Author: Paul Silcock

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The Debate About My Face Is Heating Up

We have a bit of a debate going on in our family that is centred on the condition of my face.

the debate about my face is heating up

Something small should not be the centre of attention but in reality the small things often are. When you have a hang nail, it’s such a small thing but it really does take a lot of your attention. A sore baby toe can cause you to limp like you have a broken leg. 

Of course your face is front and centre. It’s the feature that most people see right away. Your face naturally draws attention to it. 

And I guess that is why we have this debate going on. 

But still, I don’t tell Lily how to apply makeup or what kind of makeup she should put on. She determines what kind of hairstyle she will wear and, for that matter, when and where she will get her hair styled.

That’s why I’m surprised that my face is up for debate right now. After all, I’m just growing a little hair on it. 

About a week ago, I was sick and while I was sick I didn’t shave for a few days. Normally I don’t go more than two days in a row without shaving. But the way things worked out, I didn’t shave for three days. 

When I looked in the mirror that fourth day, I took a good long look and thought maybe I should grow this a little longer. I had a couple more days when I wouldn’t be facing anyone so I thought there was no harm in seeing how things would go.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve had facial hair. 

Out of college I had a moustache that I didn’t shave off for 30 years. In 1998 I add a goatee and kept that for 16 years. My kids were in their twenties and had never seen me without facial hair. 

Then, about 8 years ago, I shaved it all off. Other than a long adjustment period of wondering who the guy in the mirror was every morning, I haven’t thought about having facial hair since. 

… Well, that was until this past week. 

Now I’m interested in how it is coming in. My hair colour is more of a sandy blonde so it’s coming in very light. Some people say it’s coming in white or silver, but we will just call it “blonde”. 

The problem is my wife, Lily, is dead set against it. She wants it gone. I want to see how it’s going to turn out. 

She says she might go on strike. I’m not sure if that means I won’t be getting any meals or if I won’t be getting any kisses. … Maybe she means both. 

All I know is that my facial hair seems to be coming in really nice and I’m liking what I see. 

Besides it’s about -20 degrees outside and I could use a little face covering. 

Here’s the thing: We often think that we are independent and can determine what we do and how we live. But in reality, our lives are really dependent. Others do have a say and ultimately God determines our eternity. It makes sense to have a right relationship with someone our life depends on. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What in your life is dependent on someone else? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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Deceived By Green Grass And Mild Temperatures

We can perceive things wrongly and be deceived, so that we make assumptions on what something looks like. 

deceived by green grass and mild temperatures

Shadows in the middle of the night cause objects to look different, bigger, scarier than they really are.

The weather here has been a little like that. For the most part, the weather has just not seemed to match the season … but we know that can happen anywhere, any time. 

When my daughter, Karlie, lived in Calgary she said one year they had either snow or hail in every month of that year. 

I remember one Canada Day in Kingston that was very uncharacteristic of that time of year. There were all kinds of family friendly things to do downtown by the water, so we decided to check them out. We had planned to stay downtown for the afternoon and enjoy the bands and fireworks at night.

When we parked our car the temperature was about 25 degrees celsius. We were all dressed in shorts and T-shirts. But some weird cold front came screaming into the region and in a matter of hours – maybe four hours or so – the temperature dropped by 20 degrees. 

By the time the bands were playing and we were finding a spot to watch the fireworks, it was about 2 degrees. 

We had come prepared for the temperature to drop a few degrees, but not that low. We needed winter parkas! On July 1st it’s supposed to be warm. We are not supposed to be huddled together trying to keep the kids from getting hypothermia.

Right now in Kingston we are in the middle of winter, but until this week it didn’t seem like it. 

On Sunday we had green grass showing on our lawn. Sure, we had tiny snow piles from where we shovelled our driveway, but it didn’t look like it was the middle of winter. 

If you took a quick look, you might think it was the tail end of the cold, that spring had already sprung. It looked like the big old, cold winter had pretty much been beaten. 

But then Monday morning we woke up and wondered if that green grass on our lawn had been an illusion. Falling snow covered everything and didn’t seem to be slowing down one bit. 

In the end we got 42 cm of snow … and me and one other neighbour are the only ones on the street who don’t have snowblowers. 

Now it looks like the middle of winter. There is no deception, no mismatch of seasons. We definitely have ourselves some winter.

I can’t say I like it any more than I did that July when the temperature dropped by 20 degrees. But at least when I look outside, I don’t get fooled into thinking that summer is coming any time soon.

Here’s the thing: Life can be a little deceptive. Your life can seem to be doing really well – solid relationships, financially secure, healthy and in great shape. You could assume that you have nothing to worry about. But if you have not cared for your spiritual side, you’re deceived. Though from your perspective, externally life looks good in every way, what is not seen may reveal a different reality when you face God. Ensure your spiritual side is right with God and then you will not be deceived.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need proper perspective on right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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A Collector Of Sorts, That’s What I Am

I guess I’m a little bit of a collector. If you are thinking a collector of antiques or fine art, you’re wrong. I’m more of a collector of empty boxes.

a collector of sorts, that's what I am

Some people love to hang on to an old sweater that is just comfortable. Sure, it may have a few holes in it and look kind of ratty. Their adult children tell them they should not wear that thing out in public (how would I know this?), but for some reason they just keep wearing it because it feels like it’s a part of them.

When I was a kid I would collect baseball cards and hockey cards. But I wasn’t much of a collector back then because I didn’t keep any of them. I’m sure I had a couple of rookie cards that might be worth some money now. 

When my kids were little I tried to get them into collecting cards. I took them to a trading card shop and they had a whole flat of cards for sale for a few dollars. These were cards that were not worth a penny. 

But I brought them home and gave half to Karlie and half to Michael. They tried to make some sets; they traded cards with each other. I even got them binders with sleeves to display their cards. 

But eventually, just like my childhood card collection, they came back to me and then got tossed out. There was no real value to them, much like my box collection.

Some people collect things of value and they track their increase in value with each year. Other people collect for fun; they simply enjoy it. But then there are those who don’t really know why they collect. They are just compelled to keep collecting. 

I kind of fit into that last category. I can’t tell you why I collect empty boxes, I just do. 

This came to a bit of a head the other day when my wife, Lily, was doing some cleaning and reorganizing in the storage room of our house. She brought out a stack of boxes and wanted to throw them out. 

My first response was, “Don’t do that; they make great gift boxes for Christmas and birthdays.” 

When she objected, I said I would have to go through them. So we did. 

I had kept empty boxes for some products I don’t even have any more. The box outlived the item that came in it. 

As we went through the boxes, I realized that some of them were not even a good sized box for putting presents in. I didn’t have too hard a time parting with almost all the boxes except one. 

It was a box from my latest electronic purchase and I kind of like how it opens and the construction of it. We kept that one. 

I thought we had done really well. The collector had rid himself of his collection. 

Then Lily said she had a whole stack of Apple computer boxes. 

And that’s where I drew the line. “We just keep them,” I said.

Here’s the thing: In some respects God is a collector. He collects people to be His own. He has such a warm love for those in His collection and He puts a high value on their souls. God is a collector of souls. To be part of His collection, we must put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of a collector are you? Leave your comments and questions below.

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An Expiry Date May Be On The Horizon

Things have an expiry date, they stop working or they get phased out. 

an expiry date may be on the horizon

Have you ever taken a good hard look at your closet? I don’t mean just opening it up and grabbing a shirt or a pair of pants. I mean really looking at what all is in there. 

We don’t do this enough and that is why our closets are stuffed full.

When you look in your closet with a desire to really see what is there, you find things you don’t wear any more. 

In my closet I have a section of shirts I wear in the winter and a section of shirts I wear in the summer. But I also have a section of shirts I don’t wear at all.

Never … any more that is.

But those shirts stay in my closet year after year. 

I have some shirts that I still wear that I’ve had for years. But I have some clothes that have gone out of style or they don’t fit me, or they have gone out of style AND don’t fit me. 

I say that because there are a few items in my closet that don’t fit but if I reduced my mass, I would definitely wear them. I keep those clothes because I have hope. It might be fanciful hope, but it is still hope. 

I really could get rid of a third of my shirts on the basis that I don’t wear them and probably will never wear them again.

I don’t think I am different from most people. We could all do a clothing purge.

Shirts and pants are not the only things that don’t last forever. Almost everything we have has a time limit on it – like the two hard drives I need to replace in the next three months.

I have to replace them not because they don’t work. They have been working fine for a number of years. The company that makes these hard drives has just decided to stop supporting them. 

They are giving plenty of time to get a replacement and are emailing me weekly reminders of their expiry date. 

Hey, they are even offering to give me a discount if I purchase a new hard drive that they will continue to support … until they don’t. 

These drives are not just external hard drives you plug into your computer. These drives attach to your network and are accessible remotely. The information I have stored on them I can access from anywhere at any time. 

But I guess it’s the end of the run for these hard drives. I can still store information on them, but now I’ll have to plug them into my computer to access any of it. They will make great paper weights when they are replaced.

I like the idea of the discount and I probably will take advantage of it. 

Wouldn’t it be great if there was such a discount with the old clothes we don’t wear any more?  

There’s the thing: Everything has an expiry date; nothing lasts forever. You and I have an expiry date as well. We, however, are not going to get emails every week warning us of when we will expire. We need to be prepared for that date in advance. Don’t wait too long. Be sure to have a relationship with Christ Jesus so that when your expiry date comes, you go to be with God in heaven.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: What in your life is expiring that you need to do something about? Leave your comments and questions below.

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When It’s Time, You Just Have To Act

You just know when it is time to move on to something else. 

when it's time you just have to act

It’s the 9th of January and we still have our Christmas decorations up. The outdoor lights still come on precisely at 5 p.m. And the Christmas tree lights in the living room still get turned on every evening. 

We’ve milked the Christmas mood or feeling to the limit. 

Most of us like to do that, especially if we don’t have something specific to move on to.

After Christmas there isn’t another season to transition to – it’s just the cold and dirtier side of the same winter season. 

After Christmas you notice that the white blanket of snow that falls on the trees and grass is just dull, grey and brown. Maybe it has to do with the sanding trucks that are running at full tilt at this time of year. Our church parking lot has about a pickup truck full of salt and sand on it and we haven’t even made it to February yet. 

That wonderful winter scene that adorns Christmas cards and instagram posts is never shot in the middle of January. That’s because nothing outside looks good in the middle of January. 

So why not keep the Christmas look and the Christmas feeling around as long as possible. Certainly the lights make looking as the filthy mounds of snow in parking lots a little easier. 

But you know when it’s time to take it all down. You can delay but eventually there comes a time you just have to make the switch. 

I used to instinctively know when to make a switch when I was a youth pastor planning activities for a Friday night group. I would plan lots of games or things to do, but I wouldn’t necessarily mind whether we did them all. 

If a game was going well, if the students were really getting into an activity, I would keep it going and not switch to a new activity. By the end of the night if we didn’t run one or two games, it was fine. It just meant that something else was a hit. 

There is another reason we delay putting Christmas away. No one likes packing it up and putting everything back in the boxes. 

Yet when I look outside, I’m thinking it’s time. 

It’s a nice day today, most of the snow on our lawn has melted and the outside temperature is sitting at about 4 degrees. I don’t like putting the lights away at the best of times, but I really hate putting them away when the wind is howling at -15 degrees. 

Ya, we know when it’s time to move on, when it’s time to give in to the dull, bleak, overcast January blues. 

I’m ready for spring now … only that won’t come around for another two to two and a half months. 

Without the Christmas lights as a camouflage to what’s really going on outside, I will have to dream of summer a little more. 

… But with the weather we have today, I just know it’s time to say goodbye to Christmas.

Here’s the thing: When God nudges you to do something, maybe even to place your faith in Him, you know it’s time to act. Don’t think that there will be a day ahead that will be just as good as today. You don’t know if that day will come. All you know is that today is a good day; just do it. 

That’s life!

Paul

Question: What have you been delaying that you should just do today? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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New Year Same As The Old Year

Meet the new year – will it be the same as the old year? 

New year same as the old year

Back in 1971, The Who had a hit song called, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. If that sounds familiar it’s because the song was used as the theme song for “CSI”, the original Crime Scene Investigation show on TV.

But there is a line in the song that came to my mind when I was thinking about the new year. The line is “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. I thought to myself, “Here we are at the beginning of a new year, same as the old year.” 

Or will it be the same as the old year? 

That is certainly up for debate at this point since we are only a couple of days into the year. But there are signs that could give some credence to that line.

We are starting 2022 much like we started 2021. We have high numbers of covid and a push to get everyone to get a shot or booster. People are still encouraged to isolate, keep distanced, wear a mask. These measures all have a great impact on how we work, how we socialize, how we spend our free time. 

As we begin this year, we could wonder if we will be in the same place at the end. Or will there be some differences? 

There are some things that point to a different year ahead. The major virus threat right now, Omicron, is a much weaker variety than the previous versions. Maybe these variants will just get weaker and weaker. 

Whether this year will be the same as last year seems right now to be dependent on covid. Getting back to The Who’s song, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, those lyrics might be something we should consider. 

At the beginning of a new year, will we fall into the same patterns, same responses we did in the past year, or will we choose to do some things differently to forge a new path ahead?

We all know the definition of insanity is “doing the same things over and over, but expecting a different result.”

To start a new year that won’t be the same as the old year, I need to determine to do something differently. And that requires some thought, planning and purpose. 

This year will be much like last year if we don’t put some thought into what might make this year different. If we don’t, we will generally just follow the pattern we had from the year before. … Sing it with me “Same as the old year”.

What I will do during the first week of 2022 is take a review of my last year, note what I did and didn’t do, and then plan to do some new things or further some things from the year before. I won’t choose too many because I have found that when I do that I get bogged down and don’t accomplish them.

This year will be different because I have a plan.

Here’s the thing: When I plan for the year ahead, I seek what God has planned for me. God’s plans never fail, so if I want to be sure I accomplish something different in 2022, I will need to consult with Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: I’ve use a specific guide to aid me in my planning process. If you are interested in a copy of it, let me know in the comments below.

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Traditions Are What Make Memories Come Alive

I wondered the other day if my family holds onto traditions a little too tightly. 

traditions are what make memories come alive

Traditions are nice, familiar, comfortable. They foster memories from the past that further entrench the traditions. Traditions also show up around special times of the year, making them even more memorable.

We have a tradition on Christmas Eve of having a special meal after our church Christmas Eve Service. 

It first started when Lily and I lived in Edmonton. We would have chateaubriand for two at the La Ronde Restaurant at the top of the Chateau Lacombe. 

It was a revolving restaurant so while we ate our meal we enjoyed a panoramic view of the city. We gazed over the river valley to see the Muttart Conservatory all lit up with Christmas lights, and later watched the glow of the city lights from the downtown buildings. 

Every fifteen minutes or so the view completely changed. It was magical; it was beautiful. It was our tradition. 

But when we moved to Kingston, there wasn’t a revolving restaurant above the city. In fact, we couldn’t find any restaurant in the city that was open Christmas Eve. 

So instead, we kept our tradition alive by having a fondue. And for the last twenty-six Christmases that is what we have done. It has become a special time for our family and we have created great memories. 

Sometimes we even recount events from them … like the time Lily set fire to the kitchen table trying to add fuel to an already flaming burner. It was a memory we all still tease her about. 

And even that has become a tradition. 

But there seems to be one tradition in our family that is a little over the top: Our kids have been out of the house for years, but for some reason, when they come home for Christmas and our Christmas Eve fondue, the seating arrangements must remain the same. 

This tradition is a curious thing because we have one more family member who fits into the seating plan – Karlie’s husband, Matt. 

When our kids were growing up, there was a shuffling of where Mike and I sat. But Karlie and Lily mostly sat in the same spots. When Karlie and Mike left home I changed my seat at the table to be closer to Lily. 

… But apparently that seat is not available to me on Christmas Eve. It’s Mike’s seat.

I don’t really pay too much attention to where I sit. Wherever there’s a plate of food, that’s where I plunk down. But on Christmas Eve, both Karlie and Mike said they don’t feel comfortable unless they are sitting in their spots. 

Poor Matt and I have to try to figure out where we should sit. It seems he and I don’t have a traditional spot yet. 

I don’t think it really matters though, because I think he and I are of the same opinion: wherever there’s a plate of food set, that’s where we make a beeline for.

Here’s the thing: Everyone has traditions, especially at Christmas. Some of those traditions change over the years; some of them just evolve a little. But one tradition that should remain and not change at Christmas is the celebration of the One the holiday is for. We celebrate Christ, who came into the world, lived a sinless life and died for all our sins. He rose from the dead three days later and remains alive with God in heaven. This celebration should be a tradition and the focus of our hearts. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your fondest Christmas tradition? Leave your comments and questions below.

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A Rally Call For Your Family; Do Your Have One?

Hockey is a rally call for my family; I don’t know what your family’s rally call is.

A rally call for your family; do you have one?

When we get together we talk hockey, even a little bit in the summer. 

There have been a few years when my family has gotten together for our Christmas gathering in between Christmas and New Years. The evening entertainment has usually been watching the World Junior hockey tournament. 

My family enjoys humour around hockey as well. The other day I got a tweet regarding the many NHL teams that are reporting players who are out with covid. The tweet read, “If you own a NHL jersey of any kind, please report to that team’s stadium now for practice. You have been called up.”

I immediately sent it to my son and texted, “I’m leaving for TO now with the Leaf jersey we got you as a kid.” 

He didn’t text me back. He just called me and asked when I’d be getting there. We had a good laugh.

I only have two siblings, but in each home we have embraced the game and that is why it is one of the focal points of our families. 

About sixteen years ago my father passed away. One thing I remember about my dad is that he would always watch us play hockey – not so much when I was younger, although he did coach me for a few years. 

It was really when my brother and I hit our late teens that he started making it out to all our games. He would drive us or just show up at games. And when the grandkids started playing, if there was a game they were playing, he would want to attend.

After dad died we wondered what we could do at Christmas that would remind us of the bond we have together. I think it was my sister who suggested we rent ice and have a family hockey game. 

We’ve been doing it ever since.

The kids were younger when we started, but now they are all adults and the games are fast. At one time we played the old guys against the young guns but we can’t do that any more. They are bigger and faster. Now they have to watch out for the two old guys (my brother and I) with the suspect tickers. 

So we divide up as evenly as we can and just enjoy the rivalry.

The other week we assembled for our annual Christmas get together and our traditional hockey game. Then we met back at one of my siblings’ homes for an awesome Christmas family meal. 

Of course there are some in the family that wouldn’t care if we got together for a game of hockey, but over half of us would really miss that time on the ice before we settle in for the spread. 

Here’s the thing:  Every family has a rally call. The other rally call we have is our faith in Christ. This year my brother-in-law shared how greatly honoured Jesus is when the audience stands in the singing of Handel’s Messiah. Kings and queens stand in His honour. It’s a rally call to all of us to bow before Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I hope you will this year. Merry Christmas. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your family’s rally call? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Catastrophe Happens When You Least Expect It

Have you ever been minding your own business when catastrophe strikes? Well, that’s what happened on Saturday night. 

catastrophe happens when you least expect it

I was doing my regular Saturday night routine, wings doused in Frank’s Redhot sauce. The TV was on and the Leafs were winning. 

There was no question, I was feeling pretty good. I threw some balls out on the pool table and proceeded to knock them into the pockets.

Then I remembered I had a few chairs that needed a bit of assembling. … Who am I kidding? The chairs were from IKEA – they needed complete assembling. 

Life was good. I’d already read over my sermon about three times and made some edits to it. 

What I didn’t realize as I was enjoying my Saturday evening was the catastrophe happening outside the four walls of our house. 

Unlike the three little pigs’ homes, our house is thankfully not made of straw so we were comfortable and unfazed by the howling wolf of a wind outside.

Then Lily heard a crashing sound and went to a window to look out.

Our basketball net had fallen over. 

Realizing that the wind was strong enough to drop the basketball net, she started looking out other windows to check the property over.

That’s when she spied that our back fence had fallen over – not the whole fence but three sections were down. 

Years ago we stored our travel trailer in our back yard, so I had taken two sections of the fence apart and made a large gateway out of them.

We haven’t used this gate in over ten years, but the modification makes weaker than the rest of the fence.  

Add to that, I discovered that two posts had rotted just above the cement that holds them into the ground. This made for a “perfect storm” in the wind storm we were experiencing.  

… I’m thinking that’s why in the three little pigs story even the house that was made with sticks couldn’t withstand the wolf’s howling breath. 

Seeing my fence look like that plastic garden edging that is not fully installed, I figured I needed to do something right there and then.

With no plan I went out to inspect the situation. I figured I couldn’t do anything about the section that was part of the gate and now on the ground, but I could get the other two sections standing straight up again.

With some ingenuity, stakes, a sledge hammer and some tie down straps I got that fence standing fairly straight. Of course I had a large gap in the fence where the one section was missing. 

With a trip to the hardware store the next day for some fence hangers and nails, I had what I needed to put that last section up.

Unless that wolf comes back, I think my fence will remain standing this winter, I’ll make permanent repairs in the spring.

Here’s the thing: Life can flow along for you so peacefully, but there could be a catastrophe brewing. That life storm can overtake you in an instant. It was Jesus who calmed the storm for His disciples. He can calm the storms you go through as well. Always seek Him, and also in times of trouble. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What life storm do you need to seek Jesus for right now? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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Christmas Tree Memories

From time to time I will repost an old article. This post is from December 2015, I hope you enjoy.

This morning I’m sitting in our family room looking at our Christmas tree. The lights from the tree and the winter village are the only lights that are on.  

Christmas tree memories

The tree lights draw my focus in and, as I sit quietly alone, I can’t help but reflect on what the tree represents. 

I know that some people say that the Christmas tree is some pagan holiday symbol that we’ve stolen and now use as a symbol of Christmas. I don’t get too hung up on that because for years we sang hymns that had stolen their tunes from old bar songs. 

It’s almost like hymn writers were the first “Weird Al Yankovic”. And if you don’t know who Weird Al is, don’t worry about it – it’s not important to my Christmas tree reflection.

To me this Christmas tree has become a burden and a blessing. And this year we decided to be done with the burden part. 

You see, for the last 30 years Lily and I have exchanged Christmas decorations, and since our kids were born they also have received decorations. So let me do a little calculating here … that works out to 110 ornaments!  

No wonder Lily sighs when she thinks about putting the decorations on the tree. But that’s nothing – our poor Christmas tree starts drooping in preparation for all that extra weight on its branches.

Let me tell you about the burden … These decorations are not just any decorations. They have to reveal something about the kind of year that person has had, or something memorable in that person’s year.

Like the year we vacationed without the kids, I got a small picture frame and added a picture of two people in beach chairs on a beach. The year the doctor told me my triglycerides were sky high, I went on a diet to get them down. Lily gave me a grapefruit ornament that said “the year of the grapefruit” to remind me of my progress. 

At first I didn’t take this ornament giving too seriously. I think for the first four Christmases I got her a red ball decoration that said “our first, second, third … Christmas together”.  

But that didn’t last. They don’t make “our 13th Christmas together” shiny hanging balls. 

There were some dark years that I had to struggle to find a theme for the year. Eventually I ended up making many of my ornaments. That in itself took a lot of work. 

It seemed sometimes that it was more work than it was worth. But on Christmas morning when Lily would open her gift, her reaction was always worth the effort I put into it.

But year after year it’s a burden, and there’s not much room on the tree anymore. I suggested that from now on we should just pick a ten year period and only put decorations up from that decade. 

She didn’t like that idea. Instead, out of the blue one day, Lily said maybe we should stop giving ornaments to each other. I jumped at the suggestion and said, “Great idea; let’s stop.” 

So I’m looking at the tree right now, with all its memories, because that’s what they are. The burden is over; I don’t have to make another ornament. But the blessing … the blessing of the memories that fill that tree will continue to bring comfort to my mind. 

Here’s the thing: Remember special times in your spiritual life, like when you accepted Christ, when you made a spiritual breakthrough, how God met a need, how He helped you at a crucial time in your life. It’s those memories that will stay present with you, and give you comfort in the years to come. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What traditions do you have that bless you with great memories? Leave your comment below.

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