Dear Teenagers:

A couple of thoughts to my friends who happen to be of the ages 13-18. I want to tell you these 10 things. Do with them what you will.

1. Honor your father and mother, but if God is telling you to do something, do it.
2. When you’re not at church on Sunday morning, something is missing.
3. Learning is kind of important. Being able to learn is SUPER-IMPORTANT. (most adults don’t care what you’re studying or learning or excelling in, the point is just that you do)
4. Forgive people before they ask for it and ask forgiveness more often than you fell you need to. That will take care of most everything.
5. The Bible isn’t about you, it’s about God. It’s God’s biography and history, not yours.
6. For reasons you can’t fully understand now, don’t get into sex or dating a ton of people or pornography. Those things seem cool for a time, but someday you may be married and you’ll wish you hadn’t dated half the people you have.
7. It always feels good to be giving advice. Ignore that feeling and ask lots and lots of questions (even if you’re talking to an idiot). Ask married people about marriage. Ask working people about their job. Ask muslims about islam. Ask Buddhists about Buddhism. Ask pastors about pastoring. If you dropped out of school right now, but really sought to learn from the people you encounter, you’ll be better off than 99% of people.
8. Invite losers to hang out with you. You’ll change somebody’s life just by sitting next to them at lunch.
9. The best way to make sure you get a lot of hugs is to give them.
10. Following Christ is about Hands, Head, & Heart. Faith requires doing, thinking, and feeling: not just one of those.