"Are you a do-it-yourselfer?"

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I walked into one of those huge, warehouse-type hardware stores the other day and noticed a schedule of classes they offer on projects I can supposedly do myself. It’s absolutely amazing the number of things they think I can do on my own. I can lay tile, install plumbing, do some kind of painting that I’m not sure how to pronounce, and other projects.

Then I thought about all of the other things people want me to do myself—with a digital camera and printer, I can print my own photos; with a digital video camera, I can make my own movies, and the list goes on. And of course, there’s the perennial favorite on TV—the DIY, Do It Yourself channel.

That’s all fine and good, but there’s one thing you can’t DIY—life. Haven’t you painted yourself into a corner before? Or, had some part of life come unglued?

We all have. Life works a lot smoother if you do it with someone helping. Life is best done DIG—Do It with God. How do you DIG? Just listen to life and make a life, and not just a living.

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"Do you always know what’s coming at you in life?"

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A woman sent a box of chocolates as a Christmas gift to a friend with a child who’s in first grade so he’s just starting to read. The box of chocolates had a dozen or more different varieties and included a list of the various kinds of chocolates along with a picture of what you were about to eat.

Well, the little boy decided he wanted to read the names of all of these different kinds of chocolates. So he asked his mom to help him read the flavors and match them with the pictures. They had a lot of fun doing that.
But what was even more fun was his tasting flavors he had never experienced and deciding whether or not he liked them. Of course, his mom had to eat some that he took a bite out of and didn’t like.

She had as much fun as he did because even as he learned to read the flavors and knew what flavor he was about to taste, it was still a surprise for him as he learned what he did and didn’t like.

Taste everything with the same sense of awe and wonder this little guy did—even if you think you know what it is—as you make a life today.

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"Is there something in your past that you think you can’t get away from?"

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The Ringling Brothers Circus invited some people from the Sarasota area to visit at its winter quarters in Venice. The visitors passed by the elephant area as they came in by the performers' entrance,. Someone noticed that the ropes around the elephants’ feet weren’t tied to anything and pointed out this apparent oversight to the handler.

"Oh, don’t worry," the handler said. "We never tie them up. We just tie a rope around their leg and drop it, and they think they’re tied up."

Around our farm, we’ve noticed the same thing with some horses. We put a halter on them with the lead rope attached, drop it on the ground, and they’ll never move. We call it ground-tying.

Maybe you think those elephants and horses aren’t very bright. But what do you imagine you’re ground-tied to? Something in your past that you think you can’t get away from? When the truth is there’s nothing holding you back but you?

Ask God to release your ground-tying, to set you free as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

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"Is there still goodness in the world?"

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Do you ever wonder if there’s any goodness left in the world? I mean, if you listen to, read, or watch the news daily, you might start to wonder, "Is there anything good happening in the world today?"

Last month, I heard, read and watched a story that reminded me, "Yes, there’s still goodness in the world." A woman pulled up to the drive-through window of a Starbucks coffee shop. She picked up her order, paid for it, and paid for the coffee of the person in line behind her.

Well, you can imagine the surprised look on that person’s face on learning that their coffee was paid for. Surprise quickly transformed into gratitude as that person paid for the coffee order of the person in line next.
And once again surprise morphed into a grateful act as that person paid for the coffee order of the next person in line. These grateful acts continued for at least the next 100 persons, at least that’s when the Starbucks employees stopped counting.

So yes, there is still goodness in the world, thank God! Will you kick off the next display of goodness today? Go ahead and get it started as you make a life.

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"Things aren’t always as they seem, are they?"

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A package arrives at Sue’s home around the holidays. It’s addressed to Bessie, a friend that once lived with Sue. Printed in big letters on the package is: "Keep frozen." So Sue puts the package in her freezer downstairs in the basement, planning to take it to Bessie the next time she visits her.

Well, Sue forgets about the package until one day when she’s looking for something else in the freezer, she sees it, pulls it out, and reads Bessie’s name on it. Of course, Sue is embarrassed because by this time the holidays are over and somebody’s probably asked Bessie about the gift and she knows nothing about it.

So Sue calls Bessie, tells her the situation, and asks, "Do you want me to bring it to you or just open it and tell you what it is?" "Just open it," Bessie says.

Sue puts down the phone, unwraps the package, then picks up the phone and says, "Well, it’s a shawl wrapped in a frozen food box."

Things aren’t always as they seem, are they? Yet another reason to listen to life today and make a life, not just a living.

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