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<v Speaker 1>What is up?

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Ryan Brailey and I'm the pastor at Central Welcome to our Reflections podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm in studio with Mike Lauer.

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<v Speaker 1>What's up?

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<v Speaker 1>Buddy?

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<v Speaker 1>Not much.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, man, we're on episode six.

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<v Speaker 1>Look at us.

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<v Speaker 1>Episode seven oh my gosh, who is in charge here?

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<v Speaker 1>Not me.

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<v Speaker 1>Anyhow, I wanted to revisit some rules for life, if that's okay with you guys.

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<v Speaker 1>I got three more of my own rules for life.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to share a couple of episodes.

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<v Speaker 1>I shared, I think, four of them.

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<v Speaker 1>I've got 15, but I wanted to share a few.

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<v Speaker 1>Some I will keep to myself, but I wanted to share three more today.

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<v Speaker 1>So here are three more of my rules for life.

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<v Speaker 1>Number one be first.

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<v Speaker 1>So look, be first in life, first to say hello first, to pay first, to smile first, to forgive.

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<v Speaker 1>I noticed a long time ago that I would walk past people on the street and it would just be me and them and neither of us would say anything to each other.

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<v Speaker 1>You ever had that happen, where you walk by probably a stranger and no one says anything.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm like this is so weird.

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<v Speaker 1>Like you're a human being, I'm a human being.

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<v Speaker 1>Why don't we just say hi?

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<v Speaker 1>So I started just saying hi or good morning or what's up to people when I walk past on the street and they often respond with like a huge smile.

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<v Speaker 1>They're usually surprised when they say hi back.

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<v Speaker 1>So a new rule for my life is to always be first to say hi when walking past them on the street.

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<v Speaker 1>Or be first to pay for lunch.

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<v Speaker 1>When you're out with buddies, you know, reach for your wallet first and offer to pay for the lunch first.

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<v Speaker 1>Or when asking for forgiveness.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes they're like these standoffs.

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<v Speaker 1>Like you know, you both maybe have done wrong and nobody wants to be first to ask for forgiveness.

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<v Speaker 1>I would encourage you to live by this rule for life Always be first to ask for forgiveness.

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<v Speaker 1>Just break the ice and go first, because sometimes nobody goes at all and you're left with emptiness.

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<v Speaker 1>So, okay, rule one be first.

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<v Speaker 1>Rule number two this is one of my favorites hey, let your emotions sit in the car, but do not let them drive, because if your emotions, if you experience them, like I do, my emotions will often crash the car if they're driving.

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<v Speaker 1>Emotions are good, they're a gift from God.

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<v Speaker 1>I love them, but sometimes, let's be honest, emotions can be wild.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, take road rage, for example.

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<v Speaker 1>How in the world could cutting someone off in traffic lead to like someone getting shot on the side of the road?

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<v Speaker 1>It's so bizarre.

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<v Speaker 1>But when we let our emotions drive the car, metaphorically, they will often crash the car.

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<v Speaker 1>I think is.

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<v Speaker 1>In general, my own emotions can sometimes, if not a lot of the times, cannot fully be trusted and make rational decisions.

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<v Speaker 1>So I don't want to suppress my emotions.

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<v Speaker 1>I love them.

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<v Speaker 1>They're great.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm an emotional guy.

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<v Speaker 1>We're emotional human beings.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't want to ignore them.

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<v Speaker 1>They're a part of who I am and how God has made me.

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<v Speaker 1>But I want to understand them and invite them in and kind of see you know what they're up to and what they're all about, and then and then put them in their proper place.

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<v Speaker 1>They cannot drive my car because when they do they will often crash the car.

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<v Speaker 1>So let your emotions in.

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<v Speaker 1>Emotions are great, I love them, they're from God.

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<v Speaker 1>But don't let them drive the car.

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<v Speaker 1>Number three this is one of my favorites embrace wonder.

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<v Speaker 1>We live in a culture that by and large, has disengaged itself from the mysterious, from the unknown, and have become practicing materialists where we just sort of champion those things which we can touch and see and examine in our microscope.

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<v Speaker 1>But I want to encourage you to go the other direction and embrace wonder and mystery.

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<v Speaker 1>The great Abraham Joshua Heschel once said I didn't ask for success, but I asked for wonder.

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<v Speaker 1>So there are many things in the universe we cannot know or explain.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, mystery is the magic of the cosmos.

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<v Speaker 1>So I want to encourage you to go outside often with your eyes wide open and ask for wonder.

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<v Speaker 1>When you see birds in the trees, take a minute and just, like man, look in awe at those birds.

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<v Speaker 1>Or if you're out, you know, on the lake or a river or in the in the woods, like, just take a minute and like just breathe in the wonder and the mystery of all the things happening around you, that you have no idea what's going on and then that the invitation is to become like a child again.

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<v Speaker 1>So embrace wonder.

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<v Speaker 1>So my three rules today are hey, be first, be first when smiling, when saying hello, when asking for forgiveness.

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<v Speaker 1>Rule two hey, let your emotions sit in the car.

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<v Speaker 1>They're a wonderful gift from God, but understand them, get to know them and what they're up to, and then invite them to sit, maybe shotgun them, in the backseat.

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<v Speaker 1>And rule number three embrace wonder.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's be people of wonder and embrace mystery and acknowledges very many things.

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<v Speaker 1>There are a lot of things.

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<v Speaker 1>There are very many things.

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<v Speaker 1>There are a lot of things in life we cannot explain.

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<v Speaker 1>So embrace wonder and become like a child again.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, peace.