"Is today a special day of God’s love for you?"

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Today is a really special day for me. Today is our older daughter’s 22nd birthday and my wife and I celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary.

That’s right—our daughter’s birthday and our wedding anniversary are both today. I planned it that way so that I would never forget my wedding anniversary. 

Not really, but today is a special day for that reason. I’ll always remember our wedding—all the family and special friends from growing up years there to celebrate God’s love with us. And then five years later, we celebrated God’s love again with family and friends as Rebekah was born.

It’s kinda hard to believe 27 years have passed so quickly, but then when I look into my wife’s eyes and remember God’s love for us, I know they have. And I have the same experience as I watch our daughter as a young woman. I know the years have passed. Each year reminds me of God’s love blessing me. And that makes today a special day for me.

What makes today a special day for you? Discover it as you make a life.

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"Do you ever get really surprised?"

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A young man bought an expensive gold watch from a jeweler. 

Soon, the man brought it back to the jeweler, demanding a new case. The case looked like brass, not gold, and the man had paid for gold.

The jeweler looked at the case, rubbed it a little, and then asked the young man, “Are you taking any supplements that have extra iron in them?”

“Well,” said the young man, “yes, I am.”

“Okay,” the jeweler said, “then that’s the problem. The extra iron comes out with your perspiration and has tarnished the case.” And he took a cloth and polished and buffed the watch until it shone again with all of its original golden luster.

You know, we’re like this young man, his watch, and iron supplements. What is inside of us always comes to the surface. And sometimes what’s inside of us tarnishes what we polish so hard, things like our reputation. So make sure you polish not just what’s on the surface, but polish what’s inside of you as well as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Do you ever get really surprised?"

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A guy in a taxi wanted to speak to the driver so he leaned forward and tapped him on the shoulder. The driver screamed, jumped up in the air, and yanked the wheel over. The car jumped the curb, demolished a lamppost and came to a stop inches from a shop window.

The startled passenger said, “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just wanted to ask you something.”
The taxi driver said, “It’s not your fault, sir. Today’s my first day as a cab driver. For the past 25 years, I’ve been driving a hearse.”

Do you ever get really surprised by life? You know, sometimes we get so accustomed to doing life one way that when something changes, we’re really surprised. So surprised that we scream or jump up in the air, or yank ourselves over.

Well, when the dust settles, just remember that today is different from yesterday and will be different from tomorrow. The key to keeping it in the road during all this change is to ask God for help as you make a life, not just a living.

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"How’s your reality?"

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A lot of the stories I share with you about how to listen to your life and make a life, not just a living, have to do with your attitude toward life, i.e., a perspective that helps you redefine reality so that you can fulfill your God-given dreams and goals. I told a story titled, “What’s your attitude?” and a friend sent me a story back.

She said that a good friend of hers has been dealing with cancer for about five years. When her friend told her the cancer returned, the woman felt sad and angry at what the friend has to deal with at such a young age.

The friend replied, “Well, they used a new radiation uptake that can find tumors early. I’m glad they found it now so they can take care of it early.”

The woman who wrote me said, “My friend with cancer listens to life and that made me change my attitude.”

You can redefine your reality any way you choose…with God’s help. So no matter how tough your life situation is, ask God to help you listen to your life and improve your attitude.

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"How big is your world?"

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I received an email from a friend recently whom I met when I spoke to a group of volunteers from the hospital where she works. She complimented my presentation, remarked about how much she enjoys reading Today’s Story, particularly one titled, “Do you complain or marvel?”

She had promised herself that she wouldn’t complain about how often she “had to” mow her lawn. You see, after reading that story, she received an email image of a soldier in Iraq, stooping down in front of his tent, cutting a patch of grass with scissors. That’s right, scissors.

“Boy was that picture a rude awakening,” she wrote. “In the coming months, I hope that I will remember that image every time I feel like complaining, and that I will happily start the mower with a prayer because I have the freedom to enjoy the beauty of a nicely cut lawn.”

It’s pretty easy to complain about your life when you’re only gazing into your own life. But when you look up at the world around, a different perspective emerges. Ask God to enlarge your world view as you listen to life today.

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