"Do you look up?"

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey tell his story!

I planted some pansies in one of our flower gardens recently. They really started blooming a couple of weeks after I stuck them in the ground. I was excited because they looked so great. And I mentioned them to my wife, asking her, "Hey! What do you think about those pansies?"

And she said, "Well, I really haven’t noticed. When I walk by them, my head must be down. I must be thinking about something else."

Now she walks by those flowers beds numerous times each day taking the horses to and from the barn. It’s not a matter of not having an opportunity to see them. It’s more about what she’s looking for.

You see what you’re looking for. If you keep your head down in life, you don’t see the beauty blooming all around you that God planted for your enjoyment. If you look up, your perspective broadens from your own thinking to experience what God wants to share with you.

I know the holidays are really busy, but look up today as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living. And enjoy the world around you.

Discover more great stories like this one!

"What do you share?"

Click here to hear Dr. Joey tell his story!

It’s hard for me to believe, but 15 years ago today, our younger daughter was born. I still remember her birth like it was last week. She arrived three weeks before her due date, so my wife and I were a little nervous during her labor. And when she was born, she was a little blue and it was kind of scary there for a few minutes.

I remember trying to tell my friends and family members about those frightening moments that seemed like days, but nobody wanted to hear it. They’d say, "Is she fine?" and I’d say, "Yes" and they’d ask to see our beautiful blessing. I decided then that hardly anyone wants to hear about the labor, but everyone wants to see the baby.

And that’s true as you listen to life, also. Nobody wants to hear about the hard work you put into a project or how many, difficult long hours you worked on it. They just want to see the outcome.

So today as you listen to life and make a life, remember to share your outcomes, and talk about them as beautiful blessings from God.

Discover more great stories like this one!

"How much do you love?"

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey tell his story!

A mother was trying to explain death to her five year-old daughter. She said, "Everyone is born, and everyone dies and most people have a fairly long time in between. Every second, somewhere, someone is being born. And every second, somewhere, someone dies." And then the mother said, "The secret is to use the time between when you’re born and when you die to do as much good as you can."

The little girl thought about that for a moment. Then the mother snapped her fingers and said, "Someone was just born." Then she snapped her fingers again and said, "Someone just died."

The five-year-old’s face lit up and she snapped her fingers the best she could and said, "And someone just fell in love."

I can’t think of a better way to do good between your birth and your death than to fall in love, can you? Fall in love with a baby that’s born. Fall in love with someone special. Fall in love with your career. Fall in love with an enemy. And fall in love with life as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

Discover more great stories like this one!

"Do you play tic-tac-toe?"

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey tell his story!

I listen to life every chance I can, discovering God in all sorts of ways. I recently learned 10 things about life while playing tic-tac-toe. They are:

1. The game is not difficult to play. Life is pretty simple, too.

2. Reduce the complicated to simple steps and you’ll play a lot better. Pick a spot to call your own.

3. Whether you’re the "X" or the "O" doesn’t really matter. We’re all human.

4. Someone else may get what you want. Don’t whine. Choose again.

5. Pay close attention or you’ll miss an important move and lose. Deal in reality.

6. Play with more than one strategy. Life changes fast.

7. It’s okay to lose. It’s just a game. Keep your priorities in order.

8. When you win, it means someone else lost. What you do affects others.

9. Most games end in a draw. So it really is all in how you play the game.

10. How you react to the outcome doesn’t change it. Play again.

Discover more great stories like this one!

"Do you know that God is with you today?"

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey tell his story!

A friend who listens to life wrote me recently to share a story about her husband. It seems that he’s allergic to bee stings; not just swells up, but goes into anaphylactic shock. That means that he has to keep a shot of epinephrine—an epi-pen—close by. But until recently he didn’t know that he was that allergic.

Through a series of incidents that happened to him, things that you might consider coincidences, he went to the doctor and got several epi-pens. He stored them and forgot about them. But then while looking for something else one day, he found them. Shortly thereafter, he was stung and needed his epi-pens. He knew just where to find them, used them, and is alive today because he did.

I know that sometimes life seems to be more than you can deal with and keep it all together. Here’s something to remind yourself of as your feet hit the floor every morning and you’re listening to life: you are not alone. God is with you, caring for you, protecting you, and loving you through whatever situation you’re in. So listen to life and make a life today and know God is with you!

Discover more great stories like this one!