Seize the Day: Make a Bucket List

Do you have a Bucket List?  You know, a is a list of things you'd like to do before you "kick the bucket". 


Seize the Day - Make a Bucket List

A Bucket List is more than just some ideas in your head or thoughts like, "Hey that would be cool to do some day".  The idea of a Bucket List is to actually have a written list of things you'd like to do before you die.  You have to write them down so that you constantly see them before you and therefore (hopefully) you are more likely to actually take steps towards accomplishing some of those amazing things you'd like to do with your life.

A Bucket List is a way to help remind you to live life to the fullest or "Seize the Day".  The dearly beloved Robin Williams explains this so well in this video clip from the movie Dead Poet's Society:



So what goes on a Bucket List?  Think of places you'd like to travel, meet a famous person, learn a new language, accomplish a goal in your current sport or hobby, or take on a new activity.  Anything that you've ever thought would be a cool thing to do should go on your Bucket List.

Last week I was inspired by a friend of mine who wrote down her own Bucket List.  I decided to actually write down my list and at first I couldn't come up with anything at all.  I feel very blessed in my life and typically don't want for much.  But once I started brainstorming a few ideas, the list just kept growing.  I imagine a Bucket List is a living list that will grow and change as I move through this life.  For now, here's the list I scribbled down as the ideas came to me so they are in no particular order.

My Bucket List (2014)
  1. Watch my two children get baptized.
  2. Visit all 50 states.
  3. Learn how to sew. - completed at a basic level, always more to learn
  4. Homeschool my children through graduation. - in progress
  5. Learn how to use power tools.
  6. Pass the ham radio Technician exam. - completed Sept 2014
  7. Get my Concealed Handgun License. -  completed October 2014
  8. Get down to a size 10. 
  9. Go on a second honeymoon.
  10. Raise chickens. - completed 2017
  11. Write and publish a book.
  12. Learn how to can food. - completed but still more to learn
  13. Drive Route 66.
  14. Grow a garden that actually feeds my family.
  15. Make a significant impact in the life of a child outside our home.
  16. Own some Sacred Frankincense (Boswellia sacra) essential oil. - completed 
  17. Go on a mission trip.
  18. Join the Daughters of the American Revolution.
  19. Complete my genealogy research on all of my ancestral lines back to when their family first arrived in America.
  20. Find the parents of Thomas Owen, born: 19 November 1809 in either Georgia or South Carolina; married Nancy Weldon on 29 November 1840 in Pike County, Georgia; died: 24 September 1876 in Three Creeks, Union County, Arkansas.
  21. Make a bowl on a pottery wheel.
  22. Have a library in my house. - completed
  23. Take the kids on an off road trail in Bluebell (our Jeep).
  24. Learn how to clean my gun.
  25. Make something cool on a lathe.
  26. Take a cruise.
  27. Hike in the Grand Canyon.
  28. Learn American Sign Language.
  29. Learn how to read Braiile.
  30. Take piano lessons (again).
  31. Visit the Holy Lands.
  32. Take a family trip with my family including my parents and brother.
  33. Invent and patent a great product.
  34. Win more than $100 in a lottery.
  35. Read all the books on my shelves.
  36. Spend a day just sketching with a sketch pad, pencils, and maybe charcoal.
  37. Start up my soap making business again.
  38. Take painting classes.
  39. Be debt free.
  40. Read the entire Bible from cover to cover.
  41. Compete in an archery tournament.
  42. Play with my kids at Disneyworld.
  43. Learn about different kinds of wine.
  44. Visit early American landmarks like Plymouth Rock, Independence Hall, and all the historic sites in Washington D.C. with my family
  45. Go to a play or symphony performance with my mom
  46. Go to an LSU game with my Dad - completed
Life on this Earth is brief and we need to make the most of the time that God has blessed us with.  There is a quote from the movie Braveheart that always speaks to me..."Every man dies...not every man truly lives".

Now grab a pen and some paper and start writing your own Bucket List!

1 comment:

  1. I think to see Paris would be high up on mine.
    And I need to learn to clean my gun, too. Saves money from having to pay someone to do it!

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