Author: Paul Silcock

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Didn’t Fully Prepare For This One

There are times when you can’t fully prepare for an upcoming event.

didn't fully prepare for this one

You want to be completely ready; you know you’ll do well if you’re fully prepared, but you don’t have the time to do what is necessary.

Not that long ago I participated in cleaning up the sand left on our church parking lot from the winter. I knew it was going to require a lot of sweeping and I also knew that I hadn’t been doing much work with my hands. 

My hands are not tough – no calluses – so I didn’t expect it to be easy. I had full intention of bringing a pair of work gloves to give my hands a break, but forgot. I finished the day with about five blisters distributed over both hands. 

Even though I held the broom in different ways to change up the pressure, I couldn’t avoid the beating my hands received. 

Sometimes you have to face the consequences of not being as fully prepared as you wanted to be.

When I preach, I read over my sermon six times before I preach it. But sometimes I just run out of time or my schedule on Saturday doesn’t allow me to spend all the time that’s needed. Usually that means I will be looking down at my notes a lot more than usual.

Sometimes you just don’t feel as prepared or ready as you would like to be.

This week I will be going golfing with a couple of buddies, but I have yet to golf this year. In fact, over the last couple of years, I haven’t golfed much at all. 

I’m running out of time. I don’t have time to play a couple of rounds of golf before the match. I don’t even have the time to play one round prior to our game.

The only thing I can do is go to the driving range. I can hit balls. I can practice my swing … but it will only partially help. 

I can hit 80 – 100 golf balls at a range in less than an hour. Oh, it will help me be consistent with my shots on the course, but in that hour of hitting all those balls, I won’t move more than a few feet. I don’t have to walk to get to my next shot. I simply reach my club out and roll another ball towards my stance.

Without playing the game, I won’t be able to build up my stamina to walk that 6500 yards and hit the ball without any fatigue setting in. I won’t be able to practice hitting a ball out of a sand trap, or staring down an eight foot putt, accounting for a ball and a half break towards the hole. 

I’m looking forward to the game this week, but I will not be at my best. I will not play the way I want to play; I will not score to my potential. 

I’m just going to have to settle for what I can do to prepare between now and my golf game … and be happy with that. 

Here’s the thing: You may think you have not reached the place in your spiritual life that you should have. But if you are working at it to the best you can, with the time you have left, God is good with that. You can be happy with that.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What could you spend more time preparing for? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Lead With The Truth Over Covering Up Something

It’s better to lead with what you have than to try to cover up what you don’t have.

lead with the truth over covering up something

Maybe you’ve gone to a restaurant and right on the menu they list the items they have at the time. Sometimes the server will tell you, before you order, what items on the menu they have run out of. 

The worst is when you are given a menu and you zero in on something you want. By the time the server comes to take your order you have your heart set on it. Then when you tell him what you want, he says, “Oh I’m sorry; we ran out of that a little while ago.” 

You then have to get your mind and taste buds reset all over again … that is, unless you had a pretty good second choice picked out. 

There is a website that I order glasses from about once a year.

On the order form I can choose a number of things like the strength of the lens, whether I want a case and what colour I want the rims to be. But I also have to give them a second choice on the colour, just in case my first choice is not available. 

So before I place my order I know that I might not get my first choice, but I’ve chosen an alternative that I will be satisfied with. 

Just imagine going to a restaurant and, after you made your menu selection, you anticipate sinking your teeth into a thick juicy steak. But when your meal comes to your table, the server says, “We were out of steak, so I’ve brought you grilled salmon instead.” 

No thanks.

It’s best to just be upfront and say what you don’t have and not lead people along. 

The other day I went to Swiss Chalet to pick up some chicken dinners for four people. The meal comes with fries and a bun. 

The girl at the take out window asked me if I would like white buns with that. I always get white buns, so I said “yes” right away. But then I thought the others might rather have whole wheat. So I said, “No, make it two white and two whole wheat.”

The cashier looked at me completely serious and said, “We only have white buns.”  

I chuckled out loud and replied, “Well, I guess I will have white buns then.” 

I figured my reaction of chuckling at her might change her approach next time. It didn’t. 

The very next person was asked the same question: “Would you like a white bun with that? The woman replied, “No, I’ll have the whole wheat.” 

The server reiterated, “Oh, well, we only have white buns.” 

Girl, find new approach! Maybe lead with, “We only have white buns right now; is that all right?”

I wish I could have stayed longer to see how many more times she used the same approach, but they called my name and I left with my order … including my four white buns.

Here’s the thing: When King Solomon finished building the temple in Jerusalem, God said, “If you follow my statutes and rules, you will always have an heir on the throne in Israel.” That’s how God is with us. We know what He expects and wants from us. There is no guessing, no surprise response from Him. God always leads with what He expects. He never covers it up.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When are you tempted not to say what you expect? Leave your comments and questions below.

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The Wait Is Over And It Was All Worth Waiting For

Though it was a long time coming, the wait was worth it. Sometimes we can wait so long for something that we lose the joy and excitement of it. Sometimes we lose interest in it all together. 

the wait is over and it was all worth waiting for

I’ve had the same putter for forty years. There have been a couple of times that I’ve thought of getting a new one, but I waited, thinking that it might be a birthday present that someone would want to give me. 

At one time you could buy a nice putter for thirty or forty dollars. Now a good putter can run you into the hundreds. I thought of saving my money for one, but by the time I had enough money to get one, I decided I didn’t really want a new putter any more. 

Then there are times when you want something for a long time and you never lose interest during that long wait. 

Almost from the time we moved into our house, I wanted to get a pool table. But our kids were young and a pool table would have taken up a lot of playing space for the kids. 

Years went by, but my desire to get a pool table didn’t wain. 

When the kids were older and that space in the basement was no longer being used for a hockey rink, football field or wrestling ring, I started to get serious about getting a pool table. 

But they are expensive and I had to wait. I even took masking tape and outlined the shape on the rug in the family room so I could see exactly where it would go. 

Though the wait was long, I never wavered and eventually got that pool table. 

Well, last weekend, two years and two months after our daughter, Karlie, and her husband, Matt, got married before an audience of eight, they did it again. 

This time there were 160 family and friends who showed up to celebrate their marriage. We had a full wedding ceremony and reception. 

I thought that maybe after the long wait, the event would be anticlimactic, that it would seem lame because it was so after-the-fact. I wondered whether people would take the time to come because, after all, Karlie and Matt were already married. 

And there had already been two previous attempts to have this public celebration. 

They had rescheduled their celebration for a few months later in 2020, hoping that COVID restrictions would be over … but that was not the case. We didn’t even begin planning that one because it became obvious very quickly that it would not be possible. 

They again made plans to walk down the aisle one year after their wedding … but that didn’t work either. 

So two years and two months later, the wait was finally over. 

And our daughter’s wedding was just as exciting and joy-filled as if it was the first time! 

Here’s the thing: Christ will be coming back again. The wait has been long that some have lost interest, some think He’s not coming. The long wait is because God is patiently waiting for us to respond to His love offer. So don’t lose interest; get excited about Christ’s return. The wait will be worth it all. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you been waiting a long time for? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I Pondered Something I Had Never Given Much Thought To

The other day I pondered something that I have never thought much about before … and it amazed me.

I pondered something I had never given much thought

We all have amazing things happen to us or witness them with our eyes. But do we ponder those amazing things or do we just file them in our heads as a great event, encounter or sighting to tell someone later?

For instance, a friend of mine just came home from a trip to Europe and, on his way back, he had an experience that he couldn’t stop talking about. It was amazing, but it was amazingly bad. When it was all said and done it was a great story and something that he will never forget. 

I wonder, however, if he had pondered on that event, whether he would have come away with some deeper thoughts on life, health and God. 

I had an experience a few years ago in the emergency department at the hospital. I wasn’t there for myself but to visit a patient. While I was there visiting with this patient and his wife, a prison inmate somehow got the gun from one of his guards. In the wrestling match that ensued, both the inmate and guard had their hands on the gun. 

This all went down about twenty feet from where we were. We were watching it all. The gun was waving around; I felt so uneasy but had nowhere to go. There was nowhere to hide or go for cover. We were exposed and the struggle for the gun between the officer and the inmate was intense. 

Then a shot was fired. 

It was deafening; the smell of gun powder filled the emerge … but the wrestling match continued and I just knew the gun would go off again. 

And it did. 

One bullet stuck into the wall; the other bullet struck a person in the leg.

It was a scary moment and I will never forget it. 

I’ve told the story many times, but I’m not sure I’ve pondered the event. What could have happened? How has it affected me? I’ve never really asked all the “what if” questions. … Nor have I asked why I was spared and that other visitor wounded. 

Sometimes you are satisfied with the story the amazing event produces. Sometimes you should ponder it. 

I did that the other day sweeping up sand and gravel from our church parking lot. 

I forgot to bring gloves and very quickly developed several blisters on my hands. I made it through the morning with blisters that kept growing in size but didn’t break.

I pondered that later, looking at the blisters on my palm and a few on my fingers and thumb. As I pondered those blisters, it dawned on me how remarkable our skin is. Our skin doesn’t just tear and shred when stressed; our skin actually protects itself. And our skin heals itself. 

Those blisters never did break and one week later you can’t see any sign that I ever had them. My skin has gone back to what it was before the abuse.

Here’s the thing: Most of the time, we take that kind of amazing thing for granted. But if you pondered it for a few moments, you have to consider that there was thought and planning that went into a person’s make up. How could this small, insignificant thing about our skin be by accident? When you ponder it, it points to an intelligent, thinking Creator who designed us. That’s who God is.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to take time to ponder? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Too Many Things Means I Have To Make More Choices

Spring is a time when I have too many things to do – a statement most people could probably make all year long. 

too many things means I have to make more choices

But I’m not talking about work or all the things that I am pressured to accomplish. I just have too many things I want to do right now.

Now that spring weather is fully on us, I have a hard time deciding what to do on my day off. I have too many options and I can’t do them all. 

It’s sort of like going into a candy store with too many options of what to buy. You have to sort out what you feel like eating right then. Do you want chocolate, and if you do there are all kinds of options. Will it be a Big Turk or a Kit Kat? Those are very different bars. 

Maybe you don’t feel like chocolate. Rather you have a hankering for some candy. But what kind of candy? Licorice? Mike and Ikes? Or maybe some Sour Patch (sweet and sour candies)?

There are so many options that it’s sometimes hard to decide which way to go. 

When it comes to the things I want to do on my day off, sometimes the decision-making process takes too long. It can take so long that I have to scrap one or two things I had wanted to do because I no longer have the time to do them. 

I find I don’t schedule my activities on my day off in the same way I schedule my work day. 

At work I have a time frame in which I will work on a particular task or assignment. When the time is up, I move on to the next task. But on my day off I just have a list of things I want to do. If something takes longer than I thought, I might not get to those other things I wanted to do. 

This is especially an issue in the spring because I want to do all the things I haven’t been able to do throughout the winter. 

Like today for instance, I want to go mountain biking, I want to fly my drone, I want to edit a video I’ve been working on … and I have two things I don’t want to do but have to get moving on.

If I go mountain biking, that will take two and a half hours. With the other things I must do, it will not leave me enough time to fly my drone. 

Some time later … 

I got interrupted by an unexpected visitor and, of course, that pushed back the finishing of this blog. Then it started to rain. 

So no biking and no droning today. I guess my circumstances have narrowed what I can do. I’ll work on video editing and one task I really don’t want to do but must. 

Sometimes your choices for what you will get to do are decided for you and there’s nothing you can do about that. 

Here’s the thing: If you want to spend time with God, you have to schedule that time. But more precisely, you have to schedule it so that nothing can crowd out that time with God. For me that’s the first part of my day. It’s the first thing I do before anything can interrupt me. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What interrupts your schedule more than anything else? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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The CRA Has Me Tearing Out My Hair

I realize this is a little late in terms of writing about the CRA and taxes, but recently I was helping someone secure some tax forms. 

The CRA has me tearing out my hair

When dealing with CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), it’s much like dealing with someone who is a brand new employee in a department store. 

When you ask a seasoned employee at, say, Canadian Tire, “Where would I find 4 stroke engine oil for my lawnmower?”, he or she will be able to tell you. “Oh that’s in Automotive, aisle 34, about half way down on the right side.”

That’s helpful. That’s information that will get me right to the product I’m looking for. 

When asking the same question to a brand new employee, you might get, “Oh, that’s over in Hardware, by the lawnmowers.”

The new employee can only give you a general area and, even then, he or she sends you to the wrong part of the store. 

That’s like CRA. 

You can phone in, ask a question and get a different answer every time. And every time the answer will prove to be unhelpful.

Even their websites are not helpful. I tried two or three different websites to get the documents I needed and each URL had the same incomplete documents.

What I was trying to do is get a paper copy of the income tax package. Remember those things? You got a booklet that contained all the instructions. Included were two copies of the actual return form in case you made a mistake on one of them. 

And, of course, you got an envelope in which to mail your return.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen them, hasn’t it? The reason it’s been a long time is because no place has them anymore. You used to be able to pick them up at the post office. Well, now you can’t even get them from Service Canada. 

What you can do is order a tax package from a CRA website. It takes about ten days to arrive. … I think when they receive an order they must send an office boy out to a print shop to have one printed. 

The CRA website had a link to where you could “download and print” the complete tax package … which made sense to me. I mean, why not make it downloadable for people to print off at home, on the spot, rather than ordering it online and having to wait 10 days for it to arrive by mail. 

But when you click the link to the downloadable tax package, the first thing they tell you is you can fill it out online. If I wanted to fill the form out online I wouldn’t be looking for the downloadable print version!! 

With the link, you can only print the 8 page tax form. If you want schedules and guides, each one has to be downloaded individually.

I wasted hours searching and in the end my friend will have to wait another 10 days before she can get her hands on a paper copy of the tax forms. 

Here’s the thing: Would it be great to have one place where you can find the help you need for what you are facing in life? Well, we do have a single source to go to and it’s God. You can reach Him by prayer and by His Word, the Bible. God does have the help we need for what we are facing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is it that you need help with right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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It’s An Antique To Me But Nobody Would Notice

I feel like I’m wearing an antique and it is only seven years old.

it's an antique to me but nobody would notice

How in the world could something under ten years old be considered old at all? In the automobile industry a car has to be 20 years old to be considered a classic. 

Where I vacation every year they hold a vintage car show where the cars all park on the beach. You see cars from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Those machines are real antiques. 

People have put a lot of love into them and they look like they are brand new. The curves and lines on those vehicles are mesmerizing. But when you look inside you see how basic the dashboard and instrument panels are. 

An automobile can be called a classic after 20 years but, to become an antique, a car must be at least 45 years old. Then to be considered vintage, well, those cars were build between 1919 and 1930.  

At any rate, any of those classifications are far older than the tired, old thing I wear every day.

Antique furniture has an even stricter standard for old. To be considered an antique, a piece of furniture must be at least 100 years old. And most antique dealers consider vintage pieces to be 40 years or older.

So seven years is nothing, but that’s how old my watch is. Even in terms of watches, it’s not that old. … But it is an antique when it comes to smart watches. 

I have the first Apple Watch. It is so old that they didn’t even have a series number for it. I got my watch in 2015 but they didn’t start assigning series numbers to the watches until 2016. They have just started calling my Apple Watch series (0). 

And why would my watch be considered an antique? Well, first off they don’t make them anymore. You can’t buy a new one and they stopped upgrading the software for it in 2018. 

The Watch operating system (OS) that my Apple Watch runs on is 4.3.2 while the latest Apple Watch series 7 is running Watch OS 8.5.1.

You can see why my watch has been left in the dust. It’s vintage, a classic and you might even consider it an antique.

I realized how old fashioned my watch was this morning when I wanted to adjust my activities goals for the week. Every week my watch asks me what my goal is and it gives me a suggestion based on the activity I have done in the previous week. 

Truthfully, I’ve not done well at reaching my activity goals this week, so my watch suggested a lower goal for me than usual. I wanted to correct it but hit the wrong button. … To figure out how to change that goal took 15 minutes! 

Even vintage apple watches do it differently than mine. After some digging, I finally found out how to change the goal in some archive on the internet. 

It’s 7 years old and already a classic.

Here’s the thing: What has your relationship with God become? Hopefully it has matured into a sweet, beautiful, loving, cared for relationship – like a restored 1957 Chevy, or like a timeless Victorian armchair. The great thing is, if your relationship with God has become a little tired and worn, you can restore it to its full lustre with some time and attention. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to do a little work on? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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It Will Catch Up To You At Some Point

I’m beginning to think that things I didn’t pay attention to in my youth are beginning to catch up to me.

It will catch up to you at some point

There are things you do or expose yourself to when you are young that you think nothing of. Later those things may prove to be a hindrance to you. 

I noticed one of those things the other weekend. It never bothered me when I was young, but now it does.

When I was in my teens and twenties I listened to a lot of music – loud music. If I could turn the stereo up past “10”, I would. 

I went to concerts in Toronto at Maple Gardens, Massey Hall and Exhibition Stadium and they were loud. My young ears soaked up the noise at that time, no problem. 

I even went to a concert at Exhibition Stadium once where we sat halfway back from the stage and I still had ringing in my ears for two days after the concert. Of course, my young ears sucked it up and I could hear fine a few days later. 

However, scrolling ahead some 35 years or more, I don’t handle loud noises like I used to. 

This past weekend I realized that when there are loud, competing noises, I have a hard time hearing what the person next to me is saying. 

I went to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ final game of the season with my son, Mike. Man, was it ever loud!

There was a women sitting next to me with a high-pitched voice. She was from PEI and had two kids. She was very friendly and throughout the game kept peppering me with questions about where I lived and my family. 

Definitely not a Torontonian.

But her high voice and the mask she was wearing made it almost impossible to hear her over the deafening noice from the arena sound system.

There was a song recorded several years ago by a group named, “The Pursuit of Happiness”. The song was about a rock singer getting older and finding it hard to make the adjustments to his aging. One line in the song says, “I can’t take too much loud music; I mean I like to play it, but I sure don’t like the racket.”

That’s how I feel. I like it all but I just can’t hear very well with all the competing noise around me. 

The lady beside me took her mask off at the end of the game to say some things to me. I thought I would be able to hear her better without her mask. However, the four drinks she had somehow turn the pitch of her voice up a couple of octaves. Add to that her slurred speech and I couldn’t make out anything she said.

Mike had to interpret for me. I just smiled and nodded.

Here’s the thing: There are so many loud voices out there. And with all the various mediums to hear those voices – TV, movies, social media – it can become very loud. Hey, even our own voice is often too loud. It’s easy with all that noise to become insensitive to what God might be saying to you … or you might just have a hard time hearing Him at all. It’s important to discover ways to hear God above the noise. The Bible, prayer, sermons, Christian music can all help interpret what God might be speaking to you. Listen carefully.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How has your hearing been lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Two Weeks Since We’ve Been Together

It’s been two weeks and I’m ready for things to get back to the way they were.

two weeks since we've been together

I remember at the beginning of covid there were people who thought, “A couple of weeks of shut down and we will beat this thing; then we can get back to normal.”

Well, that was over two years ago and we are still not back to the way things were before covid hit us.

When some big upheaval comes along, does it mean that things don’t settle back into place? 

When you throw a rock into the water, there is a great eruption in the water and then there are ripples that break the surface. After a short time, the water settles back into place. There is no evidence that anything broke the surface of the water. It looks just as it did before.

When you leave your home for a two-week vacation, you come back expecting that everything will be just as you left it. In most cases that is true.

But then there is this: Two weeks ago my wife, Lily, left on a business trip to Italy. Today she returns. I’ve been living in the house by myself for the last two weeks. … Things will not be the same as when she left. 

There may be papers on the kitchen table that weren’t there when she left. She will definitely find some crumbs on the floor or counter because that’s just who I am. 

In a sense, though everything will generally be the same, there will be a few things that have changed – like three of the balloons she got for her birthday are now hovering only inches off the ground. 

I know for sure that it will not be long after she arrives home that our house will be back to what it was like before she left. 

But the bigger question is, “What about us?” What about Lily and I after being apart for two weeks? Will we go back to the way things were before she left? 

We’ve been married for almost 37 years. When you think about it, two weeks apart is not very long. We should get back into the rhythm of our life quickly. 

Shortly after her return, there should be no sign that she had been gone for two weeks. But I wonder if that is good. Should everything go back to the way it was before two weeks ago?

Over 37 years there are patterns we have fallen into and some of those patterns could use a change – like how much time we actually spend doing things together at home.

Maybe two weeks could prove to be the start of some fresh new ways Lily and I will settle back into place. 

Maybe getting back to the way things were is not always best.

Here’s the thing: When people puts their faith in Christ for their salvation, much about them is the same the next day. On the outside everything about them looks the same as it did before. However, for a person’s faith to be real, the change that took place on the inside will have to show up on the outside, in how he or she thinks, speaks and feels. Placing your faith in Christ will leave you changed and things won’t be as they were before. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What would two weeks change for you? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Flowers Have Taken Over My Kitchen Table

I think I might be looking at opening a flower shop – at the very least setting up a flower stand.

flower have taken over my kitchen table

Flowers have never been a fascination of mine, although I do think they are beautiful to look at. 

I couldn’t really tell you much about flowers, other than they are good for the environment. Even cut flowers produce oxygen – these little things help the environment even when they are dying.

The different kinds of flowers are lost on me. When I see a flower, I’m more likely not to know what the flower is called. 

The thing that stands out the most for me is the colour, not the kind. When a bouquet of flowers has a stunning colour, or a variety of colours, that attracts my attention … well, for a moment or two; then I move on. 

… Except when I’m picking out flowers for my wife. I tend to brood over the different varieties and colours while I try to make the difficult decision of which ones to get her.

My wife, Lily, loves flowers, especially roses. But we were well into our marriage before I found out that red roses are not necessarily her favourite colour. 

Since that time I’ve tried to get her yellow, orange, purple and pink roses. Something different. Over the years I’ve pretty much stayed with buying roses. However, in recent years my son has also started buying roses for his mother. 

So now sometimes I have to get her a variety pack … well, that’s what I like to call it. I don’t know what the individual flowers are but they all look good bunched together.

You may be wondering why all this discussion on flowers. It’s because Lily just had a big birthday. She turned 60 recently and, as a result, our house has been inundated with flowers – mostly cut flowers, but there are some plants as well. 

She loved receiving all these flowers, and she’s enjoyed looking at them every day. 

However, she has just gone on a business trip and left me with all her flowers. By the time she gets back, the flowers will be gone for sure. I will have sold them off, given them away or they will have died. 

There is a plant or two and I will try my best to keep them going until she returns. I did receive watering instructions, but I must say I was not paying too much attention when those said instructions were given. … I think I only have to water them once a week.

It’s too bad this is not around Valentine’s Day. I have 60 roses in stock right now and I could sell them singularly on the street to couples for a couple of bucks each. 

My problem with these flowers is their life expectancy is so short. … I started to look up ways I can extend the life of cut flowers, but frankly I don’t care that much.

Here’s the thing: When you think about all the kinds of flowers and all the colours of flowers, if you consider their different shapes and and how delicate and intricate they are, you can’t help but think they were designed that way, that they were not a random accident. Even the flowers we give to each other or put on our tables point to God’s creativity in creation.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Have you stopped to consider creation lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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