40 Lessons from 40 years

Yesterday I turned 40. My day started with my usual Wednesday morning plan: meet with my men's life group that I have been meeting with for the past 4 years. I arrived and to my shock, I was the only one. After waiting 15 minuets, I text someone, asking if they had canceled without me knowing. They responded, "It's only 6:15 am"...I forgot it started at 6:30, not 6:00.

Not a good way to start your first morning in your 40's.

We may forget things over time. Here, however, is a list of 40 lessons that I won't forget from my 40 years.

40 Lessons from 40 years

1. Jesus is faithful
2. Life can be hard
3. You will either do things by design or default
4. The pain of discipline is easier than the pain of regret
5. Nothing changes until something moves (Thank you Eric Boles)
6. Laugh every day
7. God doesn't just do good - God is good
8. You will never please everyone
9. The mission is more important than our preferences
10. You can't choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you respond
11. Things you appreciate tend to get better. Things you depreciate tend to get worse (Thank you Pastor Buntain)
12. Who you surround yourself with matters
13. Be a life long learner
14. Don't delay saying "I'm sorry"
15. Don't go to bed mad
16. You don't always have to be right, even when you are (best pre-marriage/life/leadership advice I ever received)
17. It's not a matter of if, but when you will need community - and we will all need it
18. It's not just what you see, but how you see it
19. Moments make memories (Thank you Monty Hipp)
20. You can't expect what you don't express & you can't expect what you don't inspect
21. All quality ministry flows out of relationship (Thank you Pastor Steve)
22. Some times the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap
23. Character is more important than gifting
24. We are living for a "Well done, good and faithful servant."
25. The Gospel isn't the ABC's of Christianity, but the A to Z of Christianity (Thank you Tim Keller)
26. The people closest to us should believe the best about us
27. Don't just tell people you "are praying for them" - stop and pray now
28. You will grow daily or die gradually (Thank you Pastor Troy)
29. Show me your friends and I'll show you your future
30. We are blessed to be a blessing
31. Believe the best about others - and call it out of them
32. Instead of looking for the perfect someone, become the someone that they will need
33. The Gospel doesn't make bad people good, it makes dead people live. (Thank you Tim Keller)
34. On my worst days I'm never outside of the reach of grace
35. On my best days I'm never outside of the need of grace
36. Grace empowers us for righteousness and holiness
37. God grows us through the process
38. The things or people you make idols in your life will disappoint you
39. Repentance paves the way for healing and restoration
40. Nothing is wasted in God's economy - nothing

I will close with one of the most inspiring perspectives in scripture. It comes from Caleb in the book of Joshua. After the children of Israel had moved in to take the Promise Land he said the following:

“Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”

(Joshua 14:10–12, NLT) - [emphasis mine]

I'm not 85 yet...but this is the perspective I want to live with every single day.