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Letter to Your Thirteen Year Old Son

This was shared on Facebook by Jimmy Brown.

I plan to read it to my son, Morgan, on his 13th birthday this New Year’s Eve. We do a sort of Bar Mitzvah type of ceremony on our sons’ 13th birthday and pronounce a blessing on him. We pray over him and proclaim the good things we have seen developing in his life and character. This list will be perfect for instruction and blessing on that day.

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Thirteen Things I Want You To Know On Your 13th Birthday

13. Strive to excel, but not at the expense of others. Do your best and give your all; just don’t trample on others along the way.

12. Whatever happens next, whatever you do in life, you will always be my son. I love you! No. Matter. What.

11. You are blessed to be a blessing. Use your God-given abilities and resources to do good to others. Don’t wait for someone to ask for your help, just take the initiative and do it.

10. Respect others. Show honor to others even if you don’t agree with them or even like them. Respect says more about the giver than the receiver. So does a lack of it.

9. Think before you speak and speak after you think. Your words can and will have life-impacting effect upon others. Use them to build others up instead of to tear them down.

8. Not everyone is going to be like you, but that doesn’t mean you should treat them badly. People who are different are still people. Treat them like you want them to treat you.

7. Purity is the best wedding gift you can give your bride. Look for a wife who will exchange that same gift back with you.

6. No one in life owes you anything that you didn’t earn. Don’t think that you have a right to something “just because”. Entitlement is an excuse for not putting in the effort.

5. When adversity slaps you across the face, slap it back. Difficult times will come. When they do, don’t give up. Don’t you ever give up.

4. Show people that you care about them. Never leave a loving word unsaid. Today is the day to let others know you appreciate them.

3. The goal is the “right” thing, not the “popular”, “easy” or “justifiable” thing. Never let anyone pressure you into choosing wrong over right, nor into settling for good over better.

2. There is an opportunity cost in everything. When you invest your time, money, and resources in something then something else gets left out. Choose wisely what you value and invest in.

1. Jesus + Nothing = Everything. The reverse of this equation is also true: Everything – Jesus = Nothing. Everything means more when nothing means more than Him.

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