50 Life Lessons Learned in 50 Years of Life

This year (2009) has been a landmark year for my family. One daughter entered her teens in September. Another celebrated her last "teen" birthday in June. My son turns 15 (and earns the right to a learner's permit, or so he tells me) in December.

And, then, it's the year of the "Big 0". My youngest daughter left single digits and became 10 in March, another turned 20 in June, and my first born was 30 in November.

And me? Well, I hit the big 5-0 in May.

In recognition of my milestone, I decided to compile a list of 50 things I have learned in those 50 years. I am leaving them for my children, but I share them here with you as well:

50. "i" before "e" except after "c", unless it sounds like "a" as in neighbor and weigh.

49. Home Economics (or Family and Consumer Sciences - for my friend and FACS teacher extraordinaire Teresa Bowen) is as important as reading, writing, and arithmetic.

48. Late is not always better than never. Be on time.

47. Don't run with scissors.

46. Wear your seatbelt.

45. Sometimes it's okay to agree to disagree.

44. Don't chew with your mouth open.

43. Two wrongs don't make a right.

42. Always say please and thank you.

41. Be mindful of where you invest your time. Your job will not miss you when you are gone, your family will.

40. Winning is not everything - sometimes it's nothing.

39. A prison of debt is far more confining than a debtor's prison.

38. A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth puts its pants on. (Churchill)

37. Prayer requests are, more often than not, just gossip in disguise.

36. Growing old is not that bad - the alternative is worse.

35. A fool's tongue runs before his wit.

34. Church is not a place you go, it is who you are.

33. Bad things do happen to good people.

32. Friends never keep score.

31. Humans are temporarily insane during the first six months of a romantic relationship. Don't do anything in haste.

30. Just because you made the bed, does not mean you have to continue to lie in it.

29. There are no hidden meanings, only undiscovered ones.

28. Your freedom ends where another's begins.

27. There is no way to have it all.

26. It's never too late to get a degree.

25. There's an app for that.

24. Only one Great Physician ever died for His patients. (John M. Ford)

23. Your background and circumstance only determine where you have come from; you are still responsible for where you are going and who you will become.

22. Men say "I love you" to get sex. Women give sex to hear "I love you."

21. Truth is truth, no matter who says it. (Jenny McCartney)

20. Forgiveness of others is truly more beneficial to the forgiver.

19. Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't. (Erica Jong)

18. We have the right to be angry, but not the right to be cruel.

17. The buck stops here. (Truman) Be accountable.

16. God is not a vending machine. Do not expect to get a candy bar (wants, desires), just because you put in your quarters (prayer, tithes). (Larry Crabb)

15. Actions do, indeed, speak louder than words.

14. If "A" equals success in the equation A = X + Y+ Z. Then, "X" equals work, "Y" equals play, and "Z" equals keeping your mouth shut. (Einstein)

13. You cannot protect your children from everything, so teach them how to deal with anything.

12. If you're not as close to God as you would like to be, it's not because He moved.

11. You will always love your children, raise them so others love them, too. (Luci Swindoll)

10. Preach the Gospel at all times, and, if you have to, use words.

9. Good has already triumphed over evil.

8. You can hate the sin and still love the sinner. (Bessie I. Ford)

7. Only the Bible is the Word of God - everything else is just commentary.

6. When you don't feel like doing the right thing, fake it until God changes your heart. (Esther (Edie) McCartney)

5. If God is your co-pilot, you're in the wrong seat.

4. Time spent with my children is more valuable than anything I could buy my children.

3. God's will can be done God's way. (Janet Ford)

2. The commandments are simple - Love God, love people.

1. Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Disclaimer: I do not take credit for any of the quotes in this compilation, only for having learned from them. Omission of any attribution does not in any way make claim that I am the author. If I am aware of the author, I have made appropriate attribution.