"Do you listen?"

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Charlie ran a full-service gas station. He did a great business and really took care of his customers. One of his customers was Kendall. Kendall was under lots of pressure at work. His business was just a few blocks from Charlie’s station and Kendall would walk down to Charlie’s to vent when the pressure was just too much. Kendall would feel better and go back to work.

Well, one day the oil company that owned the property Charlie’s station was on came to him and told him that he had to convert his full-service station into a convenient mart or his lease wouldn’t be renewed. Charlie didn’t have the money for the conversion. The lease wasn’t renewed and Charlie was out of a job.

So he went to see his friend Kendall, all depressed by the situation, hoping he could vent this time. He did. Kendall listened patiently and then offered Charlie a job. Charlie took it, and is still works with Kendall to this day, making more than he ever imagined when he owned the service station.

What goes around, truly comes around when you listen to life.

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"Got a hedge?"

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I sat out on the back porch of a friend’s home recently. He and his family live in a golf course community in Florida. As we rocked and talked, I couldn’t help but notice that lining his backyard was a hedge. I looked more closely and discovered that the hedge was made up of hibiscus, a beautiful flowering plant that doesn’t grow too well outdoors in my part of the world.

So I asked about the hedge. My friend said, "We used to keep it cut back so we could see the golf course and imagine that it’s all our backyard that we don’t have to keep up. But we’ve just let it grow up now and block our view."

What hedge do you let grow up and block your view of life? Not all hedges are beautiful, are they? There’s the hedge of anger, the hedge of prejudice, the hedge of past pain, the hedge of conflict in a relationship, and a myriad of other hedges that you and I let grow up and block our view of the vast expanse of life that God keeps up for us.

Today, look at your hedge. Ask God to help you cut it down. Then listen to life and enjoy the new view of an abundant life God has for you.

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"Do you go with the crowd?"

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A six-year-old friend of mine discovered that I live with horses on our farm and got really excited. She asked our horses’ names and wanted to know what they looked like. I said, "Do you like horses?"

"Yes, I do," she said. "I went to horse camp last summer."

"You did?" I said. "Was it fun?"

"You betcha," she said. "The teacher told me that it’s hard to ride ponies. They’re hard to handle. But they weren’t hard for me. I thought they were easy."

"Why were they easy for you?" I said.

"I didn’t believe the teacher. I just got on and rode," she said.

How many times do you let someone else tell you that something you want to do is hard, or impossible, or a real challenge? And then you believe them? Which of course makes the task hard, impossible, and a real challenge?

Like my six-year-old friend, avoid letting others shape your attitude. You see, the majority—"the crowd"—is usually wrong about what’s hard. I mean, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it, right?

Ask God for guidance and follow that, not the crowd, as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

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"What’s your dream?"

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A friend’s insurance business is just a few blocks from a high school. One day, a student from the school walked in and asked to speak with the owner. They met, and she said, "I’m in the Distributive Education program at my school down the street and I need a job. It has to be a job I can walk to since I’m only 15 and can’t drive. You don’t have to pay me. I need to work six hours a week."

My friend was so impressed that one so young walked right in and asked for a job that he gave it to her on the spot. "Nobody works for me for free," he told her. So he paid her for the six hours each week.

Since that day, her hours have increased as has her salary. She worked her way through high school and through most of college. She graduates next year with a degree in fashion design.

Once college was only a dream, but now she’s graduating. And all because she took a deep breath, worked up her courage, and stepped through the door of my friend’s business.

What door is God leading you through today to realize your dream?

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"What teacher do you remember?"

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This week in America, it’s National Education Week; the week in which we thank, honor, and remember our educators for their investments in our lives.

What teacher do you remember that had a significant influence or impact on your life? Or, on your children’s lives?

Both of my lists are long. On our daughters’ first days of school each year, my wife and I accompanied our daughters to meet their teachers. Typically, I would introduce our family and then say something like, "We look forward to partnering with you this year in educating our daughter. Please let us know what we can do to help."

Our younger daughter entered first grade shortly after our last move. So she went to a new school knowing no one. But her teacher was prepared. We met her and she said, "You’re a new student, aren’t you?" and hugged our daughter, took her over to her carefully selected seat beside another little girl that was very friendly, and made us all feel right at home.

Thank a teacher today for taking such great care of you or your child.

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