Advice For Graduates

I have been working on a surprise for two students at my church. One of them has already graduated from high school, thanks to the GED test; the other will graduate next week.
One of the things that my “surprise” consists of is advice that I have learned over the years. Much of the advice has come because of scars, bruises and black eyes (not literally, but figuratively) in the boxing match called life.
My advice for Erika and Cody, both from Suwannee County, as well as for all the graduates this year, includes the following:
*Read the Bible through from cover to cover as often as you can. Please read it at least once. If you have to, you can always find CDs or MP3s with the Bible on them. You can even find audio Bibles on the Internet.
*Always remember that without Jesus Christ, you can’t accomplish anything. You can’t even pray without invoking Jesus’ name because he is the advocate between God the Father and us.
*I can’t stress this enough because it is something I did not do and something that I don’t have a chance to do now. Save some money each time you get paid. Put it aside for a rainy day. Believe me, the rainy days will come. Everything may look bright and sunny now, but the rain’s going to fall at times that you least expect it.
*Please remember to exercise and eat right. Right now, you may be able to eat anything that you want and not gain a pound, In high school, I weighed 165 pounds. You don’t want to be as big as I am right now.
*You can’t change other people no matter how hard you try. That is God’s business. He is the only person who can change hearts.
*Always be kind to others even when it’s hard and it does get so hard at times.
*Hold on tight to your dreams, but this doesn’t mean you always have to have the same dream. If you decide to follow another dream, think it over carefully, and if you decide to follow the new one, go ahead and do it.
*Be proud of your accomplishments (like graduating from high school) but be humble when it comes to things like your looks, your brains, etc. “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.” (Proverbs 27:2, New American Standard Bible)
Remember, your family is proud of you, your church is proud of you and Jacob is proud of you.