Advice for the Younger Me

Long before Thunderbeard and Lightning. I was just Thunder and Lightning. I was half the man I am today. I was beardless, cold, and lonely.  I just turned 32 a few weeks ago. So, now that I’ve been 16 two times what advice would I have to give to the 16 year-old beardless me?

*Don’t believe what they tell you. You can’t be anything you want to be when you grow up. But you can be a painter. And you can be content.

*You won’t be able to eat McDonald’s Nuggets and #2 combo meals forever. If you try you will end up looking like a giant McNugget and #2 – sort of like Grimace, but not nearly as happy or as purpley.

*Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman are pretty much the greatest 3 basketball teammates of all time, but they are not the Holy Trinity. Don’t forget Who is.

*Your beloved baseball collection…Yes, even the ones in those heavy-duty screw-down cases will be worth only pennies in a couple years. Sell them at the next baseball card show to that guy who always rips you off.

*Dad will die before he is 60. You don’t understand this yet, but life is really short even if you live 59 years. Forgive him. Bitterness poisons you and those you love.

*That girl in your dreams is not The One. The One will actually talk to you and listen to you in spite of your quick temper, your future hairy back, and the zits you never grow out of.

*As well, The One does not exist to make you happy. She exists to help make you holy.

*If you really want to love a person well, listen to them.

*The Huxtables are not a real family. Your Dad will never be Heathcliff Huxtable or Bill Cosby. But having an average, decent, real Dad is better than having the richest and funniest TV Dad any day.

*Right now, mentally you spend about 90% of your time in a fantasy world. It’s true that the real world is cursed and sucks, but be in the present and help make it better for someone. You are here for a reason, and it’s not just to daydream.

*Girls were created for more reasons than just to look good. Objectifying a girl brings you down to the level of a insane beast and her to the level of inanimate meat. You both were made in the image of God. Think truer thoughts.

*Boring does not equal bad. Faith is boring. Hope is boring. Love is boring. Some of the most significant things in life are little, boring, everyday things, but they add up to be really amazing.

*Be known for your complements not your criticisms.

*Forget college. Degrees are overrated. As for finding The One…you can find her in New Jersey. She’ll still be the one who chokes on the Starburst you give her and falls in love with you when you read her Everyone Poops. It’s a Cinderella story.

*Don’t try to find your identity in your job or in your country. Find your identity in the beauty of the resurrected Jesus.

*Focus on what you have in common with other people rather than focusing on your differences. You have more in common than you think.

*It’s okay to be funny. God does have a sense of humor. Good humor requires perfect timing and the element of surprise. He invented time, and He is full of surprises. So, He invented fun and funny. Put the fun back into fundamentalism.

*You will always love Transformers and Grizzly Bears and Video Games and Weezer and T-Shirts and Posters. There are deep theological reasons for this. Don’t be ashamed of your interests and hobbies. God made you unique for His purposes and glory.

*Your heart is an idol factory. Admit it. Confess sin and repent daily. Live free in Christ. He does not condemn. He frees.

*Your parents really do love you. You will see. Being a good parent is the hardest job in the world.

*Spontaneity is not equivalent to being led by the Spirit.

*You will never be able to dunk, and nobody really cares.

*Read and write and pray a lot. You know you should. Just do it, and you’ll grow to like it more and more.

*Full-time Christian ministry isn’t something you do for a living. It is who you are for a lifetime.

*Rock music does not belong to the Devil. If Psalm 150 isn’t commanding rock n’ roll, I don’t know what it is saying.

*All truth belongs to God. Neither Christians nor secularists own it. Truth owns you.

*Culture is not the enemy. Stop throwing rocks at it.

*Budget all of life. Self-discipline is a grace. It doesn’t have to be legalistic. And you’ll probably get nothing significant done without it.

*Live sacrificially. Your are freaking rich. Stop complaining and follow Christ.

*Salvation belongs to the LORD. You have nothing to do with it. Grace actually is amazing.

Extra details – My friend Troy inspired this post. He is the guy beside me in the picture above. We were 18. We’ve been friends since we were 5. When we turned 21 we married a couple Hawkins sisters. It’s fitting to have him as a brother now. He’s an all around top notch dude. And he has been doing this Self Project on his blog, Strong Odors. It’s rad. Check it out.