I'm not perfect. Most people aren't.

A friend of mine has started blogging and he recently talked about one of those types of days where you just want to reboot ... as he put it, an epic fail day.

I was thinking about my failures - there are a lot of them - and what I've learned from them over the years.

I learned that receiving the Holy Ghost doesn't mean that you won't fail again. Two days after I first received the Holy Ghost, I lied to my German teacher and forged my dad's signature on a test. God doesn't write us off when we disappoint Him.

I learned that God can take dead, dry bones and make them live - following a three-year period where I couldn't reach God, a late-night prayer meeting brought a refilling of the Holy Ghost that started an entire new season of spiritual growth.

I learned that a righteous man isn't righteous because he never falls, but because he keeps getting up. After crying out for grace and then turning to spit in God's face time and again, I reached a point of total brokenness. God opened doors and placed me in a rehab program in California, where I was tested, tried, equipped, and restored. Since that time, God has opened doors in my life and used me in ways that I never dreamed possible.

I'm not perfect, but I do my best to walk after Christ. When I fall short, I don't stay down. I rise up again.