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Thursday, July 31, 2008

"Who's in your circle?"


Have you ever walked into a room and into a group of people who were unduly criticizing someone else? They were spinning every angle possible about this person’s "checkered past." Or, enjoying a game of one-upmanship in speculating about things they know nothing about in this person’s life; a game I call "I’ll bet…"—"I saw them eating lunch together and I’ll bet…"

What’s your reaction when you walk up on a conversation like this? A conversation that’s doing anything but honoring and respecting this person? A circle of innuendoes and lies that destroy the reputation of someone, calling them anything but a child of God?

Do you join in, glad they’re not talking about you? Guess what? When you’re not there, they talk about you. Or, do you walk away in disbelief? Or, do you redirect the conversation? Or, do you say something like, "Now how do you know that for sure?"

Honor and respect others as if God stands beside you in that circle as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

"Which do you want—a pearl or a pain?"


Maybe you’ve heard how pearls are made. You know, a pearl starts from a grain of sand which is a foreign object, an irritation, an annoyance, an unwelcome visitor in the oyster’s secure world. So the oyster surrounds this pain with secretions that coat the grain of sand, keeping it from irritating the rest of the oyster. The oyster takes this irritable, painful thing and makes something absolutely beautiful from it—a pearl that we harvest and string together and wear as necklaces and bracelets and set in rings. And it all starts because of a painful irritation.

I guess we all have painful irritations in life—at work, in our families, in the neighborhood. But God wants to take the painful situation you’re in and transform it into something beautiful—a pearl of life, a spiritual adventure.

So which do you want—a pearl or a pain? Let God have your pain and transform it. No, you probably can’t see the beauty God has in store for you while you’re in pain. So just trust God to know more about life than you do. Then listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

"Whose garbage are you receiving?"


Lots of "stuff" happens everyday in life. An example is when someone does what I refer to as "delivering the mail to the wrong address," meaning that even though she is really upset with what her boss said about the quality of her work, she takes it out on you for not putting enough cream in her coffee or some other insignificant faux pas on your part. Obviously you have no idea what’s going on with her and it’s easy to take her words personally.

Another way of talking about a situation like this in which the chastisement doesn’t equal the infraction occurred to me recently while driving home from a business lunch. I got behind a garbage truck and unfortunately the cover wasn’t closed on it. Trash started blowing out of it. And I thought, "That truck is dumping the garbage in the wrong yard." When did that last happen to you?

Whether it’s delivered mail or dumped garbage, sometimes it winds up on you. Don’t return the favor. Take a deep breath, and as you exhale slowly, ask God to help you understand the person who’s wronging you as you make a life.

Monday, July 28, 2008

"Is your life dull or interesting?"


A young lady put down a book she’d just finished reading and said, "That was the dullest story I’ve ever read."
Some time later, she fell in love with a young man and one night she said to him, "I have a book in my library whose author’s name, and even initials, are the same as yours. Isn’t that a coincidence?"

"I don’t think so," he said.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well, you see, I wrote that book," the young man said.

That night, the young lady sat up just about all night reading the book again. And this time it was the most interesting book she’d ever read.

I guess it makes a difference when you read a book and know the author. Think of your life as a book. If your life is dull, ask yourself if you know the author. You see, you and God co-author your life. So fall in love with your co-author and discover your most interesting life. Then listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

"What’s your purpose in life?"


I heard about a bus driver in Chicago who sings while he drives. That’s right…sings while he drives, and not softly to himself, but loud enough for the whole bus to hear. All day long he drives and sings.

It turns out he’s really a professional singer and only drives the bus to get a captive audience each day. His supervisors at the Chicago Transit Authority are perfectly happy with his singing. You see, people line up to ride his bus. They even let other busses pass by so that they can ride with the "singing bus driver."

Now here’s a guy who’s discovered his purpose in life—singing—and a way to make a living, granted it’s a little out of the ordinary. But you know, he’s not really a singing bus driver, but a bus-driving singer. And he’s happy doing it and spreads that happiness around.

What’s your purpose in life? This guy sings and spreads happiness. Discover your purpose in life and you’ll spread happiness, too. Just listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.