23 thoughts for 23 years

Tomorrow I turn 23~!

So here are 23 thoughts, facts about me, cliches & quotes that apply to life, & stuff I've learned over the years about life and about myself to commemorate my 23rd year of life.

23 thoughts from 23 years

1.as john mayer sings, “I’m not good at getting older, I’m only good at being young.” I don’t mind that when I turned 21 people asked me if I was 18. the thought that im getting older and therefore my parents are getting older terrifies me and i do not want to live without them ever. I am not ready for wrinkles or a slower metabolism or worse knees or a troublesome back. Youth may be wasted on the young in some regards perhaps because people don’t often appreciate things until they’re gone, but I do my best to value the energy I have now and try to approach life with enthusiasm and a childlike wonder.

2.unhealthy diets and unhealthy relationships both whisper sweet nothings but have NO substance and do not satisfy. In the end, they both leave you feeling drained. It sure is easy to eat your feelings or be ensnared in a bad relationship.

3.I’d rather be considered cute than sexy. I try really hard to be cute. But there are times I do like feeling sexy because it makes me feel like a woman.

4.I don’t like confronting people because I think, well who am I to call them on their shit when I am far from perfect but am learning that no one is perfect and the truth can be spoken in love and both parties are better off when it is.

5.my mom always said to leave things better than when you found them when it comes to keeping a house clean and I try to do this but still have a long way to go and think this motto applies well to life in general.

6. when I rush through things they don’t get done nearly as well as if I took a few extra minutes to do it carefully and right so taking that extra time is worth it. rushing and being late are two of my least favorite things.

7.everybody wears an invisible sign that says ‘make me feel important’ and I find an easy way to do this is to listen to them, and the easiest way to do this is to give full undivided attention

8.the faster you can learn to let things go the better. Baggage weighs you down and keeps you back from moving on and moving forward. Satan has a way of clouding our focus to see what we don’t have which makes us ungrateful for everything God has bestowed on us.

9.things affect me deeply and I take things personally. Show me kindness and ill care for you deeply, show me rudeness and it will stay with me longer than it ought.

10.heartbreak paves the way and opens you up for the most growth. So to all those ive hurt and those who have hurt me we should all shake hands and agree we were doing each other a favor. No person can heal broken hearts only God.

11.problems don’t solve themselves and typically fester if not addressed. Learning to confront conflict is an ongoing struggle for me.

12.I don’t know a single person who is good at receiving criticism and feel I will struggle with this my whole life because I am stubborn, but I can admit when I am wrong better than I used to.

13.striving for moderation, not excess, is typically the best way to go. I have an intense, obsessive (read: neurotic) personality so this is difficult for me.

14.you get out what you put in.

15.you catch more flies with honey than vinegar; people respond better to sweetness and kindness than nagging and scolding.

16.if it looks like a snake and crawls like a snake chances are it’s a snake. Actions, above words, can tell what a person is really like. It doesn’t matter if a tree has an ‘im an apple tree’ sign nailed to it, if it produces oranges, its an orange tree – doesn’t matter what it says. my christian identity teacher used the tree analogy to ask us 'if you say you're a christian do you produce the fruit of a christian?'

17. be kinder than you ought for everyone is fighting a battle, and that battle is that everyone has a howling hunger in their heart for God & are trying to substitute so many other things for what will truly satisfy. We’re all battling to be filled, to be complete, and satan has declared war on our hearts.

18.love is more about service than it is about feeling because it is really about putting someone and their needs before yourself. Love is a verb. don’t tell someone you love them and then take it back. Love is not like picking out what kind of movie you’re going to watch.

19.I was the Renfro baby that cried the most and im still super sensitive. I wear my emotions on my face. Sometimes you just need a good cry. I think it’s a very powerful, humbling thing to see a man cry.

20. we have arms to wave (or in my case flail) and feet that twirl; seems to me we were genetically designed to dance. I don’t have a problem with dancing just about anywhere.

21. learning not to take yourself too seriously is key. Its important to realize people are wrapped up in themselves and worried about what other people are thinking of them more than they’re thinking about you.

22. money cannot buy happiness but it can make things easier. Money can be the enemy of love and can be the enemy of God because it clamors for our time, devotion, and attention that should be directed instead to God. Its necessary but not life giving.

23. life has simple pleasures. discover them, seek them out, and surround yourself with them. Mine include pink, dresses, dogs, walks, running, devotionals, flowers, dancing, hugs, holding hands, kissing, wine, stickers, writing letters, keeping journals & blogs. Heard life is 80% of what you HAVE to do and 20% is very thrilling, and people become jaded because they think the numbers should be swapped. I think with simple pleasures the mundane can be sprinkled with excitement.