At Last Report, Chris Fabry* Is Alive

Today is Chris Fabry’s 61st birthday (Happy Birthday Chris, many happy returns. And thank you for all you do for all of us out here on the fruited plain).

On his 50th birthday (2011), Chris published a list of 50 things he had learned in 50 years. We are unsure what additional things, if any, Chris may have learned in the ensuing 11 years. But the 2011 list remains bracing and true. Herewith the 50 things Chris Fabry learned in his first 50 years:

1. Failure is frightening, success can be terrifying. Both will try to stop you from doing what you were called to do.
2. Love is patient, love is kind, but it’s also messy and really hard. A good man will let it change him.
3. A free phone, a free month, and a free horse are never free.
4. It doesn’t take much to encourage someone. And it takes even less to discourage them.
5. It’s a mistake to base what you do on your worst critic, your biggest fan, or a focus group. Be who you were made to be, not who someone thinks you should be.
6. There are three things that are too wonderful for me, four that I do not understand: A good dog, a loving wife, children who obey, and an honest mechanic.
7. The goal of my life is not perfection, it’s participation.
8. Love means never having to admit that your wife was wrong.
9. Those who suck on the straw of life get a lot more out of it than those who blow into it.
10. Sometimes the worst thing I could have is to get what I want.
11. If you have to buy the protection plan, don’t buy it.
12. Drive the speed limit and you’ll never worry about how much the speeding ticket is going to cost.
13. Struggle is not the sign of illness or death, it’s a sign of life.
14. Left to itself, the human heart will always settle for something less than that which will truly satisfy.
15. There is no problem, no diagnosis, no hurt or pain or mountain that is bigger than God.
16. Invest your time, don’t just spend it. Saying no to something will allow you to say yes to something later.
17. Faith is not understanding everything God is doing. Faith is trusting that what He is doing is good and will result in glory to Him.
18. Love is a lot like living in the desert. There will be times of rain and cool. But most of the time it’s hot and your garbage stinks.
19. Life is not about reaching my dreams and goals, it’s about discovering God’s plan and purpose.
20. Time with your children is never wasted.
21. Loss and pain force you to choose between bitter and better.
22. When I work to control my life, I get further behind in following Jesus.
23. The key to the abundant life is forgiveness. It’s a choice to make every day.
24. It’s a good thing to cry. It shows you’re human and connected.
25. It’s okay to let people down, make mistakes, and fail because it proves you’re trying. Life is not about getting everything right.
26. Loving someone doesn’t always mean you make them happy. And being loved doesn’t always mean that you’re happy.
27. God doesn’t need my ability. He desires availability. My greatest mission is surrender to Him.
28. God doesn’t want to resurface my life and make it smoother. He wants to dig it up, make it new, and change directions.
29. Money and possessions are like weeds in life’s garden. Give as much away as you can.
30. Sometimes progress looks like death.
31. Humility and self-deprecation are miles apart.
32. If Jesus never hurried, I don’t have to.
33. Making your kids do what is right is not parenting. Training them to choose what is right is.
34. Doctors don’t know everything and neither do I.
35. I have no relatives in England or Africa who have died and left me money.
36. Beware of these three words, spoken to you on the street, after dark. “Excuse me, sir?”
37. Invest in people not things.
38. A coward uses his wife as the reason for making a decision.
39. Monogamy is the most sexy thing you can do.
40. A good marriage can look like a bad marriage for awhile.
41. The people who wound are wounded themselves.
42. The end of the chapter does not determine the end of the book.
43. There will be no homeowner’s association in Heaven.
44. I cannot live my life for another’s agenda. My greatest test will be to discern God’s agenda from my own.
45. When I feel blue in my soul, it’s because I have not understood that prayer is the breath of the Christian.
46. If you live by fear, you will never rest. But if you live in freedom, you’ll have constant rest and your worries will pass.
47. You will never appreciate real peace until you’ve gone through a big storm.
48. Real men do dishes.
49. Ninety percent of getting anything worthwhile done is showing up.
50. It’s hard to hang onto a smooth rope. God puts knots in our cord so we can have a place to hold on.

• Chris Fabry is a radio personality, (Chris Fabry Live / Moody Radio), author, moviemaker, and general Biblical raconteur.