"Sometimes, we just misunderstand, don’t we?"

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An 80 year-old man loved golf so much that he joined the local country club. He went to the Club to play for the first time, and the Assistant Pro said he would play with him and asked how many strokes he wanted for a bet. The 80-year-old man said, “I really don’t need any strokes. I’ve been playing really well. The only problem I have is getting out of sand traps.”

Well, the old man played well and coming to the par-4, 18th they were even. The pro had a nice drive, got on the green, and 2-putted for a par. The old man had a nice drive, but his approach shot landed in a sand trap next to the green. So playing from the bunker, he blasted out, the ball landed on the green, and dribbled into the hole. Birdie, match, and all the money!

The pro, “Nice shot, but I thought you said you have a problem getting out of sand traps!”
And the old man said, “I do. Can you give me a hand to get out of here?” 

Sometimes, we just misunderstand, don’t we? Yet another reason to very carefully listen to life today for what God has to say.

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"Is God with you now?"

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A friend shared a story with me about her dog, Sammy. Sammy is evidently the perfect dog. He’s quiet and beautiful, energetic on the trail and quiet at camp, doesn’t beg for food, and patient until fed. She praises Sammy for being such a great dog, and he literally wags his tail and smiles at her.

Sammy is my friend’s constant companion, and recently went one morning to the blueberry patch with her. It’s a tranquil setting there, away from traffic noise and beside a gurgling stream. My friend was praising God for the lovely morning and setting…

…when she realized that she had not spent so much time with God lately. That she had found other things to do rather than pray and meditate.

She then looked down at Sammy and realized that just like Sammy, God goes with her everywhere; whether she takes God for granted or not. Like her constant companion, Sammy, God smiles on her whether she’s praying or not…all of which caused my friend to resolve to spend more time acknowledging God’s presence with her as she listens to life and makes a life.

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"What do you do with your worries?"

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A friend shared a story with me recently about Stanley. Stanley worked hard as a business owner, providing his customers with outstanding service and his family with a decent living.

Of course his business activities required a lot from Stanley and like most of us, Stanley worried from time to time. His business ebbed and flowed. He wondered during the ebbs when his next customer would walk through the door. When it flowed, he wondered how he would keep up. Worries pursued Stanley.

So Stanley decided to find a new way to take care of his worries. He planted a bush by the backdoor of his home and each evening before he went in, he paused for just a moment and put all of his worries on that bush. Amazingly the bush held up under the weight of those worries and by the next morning all of the worries had blown away.

Plant your worry bush. And ask God to help it grow so all of your worries from one day won’t carry over to the next—they’ll just blow away—as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

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"How gracious are you?"

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I love speaking to business groups because, after my presentation, I hang around and talk with the people there, and hear some hilarious stories about customers and the wonderful opportunities that sales associates have for being gracious. I hear these great stories especially from retail associates.

It seems that one day a lady went shopping downtown. She saw a dress in a store window she really liked. She went into the store, found the last one in her size, then went over to the sales associate and said, “I want this dress, and it’s the last one in my size. I don’t have an account with your store, so would you take my personal check?”

The sales associate told her, “Sure, if you can identify yourself.”

The lady reached down into her purse, pulled out a little pocket mirror, looked at it, and then said, “Yep, it’s me, all right.”

The sales associate said, “You’re right, now do you have a driver’s license I can see?”

I can only hope that the next time I do something like that, it’s with a sales associate like this one who obviously listens to life and makes a life, not just a living.

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"When were the good ole days?"

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Will Rogers once said, “Things aren’t the way they used to be, and probably never were.” I know I remember some things much better they were at the time.

So, when were the good ole days?

My late Grandfather Faucette was born in 1901. In his good ole days, the average life expectancy was 47 years. Only 14% of U.S. homes had a bathtub. Only 8% of the homes had a telephone and a 3-minute call from Denver to New York cost $11. Most women who washed their hair only once a month used borax or egg yolks for shampoo. There was no Mother’s or Father’s Day. The American flag had 45 stars. And only 6% of all Americans graduated from high school.

It seems to me that the good ole days are any day when we experience God’s love with people we love. Experience God’s love as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living today.

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