"Are you protected?"

I am so blessed to have lots of windows in my office. One set of windows looks out on a mountain range. The other set looks up the mountain where we live. So I get a real panoramic view.

Recently as it snowed, I looked out the southeast windows, up the mountain on which we live. I noticed something as it gently and quietly snowed. Though there were no leaves on the trees yet, the bare branches protected the ground from the snowfall. As the snow first fell, none of it touched the ground under the bare-branch canopy of the trees.

Now who would have imagined that a bare branch could do that? With no leaves on it, who would have thought that branch would prevent the snowfall from blanketing the ground underneath it?

Sometimes in life, you may not think that God can protect you from the world’s cold falling on you. That God is like a bare branch. When you feel like you’re alone in the cold, remember that God’s warmth insulates you from the world’s cold, blanketing you with unconditional love.

"Small world, isn't it?"

A friend who listens to life with us through our web site at www.listentolife.org recently emailed me an experience her son had while applying for a job. The job required a physical examination.

So he showed up for the physical. The nurse began by asking his birthday. He told her, “April 15, 1975.” And the nurse said, “Really? That’s my birthday! How about that?”

Then she asked, “Where were you born?”

He told her the name of the city and she said, “I can’t believe it! That’s where I was born!”

So here were two complete strangers, born the same day in the same hospital, two people who shared the same nursery the first night of their lives, meeting for the very first time.

The world gets smaller every day, doesn’t it? Just think about all the people you shared a nursery with your first night of life. When will you get to meet them?

Now you’re beginning to understand how God can have the whole world in hand.

"Having one of those days?"

Do you ever have just one of those days? Where for no apparent reason, nothing goes right, or at least the way you want? And all your plans, your hopes, your dreams seem a million miles away?

I was having one of those days last month. It seemed like everything I tried was going nowhere fast. I know it wasn’t really that bad, but it sure seemed that way.

I had an appointment outside of my office, so I got in our vehicle, backed out of the garage, and headed down the driveway. I turned up the radio and guess who was on it? That’s right! Our syndicated radio show was on. So I listened to the story and when I do that, usually I critique it, listening for how I can improve the show. But something different happened that day. I really listened to the story, not to evaluate but to elevate my day. The story ended by talking about how God has a plan already and we simply follow it.

A real sense of peace came over me and I thanked God for having my life’s plan even on an off-day. See what happens when you listen to life?

"Are you hooked up?"

A guy had just started his own firm. He’d rented a beautiful office and furnished it with antiques. Sitting at his huge oak desk, he saw a man come into the outer office. So the businessman picked up the phone and pretended he was working on a big deal.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “that’s just too small an account for a firm like ours. We only deal with accounts worth $1 million and higher. Now if you want to bundle some accounts together in your company and let us handle all of your business, we can do that.”

He waved the man in from the outer office and motioned him to a chair.

“Sure, we can take care of $250 million for you. No problem! Okay, let’s talk again soon,” he said. He hung up the phone and turned to the man in the chair. “And what can I do for you today, sir?”

And the man said, “I’m here to hook up your phone.”

Are you hooked up? I mean, with someone other than yourself?

Hook up with God today as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

"I absolutely love chocolate bunnies. Which kind of chocolate bunny is your favorite?"

My grandmother gave me a chocolate bunny every spring when I was a kid. I always looked forward to getting it, but there were some chocolate bunnies I liked better than others. You see some years she gave me a hollow chocolate bunny. Now I really liked the chocolate, but when I bit into it, there was nothing but air. Other years she gave me a marshmallow-filled chocolate bunny. It was great because it had something inside. But marshmallow does get a little old after a few bites. My favorite years were those when my grandmother gave me solid chocolate bunnies. They were chocolate all the way through.

What is your spirit filled with? Air? Gooey softness? Or, are you solid all the way through? God wants to fill your spirit all the way through with all the sweet goodness of life. Be solid in your spirit as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.