115 Things Learned in 115 days

115 Things I’ve learned in 115 Days

1. God has been with me the whole time. Every step of the way. Every moment in my life. He’s loved me the whole time no matter what.
2. I’ve spent most of the past decade not seeing Him.
3. #2 was the root of most of my problems
4. #1 is the solution to all my problems
5. God can use anything to teach us. A monkey, a word from a friend, a chainsaw, a doughnut. Anything
6. Sometimes God will ask you to jump up and down on a couch to remind you how to be happy.
7. I’m actually an extravert?
8. My false self has crippled and covered up the man I am actually supposed to be.
9. There is no such thing as food that isn’t delicious.
10. Time is really weird. It’s fast and slow and long and short and existent and nonexistent all at once.
11. Missing people isn’t a bad thing.
12. My plans and expectations are rarely accurate and don’t really matter.
13. Sometimes you want to share the Gospel with an atheist, but God tells you to love them by just listening without any advice or objective.
14. It’s always a good time to dance.
15. It’s not always a good time to fart.
16. People will get over it.
17. Duct tape has an infinite number of uses.
18. Marshmallows are sadly not yet universal.
19. The jungle is my happy place.
20. God’s love can break any chain, right any wrong, and remove any fear.
21. I’m pretty self-centered, but I’m learning to grow out of it.
22. Chainsaws don’t work the same way on coconut trees.
23. The 23^rd year of my life will be unlike any other, so every day counts.
24. I’m glad I can’t watch the Chicago Bulls play this year.
25. I don’t miss watching sports and tv very much.
26. Sometimes I want Skyline Chili so bad that I can literally taste it.
27. Leeches can get BIG.
28. A beautiful view can make me cry.
29. Sometimes it’s too humid for clothes to air dry.
30. I have an incredible family and an incredible life, more incredible than I ever realized before.
31. You don’t have to do a certain thing or be a certain way just because you always have.
32. Las Vegas uses enough electricity in one day to power 7 countries for a year.
33. Board/card games are among my favorite activities.
34. I don’t need anywhere near the amount of possessions I have in life.
35. You don’t need words to spread love.
36. Walking a couple blocks to get French fries and watch VH1 throw-back videos can make a man feel loved. (Guys Night! Guys Night! Guys Night!)
37. It can break your heart to leave people you’ve only known for a month.
38. Sometimes I really miss random things like driving my Jeep through Kentucky with the top down and Dr. Pepper and sunflower seeds, power walking through the rain to make it to class on time, and wasting a whole day in the backyard with friends.
39. I may never stop missing high school football.
40. The best days in life are never behind you.
41. Fear is a horrible reason to do anything.
42. It’s not that hard to get along with people you never thought you would get along with.
43. Eating insects isn’t for everyone, sometimes even the locals think I’m weird.
44. God will constantly bring you to people who need to hear your story.
45. THERE’S KRISPY KREME IN KUALA LUMPUR!!!
46. Sometimes a doughnut can make me cry.
47. Sometimes God will be silent when He knows I can do it on my own.
48. There’s A LOT I can’t do on my own, but also a lot that I can do on my own.
49. Life is full of good and bad, but we can choose to see good in the bad.
50. I love overseas mission work even more than I thought I could (which was a lot).
51. I take most things in life too seriously, and I need to be more silly and whimsical.
52. Finding common ground can open the door to countless possibilities and lessons. 
53. You can never buy enough food for 12 grown men.
54. Prayer isn’t just a passive collection of words, it’s a powerful, active conversation where God answers us and acts on our behalf.
55. When you say yes to God, He will do big things, and then He will ask you again.
56. I can sleep in some very random places.
57. Spiritual warfare is very real, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.
58. Reminiscing with friends will lead you to remember things you didn’t know you remembered. (like addictinggames.com)
59. A language barrier can’t stop a conversation.
60. A palm branch can’t be used to snake a toilet.
61. Vine snakes are mildly venomous.
62. There’s such a thing as mildly venomous. (I didn’t learn the hard way, don’t worry mom)
63. I can really stretch my definition on what constitutes clean clothes.
64. When you make comments like “Humans aren’t really built to use shampoo, soap, and toothpaste every day,” your teammates will never stop thinking you’re a weird dirty hippy.
65. Everyone knows what Kentucky Fried Chicken is.
66. There are actually other people similar to me.
67. 4 men can cut and split an entire winter’s worth of wood in one afternoon.
68. You’ll never regret taking a healthy risk.
69. Bulgarian dessert is amazing every time.
70. Guys Night in Bulgarian roughly translates to pirate ship.
71. Most people don’t share my love for extremely hot weather.
72. It’s really difficult to go a whole month without communicating with family and best friends back home.
73. My life is really just like an episode of Dirty Jobs.
74. Life is also really just like one of those coming of age movies where we are the awkward teen is trying to negotiate emotions as he experiences some difficult life moments, and he kind of gets the girl, but doesn’t really, and in the end none of his problems really go away but he changes how he approaches them and views them for the better. It’s all about growth on the journey.
75. “Life is about not letting stuff bother you as much.” –Mac
76. I have a really hard time giving myself grace.
77. I was wrong when I expected to go 11 months without cereal. PRAISE THE LORD.
78. Leading is all about intentionality and humility.
79. Never say “7” in “What are the odds?”
80. Always stake down your tent well. (R.I.P. Caleb’s tent in 70mph winds)
81. Even the most antisocial dog will eventually become my friend. (Emma)
82. God loves us and trusts us as His servants.
83. A lot of my thoughts are not as common as I think they are when I voice them to people.
84. I will always need a few friends who will say yes to climbing that mountain in the distance, kayaking through the jungle in the rain, or staying up ‘til 3 am talking about life.
85. I have a lot of truly amazing, high-quality friends.
86. The devil attacks us when we are at our lowest, but God is always there in our time of need.
87. We find peace when we have complete reliance on God’s promise and fully surrender to His will.
88. When we completely surrender to His will, God takes us to places, and teaches us things we could never imagine in our wildest dreams.
89. A silent disco worship session can be one of the most fun and intimate moments with the Lord that I’ll ever have.
90. I AM FREE AND REDEEMED.
91. Every part of the Bible, even the weird parts that don’t make much sense in the 21^st century, has truth that we can learn about God and how He loves us.
92. The more I focus on Godliness and the less I focus on worldliness, the more joyous and optimistic my outlook and mindset becomes.
93. Sometimes it only takes a word uttered in the name of Jesus to totally change my circumstances.
94. When I find myself in pain or regret, it means I followed an old pattern to get there.
95. I’m probably not going to return to a typical life in America anytime soon.
96. True friends call each other out on their mistakes and provide vision on how to do better.
97. Jigsaw puzzles are not my thing.
98. I make good fried chicken. Apparently (sadly) the best that Thomas has ever eaten. 
99. 99.9% of life boils down to the choice we make in each moment. Because 99.9% of the time we have a choice.
100. I still don’t know much about the few things I know about, but I know God is all I need.
101. Most people don’t agree with my stance on not squashing bugs unless they’re going to be food.
102. There is always a tree to climb.
103. Squatty potties are the most efficient toilets.
104. I have an incredibly strong passion to pour into young people/peers and pass on any piece of knowledge or advice God has revealed to me.
105. God probably isn’t going to keep me in my comfort zone at any point in the near future.
106. I can learn just as much from solitude in nature as I can from a group of people, but life is better when we share it in community.
107. Drawing/creating art is my favorite way to relax and clear my mind.
108. A house with 12 men living in it is very hard to keep clean.
109. I am both more and less patient than I thought I was.
110. Sometimes God will tell me to just smile with Him and I walk around grinning like an idiot because my God brings me so much joy.
111. God can speak to me through dreams, animals, nature, children, people, music, and His word.
112. Even among Christians, it’s not super common or normal to distinguish spirits, and it can be a little weird to talk about. 
113. Sometimes staying true to a promise with God will lead to incredibly difficult decisions.
114. It’s simple, but not easy to truly love others selflessly and unconditionally.
115. God has taught me how to let myself be happy. He has taught me how to be myself, who I truly am, and love and accept it. He has taught me how to see the good in all people and things and feel good about that. He has taught me that He is all I really need to feel whole and good. He has taught me true joy.