Thursday, December 31, 2009

MMX Resolutions

2010 Resolutions

- Take every opportunity I can to serve God and the people around me

-Actually get to know people. Talk to them and learn where they came from and have more faith in them. Become a dream initiator and help them become who they were created to be. Be more Christ-like

- I want to always be reading at least one book of my choice even though I may be required to read others. I also want to always have something that I am in the process of writing at a time.

- Stay in running shape regardless of where I am in the world and run more than the occasional race.

- Never forget that God is my destination not my means of transportation

- Start asking for advice instead of trying to figure it out myself. Have faith that other people can speak into my life too

- Continue learning languages and put them to use

- Learn how to tie a tie

- Perfect my public speaking

- Leave Stockbridge High different than when I arrived

- Thank everyone who has gotten me to where I am going

Sunday, December 6, 2009

What it has taken me 17 years to learn

So tomorrow is my 18th birthday and I have been thinking a lot about what my childhood has taught me, since as of midnight tonight I will be entering the world of legal adulthood. Wow that is a scary thought- I feel too young to be this old. Nevertheless here is some wisdom that has taken me 17 years to acquire.

☺ Life should never be spent in preparation for something else; eventually you will forget what you were preparing for and realize you haven’t ever done anything.
☺ People will believe anything you say if you believe it first.
☺ Snorting a Jumbo Pixie Stick isn’t worth the thrill of sneezing in different colors.
☺ If a guy’s happiness depends solely on a girl then his emotions will hitch a ride with her on the crazy roller coaster that she has always been on. Every sensible guy knows that’s not a good idea.
☺ Winning an argument doesn’t provide as much satisfaction as you might think.
☺ Living like there is no tomorrow is great until tomorrow keeps coming and bums you out. Instead live because you are guaranteed a tomorrow (whether on Earth or in Heaven) and it will be better than today.
☺ Music doesn’t have an expiration date.
☺ Always trying to figure out the best possible way to live life is no way to actually live it. Knowing the temperature and depth of the pool is nothing like jumping in and experiencing it.
☺ Don’t let life actually be like a box of chocolates; expensive and only worth it for the couple pieces you like.
☺ Lice shampoo can kill you. Seriously.
☺ Bad handwriting means your teachers don’t know how bad of a speller you are.
☺ If you start making fun of yourself to get other people to laugh eventually you will believe you own jokes and they won’t be so funny anymore.
☺ Every time someone says that it is impossible to lick your own elbow not only does everyone in the room try but at least one of them can actually do it.
☺ Hurt people hurt people continually.
☺ Too much is sacrificed for the sake of humor. The pain it can cause to someone long outlives the happiness it may bring to someone else.
☺ Knowing everything is cool if you aren’t a know-it-all.
☺ God is not a revelation or an emotional experience. He is there when you are up all night writing that thing you can’t get out of your head and He is there when you couldn’t think of anything worthwhile if you tried. He is there when you feel nothing.
☺ Don’t ever care what people think of you unless they think you are an obnoxious jerk. If people think that then you probably are one and should fix it.
☺ The place that provides me with the most discomfort is probably the place where I am supposed to be.
☺ The amount of friends you have has nothing to do with how lonely you can be.
☺ You are never the smartest person you know.
☺ Even Jesus needed friends.
☺ I don’t have to have figured God out to do what He says. If all of creation is simply a chess game between good and evil then I am ok knowing I am just a pawn.
☺ Everyone is socially awkward and insecure about something. Those better at hiding it are usually the ones hurting the most.
☺ Effectiveness is gained more by what you don’t do as oppose to what you do but this should never be an excuse to not do anything. No one has ever gotten saved because I didn’t cheat off their test.
☺ Once we understand that we are all products of our own generation we can move past all those silly fads and nuances in people and start seeing the big picture.
☺ Nothing in the whole world is as satisfying as a relationship with God.
☺ Let God be your destination and not simply your means of transportation.
☺ God is bigger than anything I could ever imagine and so is His plan for me.