I just celebrated my 29th birthday and it seems like birthdays, anniversaries, and new years are natural times to reflect. This episode highlights 29 lessons I have learned in my first 29 years of life. For those of you who love a list, here are the 29 lessons covered in this conversation –
- Take a summer vacation, even if it's on a budget
- Bodies change over the years
- Relationships change too
- Positivity is underrated
- Trusting God, believing in Jesus, following the Holy Spirit is wild and unexpected
- For most of us, our parents did the best they could and still made mistakes – they are humans too
- Take risks
- When it comes to your dreams and ambitions, do the next right thing (I'm looking at you Bob Goff)
- Have people in your life who are a few years or seasons ahead of you
- Friends are one of the best parts of life
- Counseling is cool
- Stay teachable
- Health is a journey
- Having conversations about Jesus and faith don't have to be rigid or like a formula – ask questions and seek to understand
- Don't just read non-fiction, read the fun stuff too (stories, fiction, biographies)
- Be careful to not only listen to voices that sound like yours
- Animals are the best
- Fear, control, and perfectionism are all different faces of the same issue
- Cook at home as much as you can
- The Church is imperfect at best and has been hurtful at worst. But there's hope and there are still many good churches and pastors in our communities trying to love people well
- Be kind to strangers
- Know your worth professionally and raise your hand for big projects
- Set up your physical space the way you like with purpose
- Have the wedding you want
- Don't deflect the hard stuff
- Try to travel, even if it's the state next door or a new city your friend moved to
- When it comes to money, live below your means and invest in the things that matter
- Grief is a process and it looks different for everyone in every season
- Prayer, faith, and relationships with God are messy and imperfect – and that's normal
Nikki Dutton: @nikkdutton
As always, incredible sound editing by Luke Wilson at Veritas Podcasting
