Life Lessons Part 1

One of my kids recently asked me to document any words of wisdom I thought he should hear, and to remind him of things I have told him in the past. I liked his idea and will post in several blogs the words I typed up for him.

On Property

Anything you buy has to be dusted. Or, while something looks good in the store (or in an ad), once you get it home, you have to take care of it.

Make your bed daily. It's amazing how much better your house looks when the bed is made.

Pick up as you go. When you leave a room, glance around and see if there is something that needs to be somewhere else. Pick it up and take it. Don't let stuff accumulate.

Have a place for everything. Stuff that doesn't have a place accumulates.

Pick up the house before you go to bed or leave on vacation. It's very refreshing to start a new day with a neat house.

“He who is slack in his work is brother to him who destroys” (Proverbs 18:9). Care for your possessions (i.e. dust your furniture, put your bike away out of the rain, mop your floor), or they get ruined and have to be replaced.

Deal with paper as it comes in. Ninety-nine percent of it can go directly into the circular file (or trash can).

"Stuff" ultimately doesn't matter. If something you value gets broken accidentally, your relationship with the person who broken the item is much more important.

On Money

Give 10%, save 10%, and spend the rest with joy.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Studies show that people who give charitably are happier than people who don't (and I have found that true in my life).

On Work

We were created to work (even Adam worked in the Garden of Eden). Find a job that you love, and you'll never feel as if you are having to “go to work.”

We were created for some unique calling. God has wired each of us differently and gifted us uniquely. Seek what you were made to do, and do it.