August 18, 2015 Issue #113

What? My shortcuts to maturity
can actually be fun?

Maturity plays a very welcome role in life: It helps you avoid pain. It's been said that wisdom is the combination of knowledge and experience. Maturity, then, is the application of wisdom.

Many singles have the mistaken notion that if you become mature, you'll lose all your spontaneity and not have as much fun. They think maturity means becoming a spoilsport.

Acting like a grownup doesn't mean you stop enjoying life. On the contrary, you can enjoy life more when you're not jamming yourself up all the time with your own dumb blunders. Think how much more pleasurable life would be without self-sabotage. What if you learned to guard your speech so you didn't hurt your friends' feelings? And wouldn't it be great if you could shrug off criticism and rejection without beating yourself up?

Those are just a few of the benefits of maturity, a quality we all need to work on more, including me.

When I was in high school, in the last century, our principal, Tom Bryant, gave us a lecture about accepting responsibility. Now, 50 years later, his words still haunt me. We can be mature and act responsibly, or we can fumble along wondering why things keep going wrong. Being mature is the difference between driving yourself through life or being along for the ride and taking what comes.

If you manage to take away only one good principle from this feature article, it can make wonderful improvements for you. Ready to learn from my mistakes? Then unpack these shortcuts to maturity.

Every day

Every day the clock sounds off
and you get out of bed.
You have a choice to welcome it
or shrink in fear and dread.

Every day it's up to you
what you will seek and find.
Being more than a conqueror
begins in your own mind.

Every day God gives you all
you need to make it through.
His help is just a prayer away
for everything you do.

So meet each day with hope and love
with God close by your side.
And live your life in confidence
that His grace will provide.

~ Jack Zavada, 2015 ~

Dr. Henry Cloud: August quote guy

Patterns are easy to see in others but not so obvious in ourselves. I knew a girl who dated three alcoholics in a row and got hurt by each one of them. She knew going in what they were. How many of us have gotten in trouble because of our temper? And if you max out one credit card, why would you start on another one?

Much pain can be prevented simply by learning our lesson after the first time. Sometimes we can't predict how things will turn out, as in a relationship. But if you're to blame for your last two relationships crashing, you can darn sure stop doing what caused it.

Let's be observant. Let's pay attention to what we're doing and consider the possible consequences of our actions. If we make a mistake, let's learn from it the first time instead of repeating it. That's smart. That's maturity.

It's like aspirin you have to take only once

Single & Sure, my ebook for single people, won't cure your physical headaches, but it will go a long way toward avoiding your emotional headaches.

In this giant ebook, I go through many of the headaches I caused myself in life and show you how to avoid them in your own life. These are common problems singles experience, such as:

* Loneliness,
* Low self-esteem,
* Grudges and regrets,
* Bad money habits,
* Negative attitudes,
* and much more!

Single & Sure is in PDF format, available through an instant download. The price is only $9.97, with an 8-week money back guarantee.

This is like a crash course in maturity, and the best part is you won't be an old fogey when you finish! Check out the contents, plus a f'ree sample download, at Single & Sure.

Grow up without growing old: Try these tips

Life doesn't have to be one crisis after another. With some forethought, planning, and wise decisions, you can make things run a lot smoother. It begins with recognizing that you're responsible for much of what happens to you. Take care of business, so to speak, and you won't be at the mercy of so many catastrophes.

To become a wiser person, check out these articles:

* Preparing for the ups and downs of life

* How to grow in spiritual maturity

* Should you care what others think?

* You always win when you compete with yourself

* What's up with unanswered prayer?

* Find your purpose in life

* What does living the abundant life mean?

* What? Wake up happy?

Attention singles: Memorize this formula!

Did you get that? It's NOT a spouse + me. It's NOT a live-in partner + me.

We singles often believe we're not "complete" without a spouse. I should know. I felt that way for years. That's society's idea. Wholeness doesn't come from marriage. It comes from a right relationship with God. The proof of that is many married people still don't feel whole. They know something's missing. On the other hand, single people can feel whole through a right relationship with Jesus Christ.

Don't have a relationship with God? Don't know who Jesus is? Here are Six great reasons to become a Christian.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to give me an email shout-out, it's easy to do with our gluten-free contact form.

And that brings us to the end of another Inspire-O-Gram. It's always a treat to meet with you through this newsletter. As we prepare for fall and cooler weather, remember that the seasons may change, but God never does. He's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That's good news!

Until September,

Jack Zavada