"What does a mother do anyway?"

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A man came home from work to find total chaos in his house. His three children were outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers all over the front yard.

When he walked in, a lamp had been knocked over, the TV was on, and the family room had toys and clothes everywhere. Dishes filled the kitchen sink, dog food was on the floor, and a broken glass was under the table.

He ran upstairs looking for his wife. He was worried that something serious had happened. He found her in the bed in her pajamas, reading. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her and asked, "What happened here today?" She just smiled and said, "You know every day when you come home from work and ask me what in the world I did today?

Well, today I didn't do it."

Thank your mother this weekend for everything she does for you.

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"Are you insane?"

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You’ve probably heard that definition of insanity that says insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Yea, I’ve heard it, too. But I still act insane sometimes. For instance, I recently plugged my laptop in to do some writing, and it kept turning off on its own. Now I knew the battery was shot, but I turned it back on three times in a row, each time wondering why it kept going off by itself. I kept doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.

So finally, I looked down at my surge protector, and saw I had the laptop plugged into an outlet that was switched off. Laughing at myself, I changed plugs and voila, it worked!

Now I know I’m not the only one who’s acted insane. I’ll bet you have, too! So how do you step out of the insanity of doing the same thing over again?

Stop what you’re doing—it leads nowhere fast—and ask God for help. Listen to your life for what God has to say. Then follow God’s plan and not your own. And that’s how you stay sane and make a life, not just a living.

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"Where are you planting yourself?"

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One fall, I got on my tractor and scattered grass seed in our horse pastures. Now if you could see our horse pastures, you’d know that the soil is really rocky ground.

Well, of course, when I scattered the grass seed, some of it fell on really rocky ground. There was nothing I could do about it, but hope that it grew.

And it did. Well, at least, the seed sprouted grass on the rocks. The seed rooted in the shallow soil and actually sprouted. But the roots were so shallow and unprotected from the scorching sun that they withered and dried up, killing the grass.

So where are you growing your spirit? In really rocky ground where your roots stay shallow? Or in deep, rich soil that’s filled with the best stuff in the world—love and peace, grace and forgiveness, joy and happiness?

You decide where you want to be planted and scatter yourself there as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Do you try to plan just about every moment of every day of your life?"

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Are you a planner? You know, one of those people who has a Palm or Blackberry and you carry around with you “the plan,” that day’s schedule and all of the days from now until the twelfth of never. And you know what’s going to happen. At least you think you do…

…sometimes life doesn’t go like you plan. Just ask the guy who walks into a Louisiana convenience store, slaps a $20 bill on the counter, and asks for change. The clerk opens the drawer, the guy pulls a gun and asks for all the cash in the register. The clerk gives it to him and the robber takes off, leaving the $20 bill on the counter.

Care to guess how much was in the register? Fifteen dollars.

Sometimes you plan, expecting certain results, but it just doesn’t work out. There’s some bit of information you didn’t have, or something changed.

When you’re making plans, don’t ask God to bless them after you make them. Involve God on the front end of the process. When you do, your odds of success are a lot higher because you’re listening to life!

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"How deep are your roots?"

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I loved azaleas when I was growing up. Their captivating floral displays among the pines always announced that the winter doldrums were past and spring definitely had arrived. Picture postcard azaleas were part and parcel of a wonderful life.

So when I moved away, I decided to bring some of those marvelous, springtime beauties to our yard. I planted about 20 azaleas around some maple trees in our front yard. I prepared the beds carefully, making sure I didn’t disturb the shallow roots of the maples. I watered them faithfully, and watched for them to burst into color any day.

But they didn’t. In fact, they never did. They died.

I had a master gardener come over to diagnose the situation for me. He looked things over, and told me, “Maples have shallow roots which means they suck up all of the surface water. Azaleas are shallow-rooted, too. They were after the same water and really didn’t stand a chance with the maples.”

To make a life, not just a living, grow your roots down deep into God and draw up all the nourishment you
want.

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