"When’s your birthday?"

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Tomorrow is my birthday. Don’t ask me how old I am unless you’ll settle for my standard answer: "Old enough to know better, and still too young to care."

Yea, I’ve noticed some changes as I’ve gotten older, but I get to choose how I deal with those changes. My attitude is a choice I make that either helps or hurts me as I celebrate a birthday each year.

I had a friend who was nearing 100 years old. She got more and more excited with each passing year as she neared 100. By the time she was 99, she was organizing her 100th birthday party, telling her daughter what to do and how to do it, and confiding in me that she wasn’t sure her daughter was making arrangements properly.

We were talking one day and she said something about "an old lady" down the hall having physical challenges. I asked how old the "old lady" was.

"Well," my friend said, "I think she’s about 85."

Celebrate your life and your age with me tomorrow and let’s listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"When’s your birthday?"

"When’s your birthday?"

"Do you just cry sometimes?"

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"Joey," my mother said on the phone. "Honey, your Granddaddy passed away this morning."
I’ve tried before and there’s no easy way to give or receive this kind of news. You just have to cry when you get a phone call like this.

It’s okay to cry sometimes. In fact, some medical doctors say it’s therapeutic, releasing good chemicals into your body. And wouldn’t it be sad if no one cried when someone dies?

My grandfather positively influenced my life in so many ways. Sure, I didn’t want to see him suffering anymore. It was his turn and I wouldn’t ask God to bring him back today because I loved him too much to be selfish with his life. But I still miss him. I miss his laughter, his cock-eyed grin, his wisdom, his self-assured ways that weren’t cocky, but inspired confidence that I would actually live through whatever what was happening.

So yea, I cried. And I still do sometimes. And you know what? It’s okay to cry sometimes as you listen to life. God cries with you when you do.

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"How do you prepare for life?"

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You know, painting a bedroom really doesn’t take all that long. I guess you can paint a bedroom in several hours, can’t you?

What takes so long is the preparation. First, you have to move all of the furniture, either taking it out of the room, or moving it into the center of the room. If it stays in the room, then you have to cover it. Next, if there are pictures on the walls—and who doesn’t have pictures on the walls—you have to remove them. Most of us then spackle over the holes, sand them lightly, and create a smooth wall surface. Now if you have wallpaper up and you want to paint, removing that is a whole other matter that involves more tools and chemicals and more patience than I have some weekends. But all of this preparation, when done properly, is what insures a beautiful paint job.

Sometimes life is a lot like painting a bedroom. It takes a lot longer to get ready to actually do something than it does to just do it. Preparation is important and what insures a job well done. So prepare with God as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Do you clarify?"

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I spoke to a group recently as they held their meetings in a very nice hotel. They were kind enough to let me stay in that same property and the accommodations were very generous. In fact, the bathroom was outfitted with all sorts of lotions and other "smell goods."

The soap came in its own little carton. It read, "Clarifying Bar."

Now I know I’m just a man and not really genetically equipped to properly understand much less appreciate the intricacies of such finer points of the daily cleansing process, but…"clarifying bar?" Cleansing bar, yes; but "clarifying bar?"

The only thing I can figure is that when you clarify, you clear something up. So maybe a "clarifying bar" clears up my skin?

Now wouldn’t it be great if you could clarify more than just skin with this bar? What if you could clarify your boss? Or your spouse? Or yourself?

Or life? When you listen to life and make a life, not just a living, that’s what you do—clarify life and focus on God. So scrub well today!

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"Is your job just a job?"

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A mail carrier spent most of his day sorting and delivering mail, but he did more than just a job. He’d take a few minutes to listen to a lonely senior adult who might not hear from anyone else all day. He helped some recent immigrants find English tutors. He referred a woman who was the victim of domestic violence to a shelter. He learned Spanish so he could talk with some Hispanic families on his route. He took a CPR class in case anyone on his route needed immediate medical attention. He discovered that a business on his route was looking for a secretary. At another stop on his route, he found a woman who was a secretary for a company that went bankrupt. He sent the woman to the business and they hired her. This guy’s job was far more than a job.

What about your job? Is it just a job, just a paycheck? Or, is it more than that? Is your job a career, a career filled with open doors of opportunity for helping others? Listen to your life at work today and make a life, not just a living.

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