"Do you ever just forget?"

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An elderly couple was watching TV together. The husband got up and said to his wife, “I’m going to get some ice cream. Would you like some?”

“Yes, but I’ll get up and fix it myself,” she said. “You never remember how I like it. Your memory’s failing.”

“I can fix it,” he said. “Just tell me how you want it.”

She said, “Okay, I want vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and a cherry on top. Don’t forget the cherry! You always forget the cherry.”

A few minutes later, the husband came back in the room with a sandwich and handed it to her. She looked down at the sandwich, then looked up at her husband, and said, “Where’s the pickle? You always forget the pickle.”

Do you ever just forget? I guess we all just forget sometimes, don’t we?  

Do you ever just forget how much God loves you? And that God is with you in all the circumstances of your life whether you’re learning to walk, running around, a know-it-all adolescent, a midlife crisis adult, or just trying to remember a food order? Remember this one thing as you make a life today: God loves you!

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"Are you being recycled?"

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A friend of mine started a business that recycled wood. That is, he would buy old barns, beams and rafters out of old textile mills, and old wood out of other buildings, and craft it into lots of wonderful, one-of-a-kind products. For instance, wood flooring and paneling, and he even made furniture out of this old wood.

Now you and I drive right by some of these places where he got his wood. Old barns out in the country, barns that are falling down. Dilapidated factories that companies abandoned long ago. Basically, facilities that look useless. Sure, they were handsome in their day, but now they’re just old.  

But my friend sees beauty in these old buildings. He sees woods that aren’t grown anymore that have distinctive characteristics; wood that’s turned silver-gray as it aged.

We’re a lot like that, you and I. Only it's on the inside that the beauty grows with us. Sure we turn silver gray and lean a little, but it’s inside—in our spirits—where the true beauty recycles. As you listen to life today for what God has to say, look inside and let God recycle you.

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"What’s your priority?"

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A friend and I had lunch together recently. He’s experiencing some changes in his life and so am I so we talked about them. And we talked about how these changes are wonderful opportunities for both of us to live more out of our priorities, or at least the things we say are our priorities. Like having lunch together more often, we decided. So we set another time for lunch, knowing that if we didn’t, something else would grab that time, and that we enjoy each other’s company so much.

Do you ever find yourself conflicted about what you say are your priorities and how you spend your time? Or, your money? Or, your energy? My friend and I found that while we said we loved spending time together at lunch—it was a priority for us—our schedules just didn’t match what we said was our priority. Is that true with you, too?

For instance, you know you want to spend time with God. But do you? There’s always something conflicting with what you say is your priority.  

Make time to be with God a priority today and live out of it as you make a life.

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"Are you growing?"

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My roses are absolutely beautiful this year. They’re blooming as early as they ever have. And to think that only a couple of months ago, I had pruned the canes back to only 6-8 inches. Now, they’re several feet high with lots of blooms on them. They are gorgeous!

And they’ve really grown…but that’s because I’ve fertilized and watered them. I gave the roses what they needed to grow, at least what I could give them. Of course, God sent the sunshine to energize the fertilizer and water they absorbed through their roots. But it just amazes me that they’ve grown from so small to large bushes in so short a period of time.

Maybe you feel cut off by life, kind of like my roses at six inches. Something happened to you, something beyond your control, and you’re wondering if you’ll ever be the same or even close to normal again.

Just as my roses grew, you can grow, too. Feed your spirit nourishing love and grace from God and you can grow again. Choose to drink deeply from God’s garden of good stuff as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Who are you remembering today?"

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 Today’s Memorial Day, the day when Americans remember the war veterans who sacrificed their lives for their country. But it’s also a day when we remember other people and their special contributions to us.

 A lot of people fly flags today to remember our war veterans. When remembering other family members and friends, some folks go put flowers on graves. Remembering those we loved is important to us.

 We had a dog, Charlie, who died around Christmas and our family looked for a way to remember him. And we found one—we adopted another Yellow Lab named Cody. Cody looked a lot like Charlie, played a lot like Charlie did, and reminded us in a lot of ways of Charlie. Then Cody passed and we got Jake. The best memorialwe could make to Charlie and Cody was to adopt someone like them, Jake.

 Find someone today who reminds you of your loved one…and adopt him or her…and your loved one’s memory lives on. How do you find this someone? Just listen to your life and make a life, not just a living today.

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