"Do you see the beautiful?"

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I walked into our bedroom one morning and my wife said, "Ssssh." She sat on the edge of our bed, facing the window that looks out over our front yard and horse pastures. The window was up and she held in her hands a pair of binoculars.

She pointed out the window and whispered, "Look." Standing there in the front yard, about 15 yards from the window, were seven deer, including a mom and twin fawns who still had a few spots.

My wife reminded me just a couple of days before that "we"—translates into "you, Joey"—need to repair the fences around the horse pastures where the deer have knocked down and broken boards. So of course, my first thought was that here was my wife conspiring with the enemy.

Then she said, "I know they tear up our fences, but they sure are beautiful." Again I experienced the power of choosing to see the beautiful in God’s creation as I listened to my life. So I sat down beside her and made a life for a few minutes.

You have the same choice. So as you listen to life today, choose to see the beautiful.

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"Do you live 'for better or worse?'"

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A couple celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary recently which is pretty remarkable these days. They married young and were pretty like much like any other couple until nine years into their marriage, a tractor trailer smashed into the car she was driving, and killed their 6 and 7 year old sons. She suffered severe head trauma and a compound fracture. Her husband was told she may never walk again. He determined to care for her every need, every day.

Well, today she walks and is a successful real estate agent. They were told their marriage wouldn’t survive as 84% of couples who suffer this kind of tragedy divorce.

She attributes their life success to a deep faith in God and their being present with each other every step of the way. "I do believe," she writes, "that when you take your wedding vows, you need to truly mean them—for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer."

The next time your spouse does something that irritates you, remember some time she or he cared for you. Then listen to life and make a married life.

(Discover how you can Stay Married Forever at www.StayMarriedForever.org.)

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"What’s your favorite season of the year? Is it fall?"

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Fall started last week and may be my favorite season of the year. It’s beautiful in its own way.

As the temperatures fall, the trees put on a show of color that few artists can capture on canvas. The orange and red maples, the golden oaks, and all the rest of the trees become so brilliant that it’s hard for me to drive down the road without swerving. Sometimes I just go ahead and pull over on the shoulder of the highway, just to look at a maple with the most brilliant orange-colored leaves I’ve ever seen.

Interesting, isn’t it, that these leaves put on such a colorful display as they’re dying. Their artistry is a part of their dying process, as they prepare to drop off the tree.

Maybe that’s the way life is. You give others something beautiful as you prepare to leave, something spectacular to remember you by.

Prepare to leave everyday with God’s help. Show your best colors as you make a life, not just a living.

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"What do you assume?"

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Bubba walks into a doctor’s office and the receptionist asks him what he has. Bubba says, "Shingles." So she writes down his name and address, copies his insurance card, and asks him to have a seat.

About fifteen minutes later, a nurse’s aid comes out and invites back, and asks him what he has. "Shingles," Bubba says. So she takes down his height, weight, and vitals, does a medical history on him, and asks him to wait in the examining room.

A half hour later, a nurse comes in and asks Bubba what he has. He says, "Shingles." So she draws some blood, does an EKG, and tells Bubba, "Take off your clothes and wait for the doctor."

So about another hour later, the doctor knocks and walks in to find Bubba sitting patiently naked. So he asks Bubba, "What do you have?"

Bubba says, "Shingles."

The doctor says, "Where?"

And Bubba says, "Outside on the truck. Where do you me to unload ‘em?"

Ask God to help you listen to life and assume nothing today, okay?

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"Got an opportunity?"

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A friend runs into the grocery store just to pick up a few items for lunch. His shopping list is extremely limited and he plans to be in there for just a minute. He reaches down to pick up the very last item on his list and out of the corner of his right eye, he sees white writing on the back of a black T-shirt. So he raises up and reads the shirt just before the stranger walks around the corner and out of sight.

The shirt reads, "The weak wait for opportunities to come along and the strong make them."

Now what you don’t know about my friend is that his company downsized about half of its employees shortly before this shirt appeared.

So what did my friend hear as he listens to life and makes a life while unemployed? That God is still with him even if he doesn’t know how he’ll make a living. That God has a message for him even in the grocery store, a message of hope that he can be strong and make opportunities even though he feels weak.

I don’t know what you’re facing today that’s causing weakness, but listen to my friend’s story and know that opportunity is yours to make now.

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