"Who's your daddy?"

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You know, there’s a difference between being a father and being a daddy.

Being a father is about biology. Being a daddy is about being there when you learn to ride your bike or hit a baseball or score a soccer goal.

Being a father is about buying a house. Being a daddy is about creating a home, a place and space where you know you can go no matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done.

Being a father is about not sparing the rod. Being a daddy is about teaching you how to measure up to your full potential as a person, about having integrity and playing fair and treating others the way you want them to treat you.

Being a father is about ruling your household. Being a daddy is about respecting your wife and children, and earning their respect by doing the right thing by them.

Being a father is about making a living. Being a daddy is about listening and making a life, and taking time to hear about your wows and your woes.

This Sunday, I pray you can wish "Happy Daddy’s Day" to yours!

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"Do you make a life?"

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I recently read an epithet from an old tombstone that really summarizes what it means to listen to life and make a life, not just a living. It reads,

"What I kept, I lost.

"What I spent, I had.

"What I gave, I have."

"What I kept, I lost"—when you just make a living and see life as a race to see who gets the most toys and keeps the most toys; you live out of a belief that there’s not enough to go around, and you lose.

"What I spent, I had"—when you just make a living, you spend mostly on your own comfort, feathering your own nest; you live out of a belief that you are a self-made person only, and that’s all you had.

"What I gave, I have"—when you make a life, you know that givers gain; you give to others out of a generous, abundant spirit; you live out of a belief that there’s more than enough to go around, and you have it all.

Give because God gives to you as you make a life today. And maybe, just maybe your grave marker will read "What I gave, I have."

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"Want something different?"

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My wife is a wonderful cook. Just about every night we’re all home for dinner together she prepares the most delicious meals.

She has her favorites to prepare which thankfully are our favorites to eat. She’s rather well known among our friends for her lasagna. And then there are lots of other dishes we love for her to fix.
Recently she had her cookbooks out. She was searching for something different that sounded good. I walked in the kitchen and found her with several of them scattered about.

"What’s wrong with the usual great dishes?" I asked. "Just fix one of our favorites."

"I want something new and different," she said.

And boy am I glad she did! She prepared "Chicken Croissant," a delicious dish with chicken and cheese and crescent rolls and oh, it was so delicious.

You may be like me and prefer to go with what you know. But sometimes it’s good to try something new.
Discover the something new God is leading you to as you make a life, not just a living today.

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"Got good dirt?"

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I shared a story with you last Tuesday about a friend of mine who planted a vegetable garden and it all grew fine except for one area. He discovered after a couple of plantings that there was a huge rock under the soil. He found it only after digging on the tip of it. It appeared to be small, but turned out to be huge. You and I listened to life and discovered that poor habits are like that rock, keeping us from growing rich habits in life.

Well, I received some emails and blog comments about this story. There are obviously a lot of things to learn from this story while we listen to life. One of the comments I received that stood out in my mind was one that reminded me that even though my friend planted twice, the problem wasn’t with the seed. The seed was good. The soil was the challenge.

In life, God sends lots of opportunities, lots of good seeds, your way, scattering them in your spirit. You are the soil. It’s your job to keep the soil ready for the seed. That means keeping the weeds down in your heart and the ground of your mind tilled. And that’s how you listen to life and make a life!

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"Are you singing in the rain?"

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I called a friend recently. He answered on his cell phone. He parked his car and got out of it as we talked, then jogged over to a covered shelter. "It’s raining," he said.

"It’s raining here as well," I said, and we went on with our conversation. Well, as we’re talking several minutes later, I hear a bird singing very loudly, a most beautiful song; as magnificent as any aria ever performed.

Now birds don’t usually sing when it’s raining. They do what we do—go for cover and hunker down. So I said to my friend, "It must have stopped raining."

"No," he said, "it’s still raining. Why?"

"Well," I said, "that bird must not know it’s still raining because he’s singing like the sun is shining."

If not today, then some day soon, some rain will fall in your life. Something will be gray and downcast. Sing anyway. Sing like the sun is shining in your life and soon it will be because you’ll be listening to your life and making a life, not just a living.

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