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Thursday, August 16, 2007

"What will you get up for?"


Imagine with me a couch potato stretched out on the sofa, watching TV. Well, not really watching TV, more like flipping through 150 channels and complaining because there’s nothing on. There are grip marks on the remote because of its constant use.

And due to the constant use, the remote control’s batteries go dead. That’s right, the couch potato is on the sofa, remote in hand, and the batteries are dead. The solution may be obvious to you—get up and replace the batteries.

But what if the couch potato is such an extreme couch potato that the thought of getting up is just too much? So the couch potato just lies there, not moving to replace the batteries, watching the same channel all day long.

Extreme case? Maybe, maybe not. How many times a day do you choose the same channel of a bad habit rather than getting up and replacing it?

God created you with a great gift inside—the gift of choice. So get up and choose wisely as you listen to life and make a life today.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

"Got a minute?"


Most of the time, when I’m in my office for instance writing stories like this one, I typically write up until the last possible moment before I have to leave to rush to an appointment.

Lots of times, I get so engrossed in writing a story, forget to look at the clock on the wall, that I find myself running behind. For some reason, I try to cram just as much work into every minute I can before I jet out the door. I guess it’s my perpetual pursuit of the Protestant work ethic kicking in…and making me late.

Well, recently, I decided to allow myself a little extra time to get to a lunch appointment. Now that might not sound like a big thing to you, but for me, it was important. I pushed away from my desk about 10 minutes before I normally would, grabbed my keys, and headed out. I arrived at my lunch meeting a few minutes early. In fact, I had time to meet and greet some folks before the event began. I sat down rather relaxed, certainly less stressed, and more attentive.

Today, give yourself a break, a little more time to get where you’re going as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

"Do you just ask?"


I sat in our kitchen one early morning, rocking and reading and reflecting on life; getting ready to enjoy the day. The window was open and I heard geese honking. They congregate around a pond surrounded by a huge grain field. They evidently wake up honking because I hear them so often.

As I sat listening to their early morning fun, I thought about how the goslings born this spring will soon fly further south for the winter. And wondered how they know to do that. They don’t have the Weather Channel to know when the first blast of Artic air resident in a low-pressure system comes sweeping down from Canada. They don’t listen to the local radio stations and get the latest report from in-studio, live, color radar. They don’t read the local paper to catch the five-day forecast. I suppose you could say they just follow the rest of the birds and maybe they do.

But it seems that God put into these geese the desire to fly south and then north again and the knowledge for when. Since God takes care of geese like this, how much more will God do for you as you ask?

Monday, August 13, 2007

"Are you in touch?"


Recently I shared a story with you about how one of our yellow Labrador retrievers, Princess, had ten puppies, and cared for each of them carefully. And about how God cares for you carefully.

Well, that story prompted someone who listens to life with us through our website, www.ListentoLife.org, to email me and share how much that story meant to him. He’s a dog lover, has had Labs, and thanked me for reminding him of God’s intimate knowledge of us.

He went on to say that he printed the story out for his two granddaughters and mailed it to them. They were at 4-H camp that week. Both of them were taking a class in small animal care. The timing couldn’t be more perfect for them to make the spiritual connection to God with what they were learning.

Amazing, isn’t it, how God’s timing is always so perfect? God not only knows you intimately, as I observed with Princess and her puppies, but as this friend points out, God’s timing in letting us know how well we’re known is just right, also. Look at God’s clock today as you make a life, not just a living.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

"Do you get it right every time?"


So many people I coach are paralyzed by the possibility of making a mistake. "What if I fail?" stops them dead in their tracks, creating a fear of doing anything lest they get criticized by others or embarrass themselves or go bankrupt or a hundred other potential negative outcomes.

And I realize that trying to be perfect is a huge mental block, but then I think about Thomas Edison who discovered nearly two thousand ways not to make a light bulb before he got it right. And the country group, Alabama, seller of multiple platinum albums and owners of night clubs, played at the Bowery in Myrtle Beach for about 12 years before they became an "overnight success." Freshman Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team in Wilmington, NC. Robert Allen, the "No Money Down" real estate guru, went bankrupt at one time.

Listen to your life today and make a life, not just a living, and discover that God is in your life’s adversity, too, giving you everything you require to truly succeed. Make a mistake and learn from it as you listen to life today.