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Thursday, June 01, 2006

"Where are your scars and how did you get them?"


Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to swim behind his house. He flew into the water, not realizing that an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His mother saw the two as they got closer together. She ran toward the water, yelling to her son.

Hearing her voice, the little boy swam to his mother, but it was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war.

The little boy survived. The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pants. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn't let go."

You and I have scars, too—life scars. But some of those scars on your heart are because God refused to let you go.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

"Are you in a storm?"


During Operation Iraqi Freedom, there was a horrible sandstorm one day, the worst in a hundred years some say, and a drenching rain followed the next day. American troops bogged down and couldn't move out. All of a sudden, the military operation was in jeopardy.

But then the weather cleared, and the Marine group that was mired the worst looked out at the plain they were just about to cross. And what did they see? Hundreds if not thousands of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines were uncovered by the wind and then washed off by the rain. If the Marines had moved out as planned, many of them would have died. But because of the storm, they simply drove around them and let the demolition teams destroy them.

So what storm is going on in your life? What’s causing you to bog down, to feel like you can’t move out?

God brings some good out of everything, even the storms of life. So the next time you’re in a storm, look around for something good. Then listen to life today and make a life, not just a living.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

"Who do you fight?"


I went out on the porch off of our den, just to get some air for a few minutes; you know, taking a break. As I stepped out on the porch, I almost stepped on this beautiful, red-headed woodpecker that was dead. I was stunned that such a gorgeous bird was dead on my porch. He was too big for our cats to attack, but I looked him over carefully anyway, and there was no blood, no obvious signs of attack.

So I turned around to see what he would have seen on the porch and there it was—my own reflection in the glass door. It was mating season at the time and evidently he saw his reflection in the glass door, thought it was another male to be fought off from his territory, and just kept attacking it until he died. That explained why there was no sign of attack. He just kept banging his head on the door until he died.

How often do you fight yourself? Injuring yourself when you think you’re hurting someone else? I guess we all do it, but you don’t have to.

Find God’s plan for peace as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.


Monday, May 29, 2006

"God is good even during war, right?"


Here’s some email I received: “My nephew is a Marine Staff Sergeant and goes into Southern Iraq today. I know I've asked you to keep him in your prayers. I always ask everyone to keep all the guys in their prayers, but if they would say a special one for him. I was 13 when he was born. I lived beside him and babysat him each summer. We have always been very close. I told him he has an angel on his shoulder and that God is watching out after him. I hope these words will comfort him through his journey.

“I went shopping today to get some things to send all the 21 guys and 1 girl in his unit. Then this afternoon I pulled out your Listen to Life: The First Book and I thought what a good idea it would be to send one to each of them. If I get you their names, could you sign it for them?”

There are opportunities even in war to connect people with God’s love, aren’t there? When you’re listening to life and making a life, not just a living, you find those opportunities and share God’s love everywhere you can.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

"Who are you remembering today?"


Today’s Memorial Day, the day when Americans remember the war veterans who sacrificed their lives for their country. But it’s also a day when we remember other people and their special contributions to us.

A lot of people fly flags today to remember our war veterans. When remembering other family members and friends, some folks go put flowers on graves. Remembering those we loved is important to us.

Our family had a dog, Charlie, who died around Christmas and our family looked for a way to remember him. And we found one—we adopted another Yellow Lab named Cody. Cody looks a lot like Charlie, plays a lot like Charlie did, and reminds us in a lot of ways of Charlie. So I guess the best memorial we could make to Charlie was to adopt someone like him.

Find someone today who reminds you of your loved one…and adopt him or her…and your loved one’s memory lives on. How do you find this someone? Just listen to your life and make a life, not just a living today and ask God to show you who needs adopting.