Are you a planner?

Are you a planner? You know, one of those people who has a Palm or Pocket PC and you carry around with you “the plan,” that day’s schedule and all of the days from now until the twelfth of never. And you know what’s going to happen. At least you think you do…

…sometimes life doesn’t go like you plan. Just ask the guy who walks into a Louisiana convenience store, slaps a $20 bill on the counter, and asks for change. The clerk opens the drawer, the guy pulls a gun and asks for all the cash in the register. The clerk gives it to him and the robber takes off, leaving the $20 bill on the counter.

Care to guess how much was in the register? Fifteen dollars.

Sometimes you plan, expecting certain results, but it just doesn’t work out. There’s some bit of information you didn’t have, or something changed.When you’re making plans, don’t ask God to bless them after you make them. Involve God on the front end of the process. When you do, your odds of success are a lot higher because you’re listening to life!

Have you seen enough?

The story is told about legendary baseball pitcher, Walter Johnson. He was a pitching phenomenon at the time, striking at batters at will.

A rookie faced Johnson for the very first time. Before he knew what happened, the rookie had two called strikes on him. He just shook his head and walked away.

The umpire took off his mask and called after the rookie, “Son, where are you going? That was just strike two.”

“You keep the third strike,” the rookie said. “I’ve seen enough.”

It happens, doesn’t it? You see enough at work and you just want to walk away. Or, you see enough at home and you just want to say, “You keep it.”

But there’s something to be said for staying in the batter’s box, even when you think you’ll strike out. When you walk away, you learn nothing except how to quit. When you hang in there, you learn something—about yourself, about the situation, and what it takes to succeed.

God wants you to succeed today so stay in there and listen to life.

Does it seem like you just can’t get it right?

Does it ever seem like you just can’t get it right some days? And no matter how hard you try, life just won’t come together for you?

A guy in Michigan knows exactly what you’re talking about. He walks into a fast food restaurant about five o’clock in the morning, pulls out a gun, and tells the clerk to give him all the money.

“I can’t do that,” the clerk says.

“Why not?” the robber asks.

The clerk says, “Because I can’t open the cash register without a food order.”

“Okay,” the robber says, “Give me some onion rings.”

And the clerk says, “I’m sorry, we don’t serve those for breakfast.”

The would-be robber just shakes his head and walks out the door.

For days that life just won’t come together for you and nothing seems to work, remember: consult with God when making plans and listen to your life. God converges everything you need and a lot of what you want at just the right time so that you can make a life and not just a living.