where there were pagan situations. (Read Here) But there is nothing in the Bible that indicates that the celebration of birthdays is wrong, in itself.

Now, I'll discuss why many people DO celebrate birthdays:
I came across this list and thought it was kinda cute.     
12 Most Meaningful Reasons to Celebrate a Birthday:

1. You still have one - It’s confirmation you have another day on this Earth to live and love.

2. Wisdom really does come with age - I am so glad that I don’t have to make again the bloopers I made in my teens, twenties or even thirties.

3. Self confidence also comes with age - Young confidence is sometimes hard to separate from arrogance. But seasoned confidence is subtler, more assured than arrogant (for most folks, anyway).

4. Accomplishments really rack up - The older you get, the more you’ve done. Take stock of your life and give yourself a huge pat on the back. You’ve done a lot!

5. You’ve figured out the shortcuts - For the things you love to do, you probably don’t even realize the depth of your mastery. But with years of practice comes true skill. For instance, I rarely use recipes to cook, I know how to soothe a baby without looking in a book for clues and the garden in front of our house is thriving with just me as its caretaker.

6. Love - Whether you’ve been with your partner a long time, or not, you’ve no doubt loved intensely at some point in your life. Aging means you’ve had more time to love and more opportunities and people to love. That’s wonderful!

7. Treats - Who said only the kids get to munch on birthday food? I treated myself to a wonderful chocolate croissant this morning for my birthday. And I didn’t feel one second of guilt.

8. Facebook - The older you get the more friends you have from different phases of your life — from grade school and on, through the different schools you’ve attended, jobs you’ve held, groups you’ve joined and cities you’ve lived in. Chances are those folks are sprinkled through your collection of Facebook(and bloggy) friends. And when birthdays roll around, many of them send messages and cheery tidings of good wishes. It’s a daylong dose of happiness from people throughout your life. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

9. You reflect on where you’ve been and where you’re going - I think this is good thing. When you’re young, you merely celebrate birthdays. After you’ve put some real miles on your tires — so to speak — you can appreciate the journey. And you don’t take things for granted, as you tend to do without that perspective.

10. Silliness - It’s a day that no one is going to mind if you sing, blow bubbles, dance or just giggle a lot. You can be kid. But you can enjoy that like a grownup.

11. Being grateful - In our younger years, we might whine when we don’t get the gift we want. Or, when something else disappoints us that seems like a big deal to our childhood selves. With maturity, we know how to put those things in perspective. We know what’s trivial and what really matters.

12. Cake - Birthday cake is still one of the very best things about birthdays, no matter how many you’ve had.

For me, celebrating birthdays reminds me that:

1. I was fearfully and wonderfully made by my Creator!(Psalm 139:13 (NIV)"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.")
2. I am a child of God, chosen and loved specifically by Him.(James 1:18 (NIV) "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.")
3. I am alive and His child and He gives me the ability to do all I am able to do every day.       (Acts 17:28 "For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.")
4. He gives me purpose and has a plan for my life.    (Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.")
5. Finally, I love this verse from The Message   Micah 6:8,  "But He’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously – take God seriously."                                             

Obviously, my focus on birthdays probably has you wondering if my own birthday is upon me. Well, you are correct. Not only my birthday (Sept. 9), though. August and September seems to bring a large array of birthdays in my family. My hubby's birthday is also in September(5), along with my son-in-law(Sept. 7). In August, we celebrated the birthdays of my step-daughter(Aug. 4), my son(Aug. 13), and grand daughter(Aug. 17). Needless to say we've been doing a lot of celebrating! 

I think about how different my life would be if each of these people in my life would not have been born....how much love and joy I would have missed out on!! 

Love this song by "Point of Grace" that reminds us all that we need to live each day as a blessing and gift from God...

It's not who you knew; it's not what you did; 

"It's How You Live" 

Thank You Jesus, for birthdays!

Linking over to these blog hops:
The Weekend Brew @ My Freshly Brewed Life

Spiritual Sundays Blog Hop

Still Saturday Blog Hop

Make My Saturday Sweet @ Amandas Books and More

The Sunday Community @ Jumping Tandem

 Monday's Musings @ What Joy Is Min
Sunday Stillness @ He Cares For You 
Sharing His Beauty @ The Beauty in His Grip