Sixty by Sixty

A few years back I did a blog project called 365 Things I Believe. I later created graphics and even sold some of them on CafePress. In the beginning, I thought I could write 365 statements that I considered to be statements to truth. That turned out to be harder than I thought.

Today, as I turn sixty, that’s right, sixty, I’m posting sixty things that I believe. Some of these are original

thoughts, some not. Some are snarky, some not.

I post them without commentary and you can draw your own conclusions. But, here they are in no particular order of importance…except for #1 and #60.

1. I believe that, because of God’s grace, none of us gets what we truly deserve.
2. I believe in the freedom of speech, even when it makes me uncomfortable.
3. I believe that good intentions often have unintended consequences.
4. I believe our government is out of control.
5. I believe that being a follower of Christ is radically different than anything I was taught as a child, or even as a young man.
6. I believe life begins at conception.
7. I believe cancer sux.
8. I believe Mondays are a direct result of the Fall.
9. I believe I had a lot more time before I purchased my first computer.
10. I believe the Gospel involves much more than just going to church and being “good.”
11. I believe that sometimes prayer changes things, and sometimes it changes me.
12. I believe as much as aging sux, it still beats not aging.
13. I believe boycotts aren’t worth the bandwidth they’re e-mailed on.
14. I believe in the Creator and His creation, even though I don’t know how He did it or how long He took.
15. I believe He’s not a tame lion.  But He is good.
16. I believe miracles do happen, usually when you’re least expecting them.
17. I believe in a good night’s sleep.  Someday, I’ll get one.
18. I believe in Fridays.
19. I believe grace doesn’t mean tolerance.
20. I believe, when you get right down to it, it’s all the small stuff.
21. I believe in a hill called Mt. Calvary.
22. I believe there’s nothing quite like a summer evening thunderstorm.
23. I believe God is in control, even when I don’t like the news.
24. I believe I am a slave to whomever or whatever I choose to obey at any moment in my life.
25. I believe I feel closer to God at the beach, even though He’s not the one who moved.
26. I believe there won’t be any Mondays in Heaven.
27. I believe that sometimes being a free people means freedom to offend, and freedom to be offended.
28. I believe that we can miss what life is while we’re trying to make life what we think it should be.
29. I believe there are many things I can do in life.  Quitting isn’t one of them.
30. I believe if you have to stop and count at the toll booth, then you DO NOT HAVE “exact change.”
31. I believe my hope is in the Lord, not in Washington, D.C., or Richmond, Virginia.
32. I believe if Christopher Columbus hadn’t “discovered” America, you wouldn’t have the right to complain about it.
33. I believe if you don’t vote, you can’t complain.
34. I believe people who insist on talking through a movie and/or making what they think are funny comments should be forced to buy everyone in the theater popcorn and soda…on their way out.
35. I believe there’s only ONE reason for the Christmas season.
36. I believe DST saves neither daylight nor time and should be abolished.
37. I believe I wish common sense was more common.
38. I believe you cannot please everyone. You are not pizza.
39. I believe nothing worth having comes easy.
40. I believe when you ask me what I am doing today and I say “nothing,” it does not mean that I am free. It means I am doing nothing.
41. I believe I write, therefore I rewrite, therefore I am an insecure bundle of nerves.
42. I believe dreams don’t work unless you do.
43. I believe nothing makes me more productive than the last minute.
44. I believe you shouldn’t quit your day dream.
45. I believe when life shuts a door you should open it again. It’s a door.  That’s how they work.
46. I believe creative minds are rarely tidy.
47. I believe life is about using the whole box of crayons.
48. I believe life is too short to remove USB safely.
49. I believe things aren’t always #OOOOOO and #FFFFFF.
50. I believe people who wonder if the glass is half empty or half full miss the point. The glass is refillable.
51. I believe there is no magic pill. No special shake. No secret diet. Just get off your ass.
52. I believe no matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch.
53. I believe what doesn’t kill you gives you something to write about.
54. I believe you can make a wish, or you can make it happen.
55. I believe you can say what you want about the South, but nobody retires and moves up North.
56. I believe I’ve reached the age where my brain goes from “You probably shouldn’t say that,” to “What the hell? Let’s see what happens.”
57. I believe we don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.
58. I believe lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
59. I believe life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.
60. I believe I should be writing.