Author: Paul Silcock

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Too Quiet Is Something We Don’t Experience Much

We all need a little quiet time in our lives but sometimes it can be too quiet.

too quiet is something we don't experience much

This past week my wife, Lily, went out of town for a few days to help her mother. That meant I had to fend for myself for four days. I’m not much of a cook so Lily left me with enough leftovers and quick meal options to cover most of my meals. 

She likes to do that so that I don’t have any excuses for going out to eat. She knows I don’t need much of a reason to grab a burger or a pizza from one of my familiar spots. 

And she doesn’t like me spending the money … or maybe it’s that she doesn’t like that I’m eating out without her. 

There is nothing new with this routine, but there’s something different this time. 

It’s way more quiet this time, or perhaps I should say it’s quiet for longer this time. 

You see, any time Lily has gone away for an extended period of time, I’ve been working. Most of my days were spent working at the office. I was out of the house and busy during the day. 

Even my evenings were filled with meetings and events. 

But now that I’m retired, I don’t have an office to go to. I’m just in the house all day long and it’s quiet – too quiet.

Now don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind the quiet. In fact, even when I was working, I needed quiet to work. 

Being blessed with a touch of ADD, I didn’t need anything to distract me when I studied. So quiet was what I looked for.

One time I had a staff member whose office was beside mine. In the mornings when I would be working on a sermon, he would play music. It wasn’t that his music was bad or anything, but he had a woofer that kept pounding the beat. I couldn’t really hear the tune or the instruments, but the constant boom, boom, boom I did hear. 

That was enough to distract me so that I couldn’t focus on what I was studying. I often took my laptop and went into the sanctuary where it was quiet. 

I like quiet and I need quiet. But what I’m finding is that quiet without being highly focussed for long portions of the day is maybe a little too quiet. 

I may have to resort to doing random shopping for things I don’t know I need. Maybe I should start drinking coffee so I can pop into Tim Hortons and grab a cup in a noisy environment. 

Last night I listened to a sermon while I played pool for an hour.

My big fear is that if it’s too quiet for too long I’ll start talking out loud to myself. … I could use different voices and accents and talk about nothing just so that it wouldn’t be too quiet. 

Here’s the thing: Most of us will try to limit the amount of quiet in our lives so we don’t experience too much quiet. But to hear God speak to us we need quiet. In fact, many people don’t experience God in their lives because they are never quiet long enough to really get in touch with Him. Try some quiet time and focus your mind on God. Prepare with reading scripture, journaling your thoughts and prayer. See if God speaks to you out of your quietness.

That Life!

Paul

Question: How could you add a little quiet to your life? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Climate Change Could Be More Descriptive

The thing about climate change is that it keeps on changing. 

Climate change could be more descriptive

Even what we call it has changed. We used to call it “global warming”, but somewhere along the line it got switched to “climate change” … which is more vague that the term, “global warming”. At least with that name we knew something was happening continually over a long period of time. 

Our climate has always changed, so those who think this is a better name are fooling themselves. 

In Calgary, climate change can happen in a moment’s notice. There they are known to say, “If you don’t like the weather now, just wait a few minutes.” 

In Kingston, about twenty years ago, our family went down to the waterfront to celebrate Canada Day. It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining and it was about 25°C. We were all in shorts and T-shirts. 

That was at 2 pm. By 9 pm the temperature dropped 20 degrees to a brisk 5°C. 

Talk about climate change. Our pre-teen kids had no meat on their bones in those days and they were frozen. They were huddling up to Lily and I who were also chilled right through. 

That was July 1st – not your normal summer weather for Kingston. 

In some places around the world the climate stays relatively the same, but they still have climate change. They might not experience the spring, summer, fall and winter we do, but they have a rainy season and a hot season. 

I’m just saying, the term doesn’t really describe anything different than what we have always experienced. 

But times are changing, that is for sure. 

We recently spent a week in Palm Springs, which is a desert town in California. All you have to say is “California” and “desert” and you know it’s going to be hot. 

But it wasn’t. The temperatures only made it to 20°C twice all week. 

While we were away, there were a couple of days the early morning temperature in Palm Springs was the same as the high back in Kingston. 

Interestingly, when we got home after our week away, we had no snow in Kingston and the temperatures were above 0°C. … No worries though, that climate change thing kicked in after we got home and we had a foot of snow on our driveway by midweek. 

I’d like to say that climate change is happening again but it looks like this dump of snow will stick around for at least a week.

I understand that what is meant by climate change is overall erratic and unusual weather patterns across the world. But you have to admit that it’s not a very creative or clear name for what’s happening. 

Maybe they should pick a new name using AI (artificial intelligence). I recently read that a brewing company asked an AI chatbot to come up with a beer recipe. Apparently the recipe was good because they named it Robo beer. 

What name might a chatbot choose for climate change?

Here’s the thing: For us, change is normal. Change is always happening. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy or enjoyable. Often change is difficult and uncomfortable; many times we plain don’t like it. The thing about God is that He doesn’t change. You can count on Him. He will be the same no matter what happens, no matter how you change. You can always find a constant in God. And why is this important? – He loves you and cares for you and that never changes. Trust Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What unwanted change is happening in your life right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Good Is Not Considered Better, But It Is Enough

There is always something better, but the good you have is better than something else. 

good is not considered better, but it is enough

I have a friend and he taught me a phrase that I think is very funny. When someone says something is good, he says, “It’s not just good, it’s good enough.” … as if good enough means better than good. 

I use the line all the time. 

Most people use the phrase “good enough” to mean something that will do, but that is not as good as they would like.

I use the phrase to mean something is better than just good.

A couple of weeks ago I came in from shovelling the snow off the driveway. Lily looked out the front window and said, “That looks good; good job, honey.”

I replied “It’s not just good, it’s good enough.”

It’s amazing how often you can use that phrase to upsell something you did or something you own or have purchased. 

I’m not sure you want to try the phrase out on people though. Like if someone says, “You are good, Mike.” and I reply, “He’s not just good, he’s good enough”, I don’t think Mike would take that as a compliment. 

But it brings a smile to most people’s faces when you say the line, so it’s got to be good, right? 

… Well, not just good, good enough!

This past week Lily and I were in Palm Springs, California, enjoying a little sun with some friends.

When we were preparing to go we were hoping for temperatures in the 20’s and lots of sun. However, when we got there the weather was a little cool for Palm Springs standards.

One day there was even a high winds warning that came with a potential for loss of property and life – that’s a pretty severe warning! We even canceled a golf game we had booked that day. But we rectified that by playing a round of golf later in the week. 

Lily didn’t even go in the pool. She dangled her feet in one afternoon but not for very long. The water was even cooler than Lake Huron in June.

Sometimes you have to make adjustments to your plans. It’s always good to be a little flexible.

Though the temps could have been better, we had a really relaxing time there. Every day we were wearing shorts and walking in sandals. 

And we had the company of some really special friends.

Sure the weather could have been better, but if we had stayed at home, we’d have been dealing with snow on the ground and cloudy, 5 degree temperatures. 

So, considering where we’d come from, our time in Palm Springs was far better than being at home in Kingston. 

It wasn’t just good there, it was good enough!

Here’s the thing: Consider your life right now. I’m sure that there are some things you wish were better than they are. But on the other hand, you have some things that are pretty good. When you pray, God may not answer all your prayers but He has answered some of them – maybe even answered something for you this week. You may not get everything you want, but you have to admit that God is good … well, not just good, He’s good enough!

p.s. That’s Life,

Paul

Question: What should you be thankful for today? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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I’m Retired But Sometimes I Have My Doubts

There are times when you have doubts about something. Then a bit of confirmation seals your confidence.

I’m retired but sometimes I have my doubts

Many years ago I encouraged a staff member of mine to seek a different position in another church. We had some tough conversations and I knew it was not what he really wanted. But I also knew it was the best thing for his growth and for our church.

Still, when he left, I felt bad and wondered if I had made the right decision.

Two years later I met up with this former staffer who was now in a new position. I was a little apprehensive when I saw him but he came rushing over to me and said the move he made to his new ministry was best for him. He thanked me for helping him make that move.

It had been two years and, though I didn’t think about him all the time, there were moments in those years when I really wondered if I had been too hard or had that difficult conversation with him too soon.

But all that doubt, feeling unsure if I’d done the right thing, disappeared in an instant. When he greeted me with a big thank you, I knew without a doubt and was confident that I’d done the right thing.

Well, back in October when I retired, there were definite signs that I was retired and in many ways I felt like I was retired. But I had some expectations of what retirement would be like. There were a couple of things that just didn’t fit the vision of retirement that I had.

One of the things I thought I would do is play more sports. I envisioned increased mountain biking and playing more hockey. The weather was quite unpredictable and I found that I didn’t go biking as much as I thought I would. Golf was winding down and I only ended up playing a few games late in the fall.

But when hockey started up, that is when I wondered what this retirement gig was going to be like.

Over the years I’ve played hockey two or three times a week during the winter months. But this fall, with all the extra time on my hands, I was only playing once a week.

The old pick up hockey that I’d played for literally 24 years had dried up. I signed up to play once during the fall and there was only six of us. Let’s just say it was not fun.

Other than that one regular weekly hockey game early Saturday mornings, I had nothing else. And I was supposed to be retired, free to play more hockey than I’d played for years. Instead I was playing just one hour per week.

… Well, that is until this past week. I just finished playing hockey for the fourth time! Now I’m convinced I’m retired.

Here’s the thing: There are times we may have doubts over decisions we have made – maybe even doubts about God’s plan for our lives. But when we see His answer to a prayer or a confirmation of His hand on our life, we get convinced all over again. Never stop praying and interacting with God. He will continue to give you confidence in Him.

That’s Life! Paul
Question: What do you need some convincing of right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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The Connection We Don’t Want To Miss Out On

Have you ever had one of those days where you just couldn’t make a connection?

the connection we don't want to miss out on

That was my morning today. I say that it was only my morning because I’m hoping that the rest of the day doesn’t go like my early morning did. I missed connection after connection. 

We’ve all had times when we missed connections. 

There was the time I was traveling from Toronto to Regina and missed my connection altogether. I had the wrong time for when my plane was leaving and I never checked my ticket. 

That was a bad one. 

Then there are the regular missed connections with our phones. 

You look at your phone and realize someone had tried to call you, but you didn’t notice because your phone was on vibrate … or you are talking to someone while driving through a dead zone and lose the connection altogether. 

Missed connections happen all the time. They are frustrating and annoying, but we have to put up with them.

I remember once going to meet up with a friend at Tim Horton’s. We said we’d connect at Tim’s on Princess Street. The problem was there were four Tim Horton’s on Princess Street and the one I thought we were going to meet at was not the one he had in mind. 

We were both waiting at different Tim Horton’s and missed our connection. 

Over the last little while we have been selling off some old furniture we didn’t want anymore. Lily has been great at posting the items and selling them on Kijiji or Facebook. We’ve connected several pieces with people. 

We still have one thing we can’t seem to make a connection on. We’ve had some bites, some interest; a few people have made some inquires. But we can’t connect this desk to a new home.

Sometimes making the right connection seems impossible.

This morning at hockey my team couldn’t make a connection for any amount of money. Passes were not getting to the player they were intended for. I made four or five passes right on the tape of players’ sticks and they bobbled the pass and the puck got away from them.

One time I just stepped on the ice and the play was right by me. Our defenseman made a good play at the blue line to check the puck off the opposing team. He then shoved at the puck to get it to me so I would have a clear breakaway.

Instead, the puck clipped the edge of a skate and deflected away from me right to a player on the other team. He took the puck in on our net and scored. 

For our team, the whole game was about missed connections. 

When I got home, I felt like I should go back to bed and get up an hour later to shake off the failed connection trend I was on. 

Here’s the thing: As some point in our lives we need to make a connection with God. We need to connect with Him in a relationship. If we don’t, we will miss that connection and end up in hell for all eternity. God wants to make a connection; all we have to do is be available. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What connections have you missed out on lately? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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Lost May Not Mean Gone Forever

Have you ever lost something, I mean really lost something? The thing you lost was so lost that you never thought you would ever see it again.

lost may not mean gone forever

Recently I lost something that bad.

Usually I’m pretty good at finding things I’ve misplaced. I trace my steps, recall where I’ve been or what I’ve done and often am able to locate the item that’s gone AWOL.

But not this time. I played out all the possible scenarios, the places I could have put this thing – my Apple Pencil – but it was lost.

An Apple Pencil is a utensil used for drawing and writing on an iPad. It is incredibly accurate and is even pressure sensitive. You can write lightly or darker, even use shading.

You can probably guess that it cost a few bucks, so losing it was a real concern of mine. 

I recalled the steps I might have taken with it or where I would have put it. It was not in any of those places.

I usually keep it in my briefcase and there had been a few times I had taken my briefcase out of the house. I was sure I had lost it then.

… There was another time when something of mine got so lost I’d given up hope. 

I was probably in about grade 7 or 8. I had a pet iguana we called, “Iguan (Eguon)”. After a few years he had grown to about 2 feet long.

He was certainly big enough to notice if he was next to you.

Well, we were going on a family vacation and I thought I would let him out in the back yard for a bit before we left. 

I turned my head for a moment and the guy was gone. I mean, he was green and I had put him in the grass, but he took off fast!

All my searching turned up nothing – no lizard. 

So we left on vacation for two weeks … the coldest two weeks of the summer. I was sure he was a goner, that I’d never see him, or at least alive, again. 

But when we arrived home, my neighbour told me he had seen Iguan in some bushes the previous week. I looked and, sure enough, he was still there. I found my iguana, even though I thought he was lost forever.

After all my searching for my Apple Pencil, I was sure it had fallen out of my briefcase somewhere and was gone forever. 

I almost bought a new one but the store didn’t have any in stock. 

That night I was thinking about my pencil and a thought came into my head. I remembered travelling to our daughter’s home and staying there. And I had taken my iPad and thought maybe I had taken my Apple Pencil as well. I determined to check my travel bag in the morning. 

Sure enough after a check, it was way down, wedged into one of seams of the bag. 

What I thought I’d never see again, I found. I can’t tell you how happy I was to find that Apple Pencil. 

… It was almost like the joy of the guy in the Bible who found his lost son. 

Here’s the thing: God never gives up on finding people who are lost – and by lost, I mean people who do not have a relationship with God. He keeps searching, so don’t try so hard to hide from Him … and, by that I mean be open to listen for Him calling after you. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you lost that you thought you’d never see again? Leave your comments and questions below.

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My Riveting Experience Almost Left Me Frustrated

I had a riveting experience the other day. 

my riveting experience almost left me frustrated

No, it wasn’t exciting or anything like that. I was trying to rivet a couple of clasps on my briefcase.

I don’t know too much about riveting, but I do own a rivet gun. … I’m not sure why they call it a gun because nothing comes shooting out of it. 

My fear was that if I went anywhere with my briefcase I would lose the two clasps that were dangling. 

This briefcase is a satchel style that you sling over your shoulder. It has a couple of zippered compartments for paper and my laptop and a flap that comes over the zippered compartments and attaches to the front of the bag with two clasps. 

The two ends that the clasps clip into are attached to the satchel by rivets. One rivet on each end had broken off so the ends spun around and put more pressure on the rivets that were still in place. 

I figured I just needed to put a couple of rivets in and I would be good to go again.

But it wasn’t working. The rivets would not stay in.

In hindsight I think it was partly due to the fact that I don’t know how to use my rivet gun all that well. But it was also partly due to the fact that the rivets I had were not long enough.

So off to the hardware store I went. 

Now I like to snoop around for what I want and only ask for help when I’m frustrated or need some expert advice. On this trip, however, an employee came up to me rather quickly and asked if I needed helped.

Inside I was thinking, “No, I’m good”. But I didn’t want to put the guy off so I replied, “Sure, what do you know about rivets?”

He admitted he didn’t know much but took me over to where he thought they might be. 

We looked at them and I asked a couple of questions. The employee didn’t seem to have any answers nor think the ones we looked at would work. He offered no other solution, so I thanked him and walked away. 

I thought these hardware guys were experts, but he was no help at all. 

I circled around a couple of aisles and then decided to go back and take a closer look at the rivet section myself. Upon closer scrutiny, there was a package of multi-length rivets with some  that were longer than what I had. 

I bought the package, went home and then had to figure out how to properly work my rivet gun to complete the repair. 

After a couple of failed attempts, I decided to watch some YouTube instructional videos. Some were useless, but from a couple others I figured out what I was doing wrong with my rivet gun.

I was then quickly able to fix my briefcase.

Now I’m confident that the next time I have to leave the house, nothing is going to fall out of my briefcase.

Here’s the thing: There are many people who offer advice and wisdom to us. We must be able to distinguish between what is good advice and what is bad. If you spend time in God’s word you will train yourself to be able to tell the good from the bad.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Where do you go to get good advice? Leave your questions and comments below.

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Shopping Is More Tiring Than Running A Marathon

There is something about shopping that zaps the energy right out of me. 

shopping is more tiring than running a marathon

I can work out for a half hour or play hockey for an hour and a half and have more energy afterwards than I do following a shopping session at the mall. 

My daughter and son-in-law just got a dog. They tell me that dogs expend more energy sniffing around than they do going on a walk. So you can run your dog ragged, chasing him or playing fetch, but he won’t use up as much energy doing that as he does just sniffing every tree and hydrant he comes across on his walk. 

Maybe we’re like dogs when it comes to shopping.

There is something else I noticed about shopping: I slow down.

When I’m walking from our car to a hockey game with my wife, I motor. My pace is fast. Sometimes Lily even complains that I’m walking too fast and that she can’t keep up. 

Usually she yells that at me from about 30 paces behind – haha, just kidding. 

But when I park our car at a mall, immediately I go into slow mo walk mode. As I follow Lily into the mall, my pace sinks to a saunter and my legs and feet feel like they are lead.

I notice that other people walk like that too. 

Sure there are some people who are power walking through the mall but many are trudging … like they’re on their way to a life sentence for some crime they committed. 

There is something about shopping that just simply sucks the life out of you. 

I wonder if it is the music they play. 

Maybe there is some kind of secret message in the music to dull our senses and make us least resistant to the ploys of the sale clerks or signs and stickers that read, “sale”.

The other day I went to a mall with Lily and our daughter, Karlie. I thought the we were there to shop, but Karlie had an agenda and it was to return items and buy different stuff. 

So what I thought was a shopping trip turned into more of a waiting and people-watching trip for me – waiting outside of stores I didn’t really want to go into and watching the people who were trudging by. 

When we were finished, in that whole mall of 140+ stores, there were only two that I had been interested in entering. I went into several more stores but not on my own volition. Lily and Karlie had a few stops they had wanted to make. 

When it was all over, it was dinner time. I was so tired, it was good there was a restaurant outside the mall we could eat at. I don’t think I could have made it back to our car; it was too long a walk.

After dinner I had revived enough to make it home and to contemplate doing it again sometime … not soon though!

Here’s the thing: There are things that exhaust us yet take very little physical output. One of those things is contemplating what happens to us at the end of life. Some just don’t think about it, while others try to convince themselves of something comforting. It zaps our energy. The Bible tells us that God loves us and has a place for us to spend eternity with Him. Expend less energy and believe Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find that zaps your energy? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Hearing Can Be A Problem … “What Did You Say”?

I am experiencing what it’s like to lose my hearing before I lose my hearing. 

hearing can be a problem ... what did you say?

Many people struggle to hear well. I even wonder if the most used phrase in the world is, “What did you say?” 

We all use that phrase – maybe because there is other noise in the room, maybe because something else caught our attention, or maybe because the person speaking mumbled or dropped their voice a little. 

We all know what it is like to not hear something. 

I think I have good cause to have some hearing loss. In my teens and early twenties, I went to my fair share of rock concerts … and probably used up others’ fair shares as well. 

There wasn’t a concert that didn’t leave me with a little ringing in my ears. 

Though I haven’t been exposed to constant loud noise in my life, I’ve experienced enough. 

The first year I was a chaplain for the Kingston Frontenacs we held chapel in the opposing team’s dressing room. I don’t know if they do this on purpose but the visiting team’s dressing room is right below the cooling engine for the rink. To keep the ice from melting, this cooling system has to be on. And it is loud. 

I always felt like I was yelling at the players while giving my talk and praying. Fortunately we moved from that spot the next year.

My wife, Lily, has tinnitus. She always hears some competing noise with whoever is speaking to her. 

Then, as we get older, our ears naturally experience some hearing loss. 

About two months ago, I accidentally drove a Q-tip into my ear so hard it bled (read about that here). That certainly didn’t improve my hearing but, generally speaking, I can hear well. 

I do have a set of headphones I wear in my workout room though. I watch TV while I work out to keep my mind off of what I’m doing. The machines I use make so much noise that I would have to turn the TV up to a crazy volume to hear it. So I wear a pair of wireless headphones. 

The one problem with them is that they randomly cut out for maybe three or four seconds. Every time they do, it seems like it is right at the point when someone is saying something important. 

Three or four seconds is not much, but it is just enough to lose the context for what was said and make me feel like I’m missing something and am now in the dark. 

I’m sure that is how people who suffer hearing loss feel most of the time. It keeps you from engaging. It becomes easier to sit back and simply nod or just observe others and not be part of any conversation.

One thing for sure is I don’t like it. I’m not looking forward to the day my hearing goes. 

For now I’ll just get a new pair of headphones.

Here’s the thing: At Christmas time we tell the story of how Jesus came to earth. It is an amazing story, a story of how much God loves us. But it’s not the whole story. It’s just the part of God’s gift to us. It doesn’t tell us how to received this gift. It’s easy to hear this part of the story and, like hearing loss, not know what happens next and maybe check out of the conversation or just observe it. We all need to listen for the full story of how Jesus died to pay for our sin and how, by placing our faith in Him, we can receive God’s gift of love to us. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you been missing out on? Leave your comments and questions below.

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So It’s Christmas – Say It Isn’t So

I’ve been thinking, “Is it really Christmas when the family is not present?”

so it's Christmas - say it isn't so

This was the first Christmas where our kids weren’t at home on Christmas morning. 

We have probably had a longer run at Christmas time than many families. But still, it seemed a little off not waking up to a house filled with our children.

And it’s not like there are little ones running around. Our kids are grown and live in other cities.

But still, part of me thinks that at Christmas you revert back to the days when you were all together all the time … maybe because it was tradition, and traditions are hard to let go of. 

There’s nothing wrong with making new traditions, and we have done that over the years.

When we lived in Edmonton, we would have a Christmas Eve meal at the revolving restaurant atop the Chateau LaCombe hotel. When we moved to Kingston we realized they didn’t have a revolving restaurant. For that matter, Kingston and all its restaurants close at about 6 pm on Christmas Eve.  

We needed a new tradition.

We started having a family fondue after the Christmas Eve service. That became our new tradition. It was an easy switch; the family was still all together.

This year things were much different.

There was no one getting up early. There was no dragging anyone out of bed to open Christmas stockings.

On the other hand, there was no “wife saver” brunch thingy that Lily used to pre-make that we never really appreciated.

But this year Lily and I were not really excited to restart an old tradition of doing Christmas with just the two of us. Those first four Christmases were many years ago. 

Back then they may have been special, just the two of us, but we’re not sure we are ready to go back to that. So we decided to stop time for one day. 

Our kids arrived later and much later on Christmas Day. So we had our Christmas on Boxing Day. That’s the new Christmas for us … well, at least for this year.

John Lennon sang the words, “So this is Christmas.” … Yes it is. It’s not what it was, not what it should be, but this is what it is.

The day after we got up, opened stocking and presents and later had Lily’s side of the family over for a meal. 

It’s like Christmas Day came one day late. 

In all that shifting and adapting, I realized that really to me Christmas is all about family. Family has replaced the central focus of the day.

There is nothing wrong with family, but this day – Christmas Day – is about the birth of Jesus. 

The idea of any birthday is to focus on the one who is celebrating his or her birthdate. I’ve come to realize that I’ve replaced that focus with my family. 

I need to rethink Christmas from the ground up. 

Here’s the thing: We celebrate Christmas because it marks the time God sent his Son, Jesus, to us. The reason we celebrate the birth of someone who is not part of our family is because of what He did. Jesus grew up and died on a cross to pay for our sins. Then He rose from the grave and offers us forgiveness for our sins and a relationship with God. Just as we have a connection with our family members, we can all have a connection with what Christ did for us. We just need to take Him up on His offer and put our faith in Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What Christmas tradition do you need to rethink or make next year? Leave your questions and comments below.

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