Where are you?

It started that morning with a voice mail that my two o’clock coaching session wanted to come the next day at two o’clock. That was okay because I had an opening and it gave me a chance to do some training I wanted to do.

Then my lunch appointment changed to a four o’clock meeting. That was okay because I had an opening and could schedule lunch with someone else. So I did.
Next on the way to lunch, that person called and said he couldn’t make it. So, I stopped and prayed about who I was supposed to have lunch with. I called the person whose name I heard as I listened and they were out to lunch already. So I went to the restaurant where I thought he might be, got my lunch, and went out into the mall’s food court. I hadn’t taken two bites before he walked by, I called his name, he came over, and he sat and talked for about an hour about some challenges in his life.

Sometimes, even though nothing turns out the way you thought it would, God puts you where you can help the most.

You can learn something new every day. What are you learning?

I’m learning that everyone I meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I’m learning that God didn’t do it all in one day so what makes me think that I can?

I’m learning that underneath another person’s hard shell is someone who wants to be love and appreciated.

I’m learning to be glad that God doesn’t give me everything I ask for.

I’m learning that opportunities are never lost. Someone will take the ones I miss so I should leave a few lying around.

I’m learning that a lot of people want to live on the mountaintop, but most of my personal growth happens while I’m climbing it.

I’m learning to keep my words soft and tender because I may have to eat them later.

And finally, I’m learning to listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

You can learn something new every day. What are you learning?

"You don't have to plan it all, do you?"

We didn’t know they were going to the concert. And they didn’t know we were going. But as soon as we walked up, we saw each other and decided to sit together. The wives sat next to each other and talked and had fun. We husbands sat together and enjoyed ourselves.

In fact, we had such a great time together, that after the show we went out for dessert. And that was a whole lot of fun, too.

Now, we didn’t know they were going to the concert and they didn’t we were going. None of us planned anything together. It just happened...

…or did it? Sometimes good times just drop in your lap. Or do they?
God is so good to us, giving us a great time in life even when we don’t ask for it. Sure, we ask for a lot of things from God, usually in times of stress or distress, but sometimes God just wants to do something nice for us and works out a plan for our pleasure, and we don’t even know it’s coming.

Listen to life and make a life, not just a living today and know that God has plans for you, a plan for you to prosper and get a lot of pleasure out of your life.

"Is your life cluttered?"

Some friends of mine are building a new house with all of the excitement of picking out colors and appliances and deciding where to hang the toilet paper roll. All of this excitement is accompanied by the reality of moving and going through all of their accumulated stuff. Their real estate agent advised them to declutter their current home, i.e., move some of their furniture out so the rooms look bigger, take clothes out of the closets so they look more spacious, and you get the idea.

One of my friends said to me, “It’s amazing how you get used to your stuff being there. You don’t think of your home as being cluttered until you move some of it out and then you realize it really was.”

His remark made me think about other things that could use some decluttering…like your thoughts. You think in a certain way for a while and accumulate thoughts, some of which make your world smaller. Or your heart harbors certain feelings that you need to let go of. So today declutter your life as you listen to life and make a spacious life, not just a living.

"How do you touch life?"

Okay, so call me old-fashioned, retro, or a stick-in-the-mud, but I really like listening to music played on vinyl records. I know, I know—the quality’s not as good as a CD what with all of those pops and cracks and skips. I know—I can’t take a turntable to the gym and listen to tunes while I work out.

Just so you’ll know, our family has multiple CD players. I burn CDs of my show and ship to some of our LIFE Network radio stations. I download mp3 files and am talking with some friends about podcasting my show and expanding it. So I don’t have my head in the techno-sand, but…

…there’s just something about touching the music that I like. I watch the needle tracking across the vinyl. I get up out of my chair and turn the album over to the other side. You can’t do that with a download.

Listening to life is kind of like playing a vinyl record. You can’t just sit there and expect life to just play without you touching something, and getting involved. So reach out and touch God’s music as you make a life today.