Enter your Email to Sign up for Dr. Joey's Today's Story


Powered by FeedBlitz

Thursday, September 06, 2007

"What do you do when you get lost?"


My wife called recently to tell me that she was sorry, but that she’d be late. I was leaving to speak to a group and would be gone overnight. She had planned to see me off.

I asked if everything was okay. She said, "Yes, but I took a wrong turn and it’s thrown me off schedule. I knew better than to go this way. I don’t know what I was thinking about."

I laughed and said, "I did the same thing the other day. I knew where I needed to go and for some reason went a longer way around. At first, I got frustrated with myself, and a little angry with myself. But then I decided to just go ahead and enjoy the scenery because I don’t travel that way often. And it would take the same amount of time whether I was angry or relaxed."

"So it’s not just me then," she said.

I told her, "Of course not. I’ll wait for you."

You know, the only people not taking wrong turns are those who’ve quit traveling. Keep traveling and enjoy the scenery when you’re lost today as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

"Are you serious all the time?"


Do you take your work seriously? I hope you do. I hope you love what you do and do what you love as you make a life, not just a living. I hope your work bursts forth from your passion, something you care deeply about in life. I hope your work is important. And for these reasons and a thousand more, I hope you take your work seriously.

Now let me ask you another question—Do you take yourself seriously? I hope not. I hope you realize that you can’t be right all the time…and that you don’t have to be. God gives you grace and mercy. I hope you see yourself for who you are—a unique, one-of-a-kind, special-to-God individual who’s one in 6 billion who lives on a planet full of others created the same way. God gives you peace so you can live comfortably in your own skin. I hope you laugh at yourself as often as possible, because if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

Today as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living, take your work seriously, but please don’t take yourself so seriously. Enjoy the life God gives you!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

"Is today your birthday?"


Well, as if yesterday weren’t challenging enough for me to realize that yes, I’ve been alive long enough to be married 25 years, and that yes, my wife really does have that much grace and patience, yesterday also presented another challenge for me. Our first-born daughter turned 20 years old yesterday.

I guess if I realize that I’m old enough to be married 25 years, then the reality of my being old enough to have a daughter who’s no longer a teenager should be easy. But it’s not. In my mind, she’s just learning to ride her bike or playing the lead role in the first-grade Christmas play or giggling about a middle-school boy or going to her first prom.

To help me get over this time warp experience, she recently told me, "Daddy, you realize that after my birthday, you’ll no longer be able to say ‘my teenaged daughters’ because I won’t be a teenager any more."

"Gee thanks," I mumbled. But you know, I’m really proud of her. She’s accomplished a lot in her 20 years. And her future is really bright. So, no worries! I’m just thanking God once again for the gift we named Rebekah!

Monday, September 03, 2007

"Is today your anniversary?"


It’s really hard for me to believe it. I don’t know what’s the most difficult to believe about it—that I’ve been alive that long or that there’s that much grace and patience so freely given by one person.
Oh, what I’m talking about is today is my 25th wedding anniversary.

There’s no denying I’m old enough to be married for 25 years. In fact, I regularly get asked, "Oh, is this your oldest daughter?" when my wife is with me. Sad, but true, I’m afraid.

And there’s no denying that my wife has that much grace and patience. She says that in all of these 25 years she’s never once thought about divorcing me. Now, she freely admits she considered murdering me a few times, but that’s another matter altogether.

I’ve called my congressman numerous times, trying to get either the Medal of Honor or the Purple Heart for my wife. He says it’s just for people who served our country. I assured him my wife has!

Today thank God for the grace and patience you receive as you make a life!

(Go to www.StayMarriedForever.org to discover how you can celebrate your 25th anniversary and beyond…)

Sunday, September 02, 2007

"Do you multi-task at work?"


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.