39 Things

39 Things I've Learned (or at least should have learned) in 39 Years

Listen here.

1. I have learned that when I was younger I thought I knew everything, but I didn't. The older I get, the less I know. I can’t wait to see what God is going to teach me each day.
2. I have learned that life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
3. I have learned that love is not an adjective; it is a verb.
4. I have learned that humor is not the opposite of seriousness; humor is the opposite of despair.
5. I have learned that the marriage relationship is the most important human relationship that I have.
6. I have learned that ready, fire, aim is usually a whole lot better than ready, aim, fire.
7. I have learned that contentment is a whole lot better than happiness.
8. I have learned that money is not the key to contentment.
9. I have learned that forgiveness is the key to contentment. Forgiving and living is better than remembering and resenting.
10. I have learned that our life always expresses our dominant thoughts. It’s kind of like this: our thoughts become our words which become our actions which become our habits which become our character which becomes our destiny.
11. I have learned to learn from my mistakes. Or at least I should have picked up on this by now.
12. I have learned that if life hands you lemons make lemonade.
13. I have learned that the journey of the thousand miles begins with a single step.
14. I have learned that you’ll never be able to tell someone how much they mean to you once they’re gone. If you love somebody tell them today.
15. I have learned that big dreams lead to a big life. What are you dreaming about?
16. I have learned that life is most livable and most enjoyable in the company of others.
17. I have learned about the joy of Christ's love: From the outside looking in, it's hard to understand. From the inside looking out, it's hard to explain.
18. I have learned that the function of prayer is not necessarily to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.
19. I have learned one of the most important things I can do is encourage others.
20. I have learned that time is God’s gift to us and what we do with time is our gift to God. Manage your time or your time will manage you.
21. I have learned that I should love others unconditionally as my dog loves me.
22. I have learned that the end is not death; the end is life.
23. I have learned that laughter from a child is precious and priceless. And I have learned that laughter from an adult is almost as precious and almost as priceless.
24. I have learned that to risk is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to risk is to lose oneself. What are you risking?
25. I have learned that we can’t change much of what happens in life. We can only change our reaction to the world around us. Pain in life is inevitable; suffering is optional.
26. I have learned that we can’t change most of the people around us. We can only change our reaction to those people.
27. I have learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other and just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do love each other.
28. I have learned to run my own race.
29. I have learned that it’s alright to be angry but never to be cruel.
30. I have learned that the people I admire the most are the people who are the most humble. Humility is the ability to see that you and everybody else are fully human and fully a child of God. It is thinking of yourself and all others in pretty much the same way.
31. I have learned not to forget to love myself.
32. I have learned that God makes saints out of sinners. God has always been and will always be in the business of changing lives. Few things in life are as beautiful as a changed life.
33. I have learned that I am closest to God and my life makes most sense when I read the Bible daily.
34. I have learned that we look most like Jesus when we serve others.
35. I have learned that life is best when I find time to rest in God’s love and simply find time to be still in God’s presence.
36. I have learned to live life to the fullest because I don’t know when life is going to end.
37. I have learned that life is not a destination, but a journey.
38. I have learned that I would rather fail as pastor than fail as a father.
39. I have learned that God loves me.