"Today’s Friday the 13th. So what?"

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Okay, so today’s Friday the 13th. If you are afraid, you may suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia (http://www.didyouknow.org/phobias/phobias.htm.).

But let’s think about it for just a second: somewhere tonight on a baseball field in the U.S., a high school pitcher throws his first shutout. And his mother catches an early flight home from a business trip and arrives in town just in time for the start of the game. Earlier today, she landed a huge contract with a client she had negotiated with for three months. Today is a lucky day in their family, isn’t it?

And let’s think about it for another second: some guy somewhere tonight will ask the girl of his dreams to marry him…and she’ll say, "Yes!" Heart surgery will save someone’s life today. A publishing company will accept a proposal for a writer’s first book today. It’s a lucky day for these people.

Life goes on just as usual today. Separate the fact from fiction, the reality from the fantasy today as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living. And remember: God is with you even on Friday the 13th.

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"Why do you do what you do?"

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I was talking with a friend recently whose wife had just died. She was in the bed for many months and really hadn’t known him. But he kept going everyday to feed her, and caring for her in every way you can imagine.

Someone was complimenting him on the most excellent care he gave her. This person was inspired by the acts of love my friend performed for his wife, even though she didn’t know him most days.

My friend was a little embarrassed by the compliment, thinking that he had not really done anything unique. He asked the person complimenting him, "You mean everyone doesn’t do that?" Caring for his wife in love was as natural for my friend as breathing.

It’s this kind of love, the kind of love that sees no big deal in doing something for someone else, that truly changes marriages, families, work places, neighborhoods, cities, states, countries, and ultimately the world. It’s this kind of love that the world needs now; a love sent from God. Live this love as you listen to life and make a life today.

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"Can life come out of death?"

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My father had a cornea transplant a few months back and it’s been absolutely amazing how his vision is improving. He passed his driver’s exam without a doctor’s note. He’s going places and doing things he just hasn’t been able to do in quite a while.

I was thanking God one morning during my prayer time for the dramatic improvement in my dad’s vision. I thanked God for the surgeon and his remarkable skills, the nurses who assisted, the people who run the hospital, and the list went on. I named everyone I could think of and then stopped for a moment to think of anyone else.

Then it hit me—someone died so my father can see. Someone’s mother or father, wife or husband, son or daughter, sister or brother left them here to grieve the loss, to carry on life without them, but before they did, they asked for their corneas to be passed on. So I thanked God for this person, the family, and the sacrifice they made so my dad can see.

You see, life can come out of death. Just ask my Dad!

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"How can God exist when there’s pain, suffering, and abused children in the world?"

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A hair stylist and customer had a conversation about God one day. "I don’t believe God exists," the stylist said.

"Why not?" the customer asked.

"Because if God exists," the stylist said, "there would be no pain or suffering or abused children. I can’t love a God who allows all these things."

The customer didn’t know how to respond so he just kept quiet, paid the stylist and left. As he left, a man with very long hair, down to his waist, walked by. He looked pretty dirty and unkempt. The customer came back into the shop and said, "You know what? Hair stylists don’t exist."

"What do you mean? I’m here," the stylist said.

"Hair stylists don’t exist," the customer said, "because if they did, there’d be no people with long hair like that guy."

"Hair stylists do exist, but people just don’t come to us when they need to," the stylist said.

"And that’s the point," the customer said. "God exists, but people don’t always come to God when they need to."

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"I absolutely love chocolate bunnies. Which kind of chocolate bunny is your favorite?"

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My grandmother gave me a chocolate bunny every spring when I was a kid. I always looked forward to getting it, but there were some chocolate bunnies I liked better than others. You see some years she gave me a hollow chocolate bunny. Now I really liked the chocolate, but when I bit into it, there was nothing but air. Other years she gave me a marshmallow-filled chocolate bunny. It was great because it had something inside. But marshmallow does get a little old after a few bites. My favorite years were those when my grandmother gave me solid chocolate bunnies. They were chocolate all the way through.

What is your spirit filled with? Air? Gooey softness? Or, are you solid all the way through? God wants to fill your spirit all the way through with all the sweet goodness of life. Be solid in your spirit as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

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