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“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us, when adversity takes the place of prosperity, when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”
Washington Irving
Now that I am older, married and have a family of my own, I look back on my life and I am reminded of the encouragement that my mother poured into me on a daily basis. I learned many valuable lessons from her that has had a great impact in my life.
Here is a list of the forty-two most memorable encouragements she has given me throughout my life. I hope they encourage you.
- Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
- Throw the word can’t out of your vocabulary.
- Own up to your mistakes.
- Be faithful to your wife and love her unconditionally.
- Spend quality time with your children because when they are grown you can’t get the time back.
- You are not limited by what others say you can do.
- Pray and read your Bible daily.
- Don’t run for your responsibilities.
- Don’t let fear dictate your life because God did not give you the spirit of fear.
- Don’t just dream, take action.
- Don’t give up when things get hard.
- There is no one or nothing that can hold you back, but you.
- If you want it bad enough, you will have to fight through the pressures.
- Don’t let anyone talk you out of your dreams.
- You can’t move forward if you are constantly looking in the rear view mirror.
- Please and thank you will get you a long way in life.
- To get respect you must give and show respect.
- Any job worth doing is worth doing well.
- Don’t overlook anyone because you never know how the tide of life may change.
- The biggest mistake you can make is to do nothing.
- Give thanks in everything.
- You should learn something new every day that you can use to live a more effective life.
- Education does not stop after school, it continues throughout your life.
- If it were easy everyone would do it.
- Joy is not predicated on your situation or what you have, but on an internal desire that knows God is with you no matter what.
- Be open to trying new things.
- Not getting what you want is not necessarily a bad thing.
- Don’t focus on yesterday or worry about tomorrow to long because you have to live today.
- Money is a tool to use not to abuse.
- Don’t wait for tomorrow, to do what you need to do today.
- God created you to be you and no one else.
- Do what you say you are going to do. Your word is your bond.
- Faith is the substance of things hope for and the evidence of things not seen.
- Worry does not add to your life it only takes away.
- For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
- You don’t know if you can do something if you never try.
- You cannot change what you refuse to confront.
- You never know how strong you are until you have to go through a difficult storm.
- Live your life to the fullest because you won’t get another chance.
- Don’t waste time and energy stuck in the past; it is gone and you can’t get a redo. So move on.
- Stop worrying about what others think of you. Don’t waste valuable time trying to change their mind.
- You can’t be everything to everyone.
Question: What valuable lessons did you learn from your mother? Leave a comment!
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