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Thursday, August 03, 2006

"How's your vacation?"


Why is it that to take a week of vacation, so many of us have to do two weeks of work before we leave and two weeks of work when we return? You’re only gone a week! Does the work multiply while you’re gone?

This reality can produce a certain amount of guilt about vacation times. For instance, let’s say you go to the beach, pick up a seashell, and put it up to your ear. Do you hear the soothing tides of the ocean gently rolling in on the shore? Or do you hear, "So you thought you'd get away from work for a week, did you? Don't you feel guilty? Just think of all the work you’re missing. That associate could be moving up to take your place, you know…"

When making a living interrupts your making a life, when work intrudes on recreation, remember that the word “recreation” comes from two words meaning, “to create again.” Your vacation is a time to re-create your spirit, your family relationships, and your passion for life. So listen to your life today and focus all of who you are on making a life, not just a living. And enjoy your vacation!

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

"What does God's voice sound like?"


I walked into a restaurant recently, recognized someone and spoke to him for a moment. I moved on toward my table when someone called my name. I turned around and there was another friend. She said, “Even though my back was to you, I heard your voice and knew it was you.”

Some sounds are just more familiar than others, aren’t they? There are three trademarked sounds that I know you will recognize immediately: the NBC chimes, the MGM lion roar, and the Harley-Davidson engine sound. We hear and recognize these sounds quickly, like my friend did with my voice.

But there are some other sounds that we don’t recognize so quickly. What does God’s voice sound like anyway? God’s voice can sound like any voice, at any time, and anywhere. It sounds like goose bumps up and down your spine. Or a baby’s soft breathing. Or an “I love you.” God’s voice is more than a sound. It’s a feeling, too. So listen to life today for God’s voice with your ears, your eyes, and your heart as you make a life, not just a living.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

"Who's winning your race?"


I coach a lot of business people about various aspects of their lives and businesses. A lot of them think of life as a rat race.

Maybe you do, too. You think of yourself as in a race with other rats, running around a track or a maze for whatever your cheese is, convinced there’s not enough of it to go around.

Running a rat race is exhausting work so you’re tired a lot. And one morning you look in the mirror while putting on your makeup or shaving and discover that your nose is longer and you have whiskers and tall ears. Then you look behind you and there’s this really long tail. You start to brush your teeth and your front ones are huge. Yep, if your life is a rat race then you become one of the rats.

But what if you just left the race to the rats? And instead of competing against others and comparing yourself, you relaxed and focused on doing what you do best, using the passion and talents God gave you, knowing that there really is enough cheese to go around? Listen to life and make a life today.

Monday, July 31, 2006

"What day is it for you?"


A friend who’s about my age has a little boy around three years old. The little guy is my friend’s only child so you know he’s the apple of his Daddy’s eye.

Recently my friend was telling me about his son’s need to know what was happening next, for example, “Daddy, what are we going to do?” And invariably my friend would mention some fun event coming up, like going to the park or for a ride in a classic Mustang or something like that, but being only three years old, the little fellow couldn’t understand why they couldn’t go have fun on that day. And his dad would say, “Tomorrow, son.”

This conversation continued until one morning the little boy woke up, looked at his dad and said, “It’s tomorrow, Daddy!”

What day is it for you? Is it tomorrow with you like it was for him? You bet it is! Which means God is ready to have some fun with you. So listen to life today and tomorrow for what God has to say and have some fun as you make a life!

Sunday, July 30, 2006

"Do you know enough to worry?"


Let’s say I give you an apple seed. It’s a seed from a Washington Red Delicious. You love and have eaten bushels of them. You’ve even picked them. You know a tree-ripened apple from one picked early and sprayed to ripen. You make your own apple pies. You know just about everything there is to know about apples…

…except one thing. I ask you to look at that apple seed and tell me how many apples are in it. You can’t. And of course you can’t. You don’t know what the future holds. It’s reasonable to assume that seed contains bushels and bushels of apples in it, but it may hold none. You don’t know enough to say.

Just as you can’t look at that apple seed and tell me how many apples are in it, you don’t know enough about the future to worry. You can’t look at a life situation and tell what it contains. Sure, you can worry about a lot of possible outcomes, but you can’t with certainty say what will happen.

When you start to worry today, remember: God knows. And God is in control.