"What do you wish?"

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey tell his story!

A father was telling his little girl what his own childhood was like. He said, “We used to skate outside on a frozen pond for hours and hours until way after dark. And I had a swing made from a tire and it hung from a tree in our front yard and I’d swing and sing in my loudest voice. And we rode our pony that was named Silver all around the farm and down to the pond. And in the summertime, we picked wild raspberries and ate them until we thought we would pop.”

The little girl was so wide-eyed, taking in all of these fun times her father had as a little boy. At last she said, “I sure wish I’d gotten to know you sooner!”

Do you ever wish you’d known someone sooner? Or, talked with a friend more often? Or, taken time out to enjoy life more?

Do you ever wish you’d had more fun with your children? Or, taken life less seriously and played more often?  

Get to know the people around you sooner—like today. Go visit your father like you’ve been meaning to. Call that school teacher who meant so much to you and thank her. As you do, you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

Discover more great stories like this one!

"Are you within reach of God’s touch?"

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey tell his story!

A friend of mine leads a ministry called Friends of Barnabas (www.fobf.org). It’s a medical missions ministry that makes the world a little better, one child at a time by providing medical care, including surgeries, in an underserved part of Honduras.

Recently in his newsletter he shared about a little boy, Jeffrey, who was a “misbehaving little boy until his father came to hold him. He settled right down. Jeffrey is blind.” For Jeffrey, his father is his everything.

I read this story about Jeffrey and I listened to my life, remembering times when I misbehaved, or was anxious, or just couldn’t get settled in my life. Usually it was because I was doing life by myself, out on my own; trying to do life “my way.” I was outside of my Heavenly Father’s presence and touch. I moved away from God being my everything.

Then I remembered recovering from such choices in my life. Life became good again when God was my everything and I was within reach of God’s touch.

As you listen to your life, are you within reach of God’s touch?

Discover more great stories like this one!

"Are you cool?"

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey tell his story!

 A few years ago Jake, a yellow lab puppy came to live with our family. Jake preferred to be outdoors so my wife put out a water bowl for him. He drank a little water out of it, then, being a lab, tried to get in it. Of course, he turned it over immediately, spilling all the water.

Next my wife put out a five-gallon bucket full of water for Jake, placing it in a milk crate, hoping to secure it better. What does Jake do? Drink a little, put both front paws in it, and pulled it over, spilling all the water—again.

So my wife gets a plastic kiddie pool, fills it with water, thinking that Jake can both get in it and drink from it. Guess what he did? Jake chewed holes in the hard-plastic sides of the pool and all the water leaked out.

Sometimes I’m like Jake. All I have to do is to enjoy the cool refreshment God offers me in the heat of life, but I don’t know how. I spill it, or pull it over, or mess it up.  

What about you? If you’ll listen to your life, you’ll discover that God really wants you to enjoy life. It’s yours for the taking. So be cool and enjoy life God’s way today.

Discover more great stories like this one!

"Do you plant seeds?"

Click here to listen to Dr. Joey tell his story!

 I receive lots of stories from people around the world, but one of the most touching recently came from a church choir director. She shared the story of Susan Boyle, whom I’ve sure you’ve heard of by now on a network TV interview, or watched her sing on YouTube. She sprang to the world’s attention on a British TV show that’s like American Idol called “Britain’s Got Talent.” Susan Boyle sang first not on this show, but in her church choir.

The church choir director goes on to share that, “You never know when a seed is planted and where it will bear fruit.” She then went on to talk about one of their church’s choir members who participated in dramas and sang in productions and is now a Hollywood producer with MGM. And of another seed planted in their ministry who’s now a musical director at a theater in Michigan. And of another youngster who sang in church dramas that’s now in television. And of another seed planted who’s now planting seeds of her own as a choir director in a Raleigh church.

Plant your seeds well and listen to your life as God gives the growth!

Discover more great stories like this one!