You may not know that the song “Taps,” traditionally played on Memorial Day and at military funerals, has lyrics. We never hear them sung. The song is usually played on a single bugle, with reverence and honor. I’ve never seen it played without inducing tears. And rightfully so.

But when you add the lyrics to the song, it makes it even more poignant:

Day is done, gone the sun
From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky
All is well, safely rest
God is nigh.

Fading light dims the sight
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright
From afar, drawing near
Falls the night.

Thanks and praise for our days
Neath the sun, ‘neath the stars’, ‘neath the sky’
As we go, this we know
God is nigh.

The familiar tune was arranged in its present form by Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield in July 1862. Pretty soon both the Union and Confederate armies were using the song. They both probably did so thinking that God was “on their side.” More than that, He was “nigh.”

There’s a lesson in that. People were dying in the Civil War for deeply held beliefs regarding slavery, states rights, and other societal mores. The divide was so deep that legions of armies were losing their lives in a seemingly never-ending war.

And yet they were both using a song to memorialize their dead with lyrics that ended: “God is nigh.” And He was. He may not have been “on their side,” but He was most certainly “nigh.”

And He is.

We’re not fighting a Civil War today. But there are great and obvious divides in our country. On this Memorial Day we may be more divided today than we have been at any other time since the Civil War. Social media and national media have emphasized that divide and have perhaps even deepened it.

And yet the promise of Jesus remains no matter the “side” on which you find yourself today in the United States of America:

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20b).

On this Memorial Day we remember all those who have given their lives so that we have the freedom to believe and express the fact that “God is nigh.” In war time and in peace time, in the midst of political divide, no matter who the next president may be:

God is nigh. 

That’s His promise. He is nigh and hear because He promises to be. He is as near as His perfect Word.

How have you seen evidence that “God is nigh”?

Often without even noticing, good design has a positive impact on our daily lives. A recent episode of CBS Sunday Morning (which I’ve written about here), spent a whole episode on design. Different segments on the show revealed how good design has made our lives better with umbrellas, Q Tips, Chinese food takeout boxes, and double-decker buses. You can find out more about all of those things here.

Not much happens in this world without good design. We eat well designed meals, in well designed spaces, in well designed neighborhoods. We drive mostly well designed cars, sitting in well designed car seats, holding onto a well designed steering wheel. We read well designed books, filled with well designed fonts, wrapped by well designed covers.

Doesn’t it figure, then, that we ought to be good designers of our lives? Good things in life don’t often just happen by chance. Sure, there’s an occasional lottery winner. But you won’t win if you don’t play; and even if you do play your chances of winning are next to none. So if you want good things to happen, why don’t you design them?

There are tools available to help you do just that:

1. Design your year. A couple of tools I have found helpful are Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy’s book, Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want and John Lee Dumas’ book, The Freedom Journal. Both of these books will help you advance toward your goals with a clear purpose in mind. You’ll find yourself drifting far less.
2. Design your month. At the beginning of each month review the goals that you set at the beginning of the year. If you haven’t done that yet this year, there’s no time like the present to do so. It doesn’t have to be January 1st in order for you to set goals.
3. Design your day. Google Calendar is the easiest and most available tool around to see to it that the hours of your day are filled with purposeful things. Not only that, but you can now even post reminders regarding tasks you’d like to accomplish. They will follow you each day until you complete them.

Good design makes your life easier every day in all different kinds of ways. Why not use it to make a life that you love, too.

What designing are you doing today to move you in the direction of your goals, plans, or dreams?

If you haven’t heard the name Candace Payne, you’ve probably seen her Chewbacca mask-covered face. A silly little video she posted has, at last count, brought joy to over 132 million viewers (…if you haven’t seen it you can watch it on Candace’s Facebook Page here). Candace bought herself a Chewbacca mask that actually makes that “Chewy” sound (I bet you can hear it in your head right now). She sat in her car in the Kohl’s parking lot, recorded herself unboxing the mask, proceeding to put it on, and laughing belly laugh after belly laugh until she could hardly contain herself. The video is now the most viewed Facebook live post of all time.

Now, why do you suppose this video has been viewed over 132 million times and still counting? There are all kinds of theories behind viral videos, but I think the key to this one is simple: it’s the unbridled joy this video demonstrates. After the video began blowing up, Payne wrote on her Facebook page:

Today has been a whirlwind. I’m grateful for every kind word and comment even if I haven’t replied. Y’all. OVERWHELMED with gratitude. Let’s keep belly laughing again and again. Never imagined finding my “simple joy” would land me more VIEWS on a little FB video than Mark Zuckerberg has followers. INSANE. Find your “simple joy”!
Good Day. Now Good Night. It’s all love.

Kohl’s Department Store immediately took advantage of the fame that came from this viral video. Representatives of the store showed up at Candace’s home the next day and gifted her whole family with extra Chewy masks, Star Wars toys, and Kohl’s gift cards and bonus points. Well done, Kohl’s. Well done.

What this world needs is a little more unbridled joy. We clamor after it. We are attracted to it. We are drawn to it.

Want to get ahead in life, in business, or as a leader?

• Encourage joy
• Spread it
• Share it
• Do what you can in your workplace to make it bubble up like a spring
• Surprise your family with it
• Take it to church with you
• Tell a joke
• Come up with a pun
• Heck, buy a few Chewbacca masks and pass them out

Then don’t hold yourself back when you feel a belly laugh coming on. Candace would approve. And so would all those who see you so serious every day.

One of the things this world could use it a little bit more unbridled joy.

How will you spread the joy today?

Have you ever actually wanted less in your life? Greg McKeown has written a book for you entitled Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. The book shows you how to declutter your life, avoid being hijacked by the agendas of other people, and use strategies to keep yourself from being stretched too thin. That sounds like a recipe for peace that we could all use in our lives.

In a recent interview McKeown let listeners in on a secret that he uses to declutter and get rid of inessential things in his life:

1. It begins with keeping a journal or simply making sure that your calendar is up to date each day.
2. It continues with a one day off-site retreat all by yourself every ninety days.
3. It culminates as you carry out for the next ninety days the decisions you’ve made on your one day retreat.

Here’s how it works. Schedule a one day retreat for yourself every ninety days. Actually put it on your calendar and make sure you do it. On the retreat this is what you do:

1. Bring your journal and/or calendar with you.
2. Turn off all phones and electronics.
3. Spend the first part of your day reviewing your journal and calendar. What were the things you did that did not move you closer to your major (three or less) goals? What were the things that most effectively carried you toward them?
4. Spend the second part of your day figuring out the inessential things you can cut out of your life that will not move you toward your three or so major goals. You might even have to make some relatively painful cuts and figure out ways to keep others from hijacking your personal agenda.
5. Write down the three major goals you want to accomplish in the next ninety days.
6. Put those goals in a prominent place where you will see them every day.
7. Focus like a laser beam on those goals and cutting out the things that will not move you toward them.

Repeat this process in ninety days by scheduling your next personal retreat on your own calendar. This one personal day every quarter will give you the clarity you need to declutter the unnecessary things in your life and focus on the things that are truly important and necessary.

Why don’t you schedule your first personal, off-site retreat today?

Can you imagine being an understudy in a broadway show? You usually have to know more than one part — all the blocking, all the singing, and all the dancing — for each role. You often have very little warning before you have to go on in front of a crowd that’s expecting the very best. These understudies can teach us what it means to handle unexpected things in our own lives.

Recently BroadwayWorld.com spoke with two of the best understudies in the business. Sandra DeNise and Sarah Jane Shanks are covering the demanding role of Alice Murphy in the new musical Bright Star. They both have loads of experience both on Broadway tours and on Broadway itself. It’s one of the most difficult jobs in show business. The very nature of an understudy is to handle the unexpected, but to always be prepared to do so.

Here are three things understudies teach us about handling the unexpected in our own lives:

1. Draw a distinction between how you handle things in public and how you handle them at home. It’s got to be tough being an understudy. You’d like to go on all the time. Sometimes other understudies are selected to perform instead of you. It’s all in how you handle it. When you’re not selected, the key is to be mature. It may mean less exposure and a smaller paycheck, but if you’re unprofessional you won’t work very long in the business. Sarah Jane says: “…(I)t’s important to be able to go home and feel the way you feel about it. Grieve it, be angry, whatever. But being professional means drawing a distinction between how you handle it at the theatre and how you handle it at home.” When you face something unexpected, don’t throw a temper tantrum where everyone can see. Handle it professionally in public or in the work place. Then it’s OK to go home and vent a bit. But don’t let it overcome you and keep you from showing up the next day.
2. Trust the process. Sarah Jane understudied Sutton Foster when Shrek was in previews in Seattle. She didn’t have a chance to watch Foster at all and hadn’t even completely rehearsed the role. One day Sutton Foster called in sick and Sarah Jane had to take the stage. She was assigned an Assistant Stage Manager who told her where to go and what to do before every scene. Can you imagine being in that position? But she trusted the stage manager, trusted what she had learned about the show, and trusted her own instincts. It was a success. When you are confronted with unexpected things in life or at work remember to trust the things you have learned from your own life experience and the skills that you have naturally been given. When you trust the process and your instincts you will succeed. 
3. Tell the story. When an understudy is thrust into a performance they have to remember that, in the end, they are storytellers. If they go out with that mindset the audience will be drawn into the story and never notice that they are seeing an understudy and not the “star.” Sarah Jane says, “The term ‘story telling’ helps steer me away from the nerve-wracking pressure to “perform” well. If I think of myself as a storyteller, rather than a performer, I don’t have to stress about living up to sky-high expectations or proving myself to myself, my castmates, or the audience. I just get to tell a story…and that, I can do.” When you tell the story of your family, your organization, your workplace, or your church, you will find others being drawn in even though you may be facing something unexpected. Keep the “story” at the forefront of what you do and it will be the key that keeps things on track.

What do you do when you find yourself confronted with something unexpected?

A couple of weeks ago I sent out my first annual reader survey. It was an opportunity to learn more about you and to provide content that is more tailored to your needs and interests. I was blown away by the number of responses and your willingness to use your valuable time to provide for me such terrific feedback. If you responded, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you didn’t have the chance to do so, that’s quite alright. See if the following results apply to you.

My survey showed me that if you are reading this right now you are likely to be:

• Female
• In your late 40’s
• A college graduate
• Earning around $100,000 in family income
• Married
• Working in some kind of white collar vocation
• Enjoying my posts about “creativity” and “inspiration”

You are challenged by:

• Staying motivated
• Managing your time
• Inspiration
• Executing creative pursuits

When you read this blog you want:

• Ideas
• Inspiration
• Encouragement
• A different perspective

If money were no object, in the next five years you’d like to achieve:

• Financial security
• Travel
• Ministry work and mission
• Writing of some kind
• Improvement in your teaching
• Fulfilling a major creative pursuit

You have been reading my blog well over two years.

You tend to read my blog on your computer or phone, and tend to feel that my habit of posting three times a week is just about right.

What you really like about this blog is:

• New ideas and information
• Motivation
• Passion that’s applied to real life
• It is full of insight
• It is uplifting, inspiring, and encouraging
• It’s positive

You have recommended my blog to others, and I thank you for it. Would you please keep doing that?

You’d like me to write another book, provide a book full of inspirational quotes, and start a podcast. I can tell you right now that all of those are already in my thoughts and/or in the works.

You have a great deal of interest in attending a “Fully and Creatively Alive” seminar, which is also in the inner recesses of my mind and quickly becoming a reality.

Finally, your faith is very important to you.

If all of this doesn’t describe you, I am more than happy to have you read what I write. Please keep on doing so. No matter who you are or what your station in life, the time you take to read my little posts means the world to me.

So thank you, again, for reading my work so consistently. Thank you for responding to my survey. It is my goal to provide content for you that will be helpful to you in many different ways. I am always open to receiving your input and would love to hear ideas for products that would meet your specific needs. You can comment below, or feel free to email me at any time at all.

What can I do to help you?

P.S. If you’d like to purchase my brand new t-shirt designed just for you, simply click here.