45 life lessons and 5 to grow on!

I read this article on The Plain Dealer and thought you might enjoy it too. There are a lot of wonderful truths found in these 50 lessons. You may not agree with them all, but we sure can learn a lot from them!

Regina Brett's 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on
by Regina Brett
Sunday May 28, 2006, 10:13 AM
To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Good things to ponder! Some of these sound cheesy but really if we would apply some of the wisdom found in here our lives would be better for it.

Blessings,

Pastor Willy

Do You Really Know Yourself?

Did you know…

1. If all 600 muscles in your body pulled in one direction, you could lift 25 tons.
2. More than half of your body’s 206 bones are in your hands and feet.
3. Your eyes can distinguish nearly 8,000,000 differences in colors.
4. Your digestive tract is 30 feet long.
5. One cubic inch of bone can withstand a 2-ton force.
6. Your ears can discriminate among more than 300,000 tones.
7. The surface area of your lungs is 20 times greater than the surface area of your skin.
8. Your heart pumps more than 2,000 gallons of blood every day.
9. There are 1,300 nerve endings per square inch in your fingertips. The only parts of your body more sensitive to the touch are the lips, the tongue, and the tip of your nose.
10. Every day, blinking causes the eyes to be closed for a half hour.
11. In an average lifetime, the hair on your head grows about 25 feet.
12. The human skull is made up of 29 different bones.

You are an amazing creation, made in the image of God!

Now I don’t know about you, but for me it can be easy to take this life for granted. It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself with others and feeling like you’re just not that great. But you are!!

Aside from knowing God, the best part of my life is my family. Nothing else even comes close to bringing me as much joy and happiness as being a part of family. It is hard for me to describe to you the utter euphoria of having my boys randomly look at me and say, “daddy, I love you” or “daddy, you’re the bestest daddy in the whole world”.

There is nothing as comforting as a wife that I have complete trust in; that loves me and our boys; a wife who is an example of godliness to everyone.
It is a beautiful thing to me to be a part of a family that is there for you and loves you, warts and all.

Even though I may not be famous or have a boat-load of cash, even though I will probably not be asked any time soon to be a stand-in for Brad Pit, I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone else’s!

God created me to be me and He created you to be you.

I want to encourage you today to take some time and look over your life and give God thanks for all the blessings that He has given you.
Remember, God loves you more than you love anyone on this earth! He is especially fond of you and is pleased with you. You can’t earn His love or approval, He loves you!

Zephaniah 3:17 (Amplified Bible)
17The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult [dance, spin, twirl] over you with singing.


Part of the family,

Pastor Willy

Star Trek

I recently enjoyed the new Star Trek movie out at Bridgeport Village at the IMAX Theater. WOW! What a great movie, tons of action. Now let me just say that I am in no way pretending to be some kind of trekky, but even I, a mere laymen in the world of Vulcans, Klingons and space travel galore have to admit that the Star Trek franchise has truly reinvented itself.

I got to thinking about this a little bit and it reminded me of the church… not that we are all going to travel at light speed any time soon, but the fact that the package has changed, not the story.

The church must reinvent how we package ourselves to be culturally relevant and attractive. The gospel never changes but the music should! The message should never be updated, but our style and methods have to be understandable to the culture that we find ourselves in.

It was really cool for me to learn some of the “back story” to Star Trek and I was very impressed how authentic they kept it. Tasteful use of some of the classic phrases that have become part of our culture, “Beam me up Scotty”, “I’m a doctor Jim” and “I’m giving her all she’s got” along with a few other well placed gems.
In a lot the same way I think that folks who come to our church are hungry to hear this life saving message that we all know by heart, they just want it in a way that they can understand!

Southside is a unique church in that we have the ability to reach folks in a non-traditional setting using non-traditional means. We can blow up a bottle of Diet Coke and we won’t even get in trouble for it!

One thing that never changes is how God has designed His church to work. Evangelism. The responsibility and the privilege rests on each of us. The same method that has been used for the last couple thousand years of reaching our neighbors with our personal story is still the best method today.

It just takes some men and women who are willing to tell their story. The audience is there… are you ready to tell them the one story that will lead them to their lives being transformed and their future with God coming to life?

Live long and prosper!

Pastor Willy