.#30 - epic birthday bash!!!!!

i turned 30. about two months ago was the big day. for years i’ve been dreading it - not wanting it to be here, pushing it out of my mind and out of my conversations, as far away as possible. and then about a year ago i read a book that changed me. probably forever. i read donald miller’s “a million miles in a thousand years.” life changing? really bree? yes, and here’s why.

before reading this book i would say things like, “i LOVE going horseback riding” or “i really want to give away 10% more of my income” or “ya, i’d totally do the 10k mudrun with you.” i said all of those things but wasn’t living them. this book pushed me out from the saying and reading and dreaming into the living. out of this birthed the “30 before 30 list.” this book and this way of living for a year also made me view my 30th birthday differently. i started thinking that maybe it’s not so bad. maybe all my friends in their early to mid 30’s aren’t crazy after all and it really is better than your 20’s in some ways. and maybe, just maybe life itself was worth celebrating in an epic way instead of feeling sorry for myself.

and epic it was. 30 people plus myself boarded a boat in long beach on the 30th of october to celebrate my 30th birthday. ridiculous. we had a theme for each night, i had t-shirts printed up and it was an a-list cast. some best friends from all the way back in junior high, my entire immediate family, my college roommate, my orange county roommates, my current roommate, my boyfriend and all of his roommates, friends i worked at church with, a friend who somehow always ends up on epic adventures with me, the santa barbara crew and some orange county hooligans. honestly, i can’t tell you how blessed i am by the people who were willing to take off work and pay to come play for my birthday. my heart overflows with thankfulness.



from waterslides to sushi bars, from champion hairy-chest contest winners to the champion of the blackjack tournament, from friends that snuck tequila on from mexico to friends that wore red lipstick just for me, from a blowhole in mexico to hole in the wall cantinas, we lived it up. we danced late into the night, ate multiple meals per day, laughed harder than i had in a long time and just loved being together. it was the perfect way to depart my 20’s. literally perfect. what i am learning from donald miller and his life and writings is this: life is meant to be lived - at any age, at every moment. we honor God with the way we choose to live our lives in each given season and dang it, i have the freedom and flexibility to do so much right now, so i’m committed to it.


i did the mud run, i went horseback riding, i gave 10% more, i spent 3 days in solitude with Jesus, i booked my next epic international adventure. and i did almost all 30 things. i did things that scare me and things that make me tick. i did things that weren’t possible and things i’ve always said i wanted to do. and i “cruised” into this next decade in the best way i could think of - spending 3 days with some of the people i love the most, celebrating, laughing, remembering and creating new memories. and i loved every stinkin’ minute of it. moving forward is no longer scary, it’s just the next adventure in this crazy thing called life. i believe that God’s got me in the palm of his hand and that he directs my every step - my job is to be obedient and to live by faith, so let’s do this thing. next up? 40 before 40 (with 10 years to accomplish it this time)!