Here are some of the things I have learned in these last 29 years.
1. Let your feelings ride along, but not drive
2. Don’t settle for less than God’s best for you
3. Holding things/people with open hands is the best way tolive (letting God put or remove who/what He pleases)
4. Not everyone is meant to stick with you in the fire
5. You can learn so much about the Creator by His creation
6. Don't put limits on God's redemptive power
7. One encounter with the living God can change EVERYTHING
8. You will always have regrets, but often we don't regretshowing other's love so be extravagant with how you show it
9. You can truly tell who someone is by their fruit
10. Journaling is one of the best ways to collect evidenceof how God is moving and working - writing down what He says and what He has done
11. It is okay to cry - it is not a sign of weakness
12. Words truly have the power to bring life or death – beintentional about how you use yours
13. You get to create the environment you live in – prayer,plants, twinkle lights – truly changes everything
14. You can't force someone care about you - it must be achoice they make
15. All you sometimes need is 8 minutes of attention from aclose friend to know that you’re not alone
16. Not everyone will like you or like what you like. Don’tlet it discourage you.
17. Don’t let other’s voices (opinions) be louder than God’svoice in your life
18. Don’t ever stop learning, there is always more ways togrow - be a student of life
19. There’s more to everyone’s stories than what you can seeinitially, be slow to make judgements on someone and their character
20. Discipline isn’t doing something when you feel like it,it’s doing it still consistently when you would rather do anything else
21. Praise is a weapon and we must use it – praise Him forthings you can’t see yet
22. Don’t disqualify yourself from things just because ofyour past or feeling of inadequacies. Anything is possible with God
23. The decisions you make today will shape the person youwill be tomorrow. Every yes and no matters
24. Be intentional about who gets what information aboutyour life. Not every person in your world is meant to know everything.
25. You can do things scared, it doesn’t mean they’re wrong.But be intentional about being led by peace. If you don’t have peace in yourSpirit, maybe don’t do it
26. The world would be a much better place if we all werequicker to listen and slower to speak
27. Don’t let your past trauma keep you from the joy of thepresent. It is a process that needs to be worked through and there are layers, but understand it might feel like you are going in circles but you are still going higher up the mountain. You are not defined by your past. It does have effects on you but it doesn’t get the final say and doesn’t get to define you.
28. People will hurt you, it is inevitable. But if you buildup walls around your heart, you not only shield yourself from pain but you also keep yourself from joy as well. The right people will own their mistakes and flaws and are worth fighting for
29. When God has you wait, it is not punishment, it is preparation – you can’t see what He is doing but I promise it is worth it
30. Pull off on the side of the road and watch the sunset,stop and smell the flowers, slow down, life goes by too fast – tell the people you care about how much they matter to you – make the call – write the note – send the text – life is so short and our culture is so depressed. We need each other and reminders that we are not alone
