As I approach the 16th anniversary of my 29th birthday I have been pondering some of the lessons that I have learned over the years. Some of these lessons I learned in life’s classroom, while others required a fieldtrip to God’s woodshed. Some of them may sound ridiculous to you, but make perfect sense to me and for that, I apologize. Nonetheless, I thought I would share them with you in no particular order. I hope you find something in this list to encourage you or to learn from.
1. Just because you have a handicap does not mean that you are handicapped.
2. Choose carefully which hills you die on. Not all battles are worth the fight.
3. Development and maintenance of a dynamic relationship with Jesus CANNOT be accomplished outside of indepth Bible study and concentrated prayer.
4. Protecting one’s purity and holiness is severely underrated and inadequately discussed not only by the mainstream media, but also by today’s church.
5. Men thrive on respect. Obviously God had a reason for instructing wives to respect their husbands!!
6. Listen more than you talk. (I’m still working on this one!!)
7. Dressing and acting modestly NEVER go out of style.
8. When I cannot trace God’s hand, I can always trust His heart. Always.
9. Learning to say ‘No’ can protect one from a lot of things.
10. Jesus is the only friend who will NEVER, NEVER abandon me.
11. God really does not need my input in order to run the universe.
12. Persevere.
13. Be honest—in all things—but do it with love.
14. Before you criticize another person remember that you probably have no idea what road they have walked in the past.
15. Jesus loves me, this I know.
16. God is faithful even when I am not.
17. My character is far more important than my reputation.
18. You cannot make your candle burn brighter by blowing out someone else’s candle.
19. Live a see-through life. Whatever we cover, God will uncover; but whatever we uncover, God will cover.
20. Laugh often. Laugh at yourself often.
21. Develop a few very deep, Christ-centered friendships.
22. Be generous. You can’t take it with you when you die.
23. The human body was never intended to look 25 years old forever.
24. The way UP is DOWN.
25. There is nothing in life that is worth sacrificing your character and integrity.
