☙ I am Sixteen - Going on Seventeen ❧

  16 things I have learned from being 16 

(I don't always act on them - but I've learned them none-the-less)

1. Read books that inspire - not simply amuse. Reading is a discovery and the things you discover become your own. You might just believe it - so pick something worthwhile.
2. You can try and wing-it, but in the end, one needs a planner and a list before they lose their mind.
3. Never give up - Anything worth doing takes hard work. For every moment of fear, every hour of discouragement, every drop of sweat and tears, there is always that one final achievement that makes everything else worthwhile. . 
4. Chocolate might actually make a person happy. 
5. God speaks in more than one way, be it through the opportunities He sets before you, the people He places in your path, or the passion He puts in your heart. 
6. Even though they might occasionally drive you crazy, family is forever. 
7. I'll take a stick-shift hay truck over a fancy mustang any day (unless of course that mustang is real horse power... with four hooves).
8. Never stop praying. Ever. It's the moments you don't feel like it that you need it the most. 
9. You never stop learning - be it through books, a sassy pony, or a herd of cows. 
10. Give: your talents, your blessings, your smile, your appreciation, yourself. Especially to those who doesn't deserve it. 
11. Galloping a horse is sometimes the best therapy for when your feeling low. Galloping is flying without wings, and that sends you pretty high. 
12. You don't always have to say what's on your mind. If Mary had lived today, she would have had every right to post Jesus' birth on social media or shout it to the world, but instead she simply "pondered these things in her heart". Don't tarnish your every thought by blurting it out. Ponder. Let Jesus be your confidant. He knows your heart.
13. Enjoy every moment. Who cares if the horse just bucked you off, you can't understand an Algebra problem, or the cows got out. You never know if it might be your last time climbing back into the saddle, using your eraser, or herding up calves. Treasure every moment.
14. Love in deed, not simply in word. Jesus healed, touched, and played with little children. He didn't just speak of His love, He died for it.
15. Faith is not based on feelings or emotions. Even our Savior was afraid of the torture He would face, but He went anyways.
16. Jesus is everything I will ever need.

I am sixteen, going on seventeen.

 Life is an adventure - sixteen has been awesome.

Seventeen... bring it on.