"Have you looked at your hands lately?"

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Recently I built some things around the farm which meant I was sawing and hammering and drilling. I hadn’t done anything like that in a while so that night, my hands were sore. So I took some pain reliever and put a little antibiotic cream on my knuckles.

Then I just looked at my hands. And I thought about how, when I was toddling around, my hands broke my fall until I learned how to stand up and walk. My hands picked up our teenaged daughters when they were toddlers and fell down. I eat with my hands and I fed our daughters when they couldn’t feed themselves with my hands. Even when I’m not wearing it like when I’m working, my wedding band leaves its mark on my hand.

And I suppose one day, my hands will give my daughters’ hands in marriage. When I was a little boy, I folded my hands in prayer. And when our daughters were small, I taught them how to fold their hands in prayer.
Our hands pass on the good stuff in life, don’t they? So make a life with your hands today.

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"What is 'it'?"

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It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about investing in the stock market, starting up a new business, improving a current one, surfing on Diamondhead, or merging onto a busy eight-lane highway during rush hour in Atlanta, we’re all looking for it. We know it’s there, somewhere. We’ve just got to look for it, to squint our eyes and peer into the brightness or darkness long enough to get a glimpse of it, and then go for it; seizing the moment. What is it? The next great opportunity!

We all want the next great opportunity, don’t we? To improve our portfolio, or cash flow, or surfer-dude image, or NASCAR wannabe status among our fellow commuters. The next great opportunity is all about us.

But what about all of those small opportunities we rush by that are all about others? Like giving money to a homeless shelter? Or, clothes to a thrift shop? Or, your frequent flyer miles to a young couple for their honeymoon? Or, letting someone in front of you in traffic?

Seize a small opportunity that’s really huge and make a life, not just a living today.

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"What's your calendar like?"

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A friend of mine received a new calendar as a gift over the holidays. Now she’s a very organized person who pays attention to every little detail which means that a new calendar is a great gift for her. Or so I thought…

…until she began telling me that while it’s a very nice calendar, it only displays scheduling space for one day at a time.

"And what would you prefer?" I asked her.

"I want to see more than one day at a time. I want to see the whole month at least so I can tell what I’ve got scheduled," she said.

"Oh," I said, "so you live one month at a time instead of one day a time."

"Ooooh," she said, "I guess I do. And it’s hard for me to listen to life when I’m living a month at a time instead of a day at a time, isn’t it?"

It is for me, too. What about you? What’s your calendar like? A day at a time? A month at a time? A year at a time?

Sure, planning is important, but live today today and let God take care of your tomorrows, as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Do you know that you’re being watched?"

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My wife was shopping with our two daughters. There’s nothing particularly new about that—a mother and two daughters shopping. And it was an uneventful trip…

…until they were at the cash register. My wife gave the cashier some money. And the cashier gave my wife her change. When my wife counted the change, she noticed that the girl had given her a nickel too much.

"Here," she said, "You gave me a nickel too much change."

"Aw, you could have kept it," the cashier said.

"Yes, I could have," my wife said, "but little eyes are watching."

Somebody’s eyes are always watching, aren’t they? If not your children, it’s the person behind you in the checkout line. Or, the person driving in the lane next to you that you’re tempted to cut off in traffic. Or, the person listening to your conversation in the elevator. Or, the person in the cubicle next to you at work.
As you’re being watched, show others how to listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Did you notice the pit crews in the NASCAR race at Daytona over the weekend?"

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NASCAR racing is so popular now. Hundreds of thousands of fans crowd into luxury boxes and "chicken bone" seats just to watch their favorite drivers go as fast as they can around oval tracks, cheering them on. The drivers are the real celebrities here, making millions of dollars.

But while all of this high profile, big money activity is going on, down in the pits is a team of guys who aren’t asked to endorse anything. In fact, they’ll never get their faces on anybody’s box of cereal. But without this team of guys working together to change tires, fill gas tanks, make track bar adjustments, and clean windshields, the driver has to quit.

As it is with the driver, so it is with you. God has a team of people helping your life go around daily. So today, give thanks for all the teams of people—wherever they are—who keep you going as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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