Plans To Work It Right
When I graduated in 2012, a friend of mine gave me a small blue book with a blue, elastic band. Inside on the first page, read the simple word: "Plans." Plans, I thought. What plans? My favorite quote outside the Scriptures is a quote by comedian Joe E. Lewis: "You only live once, but if you twerk it right, once is enough." So beneath the word "Plans," I added, "...to work it right." In the Blue Book, I've written all sorts of things. Things I've learned over the years, serious or jocular. Qualities I want in a woman. An almost embarrassing bucket list. Favorite Bible verses. But the majority is of the first category: things I've learned over the years. So here is the continually growing list of things I've learned in my short time on earth.
1) Always go by the Bible to whatever end.
2) Meditate on God's Word daily.
3) Constantly evaluate the best use of your time.
4) There is no substitute for a good night's sleep.
5) Never assume.
6) Many secrets grow evil in the darkness.
7) Remember why you live and Whom you should live for.
8) Your deathbed nears with every passing day. How do you want to remember your life? How do you want others to remember your life?
9) To me, there's a difference between a dream and a vision. Dreams should be completely offered to God's will. Visions should already be God's will for your life. [in hindsight: not quite sure where that was headed]
10) No amount of pain compares to Christ's suffering.
11) All people have weaknesses. All people have sins. Only some overcome it. Where do you stand?
12) Often, glory can only be won with some amount of pain.
13) Jesus should never be a last resort.
14) Don't eat spicy foods before a good day of work in the sun.
15) Expectations are made to be broken. Raise the bar.
16) Never miss a good laugh.
17) Do not disrespect the dead for being dead.
18) Share the Gospel when the Spirit leads. If you "feel led," go with it.
19) Every now and then, it's better to give up than to chase something that has clearly escaped you.
20) Don't insult Lord of the Rings.
21) Never test your physical limits if you have nothing to gain or if it has no cause. If you're going to get hurt, there should be a good reason.
22) Revenge is a dish best served by a third party when you aren't watching.
23) Don't trust your gut over a map. Unless your gut wants food. Then trust your gut.
24) Be ready for anything, but don't end up being a hoarder.
25) Repent. You know you're frequently wrong.
26) "He Who knew no sin became sin for us." He sacrificed His life. What should I be willing to lose for Him? [in hindsight: my views on this have changed since reading Future Grace by John Piper. Such attitudes must present a proper sense of gratitude, not a demeaning one]
27) "One who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien
28) Always look for opportunities to heal the hurts of others.
29) Don't start something you can't complete.
30) If you think you're being watched, you probably are.
31) Forgiveness starts in your heart, not when they apologize.
32) Plans are good, but so is the spur-of-the-moment idea.
33) Never douse a harmonica with water.
34) Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there.
35) Depression is usually more like a bad attitude.
36) Being wronged isn't always a reason to wrong someone too.
37) No matter how kind you are, someone's always going to hate you.
38) Deception is an addictive drug. [added later:] So is hatred.
39) Your actions affect more than one person.
40) Always remember the stereotype Christian that the lost have.
41) Be aware of who's around you.
42) The best counters to wrong thinking is God's laws and statutes and promises.
43) Never mistake an emotional high for a calling.
44) Your parents can be wrong, but they always have you in mind.
45) Admit that you will never be perfect, but don't use that as an excuse.
46) Rain falls on the chosen too.
47) Make sure to pause once and a while and look back at what you've done.
48) "It is better to have our corruptions mortified by the rebuke of the wise, than to have them gratified by the songs of fools." ~ Matthew Henry
49) Removing yourself from temptation is the best and quickest safeguard against sin.
50) A desire to sin displays lack of satisfaction in God, His character, and His love.
51) Love is the evidence of a surrendered life. Frustration is the evidence of a wrong agenda.
52) There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning... literally. The presence of rest and sunshine is itself a calming agent.
53) "The shadow proves the sunshine." ~ Switchfoot
54) "Sometimes it takes a good fall to know where you really stand." ~ Hayley Williams
55) You can never too thoroughly dissect your own motives.
56) Never forget how quickly it could all end.
57) "The opposite of joy is not suffering. It's despair in suffering." ~ John Piper
58) The people who break their backs in work prove they had a backbone to break in the first place.
59) Faith carries the currents of love and obedience better than gratitude.
60) Why do you love Jesus?
61) Don't hurt yourself. There's enough pain in the world to go around.
62) The more you give your best, the better your best will get.
63) "He who loves not, lives not; he who lives by the Life cannot die." ~ Raymond Lull
I love this. What a great idea!
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