Jeremiah 10:2-3

"Thus says the LORD: "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the axe." Jeremiah 10:2-3

"I've learned that the easiest way to find happiness is to quit complaining." Age 19 "I've learned that Santa Claus has good years and bad years." Age 10 "I've learned that true happiness is when your newborn sleeps through the night" Age 30 "I've learned that you should never lend your brother your allowance." Age 11 You guessed it right again, you ARE good!

I've learned that some things are better off not being learned. Smoking is an example. Once you start, you CAN quit, over and over again. It's the same way with drugs and drinking. It is better not to start than to have started and try to quit. It is better to not learn to lie than to lie and then try to cover it up. Do you know how hard it is to keep your story straight? It's better to have never learned to appreciate any of the bad things your mother and your father told you not to do. You will only find out that they were right and you were wrong, and that makes it all feel worse than it already is.

I've learned that the best way to finish drywall, is to hire a professional. He will do it in half the time and ten times better! Unfortunately, I can't hire a pro so I have to do it myself... and it will take me a week to do one room and it will not be perfect, but so what. It is the best I can do... and I will be proud of my work when I have a good coat of paint on it.

I've learned that telling everything I've learned is a never-ending process because I never stop learning. As a matter of fact, I've learned that when a person stops learning, he stops living. My father always told me that he went to university, SHK University, the "School of Hard Knocks." That school has many great alumni, and all of us can claim to have taken classes there. It does seem that some of our greatest lesson are learned because we make mistakes. I've learned that mistakes can be one's undoing or one's success. They are our undoing if we wallow in them and allow them to stifle our growth and progress. They are our success if we use them as a stairway to achievement.

Well, there you have it, my list (incomplete) of what I have learned so far. What have you learned so far? Feel free to email me with a sample or two. They may become food for thought in a later series. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.