Sunday 18th
May marked my 25th birthday so I thought I would share 25 things I
have learnt in 25 years – probably one of my longest posts to date but in no
particular order here they are;
1) Money isn’t everything but it is something – Money
definitely isn’t the be all and end all but if you have it, it pays to use it
wisely. I’m learning to be a better steward of my money by budgeting, avoiding
debt, making a clear distinction between my wants and my needs, saving, tithing
and being a more conscious spender.
3) Social Media has a dark side – I am definitely not against social media, I love the many things it offers e.g. blogs J. I have, however, learnt about the dark side of social media - you know, the endless hours trolling on different social media profiles and comparing your life to what you are seeing and becoming discontent. This has made me assess my own motivates when posting pictures, statuses and comments – “what kind of life am I really trying to portray?” Also if someone’s profile is becoming a distraction (no fault of their own) I need to be prepared to click that hide, block, delete, unfriend or block button.
4) I'm not happy being single, I'm happy… period – I think I’ll save the explanation of this amazing lesson for another blog post J
5) Our thoughts follows our words – Have you ever been praying for God to help you overcome a certain habit, thought or vice and when you have finished your prayer you find yourself thinking about the very thing you’re trying to overcome? I’ve learnt that instead of saying things like “help me God to stop lying, cheating and stealing” say things like “Help me God to be honest, pure in heart, giving, loving”. Your brain is hearing all these positive words and this will have an impact on your thoughts.
6) Aim high and spare no pains to reach the standard – Not many things
in this life come easy, the things that are worth having often come at a cost
and require hard work, sacrifice, patience and sometimes even pain. Don’t shun
the process though it may seem difficult, keep striving towards the end goal, in
retrospect the journey will prove to be a blessing when you finally reach that
finish line.
7) True love is a high and holy principle, altogether different in
character from that love which is awakened by impulse, and which suddenly dies
when severely tested. – Simply put love is not a feeling but a principle (1
Corinthians 13) it stands strong and reminds consistent in all situations.
8) Get to know your friends well, it could save your friendships –
Sometimes we place quite demanding expectations on our friends and when they
fail to meet them it can cause such a separation. I’m learning not to just end
friendships but to rather re-evaluate them,
for example if you know your friend likes to gossip then choose not to
tell them things about yourself and others, if you have a friend who is quite
blunt and outspoken choose not to take it personally or if you have a friend
who you know is quite sensitive and easily offended don’t get frustrated just
choose your words and your tone carefully.
9) Though I sometimes find it difficult to have faith, faith is actually a
really simple concept - God’s word has creative power, when He speaks it
happens and that’s it. When we exercise faith we totally depend on and trust in
God’s word – He has said it therefore it shall be regardless of the
circumstances or improbabilities. I’m learning that to cultivate faith is to
take God at His word only.
10) Don’t be afraid to build bridges - This year I’ve seen the
importance of building bridges with those I interact with often e.g. Neighbours, landlords, work colleagues,
mobile phone service providers etc. For example my neighbours, I try to be kind and courteous towards them
and to respect their peace and privacy and as a result they help me out a lot:
They check on me if they haven’t seen me for a while, look after my parcels
when the postman comes and I’m not at home
and sometimes pick me up from the coach station when I’ve come back from
travelling. This all may sound like I’m doing this for my own gain but as a part
of building bridges I also have a duty to help them however possible.
11) True beauty is found in the character but looks are important too –
When considering a potential spouse I’ve learnt their character traits should
be the deciding factor but not to the neglect of looks. We all have different
personalities, likes, dislikes etc. These shouldn’t be completely ignored but
should be carefully considered when looking at their character. At the same
time I’ve seen that a decision shouldn’t be purely based on looks as people’s
physical appearances changes over time.
12) Optimal health is not only found in good nutrition – Good health
isn’t only found in good food or the perfect diet; other factors should be considered such as
daily exercise, pure fresh air, lots of water, plenty of rest, temperance,
sunlight and also trusting in God as He is the very source of life. Even if I
have the best diet if I neglect any of these other things I won’t be in optimal
health.
13) Not all counsel is Godly counsel I have been told many things over
the years but I’ve learnt that all counsel has to be measured up to the bible.
I remember when my friends with great love and concern told me that I will
never find someone living in Wales and I need to travel around more and go to
different churches and look for people my age (the congregation at the church I
attend regularly comprises of mainly married people and little children). I
almost ran with that advice until I remembered that it wasn’t biblical - God doesn’t
want me to find “somebody”, He wants to give
me the person who He has purposed for me and He will do this for me regardless
of where I live and the places I go. Look at Rebekah in the bible one day she
is at the well and the next she is on her way to meet her husband to be Isaac (Genesis 24)
14) Don’t get involved in office politics – The workplace can be a
serious political arena, I’m learning not to get involved in any workplace
scandals or gossip. The best thing is to be neutral (don’t take sides, don’t
comment on any situations or add fuel to the fire) and just get on with the
work; because essentially that’s the reason why I am there - to work!
15) Anything worth doing is worth doing well I want to do big things in this life, but I
often ask myself “Am I faithful in the little things?” like cleaning up after
myself, following simple instructions, seeing a need and catering for it
without being asked? These little tasks as menial as they may feel, are of a
high value as they teach us and prepare us for greater responsibilities. Let’s
make every task count and give all things our best effort.
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| My 22nd Birthday |
16) It’s all about me! Really? Yes! In every situation you have to look
at yourself and evaluate your actions, responses, words and feelings. If I have
a disagreement with someone, I’m learning to not look at the other person and
what they did but to look at my role in the situation – what did I do? How am I
responding to this situation? What could I have done to avoid this situation?
Even if you are clearly not in the wrong, you need to take responsibility for
your own actions – why? Every situation, whatever it may be, is developing your
character and it’s only you who has control over your words, actions, responses
etc.
17) Human rights/religious liberty isn’t that straight forward – I’ve
read a few news articles that have shown me just how much we are at the mercy of those who
give us these rights and liberties; meaning that they can be taken away from us
without prior warning or explanation. I have also seen that the exercise of one’s
rights or freedom of expression is only valid if it conforms to what society
deems as acceptable. Let us therefore seek liberty in Christ – freedom from
sin, power to do the right, freedom of conscience , this is a free gift that
will never be taken away even if we lose all our rights and liberties in this
world.
18) The gospel is the antithesis of the human mind - I love the way the
gospel just turns things upside down and presents concepts that completely go
against our human thinking: There is life in death (John 12:47), everything is nothing (Philippians 3:7-9) , the
highest position is found in being a servant to others (Matthew 23:11), if someone slaps you on your left cheek give
them the right one (Matthew 5:39). The word of God shows me how much I need to change my thinking
especially living in a world that looks down
on attributes like patience, meekness, gentleness, humility etc the very things God esteems.
19) Keep a daily journal -When I was younger I always thought a diary was for writing about the boys you like, the people you hate and your deep dark secrets. The thought of having a diary and then someone finding it and reading it to the whole class was enough for me to hate the whole idea. I recently started journaling as part of my morning quiet time with God. I love to write and I thought this would be a good way to write down things I've learnt that morning, prayers, thanksgivings and just generally document my Christian journey. If you haven't tried journaling I am personally recommending it to you! When you look back at what you have written it is amazing to see how much God has led and the amount of progress you have made. You will see how God helped you get through sad times and how he blessed you with happy times. Journaling doesn't have to be boring - you can use colours, pictures, stickers, highlighters, themes etc you can make it a daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly journal, the choice is yours. Give it a try, you won't regret it!
20) Don’t go against your conscience to content the people – The Roman
Governor Pontius Pilate is written in the history books of my mind for the role
he played in the cruixfiction of Jesus Christ. Matthew 27, Mark 23, Luke 23 and
John 18 and 19 tell a story of a man who went against his own conscience and what
he thought was right, just to pacify the people. Pilate knew that Jesus was an
innocent man and that the Jewish Nation were sentencing him to death out of
envy and malice. Pilate had the power to release Jesus yet yielded to the
demands of the angry mob and handed Jesus over to them. Pilate tried everything
to have Jesus released – except the right thing. This story presents such a
great lesson – I need to stand firmly for the right and not make any decisions (especially
a wrong one) just to content the people.
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| My 23rd Birthday |
21) There is life and then there is life – This is another powerful
lesson that I will save for another blog post but I’ll give you a little taste –I'm such a big foodie, I love food especially food that is healthy and full of energy and life giving properties. However I've learnt that there is something else that gives much more energy and a different kind of life - “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God” Matthew 4:4 and “....I have esteemed the words of his mouth more
than my necessary food” Job 23:12
22) Don’t mould your character around those who you only see once a week - This is definitely real! Many people
(including myself) have fallen into that trap of talking, acting, dressing and
even thinking a certain way in order to appease those who they see at church or
in religious circles. It’s so sad and it’s bondage the fact that we can’t be
ourselves as we are constantly morphing and being pretentious. We try so hard
to appear spotless in front of those who we only see once a week yet we don’t
make this same effort in the sight of a holy God who sees everything. Remember –
1) Christ is our standard and not man 2) you don’t know how people are outside
of religious circles and in secret 3) more than likely the people you are
morphing for are probably not interested in what you are doing anyway.
23) Learn a practical trade – The world has changed so much that there
was a time when all women knew how to sew, cook, grow food and fix things
around the house and all men knew how to make a honest wage with their hands. I
think it pays to learn a practical trade no matter what age you are. Book
knowledge is good but nothing beats practical skills that can be used all
through life and probably anywhere in the world. The world’s economy is wearing
thin and many people will find that those with a practical trade will be in a
much better position if the world faces some sort of financial crisis.
24) Spending time with God each morning is essential for spiritual growth –
At the beginning of 2014 I purposed in my heart to wake up early every morning
and spend time with God. I have struggled greatly with this over the years - I couldn’t
be consistence, sometimes I felt bored or tired, I would read and nothing would
go in etc. However when I read Mark 1:35 I realised that Jesus himself when he
was in the flesh saw the absolute necessity in coming before God each morning
to spend time in prayer, study and meditation. I have been doing this
consistently for 5 months now and it has changed my life! I feel alive! God
feels real to me, He is my dearest friend, I speak to Him and He speaks to me, I’m
understanding the bible more, my days run more smoothly, things don’t irritate me
as much, I feel more patient and loving and much more. Friends, I will definitely
blog about this in more detail but if you feel spiritually dead or far away
from God start spending time with him each morning and be intentional about it.
God will give you strength not only do it and be consistent with it but to
delight and find pleasure in being in his presence.
25) Smile, you don’t own all the world’s problems
- There’s so much to be thankful for and there is always something to smile
about! When feeling down or completely stressed out remind yourself of the most
dearest and precious things in life and that, at the very least, you are
greatly loved by your Father in heaven.
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| My 25th Birthday |
I am so thankful for life! I am especially thankful for the life of Christ and for everything that He has been to me these past 25 years. I am thankful for my friends and family for their influence and encouragement - you all have truly been an answer to prayer.
I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.
Psalms 104:33-34
♥ Miss Daisy ♥
