"What's your wish for the new year?"

I wish you a new year of ordinary miracles. Miracles like a fresh pot of coffee you didn’t make yourself. An unexpected phone call from an old friend. Green lights all the way to your workplace.

I wish you a new year of little things to rejoice in like the fastest line at the grocery store. A good sing-along song on the radio. Your keys right where you look.

I wish you a new year of happiness from a stranger’s smile and a child’s full-body hug and a puppy’s wet lick of your face.
I wish you a new year of little bite-size pieces of perfection like your favorite meal for supper and a great hair day and someone guesses your age ten years younger than you really are.

I wish you ordinary miracles, little things to rejoice in, a day of happiness, and bite-size pieces of perfection that give you the funny feeling that God is smiling on you, holding you so gently and guiding you through your day because you are someone special and unique. I wish you a new year of listening to life!

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"Do you wonder what the new year of 2006 will be like?"

I was wondering recently what the new year of 2006 will be like. Frankly I was hoping it’ll be better for lots of us, that the war in Iraq will stop, and that peace will prevail over the entire world.

I wonder about such things sometimes, don’t you? And other things, like why does the sun lighten your hair, but darken your skin? And why don’t you ever see a headline that reads, “Psychic Wins Lottery?” And why is lemon juice made with artificial flavoring and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

I wonder why there isn’t a mouse-flavored cat food? And why do we name an air freshener, “Clean Linen?” Does that mean there’s another fragrance called, “Dirty Linen?” And why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Do you wonder what the new year will be like? I do. Let’s wonder every day what the new year will be like. And let’s get our wonder satisfied by listening to life today for what God has to say as we make a life and not just a living.

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey

"Do you realize God is ahead of you?"

My wife really wanted us to rent a convertible while we vacationed in Maui. I checked into it and the cost was just way out of line with our budget. So I told her I didn’t see how we could and she was disappointed, but still grateful to be going.
Well, when I walked up to the rental car counter, the young lady greeted me warmly with a nice “Aloha!,” entered my name in the computer, and welcomed me to Maui.

“We’re glad to be here,” I told her. “My wife and I have been trying to get here for nearly three years. This dream trip of hers is my birthday present to her.”

“How nice of you,” she said and kept on typing in the computer. Then she said, “Dr. Faucette, would you be interested in upgrading from your compact car to a convertible for only $63 more…and I’ll give you 10% off of your bill?”

Of course I took it, realizing that God had been way ahead of us to prepare a good time for us. Just like God has gone way ahead of you into 2006 to prepare a good time for you. So listen to life and make a life, not just a living in 2006.

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey

"Do you complain and grumble at work?"

I received this email from a friend who listens to life through our web site, www.listentolife.org.

“Dr. Joey, Thank you for today’s story. I needed to be reminded of all I have for which I should be grateful, and for the things I no longer have for which gratitude escaped me. I used to complain about going to work and then complain once at work…until I became unemployed. I hope others who read your jewels daily will benefit from my story and be reminded of what they have and to be so very grateful. May I never forget the agony of joblessness and forever refrain from petty complaints and grumbling. It is so true that in life, sometimes, that for which we complain may be lost to us. It is also, sometimes, through the losing that we come to fully appreciate just exactly how precious a gift we had all along. I am trying to make a life Dr. Joey, not just a living.”

From where I’m sitting, you are! God bless you in 2006 with everything your heart can hope for and more than your mind can imagine.

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"What'd you get?"

Designer pants from a name-brand store? Another pair of blue socks and a white shirt? A green lamp?

Really, what did you get? Did you find any peace on earth, good will to all people as you tore open your presents? As you carefully saved that gift bag, did you pull out a single candle to light in the curse of darkness? As you shook that big package to see what it was, did you hear any songs to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony?

Or, was it just another pair of designer pants from a name-brand store, pair of blue socks, a white shirt, and this year’s big novelty toy in a pear tree?

May I give a gift to you right now? May God bless you with peace and good will, joy and harmony today and for the rest of your life.

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey