Things I have learned in three decades of living

* Life is weird, wild, beautiful, painful, and wonderful, sometimes (okay often!) all at once. Despite the risk, I’d rather have my breath taken away by living, than by refusing to live fully.

* Living for Jesus means the greatest joys and the deepest pains. Ditto for living with His people.

* Life is too short to read bad books except as a way of dealing with the madness of your personal world for a very brief time.

* Life is also too short to drink bad cups of tea, or to listen to cheesey/elevator/lame music for more time than you can possibly help.

* There is a BIG difference between being needed and appreciated.

* When you are a control freak/hater of half-assery, your life is going to be a whole lot harder than everyone else’s…

* People are enormously important, and having good friends with whom you are safe to be absolutely yourself is vital.

* No on is perfect, including myself or my family, and since we are all imperfect, people will disappoint you, and you will disappoint yourself and others. Sad result of living in a fallen world, Errare est humanum.

* That being said, people will always surprise you—for good or ill!
“My dear Frodo!’ exclaimed Gandalf. ‘Hobbits really are amazing creatures, as I have said before. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you at a pinch.” –J. R. R. Tolkien

* The ability to effectively communicate is pretty much priceless, and despite all the educating we do, surprisingly rare.

* Know theyself, and be thus armed against thine own follies and failings. When I think of the grief I could have saved myself by knowing how I tend to respond in certain situations…

* Showing someone the better, higher, smarter way does not mean that they will choose it, or even value it. Also, giving someone an excellent education doesn’t necessarily mean that it will do them any good. Anyone can play ‘water off a duck’s back’ with knowledge and like the Humbug come out of the Sea of Knowledge pretty dry…

* Knitting can be almost as expensive as drugs, but it sure is a more productive hobby, and how many knitting addicts have you heard of going to jail? Why do you think I haven’t been arrested yet?

* It is totally possible to be tired of being in school, but still have a passion for learning.

* While I love both cats and dogs, if I had to choose just one to have as a pet, it would be a cat. Cats take more character to appreciate, and while sometimes I want to banish mine to Alaska, I couldn’t live without my lil’ Java Bean.

And finally, 'cause she is totally my hero,