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Friday, January 02, 2009

"Do you want what someone else has?"


You’ve heard the old saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side." Well, I’ve come up with a new variation on that one: "The snow is always whiter on the other side."

I came up with this one when the area where I live on the East Coast was hit with a winter storm in the fall. We had about six inches of snow and ice. Well, I did a phone interview about that time with one of our Life Network radio stations in Minnesota. I mentioned something about all the snow we had and then shared a story from my First Book about making a snowman with my daughter. When I finished my story, the announcer said, "We sure would love to have some of that snow up here. My snowmobile’s ready to go and we don’t have any snow!"

It seems like we always want something that someone else has, don’t we? Here I was freezing and this guy wanted my snow and I wanted his fall weather!

Let’s be satisfied with what God sends our way as we listen to life today and make a life, not just a living.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

"How did you celebrate?"


Did you know that New Year’s Day is the oldest of all holidays, first observed in Babylon more than 4,000 years ago? It started with the first day of spring and lasted for eleven days. Can you imagine a New Year’s party lasting eleven days? And the Babylonians were the first to make New Year’s resolutions with the most popular being to return borrowed farm equipment.

The Romans observed the New Year in late March, but in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, the Roman senate declared January 1 as the date to begin the new year. To do it right, Julius Caesar had to let the previous year last 445 days.

The Greeks were the first to use a baby to symbolize the New Year around 600 B.C. And the Germans added that New Year’s banner to the baby new year.

So what’s your history with New Year’s Day? What symbols do you use? How do you celebrate? Celebrate the New Year by listening to life and making a life, not just a living all year long.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

"What’s your New Year’s wish?"


I wish you a new year of ordinary miracles. Miracles like a fresh pot of coffee you didn’t make yourself. An unexpected phone call from an old friend. Green lights all the way to your workplace.

I wish you a new year of little things to rejoice in like the fastest line at the grocery store. A good sing-along song on the radio. Your keys right where you look.

I wish you a new year of happiness from a stranger’s smile and a child’s full-body hug and a puppy’s wet lick of your face.

I wish you a new year of little bite-size pieces of perfection like your favorite meal for supper and a great hair day and someone guesses your age ten years younger than you really are.

I wish you ordinary miracles, little things to rejoice in, a day of happiness, and bite-size pieces of perfection that give you the funny feeling that God is smiling on you, holding you so gently and guiding you through your day because you are someone special and unique. I wish you a 2009 of listening to life!

Monday, December 29, 2008

"Did you make a difference this year?"


It was a beautiful fall day on our farm so I got out the ladders and started cleaning leaves out of the gutters on our home. Then I took the lawn mower with the grass catcher and began collecting leaves. I really enjoyed that sense of satisfaction knowing that the gutters and yard were clean from leaves.

But when I got out of bed two days later and looked out the window as the sun rose, guess what I saw? Yep, the yard was covered with leaves again. And when I looked out my office window later in the day and looked down on the gutters, one of them was full of leaves again.

And I wondered, "Why did I do all of that work?" But then I thought, "It did make a difference. There are fewer leaves clogging the gutters." And soon after, the rest of the leaves fell and I got them up and that season was over.

This Thursday, we begin the new year of 2009. The season of 2008 is just about over. Tell yourself today that what you did this year did make a difference. And listen to life for God’s voice in the upcoming season of the New Year so you can make a difference again.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

"Who are you?"


Nearly all of the trees on our farm had dropped their leaves by last month except for one maple tree. This one maple tree held on to its leaves like a kid hanging on to his blanket when mom says it has to be washed. And finally it started letting go of its leaves.

The woods were a dark grayish, brown color. The rest of the trees looked like sticks. But this last maple tree put on a show of color like few I’ve ever seen. It’s green leaves turned yellow, then orange, then red against the dark backdrop of the woods. It was absolutely a marvel to watch daily.

Now I know a botanist would tell me that the maple tree’s combination of rainfall and nutrients and sunlight determined its leaf dropping. But it seemed like that tree has a uniqueness about it that perseveres in the face of Mother Nature.

Be like this maple tree. Don’t blindly follow the crowd. Be unique. Out of 6.5 billion people here, there’s only one you. Be the best you possible, with all of your brilliant, God-given colors. That’s the way to make a life, not just a living in the new year of 2009!