Author: Paul Silcock

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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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Gaining Victory Out Of What Seemed A Loss

I achieved a victory even though I lost. 

gaining victory out of what seemed a loss

Have you ever had that happen when you technically lost, but in a way you won? It happened to me driving home from the Kingston Frontenacs hockey game the other night. 

During the hockey season, Friday nights are date nights for me and Lily. It’s something we do together and both enjoy. 

Because I’m the team chaplain, Lily has also gotten to know the players and so she has a personal interest in watching them play. She’s a pretty vocal supporter, too. She will shout out their first names and, with all kinds of passion, encourage them to skate after that puck or go for the goal.

This fall Lil has been coming in to work at the church on Friday afternoons. Our standard practice is to take just one car down to the hockey game and leave the other one at the church to pick up after the game.

It’s not that there is anything said or that we plan on it, but one thing leads to another and, during our drive home, the race is on. 

This past Friday I switched lanes thinking that I would be behind someone who was going to travel faster than the car I was behind. 

It was a big mistake! 

The car I had been behind turned off the road just after I changed lanes and Lily moved up and ahead of me in that other lane. 

I then got boxed in because the new car I was following was not going as fast as the line of cars beside me. I couldn’t change back and kept getting further and further behind Lily.

… Then came an opening. I made my move and, well, drove a little fast. 

Lily was way ahead but I kept up my speed and caught up to her at a red light. 

I again got in the opposite lane from her, knowing that her lane had to merge due to construction. … But I didn’t count on the guy in front of me going slow enough that Lily was able to get in front of him, and not get stuck waiting to merge. 

Once Lily turned off the main road, there were no more opportunities for me to get ahead of her. It was like she had already won and we were still a kilometre from home. 

I stayed right behind her though.

As we turned onto our street, I hit my garage door remote and my door started opening before hers did. She pulled into our driveway; I came up beside her and drove directly into the garage. From there I quickly exited the car and got to the door before she was able to park her car. 

I kind of won, but she made it to the driveway first. Luckily my garage door remote has a farther range and my door opens and closes faster than hers. That’s what gave me the win. 

Lily keeps protesting the results, insisting it’s the first to the driveway who wins, but I’m still claiming victory.

Here’s the thing: We saw a similar scenario in what Christ did. He lived a perfect life only to die because the religious leaders were jealous and threatened by him. It looked like Jesus lost when he died on the cross, but really he won the victory for you and me to have our sins paid for and to have a relationship with God the Father. His seeming loss was real victory.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Have you taken hold of the victory Jesus won for you? Leave your comments and questions below.

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The Right Perspective Is A Game Changer

I’m learning how to create the right perspective in a drawing. It’s all about how your eyes see things in the distance. 

the right perspective is a game changer

This past spring I got a new iPad and along with it I got an Apple Pencil. I didn’t know exactly what I would use it for, but I really liked how well it worked and how responsive it was. 

So in the summer, on vacation, I started to fool around with using the pencil to draw things.

It had been years since I had done any drawing whatsoever … unless you count doodling on scrap paper while I’m talking on the phone. I do remember way back when I was in high school that I used to draw the album covers from some of my favourite artists.

I have absolutely no training. I don’t know anything about lines, shading or anything, including perspective. Some of my drawings I liked; others were pretty bad – certainly not good enough to show anyone, although I did keep them. 

When Lily and I had our kids, going out and getting a babysitter was kind of expensive for us. So we tried some creative dating at home. 

Once I came home with a couple of pads of drawing paper and some pencils. Lil, who is talented in drawing and painting, drew something that looked good. What I drew, well, I can’t remember, but it was not so hot. 

Fast forward to this year. In the summer, a couple of drawings I did needed some perspective and I found that really hard to draw. So I asked Lily and she gave me some tips and showed me what I needed to be doing. 

Still it was tough to get the right perspective. 

You have to be able to locate the vanishing point and make the drawing get smaller towards that point. Then everything looks right in the picture. 

Perspective is not just important for drawing pictures, but also for other things. 

Last night I was at a hockey game and had a person sitting right beside me. 

When the arena was designed, it was done with great care to make sure there were good sight lines all over the rink. Our seats are near center ice and we can see both ends … that is if people sit properly. 

The person sitting next to me decided to sit a little forward in her seat. In other words, she didn’t have her back against the back of her seat. 

Well, that wrecked my perspective. The arena’s design works and everyone can see only if everyone has their back against the back of their seat. If someone sits forward they take the sight lines away and you can’t see what is happening in the corners. 

She understood what she was doing to my sight lines when I mentioned it. But it wasn’t long before she was sitting forward again and taking away my perspective.

… I would have sketched her but I couldn’t get the right perspective. 

Here’s the thing: Things get blocked or they just don’t look right when you don’t have the right perspective. It’s also true with God. Without the right perspective, we don’t see Him correctly or He may be blocked from our view. Get the right perspective by reading God’s word, the Bible. It gives us a very clear picture of Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

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

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Is A Free Day Truly Free Or Does It Come With Strings?

Have you ever had a free day but didn’t feel free to do nothing? 

is a free day truly free or does it come with strings

There is something about a free day that screams, “Do something!” but if you do nothing, you feel like you wasted it. 

Today is one of those days for me. Lily is out of town, it’s my day off and I don’t have anything I have to do. 

When I was in my teens, a free day meant I would sleep in until at least 11 am. You see, I would prepare for my free day by staying up really late the night before. So naturally, I would be comatose when the morning came around. 

Now a day off comes mostly with responsibilities or tasks that should be addressed. 

I don’t think I ever have a time when there isn’t something I should do. I may not have to do anything particular that day but I should get something done.

Today is one of those days. I don’t even have Lily around encouraging me to do this or that. Her voice is not in the background suggesting I get moving on some project. She’s not suggesting that I accompany her to the store. She’s not here to tell me it’s a good time to get the Christmas lights up. 

… And what is it with Christmas lights now? People start putting them up the moment Hallowe’en is over. It’s kind of like they share the same container and before they can put the Hallowe’en decorations away they have to unpack the Christmas lights. 

I saw a car the other day with a Christmas tree strapped to the roof. My first thought was, “How in the world is a real tree going to last until Christmas Day?” That has the makings of a fire written all over it. Those pine needles will be so dry that they will make good kindling for even those low-powered LED mini-lights. 

But I digress. 

I have this free day and find myself unmotivated to do anything. I did play hockey in the morning but that doesn’t count since it is a regularly scheduled event on my calendar. 

When I think really hard, there are three things that I should do today – writing this blog is one of them. 

But I don’t feel like doing anything. 

If I sat down and thought about it, I could put eight or nine things on a to-do list, but I don’t even want to make that list. It will put pressure on me to do something, and then if I don’t work on that list, the day will be a failure. 

No, a free day should be free – free to flow as it unwinds, free to be lost in whatever you are doing, free to not think of anything but the present. 

I can’t remember the last time I felt this way. 

Maybe it’s been building. I don’t think I’ve had a day in a long time where I didn’t have responsibilities to deal with. 

… Well, it looks like I just did something. I wrote this post. 

Here’s the thing: There is not a lot in life that is free, but God did give us free choice. We can choose to love Him or not. It is up to us. Choose wisely because that one choice also determines your eternity.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do with a free day? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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We Avoid What We Don’t Want To Face

There are things we avoid because we don’t like them. Sometimes we are reminded of why we don’t like them. 

we avoid what we don't want to face

There are certain things I try to avoid in life. Eating select vegetables and watching sappy movies immediately come to mind. 

Sometimes just saying no is enough. But there are times when you have to go out of your way to avoid what you don’t like. When confronted with an afternoon of shopping at an outlet mall for instance, you might have to fake a bad knee to get out of it. 

There are other times you can’t avoid the things you don’t like; you just have to face them. For instance, going to the dentist. It’s not on anyone’s favourites list, but you have to go at least once or twice a year.

One thing I’ve consistently avoided at the dentist is having freezing. It’s not like I have perfect teeth; in fact I have a mouth full of fillings. But there are two reasons why I avoid freezing. 

First, I don’t like needles. I go to great lengths to avoid getting a needle if I can. Second, I hate freezing for the way it makes my face feel. I have, therefore, avoided any freezing at the dentist. 

I can’t remember the last time I had freezing. Well, actually I can because I had freezing this week.

I had to have a back molar pulled. It had had a crown on it, but the root cracked. I finally agreed to get it taken out and get an implant put in. 

My dentist said right off the bat that he would need to freeze me for the extraction. I didn’t question him. I figured it would be rather painful.

So I got all frozen up. I mean the whole side of my face, from just below my eye, felt numb. Oh and my tongue – for hours it was a useless piece of flappy muscle. I really don’t like the feeling.

And freezing stays with you for a while. I had a dinner meeting that night and I was still frozen. The worst part of it was that I couldn’t tell if I had food on my face. I had to ask the guys I was with if my face had leftovers on it.

It’s not a good scenario when you’re talking away and people are staring at you. They are actually likely staring at the drool that has started out of the corner of your mouth and is making a slow descent down to the bottom of your chin. 

But when you’re frozen you have no clue! You merrily go about your business while they just stare at you. It’s like they’ve placed bets on how long it will take to drip off your chin. No one wants to tell you in case you wipe it away and then all bets are off.

Fortunately for me, I was not drooling uncontrollably and by midway through my meeting the freezing wore off.

I finally stopped sounding like Marlon Brando in the Godfather.

Here’s the thing: You can avoid dealing with the sin in your life. You can pretend that it’s no big deal. You can rationalize it. Or you can claim everyone else does it. But there will come a time when you have to face Jesus with it. You can’t get out of it. So it is far better to deal with your sin now and confess it before Him than it is to wait until He confronts you with it. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What thing do you really try to avoid? Leave your questions and comments below.

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When You Know Life And Purpose Have Aligned

From time to time I post an article from the past. This blog post is from November of 2013. I hope you enjoy.

when you know life and purpose have aligned

There is a sweetness when our life and purpose align. When life and purpose come together, there is something special that’s hard to put into words.

Its an amazing feeling like being by a fireplace, sipping your favourite beverage and listening to good music – can you imagine that feeling?

This week Lily and I were at our District Pastors’ Retreat. Once a year, the pastors in our denomination get together in each district for a couple of days to be renewed and refreshed together. We go to be preached to, challenged, encouraged and sent out again. 

It’s sort of for us, what we do each week of the year for others.  Lily and I look forward to these times together, and even view the drive to the retreat as special. 

This year, it was just a little different. Lily and I went to prayer retreat with our daughter. Now, I think she was at one retreat when she was about 5 or 6 months old, but this year she came as a pastor.

It’s pretty special to have your daughter join you as a colleague, and not just your daughter, at a special work related event. She was there as a fellow worker in ministry!

Along with all my peers and pastor friends was my daughter, as one of them. She didn’t come as my child, but as a co-worker.

Every time I introduced her, I felt a sense of pride – a thankful pride. I had this warmth deep within me that spread to every part of my insides. And even though there was a sense that Karlie was now invading my territory, it was in a good way, a welcoming way.

It wasn’t all good though. There were some things about having our daughter along that didn’t make our pastors’ retreat easy for me. I think it started on our trip up. When we stopped for dinner, I was talked into eating a “wrappy pita thingy” … lots of lettuce, not much meat. 

Our afternoon of strolling through the town of Huntsville didn’t really work for me. The shopping trip into town was against me. Now there were two people who wanted to shop in stores I had no interest in.  

I couldn’t even hurry Lily up because she had a partner who also wanted to stay longer. I ended up by myself at the chocolate store. And I think I soothed my woes by purchasing a little more candy that I should have.

On the other hand, I didn’t feel so bad leaving my wife to shop in some Christmas store; she had Karlie to keep her company.

There was this “two against one” thing going on the whole retreat – I caved on a lot of things. Still the pride in my heart and the warmth in my spirit made it all worth it.

Here’s the thing: Think of God creating you with a purpose, then watching you grow and develop. He sees you choose right and wrong along the way, and cringes a little when you make some decisions to go in ways that lead you away from His purpose. Then He watches how you turn, or begin to get on the path of what He has created you for. Finally, God surveys life and purpose align with you serving Him, working alongside Him in the purpose He created you for. Well, I know how God feels. He’s proud of His creation!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you wish for your children? Leave your comment below.

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We Hesitate When We Should Reach Out

We often hesitate asking for help with things that are not really important. We will often keep putting our own effort into things, or live without them. 

we hesitate when we should reach out

Sometimes we just let time take care of it. 

Letting time take care of something is when you lose interest or, by chance, it just works out in the end.

That doesn’t happen very often.

Recently I was concerned about winter tires for Lily’s car. She doesn’t have any and I wasn’t sure where I should get them.

However, the guy who cuts my hair is also a car guy. I had been meaning to ask him about getting winter tires for Lily’s car but kept putting it off. 

Finally, the other day while I was getting my hair cut, I remembered to ask him. 

He said he found a cheaper way to get tires than through his old source. He told me to go online and order tires and they would deliver them right to our door. 

It sounded like it was a good deal – real easy – so when I got home I tried it. … They don’t have winter tires for Lily’s car. 

Now I’m back in the same place I was before I asked my barber. I could go back to him but it’s just a little thing. I thought I could research it myself and go to a shop to get them locally. 

Meanwhile time is going by, the cold weather is coming and we still don’t have a line on tires. 

It’s such a little thing, but I’ve hesitated calling him back for help again. 

Maybe I’m the only one like this, but I will sit on something small when it could be taken care of very easily and quickly by someone else. 

One time I had a computer issue and struggled with it for a long time. Finally I phoned my brother who simply told me to restart my router. I did it and everything worked after that. It was that simple, but it cost me a lot of time and aggravation until I called him. 

We should be quicker to ask for help on those small things that we hesitate bothering anyone about. 

This week I was in a prayer meeting and a guy asked for prayer about a very minor thing. He just wanted a technician to call him back. 

We  prayed about it and, as I was praying, I thought he would get an answer quickly.

Later that day I got a call from my friend. Soon after the prayer meeting he had received a phone call from the technician who was able to relieve his mind about when his project would be started.

I wasn’t surprised at all by what my friend told me. I knew that the answer would come. 

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we hesitate to ask God for those small things. We don’t want to bother Him or they seem too petty to waste His time on. One thing I know is that there are no requests too small for God to respond to. You can take anything to Him in prayer. He loves it when we ask Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What little thing should you ask God about? Leave your comments and questions below.

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An Inappropriate Time For Something To Happen

Have you ever worried about something happening to you at an inappropriate time? 

an inappropriate time for something to happen

Sure, that’s why we take certain precautions to make sure we have done all we can to prevent something unwanted from happening.

I know that when I go up to speak anywhere I always check to see if my fly is done up. Now I wouldn’t say it’s something I worry about, but it crosses my mind and I don’t want to be that guy.

I witnessed that happen in high school once. The teacher was substitute teaching an algebra class. His fly was down and he didn’t know it. 

At one point, he even sat on the corner of a girl’s desk in the front row. That’s when we could hardly stand it any longer. The snickers from the class got pretty audible and the girl in the front started to blush. 

The teacher realized something was wrong, went to the blackboard and started writing. When he turned around, his fly was done up … but there were chalk marks all around the area. 

Well that was it! We lost it! The teacher immediately left the class and we had the rest of our class cancelled. 

You have to protect yourself from those unexpected, unplanned, inappropriate things. 

We are in the fall season right now, but for me it is also nose bleed season. 

I don’t know what it is, whether it is too dry or the veins in my nose can’t hold the barometric pressure, but I get my fair share of nose bleeds at this time of year. 

And they are unexpected. I never know when they are going to come on.

I could be bending over to pick something up, I could gently blow my nose, I could be in the shower with the water pouring down on my head. 

… All of a sudden, boom, I start leaking. 

Several times I’ve feared that I would be preaching on Sunday morning and, right in the middle of a point I was trying to emphasis, my nose would give out. 

… Or when I’m playing hockey and get bumped, it would start.  

But that hasn’t ever happened. 

Believe me, any time you have a nose bleed, it is an inappropriate time. 

Last week I had four nose bleeds in one day – two of the them while I was in bed. Both times it was amazing. I woke up and, as if on cue, it started to bleeding. 

But the worst was on Saturday morning. I play hockey at 7:30 and at about 6:40 my nose started bleeding. I held it for about 15 minutes, which is usually enough for it to stop. But for some reason it didn’t; I had to hold it longer. By the time I got the leak stopped, it was too late to get to hockey. 

Just another inappropriate time for something like that. 

Here’s the thing: Temptation never comes at an appropriate time. It comes when you least expect it. It comes when you are least prepared. But you always have a recourse if you will take it. You can call out to God for help. He will give you the strength to resist the temptation. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What inappropriate thing has happened to you? Leave your comments and questions below.

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