30 For 30

Photo by Johannes on Unsplash
In light of turning 30 yesterday, here are 30 random thoughts I have today and as I reflect on life.


  1. One of the greatest freedoms in life is the ability to laugh at yourself.
  2. "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle," is great advice.
  3. So far, the riskiest things I've done in life have proved to be the most rewarding.
  4. Forgiveness is for the forgiver. There is immense power in letting go of a grudge.
  5. Empathy is one of the most mature of all skills. The ability to get into someone's perspective is a remarkable gift. 
  6. I'm always surprised to see people spell the word lose with two O's.
  7. I have spent way too much of my life watching TV. Way too much.
  8. The best thing I've ever done was putting my faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of my sins. It is my prayer that all would come to see the beauty of Christ. One of God's greatest mercies to me is showing me that every good gift in life isn't as good as the Giver. 
  9. I have great parents.
  10. I am an incredibly flawed, individual. Accepting my imperfections and being able to look at myself honestly and with my ego out of the way has opened up the greatest potential for personal growth that I've had.
  11. I'm very grateful to be alive. Two major bouts of depression look to be in my past for good. Depression is the worst and we should love and support people who have it.
  12. My favorite person in the whole world was, and will be my wife Allison. She's the best. 
  13. My plan is to never let go of Jesus, and I'm going to stumble my way by his grace onto that joyful shore. 
  14. I sure do love the Green Bay Packers, and I hope they win more Super Bowls real soon.
  15. If my life and my mistakes can be used to help others, that will be the greatest life I can live.
  16. Once in a while, I miss playing video games. 
  17. I love the church, God's blood-bought people. Christian community, and the voices of the saints as we sing old hymns set to new music bring me pure joy.
  18. The hardest things in life are usually the most worthwhile.
  19. Some of the greatest enjoyments in life are: college football Saturdays, being out on a boat and road trip conversations with my wife. 
  20. Going easy on people, being kind, merciful, gracious, patient, forgiving, accepting and loving is a lot harder than it sounds. It takes daily, focused effort. 
  21. I want to live a meaningful life.
  22. I get to have a lot of fun and do a lot of awesome stuff.
  23. Breakfast pizza is unbeatable on the food chain, as long as the Sriracha is flowing.
  24. Nothing good ever came from commenting on social media articles.
  25. The thinking guy emoji and the two eyes looking emoji are the best ones.
  26. Good underwear and good socks are necessary expenditures. And they should be updated frequently. 
  27. I never realized how fun board games with family are until I met my wife's family. Have I mentioned I have a great family?
  28. I sure do love my dog Sage. I'm so glad I adopted her four years ago. She was with me in some of my darkest times, brightening my day.
  29. I like that I can grow a beard now. I've been bearded for pretty much the whole first year of our marriage.
  30. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life and treated many people very poorly. I hope to do better in the next 30 years.
Thanks for reading!

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 24, 2017 at 6:09 PM

    haha, yes! The thinking emjoi is one of my favorites! (25).

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walking in Wisdom

Image
Augustine of Hippo is famously quoted as saying to God, "You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they can find rest in you." We have to consider this: If God really is our Creator, and the Bible really is His inspired word, God's words and instructions for us are life. He is our Maker and he knows how we are made. Therefore, when we are reading the Bible, we are looking into the truth about ourselves. We are grasping onto the truth of how we are wired to operate, which means we can be learning true wisdom. Let's think about wisdom in a few contexts from the Scriptures, and we can weigh for ourselves the authority we think they deserve. A Pure Heart: Wisdom in Conduct From the New Testament James 3:13–18 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is ...
Read more

32 For 32

Image
Each year around my birthday (for the past three years), I like to share my thoughts from the previous year. These are keen and not so keen observations, musings, and the like. Feel free to read and disagree, silently judge, or even criticize these -- I'll probably never know that you did that! Those little nose pimples that you get on the inside of your nostril from time to time are the worst.  Life is really, really hard. We aren't meant to go it alone. We need community. I've lived most of my life thinking the opposite, but I'm realizing I need people more and more as I get older.  Social media lives are not reality. Who are you trying to impress? Who am  I  trying to impress? Fear is perhaps our strongest motivator. Beware of any person who tries to influence you based on your fears. Has craft beer jumped the shark? I will neither confirm, nor deny. But you know what will never jump the shark. A nice cold domestic. Also, I recently learned that Bud Ligh...
Read more

Go On Up To The Mountain Every Day (Part 2)

Image
Always wear Packers gear when you know you'll be standing on top of a mountain.  In part 1 of this 2 part blogstravaganza we looked at the depth of our need for a Savior. We saw that because of our sin, we find ourselves separated from the holy God and we are helpless to save ourselves by works of the law. The greatness of the gospel of God's grace to sinners is that while we are sinners, He redeems us and reconciles us to Himself through the blood of Jesus.  This post will look at 2 more reasons why we should preach ourselves the gospel every day.  2) The gospel magnifies God's grace in provision by bringing us in awe to the foot of the cross. We have rebelled and ruined our relationship with God on account of our sin. We cannot obey the law or any other religious practices to purify ourselves in order that we may draw near to the holy God. It doesn't work! But that isn't the end of our story! God takes us from hopeless sinners to hopeful sons! Fo...
Read more

A Prayer For 2019

Image
2019 is here, people! Out of the abundant favor of God, we are here in Nebraska as I write this, staying at a lovely AirBnB as a family, celebrating the holiday and enjoying time together. Last night, we were studying Ephesians 3 as we prepared for the New Year, and it seemed like such a fitting and beautiful prayer to ring in 2019, that I wanted to pass it along. Here is the prayer that I am joining with the Apostle Paul almost 2000 years ago in praying for myself and others, and for you and for those you love. Prayer for Spiritual Strength 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and ...
Read more

The Boy Who Walked Away Alive

Image
Have you heard about the boy who died? There is a scene in Acts chapter 20 where Luke records something miraculous that occurs in the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Late one night in a well lit upper room, Paul is sharing the good news of the Kingdom of God with a group of disciples in Troas. As night wears on, a young listener named Eutychus is overwhelmed by sleepiness and tragically falls out of a window to his death. Paul descends the stairs of the building and hovers over the boy. In the same way that Jesus assured the ruler whose young daughter had died, so Paul issues forth comfort in his speech, saying, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him” (Acts 20:10 ESV). This calls to mind life-giving resurrections told of in the ministries of Elijah and Elisha as well. The miraculous happens again, and they took away the boy alive. How can this be? How can the dead be made alive? Who invests this resurrection power to defeat this solemn and universal enemy? Truly this is t...
Read more