"are you ready for the big night?"

Do you remember when you were a child how excited you got getting ready for Santa Claus? You made your wish list of toys and treasures and impatiently waited until the night that lasts longer than any other night—Christmas Eve.

Our daughter, when she was a preschooler, anticipated the longest night of the year and dictated her Christmas wish list to her mother. When she knelt by her bed to pray with me, she said, “Daddy, I want to pray to Santa Claus.” Surprised by her remark, I said, “Why?” And she said, ”Because you won’t let me ask God for toys so I want to ask Santa Claus.”

As you prepare for the longest night of the year and the visit of a jolly ole elf, remember to say your prayers and ask God to visit you, too. For it’s God who brings the greatest gifts of all. Listen to life tomorrow night for what God has to say.

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"Who do you work for?"

A group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They promised their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. Rushing through the airport, one of these salesmen kicked over a table full of baskets of apples. Apples flew everywhere. They didn’t stop because they would have missed their plane if they did…except one.

He told his buddies to go on without him, to call his wife when they arrived home and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the floor and the 16 year-old girl selling them was crying softly. She was blind, on her knees, groping for the apples.

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, and helped set the display back up. As he did, he noticed some of the apples were bruised.

When he finished, he said to the girl, "Here, please take this $20 for the damage we did."

She nodded through her tears and said, "Mister, do you work for God?”

Remember to help where you can and don’t get in too big a hurry as you make a life, and not just a living.

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"What will you give this holiday season?"

Sue and Tom had a dog, Lucky. Lucky was a great dog, but he had one character flaw—he was a thief. He was constantly taking stuff—clothing, shoes, and anything else he could get his mouth around—downstairs to his toy box in the basement and hiding it.

Sue discovered that she had breast cancer. And she didn’t handle the diagnosis very well, even convinced that she would die from the illness. She even worried about leaving Lucky, who was her dog more than Tom’s.

The double mastectomy presented more complications for Sue than the doctors anticipated. When she came home, she couldn’t even make it to the bedroom upstairs. She just fell on the sofa and went to sleep.

She woke up later feeling very hot, like she was smothering. She realized that she was covered with something. Lucky had brought all of his favorite toys from the basement and piled them on top of her. He covered her with his love. Sue is still cancer-free today.

Choose to cover others with the gift of God’s love this holiday season.

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"What's your perfect holiday gift?"

We’re all searching for the perfect holiday gift, the perfect something for someone who has everything and needs nothing, right? Sure there’s lots of stuff to buy, but that just right something is elusive at times.

My parents gave me a gift recently that you definitely would not want. My wife didn’t want it and my daughters think it’s ridiculous, but it’s the perfect gift for me. My parents gave me the ugliest green lamp you’ve ever seen, with a matching green, metal shade. The lamp is shaped like a ship with gold painting on the front and the sails have a tiny light bulb with a separate switch that you turn on and it lights up the color slides behind the sails. Trust me, it’s even uglier than it sounds.

But this lamp belonged to my grandmother and every time I went to her house, I sneaked into her bedroom to play with it, lighting up the sails, and pretending to sail the Seven Seas. So it has lots of special memories for me and that’s why it’s in my office.

Sometimes the perfect gift doesn’t cost a lot or is even pretty, but sent by God.

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"Do you know where your watch is?"

Earlier this year I stopped wearing my watch. Now I like my watch. It’s a very well-known brand watch. Some friends of mine gave it to me. It’s beautiful.

So why did I stop wearing it? To help me focus less on what’s coming up next and where I’m going and by when and more on where I am now, what I’m doing now, who I’m with now, and what’s going on now.

You’re probably wondering how I get anywhere on time. I have a mobile phone and it keeps time. And there are clocks everywhere—restaurant walls, the car, my friends’ wrists. I haven’t been any later than I was earlier for any of my appointments, but I sure feel freer.

I feel freer to listen to the person I’m eating lunch with who has cancer. I feel freer to answer email from around the world from people searching for life answers. I feel freer to have fun at the gym with my daughter. I feel freer to share with my wife.

So try it for a day or two. Just put your watch in your dresser drawer and try it. And listen to life and make a life, not just a time-driven living.

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey