I love birthdays! Yesterday was my special day. Some people don’t celebrate birthdays and say it’s just one more day or hate getting old. But I disagree. Your birthday is special. It’s the day God chose for you to be born into this world. And it’s the day we get to celebrate YOU! We get to tell you how loved you are, how much we care about you, and get to wish good things upon your life.
I celebrate my birthday because I celebrate one more year of my life, one more year that I got to be with my family, with all my friends, and simply enjoy being alive!
It doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to remember the good things in our lives. I also don’t like getting old, but on the positive side, I don’t mind the years of life experience that I attain with each passing year. I take care of my body and health to the best of my ability, and I leave the rest to God to take care of me. And when I have a bad year (because we can all have those), then I celebrate that it’s over, and now I can look forward to a new year in my life.
Yesterday, all of the thoughts, good wishes, prayers, and blessings sent my way made me feel so special. I truly enjoyed being remembered, and I appreciated each message. I don’t visit Facebook every day because it can be a distraction from my work. However, I do check my notifications almost daily to ensure I don’t miss anyone’s birthday. I always like to send at least those two words, “Happy Birthday!” I may have missed a few in the past, but I try to wish all my friends a happy day on their special day.
I was pondering on this concept of wishing our loved ones well and telling them how much we love them. I asked myself, Why do we only say those things to our friends and family on their birthday? Why is it that we usually only reach out to others when we hear they’re not doing well? Why not reach out just because? When our friends and family are healthy and happy? Why not take advantage of life and enjoy our relationships every day? That’s why whenever I think of someone or feel the urge to pray for that person, I send them a short text, email, or sometimes even a voice mail. Those unexpected messages go such a long way to the person receiving it. You mean, getting a love message out of the blue, just because? Wow! We’re not used to getting those. We’re all too busy and disregard those little nudges that I believe is God telling us to reach out.
Yesterday, I got messages from my friends from Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Kenya, Armenia, Mexico, Philippines, and of course, from many different states in the U.S. I loved it! With technology these days, there is really no excuse to not stay connected with the people we love and appreciate.
Today, I encourage you to reach out. Stay connected with the people you love. Reach out—in the good times—when you can still enjoy life together. Enjoy each relationship and thank God for it, for each friend is a gift from God to YOU!
Happy birthday, everyone! Every day is your special day in my calendar!
Marcia Malzahn (Marci) was born in Nicaragua, Central America. In 1979 she left Nicaragua due to a revolution and moved to the Dominican Republic and lived there for seven years. Marcia moved to Minnesota in 1986 and started a career in banking with Marquette Banks that continued for the next thirteen years in the areas of Cash Management, Private Banking, and Retail Banking. In 1995 Marcia became the first Online Banking Specialist in the Twin Cities.
In 1999, she moved to the IT field and started working for Living Word Christian Center (LWCC), a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. At LWCC, she held the positions of Y2K Project Manager, Director of IT, Associate in charge of Finance, Human Resources and IT, and was Corporate Assistant Secretary of the Board. She managed a budget of $31.5MM and 28 employees.
In January 2005, Marcia moved back to the banking field and helped start a new bank in Edina, MN, Tradition Capital Bank, now at over $400 million in assets. From 2005 to 2013, Marcia was the Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer of the bank. In January, 2014, Marcia’s role changed to EVP/COO and was promoted to Chief Risk Officer. Marcia was also the Corporate Secretary of the bank’s Board and of the holding company’s Board.
In October 2014, Marcia started her own bank consulting firm, Malzahn Strategic, focusing on Strategic Planning, Enterprise Risk Management, and Talent Management for community banks. Marcia is also a public speaker and speaks on motivational/inspirational/leadership topics as well as banking topics such as Enterprise Risk Management. She holds an Associates of Arts degree from North Hennepin Community College and graduated with a B.A. in Business Management from Bethel University. Marcia also graduated from the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, WI.
Marcia is involved in the community. She was a member of Financial Women International for sixteen years and held several board positions including president of the local group and of the District. She is a member of the Minnesota Women Economic Roundtable and served as treasurer for two years. Marcia is also chair of the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities. Marcia has also volunteered in other organizations including Matter, Pulse Movement, Opportunity International, Way to Grow, Feed My Starving Children, HopeKids, Meals on Wheels, and Farmers Market Youth Project.
Marcia was the recipient of many awards including:
• 25 On The Rise award given by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in December, 2005.
• Forty Under 40 award given by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal in May, 2006
• Virginia D. H. Furman Outstanding Woman of the Year award from Financial Women International in September, 2006
• Top Women in Finance award from Finance and Commerce Newspaper in November, 2008
• Outstanding Women in Banking award given by the North Western Financial Review magazine in November, 2009
Marcia is the author of her book Devotions for Working Women – A Daily Inspiration to Live a Successful and Balanced Life published in 2006. Marcia published her second book The Fire Within – Connect Your Gifts with Your Calling in October 2015. Marcia and her husband Tim live in Minnesota and have two children: Nicole and Patrick. Marcia enjoys spending time with her family, working out, singing, writing, and public speaking.
