Author: Paul Silcock

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Vacation Pain

“Back to the salt mines.” One of my buddies used to say that after noon hockey. He didn’t actually work in a salt mine, but he did have to go back to work. I guess after playing shinny, the idea of work seemed unpleasant.

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If you are someone who works in a salt mine, I’m not saying your work is hard and undesirable; it’s just an expression.

So, if a guy feels that way after an hour or so of hockey, how is one supposed to feel going back to work after a month of vacation? It’s not like my church has a secret tunnel in the basement that leads to large rooms of white crystal rock that I have to break apart all day.

But I do have some apprehensions going back after vacation. In any line of work, there are things you look forward to and things you don’t, things you enjoy doing and things you don’t.

Your work can be 90% enjoyable, invigorating, motivating and a few other desirable “atings”, but it’s that smaller percentage that weighs you down and has you wishing the vacation isn’t coming to an end.

So, at the end of vacation, you develop a little schizophrenia: part of you can’t wait to get back and another part of you wants to put on the brakes and stay where you are.

What happens is you start to act differently. You don’t have the same relaxed, carefree attitude you had a few days earlier. You go to the beach, but you don’t chill at the beach; you begin to strategize.

The water becomes your goals that are so hard to take hold of, the sand is like time that slips through your fingers and the people lying on the beach become the steps to how you will get to the water before the sand runs out.

You try to savour your last days of vacation, but your wife looks at you while you stare off in the distance and says, “See, he’s already back at work.”

There is no way to get back to the “chilaxed” zone you were in only a matter of days before. A switch has been turned on and it doesn’t matter how hot the sun is and how good it feels to sit under your beach umbrella sipping a Dr. Pepper, digging your feet in the sand, as you read or catch a few winks. You are there, but not really there.

Instead, you are sitting in your office sorting the mail that piled up, trying to make headway on hundreds of emails, all while getting back into the rhythm of your work.

Then you wake up, take a sip of your pop, wipe the drool from the corner of your mouth, glance at the people walking along the beach, and get back to reading your book. It was all a dream, a big scary dream. You still have 3 days of vacation left to enjoy.

Here’s the thing: Like the burden of work that overcomes us at the end of vacation, the burdens of sin, shame or self doubt can weigh us down even after we’ve confessed them. But God wants to take those burdens from us. We have to figure out how we can off-load those burdens to Him and not take them back.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: What is the hardest thing to come back to after your vacation?  Leave your comment below.

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Sunday Morning Blues

There is something about a rainy day that makes us lazy. I wonder if there is some kind of chemical that reacts with the air and then is released in an invisible form. We then breath it in and get lethargic.

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It’s Sunday morning, I’m on vacation, but it’s raining. You know, one of those days where the clouds aren’t going anywhere, and if the rain stops falling from the sky, it’s only for a short twenty minute coffee break before it’s back to that constant dripping from the heavens.

Before I was really awake, I’m sure I was breathing in that invisible mist that got me thinking negatively about the day. I started thinking that maybe I wouldn’t bother going to church. Ya, maybe just take it easy and sit around the cottage doing nothing. That seemed attractive for a while.

… Until I started thinking of what that would entail. It would mean I could stay in my sweats a little longer, look out the window at the rain and complain about what a crappy day it was.

When I thought about it, it didn’t sound all that fun. I guess if I drank coffee and never got a chance to read, I might look forward to a dull, overcast, drizzly kind of day. I could sip a big mug of coffee and curl up in a big sweater or afghan and read some fluffy novel.

But then I would not only have to love coffee, I would also have to be female! Most guys would just mope or find something in the basement to fix or tinker with, all the while complaining at how crummy the day was.

I’m not sure what it was … it could have been that my pillow acted like a gas mask and prevented the air-born, mood-altering drug from entering my system … but I actually started to think rationally.

It was then that I thought I needed to make this day count for something.  I should go to church. I should go to church because it’s an opportunity to praise God and hear something from the Bible that I could apply to my life.

Hey, on a day like this, all gloomy and damp, I should go to church because I’m doing nothing else anyway. Why would I stay home and do nothing when I have a standing invitation to show up with other people and be challenged in my relationship with God?

At the very least, if the rest of the day would be spent watching someone else drink coffee and read a novel, at least for an hour or so I could get some relief from that.

I might later be able to go to the beach, or play golf, or go on some kind of excursion, but now I could recoup a small portion of the day and get some positive spiritual input for my weary soul.

Here’s the thing: It really doesn’t take all that much to get us to excuse ourselves from doing something, just to do nothing. We don’t feel any better doing it, it doesn’t make the day more enjoyable, but it does prevent us from gaining something spiritual that we might not get otherwise. … I’m getting my crew going this morning and we’re off to church.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What tempts you, more than anything else, to excuse yourself from church? Leave your comment below.

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Signs

Currently I’m on vacation some where near a sandy beach, on Lake Huron.  While I am away I am featuring a guest blog about once a week.  Today’s blog comes from Adrian Greyling who is a financial planner,  husband to Shawna, and father to Leah, Ian and Avery.

“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind

Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?”

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Driving home from work one day I noticed the plethora of signs that literally litter the side of the road.  I started counting them to get an idea of how many I pass by on a daily basis going to and from work.  I had to stop as I closed in on 100.  (Not just because I was getting near the end of my ‘counting ability’, but because counting signs while driving is probably just as dangerous as talking on a cellphone.)

And what an amazing assortment of signs too.  Plenty are advertisements for everything from plumbers to restaurants to dog walking services.  Others are just informative, like: Glenmore Blvd.  (You know, the street you just drove by that you were supposed to turn left onto.)

Some are pretty fancy, with beautiful typefaces and eye-catching colours.  Others look like they were painted by a 3-year old who was in too much of a hurry. There are hand painted signs on cardboard, “animated” neon signs, as well as those on plain old wood or plastic.

Many signs offer warnings too.  (It’s always helpful to know which way you should be driving on a one-way street.)  Most signs are helpful, but occasionally you find signs that are downright confusing.  For example, what exactly was this sign trying to say? (It was outside a secondhand store.) “We exchange anything – bicycles, washing machines, etc.  Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain?”  Here’s another example of a sign that isn’t terribly informative:  “The Town Hall is closed until opening.  It will remain closed after being opened.  Open tomorrow.”  (Huh??)

God also posts signs for you and I.

They’re not necessarily 30 foot billboards with neon lights on the side of the highway.  Sometimes they’re much more subtle and it takes real effort to recognize them.  God posts His signs for you and I in various ways; through His Word, through good advice from reliable Christian friends, and sometimes through “gentle whispers”, (as He spoke to Elijah).  And thankfully, God speaks to us in ways that aren’t ambiguous or contradictory.

God never points us in the wrong direction, but every time He says “Don’t!”, He’s saying “Don’t hurt yourself”.  And every blessing we enjoy is God’s emphatic “Yes!”  His plans often unfold in unexpected ways and follow a timeline we wouldn’t choose, but God never makes empty promises.  To put it bluntly, God’s signs are ultimately reliable.

Following God’s signs won’t get you lost or misinformed.  In fact, God’s signs often point towards a future hope.  I’m reminded of Jeremiah 29, when the children of Israel were in the midst of a 70-year captivity.  Even in the midst of being judged, God offers a comforting signpost to His people:  “For I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV))

I can almost see Jeremiah’s billboard:  “This way to a brighter future!”  That’s what God is advertising to you and I today; a brighter future.  Look for God’s signs and embrace them!

Adrian

Question: How do you recognize God’s signs? Leave your comment below.

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Moose on the Loose!

Currently I’m on vacation some where near a sandy beach, on Lake Huron.  While I am away I am featuring a guest blog about once a week.  Today’s blog comes from Lily Silcock.  Along with being my wife, Lily works for SureWx as an executive assistant. She volunteers at Kingston Alliance Church and does all the editing for this blog.

Sometimes I shake my head at the situations I get myself in and the things I’ll do for my kids.

After a long work week a few weeks ago, I found myself exhausted and boarding a plane to Regina. Why Regina, you ask? Well, that’s where our daughter wanted me to meet her for our road trip back to Ontario … Not beautiful Calgary to be of assistance in helping her pack up her earthly possessions to move. Not in Edmonton – her first stop – where I could visit some dear friends, but Regina where there’s nothing and no one!!

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So I flew in to Regina, all eager to spend some quality time with Karlie as we drove back to Ontario. What I didn’t realize was that I’d almost need to ride on the roof for lack of room in her little Hyundai Accent! With bags at my feet and no room to recline the seats even an inch, we left. But that was ok; we were spending time together.

Our first day, we planned to drive from Regina to Dryden ON – a very do-able 940 km. What we hadn’t planned on was no vacancies at the hotels in Dryden at 7:30 pm. “No problem”, we said. We could go another 4 hours and easily get a place. After all, Thunder Bay’s a sizeable city.

I was tired but Karlie was happy to keep driving … until we passed the first “Moose on the loose” sign, followed almost on cue by a humongous moose standing on the shoulder of the road! And just as I was trying to assure her that that was probably a fluke, we passed another one!

Well, that ended any chance I had of catching a nap. I had to spend the next 3+ hours sitting bolt upright (not a problem since the seats weren’t reclining anyways), squinting and scanning the dark landscape, on the lookout for moose on the loose.

But I didn’t mind … I’m a mom and we do those things for our kids. Besides, I was looking forward to a nice, comfy hotel bed down the highway.

Little did I know that when we finally made it to our destination at 1 am, there would not be a single hotel bed available in that city either! Who knew that the national diving championships were being held so far up north this year?

Our only option at 1:30 am was the stuffed-to-the-gills tiny car we’d already spent the last 16 hours in. It’s a good thing my daughter and I are both vertically challenged!

After 4 hours of contorting in our seats, trying to get comfortable, laughing at the insanity of our predicament, and maybe getting a total of an hour’s shuteye, I laughingly announced, “I’m too old for this! Let’s hit the road.”

As exhausted and stiff as I was, I didn’t mind. It was a pleasure to be on a road trip with my daughter. I love her like crazy! Really, when it comes down to it, I’m a parent, and I’ll do just about anything for my kids … willingly.

It’s not surprising then that God calls Himself our Father. He willingly gave it all for us. We can count on Him, His help, His support, His company. He loves us like crazy!

Lily

Question: How have you gone the extra mile for your kids or loved ones? Leave your comment below.

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It’s Raining

Currently I’m on vacation some where near a sandy beach, on Lake Huron.  While I am away I am featuring a guest blog about once a week.  Today’s blog comes from Dr. Munier Nour who currently lives with his family in Calgary. He and his wife, Mary, have been married for 7 years and have two young sons aged one and three. Munier is a subspecialist in the field of pediatrics. He and his family lived in Kingston and attended KAC until 2010.

I’ve struggled to write this blog entry for a few weeks now. I’ve started writing a few times and have always just thrown it away. I think I’ve wanted a neat and tidy package of a story to tell people. I want to share a story of resolution and pack in a quaint lesson learned. But as much as I’ve tried that’s not a story I can tell… yet. Mine is still a work in progress.

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Despite putting this task aside for the last time this morning my confirmation came this evening that I need to articulate my struggle – if for no one else, then for my own benefit. We spent the evening in hospital with our youngest son for the third time in the past few months.

A year ago I had a neat little plan for our family. I had finally finished my ridiculously long medical training, we had our two healthy children, and my dream job was about to become available. It looked like I couldn’t have planned it better. I would quickly interview for the job, get it, we’d move into our new home and life would be in cruise control from there on. I had it all figured out. God had different plans.

In a series of seemingly rapid fire steps all my hard work and planning for a care free life seemed to come undone. It started out with our youngest son getting quite sick and being hospitalized with breathing difficulties when I was on the other side of the country. If narrowly missing an ICU admission wasn’t enough, he went on to repeat the process not two weeks later (and again tonight). Weeks later we were told that he also had another rare issue. It seems he had suffered from a perinatal stroke before he was born, a condition previously called hemiplegic cerebral palsy. While he has only shown mild symptoms it has been very difficult to understand and grasp this as parents wanting nothing but the best for our child. Following these medical events, I received the news that my prospects for work would go to another applicant – leaving me with essentially with no options of work in my field in the entire country.

It’s at this point that I feel the need to say something quaint or cliché. Something like ‘everything happens for a reason’ or ‘God’s got something bigger and better in store’ or ‘God will never give you more than you can handle’. While these are all good intentioned, the fact of the matter is I don’t really want to hear them right now – plus I’m not sure they even necessarily apply.

When I turn to passages like the story of Jesus calming the storm (Mark 4:35-41) my tendency is to look down on the disciples. How could they not realize Jesus was in control? How could they not understand that they were still safe? How could they have so little faith? In the midst of my storm, I wish I could say I was different from them.  I feel the rain starting and I run and panic.

As I’ve begun to navigate this small storm – while it is not easy – I am comforted to know I am not alone in this boat and that He commands even the winds and the water.

Question: When the storms come in your life, where do you turn?

 

When everything is wrong
The day has passed and nothing’s done
And the whole world seems against me
When I’m rolling in my bed, there’s a storm in my head
I’m afraid of sinking in despair.
…
‘Cause I’m a child of little faith
I feel the wind and forget Your grace
And You say, “Peace, be still.”

Teach me, Lord to have faith
In what You’re bringing me will
Change my life and bring You glory
…

There on the storm, teach me God to understand
Of Your will that I just cannot control.
There may I see all Your love protecting me
I thank you Lord, You are the calmer of the storm.

  —  “Calmer of the Storm” by Downhere
http://youtu.be/Z5gqZHifyQM

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Why You Should Keep Things Simple

The other night, my wife, daughter and I went downtown to the Buskers Festival. Years ago buskers were individuals on a street corner who had some kind of talent and were trying to make a few bucks in the summer.

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Now it’s an industry, with people traveling all over the world to cities bringing them in for festivals. They block off streets and allow large crowds of people to gather round.

At one time, they used to just open their guitar case or throw down a hat and hope people would put money in as they passed by. It’s a little different now.

I hadn’t been down to see the buskers in our city for several years, but I sure noticed something different this year. These performers were into entertainment more that performing their stunts.

I saw three acts and there was no question about their talent and abilities, but I got bored with their acts. They were too long. I wanted to see the pole guy climb the pole more, and do more tricks up there.

Perhaps the guys he picked from the audience to support the pole weren’t as strong as they looked. Maybe he needed to give them a rest in between trips up to the top of his free standing pole. I kind of wanted to see him carry the female volunteer from the crowd up with him.

The lady who could stick her head through her legs was a little creepy, but she could really do the hula hoop … several of them … at one time … all on different appendages.

But she went on and on about how long she had been practicing her craft, and how dangerous it was to do the hula hoop from 7 feet in the air. That’s not even the height of a normal ceiling in a home.

At least the pole guy didn’t talk. I’m not sure if he couldn’t talk or if it was part of the act. But he didn’t go on and on about preferring bills over change like the hula girl did.

I kept looking over and wishing we had gone to the fire guy about a half a block over. I’m not sure what he was doing, but he had fire, and anything with fire is more exciting than a hula hoop or a pole.

I liked seeing these street performers, but the crowds were so big that they all really needed bleachers, which sort of takes away from the “street” part of the performance. My suggestion would be to have more acts, so that the crowds would be smaller around each act and the performers wouldn’t feel they had to talk so much.

I just want to see more amazing tricks, stunts, and talent.

Here’s the thing: There are times when I add things to my devotions that really aren’t part of it. Sometimes I have the inkling to check something like my email before my time with God. All those extra things do is get me distracted from just being with God, listening, learning and talking to Him. I need to remember to keep my time with Him simple and to the point.

Question: What distracts you most when you want to spend time with God? Leave your comment below.

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Happiness

Currently I’m on vacation some where near a sandy beach, on Lake Huron.  While I am away I am featuring a guest blog about once a week.  Today’s blog comes from Wendy Lehmann who is a work from home mom with two boys, ages 10 and 6. She has been married for 17 years and originally hales from Winnipeg.  Though being a mom is primarily her main “job title”, she runs a small side business sharing tea with friends.  She is presently working on starting a blog which should go live September 1st.  You can check Wendy’s blog out then at www.taketime4tea.com

To begin I am going to say that I am first and foremost a mother of two very active, and very boy-like boys.  There are other areas of my life that I enjoy, but none as much as I enjoy my kids.

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One of the best things about being a parent is seeing my kids being happy.  Kids can be happy to a level that we as adults rarely achieve.  I have wondered why that is and I think it is because they can be happy without thinking about being happy, they just are.

There are some rare occasions when you can see your kids reach a level of happiness that is above and beyond the run of the mill, get to stay up later than usual type of happy.  You know what I am talking about; the Christmas morning type of happy; the get to stay home from school type of happy; seeing grandma and grandpa type of happy.

We recently took a family vacation to visit friends and I got to see my kids reach that extra level of happy, and I loved it!  Our friends live in Wisconsin, so we decided to take a road trip.

Now, some of you may think that is crazy, driving for 17 hours with a 10 year old and a 6 year old to visit friends for 4 days, but we haven’t seen them in a couple of years, so hey, why not?!

On our way down we noticed a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store.  For those of you who have never seen one of these stores they are VERY impressive. Just imagine a store the size of Costco filled with anything you could ever imagine needing/wanting/buying-if-you-won-the-lottery for fishing, hunting or camping. There are 8 aisles of fishing lures, 200 reels to test out and more fishing rods than you could possibly count.

Now imagine being 10 and 6 year old boys who live and breathe fishing.  When we first walked through the front doors they just stood there in awe, and then it sunk in and they were off!

They did not know what to look at first. They went running up to look at the 25 ft floor to ceiling fish tank, then realized there was a 40 ft floor to ceiling tank with salt water fish at the other end of the store.

They went on the glass elevator at least 5 times so they could see the possum hanging in the tree. The boys took pictures of every taxidermy specimen from a moose to a family of foxes.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that this is not my “cup of tea” at all.  I am a vegetarian and cannot get excited about fishing, and definitely not hunting.  But, do you know what?  I was so happy to be in this store to be able to experience it with my kids.

Truthfully, I should say I was there with 3 kids because my husband was almost as excited as the boys. To be able to see that look in their eyes when they saw a wall full of fishing lures or tried out a cool new rod and reel was a really fun moment to be a part of.

As a parent we learn to read our kids, their moods, good and bad. We can tell when they reach that uber-happy level.  I’ll tell you what, I saw that level of happy that day.   What made me realize they were truly happy was when they could not stop thanking us for taking them to “that super awesome store”.

It is through their gratitude that their true happiness was revealed.  Both of them thanked us for days for making that stop on our trip, which made us want to do more of what makes them happy.

God, as our Heavenly Father, wants us to be happy; he also wants us to be thankful which is how he knows we are truly happy.

When thinking about the last time you were happy, truly happy, were you thankful to the One who is always thinking about our happiness?  Leave your comment below.

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Just Blame the Weatherperson

This week the temperature has soared, and already people are complaining. We humans are pretty hard to please. At one time, I thought it was just the farmers who complained about the weather. But honestly, we all do it

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It’s either too hot or cold or rainy or snowy or a combination of them all. I think we could just blame the weatherman for all this, or should I say “meteorologist”? They are the ones that tell us it’s hotter than it really is and colder than it really is.

When I was a kid, 80 degrees was hot. It didn’t matter if you were in the shade or in the sun. It was hot and you knew it and everyone else did, too. Today, however, it’s worse than that: 80 degrees is 27 Celsius, but we are told that it really feels like 35 (95 Fahrenheit).

In the winter, they do the same thing. It might be -20C (-4F) but they add their little jab by saying that with the windchill, it feels like its -29.

And we buy right into this fake weather! We complain about how bad we have it when it’s hot and how unfair it is when it’s cold. These weather people are controlling our emotions and, most of the time, they aren’t even correct.

There was a time when the weatherman was a guy training to be the anchorman at the radio or TV station. All he would do is lick his finger, stick it outside and make a guess.

We accepted that. We knew the guy was guessing at the weather. It was forgivable. After all, the guy didn’t want to be doing the weather; he just had to put in his time before he could give us real news.

Now they go to school to learn weather patterns and cloud formations. They sound all fancy and technical when the give the weather and they are just as wrong as they ever were. Can we really blame that on global warming?

They have all their maps with bright colours and animation showing the clouds. … I still think the guy that would write backwards on a piece of glass had more talent.  At least it was entertaining.

Let’s not give in to their hype and drama. Let’s accept the weather for what it is.

I’m not complaining about the weather. Maybe it’s because I’m on vacation and can dip into the semi-frigid waters of Lake Huron any time I want. Or, maybe it’s because I can walk down to the strip any time of the day and enjoy a cone at DQ or Scoopers, or get a cup of raspberry gelato.

Sure, maybe I’d sing a different tune if I had to go to work everyday. But every time you start to whine about how hot it is, remember it could be a windy-cloudy-snowy-rainy day instead.

I don’t want to hear any more comments on Facebook or twitter that “Satan called and wants his weather back.” I like this 30-degree-feels-like-37-with-a-humidex-of-60, sunny hot weather. . .  I’m going to the beach. See ya!

Here’s the thing: We so quickly complain and criticize God when things are not perfect: when our prayer isn’t answered at the exact moment we’d like, when it’s not what we want, when we don’t get the justice we think we deserve, or when our circumstances seem more difficult that others’. Like the weather, enjoy, and rejoice in what you do have.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you quick to complain about when it’s not perfect? Leave your comment below.

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We’re Selling Rabbit Fur Coats, Cheap!

For the last 18 years, my wife has organized a street BBQ with our neighbours. I’d like to say that it’s Lily and I who put this on, but I don’t do much more than clean off a few chairs and roll our BBQ out to the street. She does all the organizing.

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What happens is at 5 pm, I roll our BBQ out to the middle of the street (we live on a keyhole cul-de-sac) and, magically, the neighbours start to show up with their chairs, food and drinks.

It’s not a big event; there’s just ten houses on our street. But we do invite past neighbours (alumni) to attend.

We’ve had the police drive by a few times, but they’ve always just joked with us. Maybe it’s because we have a retired corrections officer on the street, and maybe they have a secret signal (like the Masons) that tips other officers to their occupation. Maybe not.

This year a conversation started about the rabbits. You know, those cute little fury things some people keep as pets. Not on our street! Everyone hates them – even the women, especially the women!

It seemed to be unanimous that everyone was looking for ways to keep the bunnies from eating the flowers in our gardens. Some have tried human hair, moth balls, soap, and cayenne pepper. One owner said she put Frank’s Hot Sauce in the garden, but I don’t think that’s right, wasting good hot sauce on those varmints.

One neighbour has put chicken wire around all his little gardens. Sure he has his flowers, but it’s harder to see them through the chicken wire. One guy sits on his deck with a garden hose in hand and spays the little hoppers when he sees them.

As we were talking, we looked over at our house and there was a bunny hopping up our front walk to our door, like he was going to call on our turtle, Winston, to come out for a race or something.

These rabbits are not afraid of us, either. They just look at us with those innocent eyes, and remain very still like they are thinking, “I can see them, but if I remain still they won’t even know I’m hear nibbling on their lilies.”

At the BBQ, there was talk of pellet guns, and setting up a camouflage blind in one of our backyards to hunt them down, but we never got too far with that. We talked of rabbit stew and selling rabbit coats but these ideas didn’t get off the ground either.

In the end, it was still every household for themselves against the rabbit population on our street which is rapidly growing among an aging human demographic.

It was fitting that, as my neighbour and I were returning some things to our backyard, a little bunny, no more than a week or two old, appeared in front of us and then scurried under our deck. I really do think they have plans to overrun us.

Here’s the thing: It’s amazing how we can come together over something as silly as a bunny problem. God wants us to come together around Him, which should be easy. Sadly, in the end, we often end up everyone for themselves. It just should not be.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: How would you deal with a bunny problem? Leave your comment below.

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My Replacement Blog

It’s not easy writing these blogs, you know. Sure, it’s only 500 to 600 words; some people can speak that many words in a minute or two. But it’s not the actual writing that’s difficult.

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I remember when I was a kid. To write 500 words was a death sentence! It’s only a page of words, but when I was young I didn’t have that much to say. Plus, I’m a male and we can say lots with just a look on our face or a few non-intelligible sounds.

The tough thing about writing is the critiquing of what I write. Today I wrote a killer blog.  I thought it was one of my best, so I was anxious for someone to read it. I kept asking my wife, “Have you read it yet?”

I think my asking got her more intrigued with it, so she finally got on her computer and took a look. Everything was going well for the first 3 paragraphs. And then she stopped.

“You can’t write about that.” she said. I replied, “Keep reading”, thinking that maybe when she digested the whole blog she would have a change of mind. But after every paragraph she would stop and say the same thing.

Now, I don’t mind when she says, “Your grammar was really bad on that one” or “the punctuation needs some work.”  I don’t even mind when she says, “You should rephrase that.”  She has great ideas some times. After all, she does all the editing for my blog site.

The thing that I do mind, the thing that is tough to hear, is the content can’t be published. I spent some quality time writing my blog today and when I was finished I was proud of my work.

But now no one is going to read it. I wish I could publish it, and share it with others, but because it’s about a close family member, I’ve been instructed to keep it in the vault.

I ran into this problem several years ago when my kids became teenagers. I used to use illustrations in my sermons that were about things my kids did, or experienced. When they were young they loved hearing me tell stories about them.

But for some reason, by the time they hit about 12 or 13, I was finding that I needed to ask for permission if I was going to speak about them in church. Eventually, I thought it best to just leave them out of it. So for many years they have been missing from my sermon content.

Maybe they’re happy about it. Maybe they don’t do or say things that are as “preachable” as they did when they were kids. But one thing is for sure, censorship doesn’t just revolve around the CRTC (Canadian Radio & Television Commission).

Most of you would have liked my blog. You would have laughed, and been concerned. Some of you, who know my family well, would have had some follow up questions that you really needed answers to.

But unfortunately, you won’t get a change to read it. So just forget I mentioned my killer blog that I can’t publish. This will have to do as a replacement.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we want to do things that God doesn’t want us to do. He doesn’t force us, but if we continue, we might cause harm to ourselves or others. We can be stubborn and do it anyway, but the benefits of listening to God’s wisdom may save us a lot of heartache.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you benefitted by not doing something you really wanted to do?  Leave your comment below.