I love August because it’s birthday time around our house. Brian and I both celebrate our birthdays at the beginning of August. It seems Brian could not care less about his birthday, but not me. I LOVE birthdays! I love the hoopla with family, the balloons, the cake, the bright napkins... I love all of it.

One would think that the older one gets the less likely they are to want to celebrate their many, many years on earth. Not me. I realize I am getting older, but aren’t we all? I figure it’s better to worry about the impact we can have on the world around us rather than the new grey hairs or the obviously deeper laugh lines.

This year we have another August celebration. Our son Tyler is getting married! Laura and Tyler will be married at Amberlea on August 10th. And in years to come, in August, along with birthdays we will celebrate an anniversary.

I was reading 1 Samuel 7:1-17 and it struck me, in the context of anniversaries, birthdays and growing older, that Samuel served God all his life (verse 16). He was dedicated to serving God from a very young age and continued to serve God all his life. For Samuel, serving God was a life long task.

The same could be true for us.

It doesn’t matter how young or old you are, whether you are celebrating your 4th birthday or your 84th, God created you and God can use you.

The same is true for anniversaries, just married or married for 60 years - together you can make an impact.

I believe that God has blessed you with incredible gifts and skills and when you use those gifts to His glory you can have a powerful impact on the people in your midst.

Year after year…. God can use us.

So let’s celebrate! Sure birthdays and anniversaries signify the passage of time but they can also signify another year of serving and loving God -- another year of being a witness to Christ in the world.