"Do you encourage?"

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I sat in one of those comfy chairs in the mall; the kind they put there for Dads when they’re sent out of the clothing store for asking, “What about this?” for the hundredth time. And so I sat watching people go by.

One family had a toddler who was just catching on to walking. She would take a few steps, her face lighting up with the biggest, prettiest smile you’ve ever seen, and then all of a sudden, she lost her balance and sat down. Her family encouraged to get up and try again, which she did; her smile resplendent once more. After a few more steps, she’d plop down, then stand up and give it another go. She spent just about as much time on the floor as she did walking. But with her family’s encouragement, she kept trying. They knew that one day she would walk without falling.

Today, someone around you is going to fall, make a mistake; blow it. Avoid criticizing them. Instead encourage them, believing that one day they will get it right. Listen to life and encourage someone just like God encourages you.

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"What's really important to you?"

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I’m Life Coach to a woman whose daughter recently married. This mother of the bride understandably was nervous about a lot of things while on the way to the wedding. She thought about the typical things mothers of the bride are concerned about like would this part of the ceremony go well, would everyone do what they were supposed to, would the music sound good; those kinds of things.

So here she is, driving to the ceremony, nervous, when traffic stops. She wonders what’s wrong, and will she get to the ceremony on time. As she slowly drives on she discovers an accident. A car is on its side and another car is smashed beyond repair.

As she surveys the damage driving by, suddenly all of the things that seemed so important just a few moments before, all of the “what if’s” that she was nervous about, didn’t seem to matter. Now she prayed for the safety of those involved in the accident. Now she was grateful that none of her friends or the bridal party was hurt. A completely new perspective took over her attitude.

Listen to life today not with worry, but with an attitude of gratitude to God.

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"Which shoe do you put on first?"

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You may not have the answer to this question, but you can discover it: Which shoe do you put on first in the morning, your right or your left? You may have to wait until tomorrow morning to get your answer.

While you’re figuring that one out, also answer this one: Do you put on both of your shoes, then tie them? If so, which shoe do you tie first? If not, which shoe do you tie after putting it on first?

If you’re like me, I have no idea why I put what shoe on first and why I tie them like I do. By the way, I put on my left shoe first, then my right, then tie my right, then tie my left. Somewhere along the way, I got into this habit and frankly don’t know why.

Which makes me think that you and I have some other habits we’ve chosen and don’t know why. Some of these habits may be good ones. Others not so good.

Try putting your shoes on differently for the next 21 days. And examine your other habits, too. Which habits would God have you change so you can listen to life and make a life, not just a living?

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"How do you mark time?"

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How do you keep up with which day of the week it is? I mean, other than the calendar or the newspaper or the radio or TV?

I have a friend who marks time by which day is trash day. He knows that on a certain day of the week the first thing he does when he gets up is wheel the trash can to the curb.

I did an interview on a radio station, talking about making a life, not just a living, and the announcer said, “Dr. Joey, it seems like most of us just live for the weekend, but you live everyday like it’s the weekend. How do you do that?” A lot of us must keep up with which day of the week it is by counting down to the weekend.

One of the secrets to listening to life and making a life, not just a living has to do with how you invest your time. Do you invest it in trash day activities? Do you squander five days a week just to get to the weekend?

Today, ask God to coach you about how to invest your time. And to make you aware of how rich the dividends are for you when you invest yourself deeply in living every moment of every day as you listen to life and make a life.

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"Do you multi-task at work?"

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Today is Labor Day in the U.S., that day when you celebrate the American worker by taking a day off. Workers today, not just American ones either, are often rewarded for multi-tasking, i.e., doing more than one thing at a time. Supposedly you’re more productive when you keep several things going on at once.

Lately, I’ve been wondering how true that is. Think about it for a minute: the football receiver who drops a pass or lets the ball go right between his hands oftentimes tries to run without the ball, turns his head to look up field before he catches the ball in anticipation of what’s ahead. But it really doesn’t matter what’s ahead since he didn’t catch the ball. His coach tells him to focus on the fundamentals—catch the ball, then run; do one thing at a time.

That’s great coaching for life, too—focus on the fundamentals. When you do one thing at a time you concentrate more deeply, experience less stress and more success. So listen to life and make a life, not just a living today and do one thing at a time.

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