"So what’s your problem?"

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An airline has its pilots fill out a gripe sheet after every flight that tells the mechanics problems encountered that need repair. The pilot completes the top part of the form, listing the problem, which the mechanics read and then respond on the lower half, listing what remedial action was taken, so the pilot on the next flight can review it before taking off.  

This system works great, and the pilots and mechanics have fun with it, even though they’re discussing problems. For instance, one pilot writes: “Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.” The mechanic responds: “Almost replaced left inside main tire.” Another pilot writes, “Something loose in cockpit” and the mechanic writes, “Something tightened in cockpit.” Pilot: “Dead bugs on windshield.” Mechanic: “Live bugs on back order.” Pilot: “Aircraft handles funny.” Mechanic: “Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right and be serious.” Pilot: “Target radar hums.” Mechanic: “Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.”

Ask God to help you keep your sense of humor while you’re discussing problems at work as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

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"Are you like a dragonfly?"

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Dragonflies are absolutely beautiful creatures. Their iridescent wings glitter in the summer sun around ponds, lakes, and wetlands all around the world. In fact, if you google for dragonflies, you’ll find literally thousands and thousands of web sites about them, and not just university professors and naturalists sponsor these sites. There are societies of people like you and me that study dragonflies, landscape their yards to attract them, and share what they learn with others.

Dragonflies inspire everything from beautiful jewelry to fairy tales. These tiny creatures trace their ancestry back millions of years. Dragonflies have stood the test of time.

And yet, did you know that most dragonflies live only about a month? And that basically during that month, all they do is eat and reproduce?

If you only had about a month to live, what would you do? Probably the best thing you could do would be what the dragonfly does—nourish your spirit so that you can reproduce the beauty that God’s given you. So be a dragonfly as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

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"What’s your point of view?"

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One of my favorite things to do when my wife is shopping is to watch people. Yea, I’m one of those guys sitting on the bench in the mall, watching you and your family as you walk by. You know, you can learn a lot from watching people.

For instance, recently, I noticed how many preschoolers have to walk around the entire mall for most of a day holding one of their arms straight up in the air. Of course, their parent is holding their hand, and usually walking so much faster than the preschooler that the little tyke runs to keep up. The parent pulls on the child’s arm, saying something like, “Keep up now” or “Come on!” And by the end of the day, the child is pulling away. Now the parent thinks he’s being rebellious, but really his arm is tired. I mean, when was the last time you walked around most of a day with your arm held up?

Amazing, isn’t it, how when we see life from another’s perspective, all of sudden we understand what they’re going through? And then understand the way they act? See life from someone else’s point of view, as you listen to life today.

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"Are you worried about fog?"

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 Our home sits on a hill. We look out the bay window in our kitchen, down the hill, and across the horse pastures. It’s really quite a beautiful sight…

…except when the fog rolls in. When the fog rolls in, you can’t see down the hill and across the pastures. That means that you can’t see the horses and make sure that they’re okay. And that’s when it’s easy for us to worry.

Our minds immediately go through a million bad things that could happen to the horses, each one worse than another: a snake could bite one on the nose, one could step in a hole and hurt itself, one could get sick and die because we didn’t call the vet in time, and so the list goes on and on. Of course, so far, none of these things have ever happened to us, with or without the fog. But since we can’t see, we worry.

I suspect you’re that way, also—what you can’t see, like your future, you worry about. And I’ll bet so far in your life few if any of the things you worry about actually happen. So don’t let the fog of the future worry you. Say to yourself: “God is in control.” Then listen to your life and make a life, not just a living.

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"What goes around, comes around, doesn’t it?"

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Some Boeing Aircraft employees who worked out on the airfield decided to steal a life raft from a plane. They thought it’d be great to float their local river in it. So they managed to get it out of the plane and home without getting caught.

They took it for a float on the river. They were really enjoying themselves in their new life raft. All of a sudden, they heard something really loud coming at them. They looked up and saw a Coast Guard helicopter coming towards them.

It turns out that the chopper was homing in on the emergency locator beacon that automatically activated when the raft was inflated. The locator worked…a little too well, and the raft was found. And Boeing no longer employs those guys.

 What goes around, comes around, doesn’t it? If you choose to do good, then good comes back around to you. If you choose to do bad, then bad homes in on your beacon and finds you. It’s a universal life principle; the way God made the world. So do good every chance you get and watch it come back around to you as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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