"Do you persevere?"

Our family was camping in the Appalachian Mountains. We enjoyed cooking our evening meals over an open campfire so each night, I built a nice fire. Well, for two evenings in a row, a rainstorm blew up and drowned my beautiful campfire.

So the third evening rolls around and this time I’m prepared. “No rainstorm’s gonna drown my fire tonight,” I said, as I built not a campfire, but a bonfire. I mean, it was huge. I was determined my girls were going to eat a hot meal. So I’ve got this roaring blaze going and the rain starts. And it rains and rains and rains, but it doesn’t drown my fire. Between rain bursts, I jumped out of the tent, hot dogs on skewers, and cooked them.

Sometimes it seems like no matter what you do, something comes along to dowse it. Rain falls on your campfire, your parade, and everything else. Face your challenges with courage and insight. Decide what you can do to guarantee success. Then pray and persevere even through the rain as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"How do you see God?"

What’s God look like to you? Maybe for you God looks like a piñata. You’re looking for just the right prayer stick—solid and the right length—to whack God hard enough to force the goodies you want to rain down from the heavens.

Or maybe for you, God is more like a prize machine, you know the kind where you drop your money down, grip the joystick, maneuver the claw over what you want from life, then drop and grab it, move carefully over to the chute and let it go.

Or, maybe for you, God looks more like a craps table. You try to be good enough to buy up enough chips to bet your life, pick up your dice, blow on them, breathe a prayer to God like “Come on now, the baby needs shoes!” and roll away.

Look, there are no magic words when it comes to praying to God. Sure, use words to pray, but prayer is more about a relationship with God than a piñata or claw or roll of the dice. Just talk to God about what’s on your mind and heart, about what’s in your spirit. Then listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Who's in control?"

Colonel Cramer was the Wing Commander for his state’s Civil Air Patrol. He had a quiet personality and was a manager who knew how to get things done. One evening, a staff member came in with a problem in his squadron. It was a great crisis for him.

Colonel Cramer listened intently, hands folded on the desk in front of him. He said nothing until the staff member finished by saying, “What are we going to do?”

Colonel Cramer sat quietly for a moment, and then said, “Did anyone die?”

“No,” the staff member said.

“Are we going to jail?” asked Colonel Cramer.

The staff member said, “Well, no.”

“Then relax,” Colonel Cramer said, “everything will be fine. It’s no big deal.”

The next time a crisis that’s bigger than you jumps on you, make sure you’re not dying or going to jail, take a deep breath, and relax. You’ll be fine. It’s no big deal. Remind yourself that God is in control as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Do you remember and celebrate?"

Last month, I shared an email story with you from some friends. A sudden wind storm blew down some oak trees that were well over a hundred years old. My friends were reminiscing about the many years of life under those branches.

That story prompted another friend to email me about a similar experience he had. An old oak tree went down in a similar storm. Many, many people had gathered for over a hundred years under those branches and there was a certain sadness about its loss.

One enterprising man decided to give people a way to remember and celebrate that old oak tree. He gathered up some branches from the fallen tree, branches that were about a couple of inches in diameter. He saw off wafers from the branches, drilled a hole through it near the top, ran a wire through it, and gave it to friends as a Christmas tree ornament. That way they could both remember and celebrate the old oak tree.

What do you do to remember and celebrate? Discover a way to remember and celebrate as you listen to life today.

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"What's life like?"

Have you ever thought about life as a board game?

Think about it. In a board game, you’re always trying to advance your playing piece, regardless of whether you’re playing Life, Candy Land, or Monopoly. You’re on your way somewhere. Sometimes you draw a card and have twins or get stuck in Molasses Swamp or land on Baltic Avenue and other times, Boardwalk. Sometimes you draw a “Get Out of Jail Free” card and other times you land on “Go Straight to Jail. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200.”

Sometimes you roll or spin your best effort and you advance 6 spaces and celebrate. Other times, you give it your best effort, and advance 6 spaces, only to discover that you’ve got to go back twenty.

Life is like a board game. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. But you keep playing, don’t you? I guess that’s because you’re going somewhere and will get there someday.

Since life is like a board game, as you’re going somewhere, go with God as your traveling companion. And listen to life so you can make a life, not just a living.

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