"Time really flies, doesn’t it?"

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I spend a lot of time at one particular computer, writing. I write these stories, books, coaching manuals like the Ultimate Stay Married Forever At Home Study Course that you can find at www.StayMarriedForever.org. The time really flies for me when I’m writing because I love it.

But recently time flew a little faster than normal. I have a rather unique clock that hangs on the wall near this computer. One day, I sat for a moment, lost in thought about what to write next; staring at the clock. Just then the hour hand dropped from 3 down to 6. It slipped off its drive.

But I’ve got to tell that it was kind of weird watching time fly like that. I lost 3 hours in a heartbeat. That clock’s malfunction caused me to think about how fast time really does fly, especially when you’re having fun. I thought about our teenaged daughters and how this is my 25th year of marriage to my wife—fun times that went by quickly.

Today, grab every moment that God gives you and squeeze it of every precious drop of fun as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Are you hiding?"

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I went over to visit with some friends. They have a four-year-old daughter who calls me "Uncle Joey" and wants me to play with her every time I come over. I love it since both of our daughters are all grown up now.
This time, "Uncle Joey" was invited to play hide-and-seek. So I counted and she hid. And then I began looking for her. First I looked behind the door. "You’re not behind the door," I said.

Then I heard her giggle in another room. So I slowly went in that direction, stopping in a different room and saying, "Are you in here?" which caused an even louder giggle.

Next I looked in a bathroom, "Are you in here?" and that produced a huge giggle that I had to be deaf to ignore. So I went in the room where she was hiding, found her, and she said, "I thought you’d never find me!"
She reminded me that the reason you play hide-and-seek is to be found. The joy is in the finding, not the hiding.

Giggle loudly today so your spouse or children or friends or coworkers and even God can find you.

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"Do you imagine?"

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A friend who listens to life with us through our website, www.listentolife.org, emailed me about an experience recently. It seems that he awoke two mornings in a row with some of the worst migraines and sinus-related headaches that he could remember. He has chronic sinus problems and even some ear-related problems.

He made it out of bed, got up, dressed, and was driving to work. His ears were ringing so loudly that he felt like he was in a tunnel. So here he is, driving to work, feeling sorry for himself because his head and ears really hurt when the thought enters his mind, "How many people can’t hear anything? How many people would give anything for this one day of pain in their ears just to be able to hear the sounds that are going on outside?" He says his pity party ended with that humbling thought.

Getting outside of yourself—your challenges, your concerns, your situation—and imagining life from someone else’s point of view is one of the best attitude adjusters God gives you…as you listen to life and make a life today.

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"Do you pass it on?"

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My wife and I were watching TV together one evening. Frankly I usually mute the sound during the commercials and talk to her. I grabbed the remote control and started to mute the sound when she said, "Wait a minute! You’ve got to see this incredible commercial!"

So I watched a Liberty Mutual Insurance commercial. It’s story line features a series of seemingly random events which actually are related. One person helps another by moving a coffee cup off the edge of a restaurant table before it’s knocked over. Another person moves someone out of the way of something falling. That act is observed by someone else who then helps another and so on and so forth.

The random acts of kindness create a movement of responsibility that improves life for so many other people. Just watching an act of generosity is often enough to inspire you to do something similar.

Today as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living, take advantage of opportunities God sends you to help someone else. To watch this commercial, go to www.whatsyourpolicy.com, click on "Why Responsibility," and select the "Click to play" button.

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"Want a sign?"

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It was one of those days when it seemed like everything was going wrong. I had had a stomach virus and was weak. I still had a bad cold. One computer was acting up and another was threatening. Some unexpected news that I didn’t want to hear arrived. And my mother needed to have a heart catheterization.

So I just stopped what I was doing and I prayed. I prayed, "God, I sure could use a little reassurance that you’re around and on the job today. I’m missing you. Would you send me a sign?"

I opened my eyes, glanced out the window, and there on the oak tree near the bird feeder, was one of the biggest red-headed woodpeckers I’ve ever seen. He turned his head to the side and stared at me staring at him, his brilliant crown glowing brightly against the brown winter landscape. And I knew in an instant I had gotten my sign. God was on the job.

And that red-headed woodpecker has shown up day-after-day since, reassuring me that God is near. I needed a sign from God letting me know that I wasn’t facing life alone.

Maybe you do, too. Ask for your sign as you listen to life today. God is with you.

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