"Have you hugged your washer and dryer lately?"

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It was just a few generations ago that washing and drying clothes was a lot different than today. You built a fire in the backyard to heat a kettle of rainwater you had caught off the roof into a barrel. You placed the kettle so that the smoke wouldn’t blow in your eyes. You waited until the fire blazed hot enough to boil the water. You shaved soap you had made into the water. While the soap melted in the kettle, you scrubbed the dirtiest spots on your clothes on a board, using a rock or a stiff brush. Then you dropped them into the kettle to boil for a while.

After they boiled, you took a broom handle, reached into the kettle, and took the now clean clothes out and put them into another kettle of water to rinse. If you wanted the clothes starched, they went into a third kettle. Then you took them out, rung the water out, and hung them on the clothesline to dry.

Makes you want to hug your washer and dryer, doesn’t it?

Find something, anything to be grateful for today. You really don’t have to look very far. Just listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

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"Do you say what you mean?"

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I guess we all intend to say what we mean, but sometimes we don’t always mean what we say. Take for instance these statements as they appeared in various newsletters and other publications:

“Ladies, remember the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

“The peace-making meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

“The soloist sang, “I will not pass this way again,” giving obvious pleasure to those present.

“John Smith and Mary Baker were married on October 24. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

“Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

“We will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment, and gracious hostility.

“The Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7PM. Please use the back door.”

Say what you mean and mean what you say as you listen to life today.

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"Do you prefer blondes?"

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Divers in the South Pacific have discovered a new crustacean that looks a lot like a lobster, only as a blonde. Its appearance is very much like a lobster but it’s covered with what looks like silky, blond fur.

The journal of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris reported the finding by a team of American-led divers off the coast of Easter Island. The “blond lobster” is so unique that it merits its own family and genus.

The animal is white, about the size of a salad plate, and the blond fur covers its pincers. Now lots of new ocean species are discovered every year, but rarely does one merit its own family and genus.

Amazing, isn’t it, how diverse and yet similar God’s created world really is? Astounding, isn’t it, that we’re still discovering new forms of life every year?

God’s creative design for life takes on new expressions just about every day, doesn’t it? Keep listening to life and discover your creative design as you make a life and not just a living.

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"Do you look over your shoulder?"

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The part of the world where I live had some marvelous, beautiful, amazingly warm weather last month. I’m talking about temperatures up above 80 degrees, with 70 degrees and higher common for day after day. Spring arrived early for us. My daffodils popped up and bloomed virtually overnight. My rose bushes started growing new leaves early. The maple trees turned red with buds. And the Bradford pears stood up and saluted all of us with their gorgeous white flowers.

What a great gift—to stir from the sleepy, dull winter early! I remarked about the beautiful weather everywhere I went. The response I received back was pretty common: “Yea, the weather is beautiful, but don’t enjoy it too much or else you’ll get used to it. And we might have another cold spell.”

Now I understand what they meant, but, listen: the only moment in time God gives you is right now. Yesterday’s gone. Tomorrow’s not here. Avoid looking over your shoulder in either direction. Listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

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"Do you listen to life?"

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Our older daughter, her boyfriend, and I went out to eat a few weeks ago. We had a great time together, hearing about what college is like for both of them, telling stories, and just generally having a ball.

Well, I left the table—it was a buffet—and returned in a few minutes. I asked our daughter if she had a pen I could borrow for a minute. “Sure,” she said, “there’s everything in this purse. What happened?”

I explained how something had happened that I wanted to jot down a couple of notes about so I could remember it for one of these Listen to Life stories. And her boyfriend said, “Oh wow, I always wanted to be around when one of these happened. What was it?”

So I told them what had happened. Then I said, “But you know, you can always be around when these stories happen. They happen around you everyday when you listen to your life.”

And they do! God is in your everyday experiences, also. You can listen to your life, too, and make a life, not just a living today!

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