"How do you finish your prayers?"

Three-year-old Kelli and her brother Cody would say their prayers together each night. And as most children do who don’t want to leave anyone or anything out (and who want to delay going to bed), Kelli and Cody had to thank God for every animal in the animal kingdom including a few extinct ones, every living and deceased family member, every friend they’d ever had, and well, you get the picture.

Kelli finished her prayers a little differently than Cody. For about three weeks, when she was through, she would say, “All Girls.” Finally, her mother’s curiosity got the best of her and she asked, “Kelli, why do you say “All Girls” at the end of your prayers?”

And Kelli said, “Because Cody always says, ‘All Men’ at the end of his so I thought I would say ‘All Girls.’”

You know, I suspect God got a cosmic-sized laugh out of Kelli’s “All Girls.” Regardless of your gender, pray to God about everything in your life as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

"Do you like surprises?"

I looked up from my computer and walked over to the office window and stared out over the backyard and into the woods for a few moments.

All of a sudden, something caught my attention. It was yellow and flashed down near our bird feeder. It looked like a leaf to me and I wondered, “What’s a leaf doing turning yellow and falling in the summer time.” But the “leaf” turned at a right angle and landed on the bird feeder. Turns out it was a yellow finch.

So I stood there, laughing at myself for my mistake. Then another yellow finch landed on the feeder. And another. And another. A total of five of them descended on the feeder. It was a real treat for me to stand there and watch them flitting about the feeder, their brilliant yellow color lighting up against the green backdrop of the yard. I don’t get to see one of those birds very often, much less five of them.

When something happens, we usually fit it into our normal patterns like I did with the leaf. But there are surprises waiting for us daily, delightful serendipities God provides if we listen to life and make a life!

"What are you learning?"

Last month, I shared with you some things I’ve been learning lately as I listen to life. Here are a few more:

I’m learning that even when your daughter graduates from high school, you can always remember the first time you held her.

I’m learning that when you try to get even with someone, you’re only hurting yourself.

I’m learning that no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I’m learning that to ignore the facts doesn’t change the facts.

I’m learning that love, not time, heals all wounds.

I’m learning that one of the best ways for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than me.

I’m learning that even when your “baby” is in middle school and won’t get in your lap anymore, that you can always close your eyes and see the two of you asleep, swinging in a hammock in the backyard.

Listen to life and learn to make a life today!

"Who's in your bed?"

I saw an ad in a business magazine recently for a database company. The headline read, “Take (the database name) to Bed and Watch Your Sales Grow!” And as it was intended, that headline got me to read the rest of the article.

The ad continued, “You can call your prospects right from your bed and sign up new clients. (Database name) will make you rich and happy.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I want to call my prospects from my bed. I’m not so sure I want to sign up new clients from my bed either. And while I might get rich doing that, I know my wife won’t be happy and if she’s not happy, I’m not happy.

Now I know what they meant, but you know, many of us do take our work to bed. We go to sleep thinking about work, laying plans and making schemes. And we wake up still solving problems or developing marketing strategy. We’re so busy making a living, we forget to make a life.

Listen to life today for what God has to say.

"Do you pray during?"

Little Johnny and his family sat down together around his grandmother’s table, all ready for a most wonderful Sunday dinner. Everyone was there and his grandmother had prepared all of Johnny’s favorite foods. It all smelled so delicious and Johnny was ready to eat. It’s hard for a little boy to sit still without eating what with all of his favorite foods in front of him. In fact, as soon as his mother put his plate in front of him, Johnny started eating right away.

“Johnny,” his mother said, “wait until we say the prayer before you eat.”

“I don’t have to,” Johnny said.

“Of course, you do!” his mother said. “We always say a prayer before eating at our house.”

“That’s our house,” Johnny said. “This is Grandma’s house and she knows how to cook!”

I can relate with Johnny. I guess some things in life just don’t require a prayer before you enjoy them, do they? Well, if you don’t pray before, remember to pray during, and thank God for what you’re enjoying as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.