"Need help?"

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Did you hear about the man who was flying along in a single engine airplane and the engine stalled? He couldn’t get it going again and the plane was diving to crash very quickly. He couldn’t pull it up so he strapped on a parachute and jumped out of the plane.

Well, to make matters worse, the parachute wouldn’t open no matter how hard he pulled on the ripcord. So he’s frantic and considering what to do as he plunges to what he knows will be his death.

He looks down and all of a sudden sees a man flying up towards him from the ground. So here the two men are in the air, passing each other; the pilot headed down and the other man headed up. The pilot with the broken parachute yells at the man headed up, “Do you know anything about fixing parachutes?”

“No,” the man yells back. “Do you know anything about fixing gas furnaces?”

No matter which direction you’re going in life—up or down—you can probably use some help. Ask God for help today as you make a life, not just a living.

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"What do you talk about?"

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Do you listen to yourself talk very often? What do you talk about? Who do you talk about? And how do you talk about them?

I spend a lot of time listening to people who want to make a life, not just a living. And in listening, I pay very careful attention to what and who they talk about and how.

One of the ways I coach them to make a better life is to listen to themselves. One of the first steps is to stop blaming your past, your spouse, your child, your parents, your work associates, the economy, or whatever your favorite “sore subject” is. Your life is not improved by blaming. You can’t listen to your life when you’re blaming.

Then you take responsibility for what you can control—your actions, your words, your thoughts, your feelings, your spirit. I refer to these steps as “no-blame and yes-claim.”

God created you to enjoy your life as you listen to it and make it, not to blame everyone else for your problems. So listen to yourself talk as you make a life, not just a living today.

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"Are you listening to your life's music?"

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Several generations ago, there was a country doctor who was an avid fox hunter. He often would take his dogs along and turn them loose to chase foxes while he waited for women to deliver babies. Back then, homes didn’t have screens so it was easy to hear the dogs.

There was also a barber in the area whose shop was a favorite loafing place for telling stories. The barber listened to the doctor tell his stories, had never been fox hunting, and so he persuaded the doctor to take him.

The two went up a mountain highway and turned the dogs loose. Soon the chase began at a furious pace. The gentlemen sat in the front seat of the truck and occasionally the doctor would nudge the barber and say, “Just listen to that music.” The barber listened carefully and said nothing. This same routine happened every few minutes until finally the barber said, “Doc, I’ve listened very closely for several minutes now and I can’t hear the music because your dogs keep barking.”

One man’s music is another man’s dogs barking. Are you listening to your life’s music?

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"When is your life really dark?"

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I was reading recently that in order to get away from any light whatsoever, you have to go to the backside of the moon. That side of the moon faces away from the sun entirely so no light travels there and there’s no atmosphere to reflect the light.

I read further because I’m thinking to myself, “Now wait a minute. I’ve been in some pretty dark places on this planet. That can’t be true.”

Turns out it is true. There is always sunlight on this planet. Sometimes it’s direct like during the day. It may be overcast, but there’s still sunlight. Sometimes it’s reflected light like during the night. Or, it’s light that started millions of light-years away from a distant solar system. Even a shadow has light in it, because it’s not completely dark. There is some amount of light in it.

I know your life seems dark, completely dark at times. Like God isn’t there and you’re enveloped in problems. But there is no problem that can hide from God. Like the light, God is in the darkness of your life. Listen for God as you make a life, not just a living today.

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"What do you preserve?"

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One day a blue block of frozen material crashed from the sky into a farmer’s field. He cut off a chunk of it, put it in his freezer, and called the sheriff. He just knew it was something extraterrestrial, but all he really knew was it stunk when it melted.

The sheriff examined it and didn’t have a clue, so he called a chemistry professor from the local college. The professor took a sample from it and left with the promise to analyze it in her lab and call back with the results. The farmer kept the blue frozen material in his freezer, making sure that it was carefully preserved.

The chemistry professor called the farmer. “Sir,” she said, “your blue frozen material is definitely not extraterrestrial so you can relax. But please take it out of your freezer and throw it away as soon as possible.”

“Why?” the farmer asked.

“Because sir,” she said, “what you have in your freezer is the portable toilet fluid ejected from a jet as it flew over your farm.”

Be careful what you preserve as you make a life, not just a living today.

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