my experiences

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It’s In The Books And It Was Different

Well, my first hockey game of the season is now officially in the books. 

It's In the books and it was different

…I probably wouldn’t have commented on it – there was nothing stellar about the game – but what led up to the on-ice time and afterwards is worth making some observations on.

For most of my life, hockey has been part of the changing of seasons in the fall. 

I start by putting away the golf clubs, while biking begins to peter out. There are just more bad weather days than good ones for these outside sports. 

Hockey starts to become my main sporting activity and usually near the end of September I get my first taste of the new season.

This year not only did I get my first taste, it came in a new flavour.

With COVID comes new rules and restrictions. Some are not so good; some are a little uncomfortable. 

Besides the predictable rules of having to sign in and wear masks until we put our helmets on, we could only show up fifteen minutes before our game, could only use the dressing rooms to lace up our skates, and were not allowed to leave anything in the dressing rooms. 

… When I describe it like that, it sounds easy – except it means we now have to come into the rink dressed for the game … like we did when we were seven years old! 

I had visions of being wedged in my car between the seat and the steering wheel and not making it to my game in time! 

The reality though is that we are now dressing in the parking lot. 

I showed up with my hockey undergarments on and a pair of sweats. With the back hatch of my car opened like a locker, I stood in the parking lot and put on my shin pads, pants, elbow pads and sweater. 

The important note here is you want to make sure your jock shorts are in good shape and that you are not wearing ones that you’ve had for ten years and have become a little holely, if you know what I mean.

That would not be a pretty show. 

Walking into the arena carrying my stick, with skates, gloves and helmet all in a bag was painless. … I had contemplated the skates and helmet skewered on my stick like a shish kebab look but decided to put them all in a gym bag instead. It was definitely the way to go. 

Another downside was with the regulations to prepare for the next group, we had to get off the ice as soon as our hour was up; there was no extra time.

On the upside, with not being able to change in the dressing room or use the showers, I found I was out of the rink in record time. 

When it was all said and done, this is going to take a little getting used to. … And I can hardly wait until my new outdoor locker room is sub-zero temperatures!

Here’s the thing: In some cases, we are making big changes because of COVID. We want to do certain things, so we are willing to make the necessary changes. What big changes are you willing to make for God? When you are confronted with something in your life that does not please God, are you willing to make changes because you care about pleasing Him with your life? Let’s be as willing to change for God as we are to make changes for other things we view as important. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What change do you need to consider making right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Go Is The Action That We Might Never Get To

We know the phrase, “Ready, set, go”, but recently I came up with a variation of that phrase: “Ready, set, stop”.

go is the action that we might never get to

When you read that, it doesn’t seem to make any sense. It’s like waving at someone to come over to you but telling them to stay where they are. 

Why would anyone give mixed signals like that? It’s crazy.

But my actions recently proved that this statement and this kind of action is not only possible, it happens.

I remember when our kids were babies and we had plans to go out. We would decide where to go and get ready. And just when we were about to leave the house, it would be feeding time for one of them. That would momentarily put the brakes on our plans, and sometimes it was enough to cancel the trip altogether. 

There is a construction site I pass by every day on my way to work. Years ago there was a motel on that site, but it was bulldozed. A company purchased the land and put up a sign that a fancy boutique hotel was going to be built on the site.

I kind of got excited to see what this boutique motel would look like. I was all ready for them to build it … then nothing happened. 

One year went by and the only thing on the site was the sign. The next year the sign disappeared. 

A few years later, someone built two stores on the lot. Then footings for what might be a motel appeared … but then nothing. 

Now about three or four years later a building is starting to go up. 

I’m just waiting for them to stop again. 

Recently, we were looking at putting some insulation around our windows to cut down on drafts in the winter. I looked at some YouTube videos and kind of got excited about the project. 

If it has anything to do with home maintenance or improvement, Lily is all for it. So I said I would really need to buy a nailing gun to do the job quickly and neatly. 

She was sold on it. And I got even more into the project with the idea of getting a new tool. 

Off I went to purchase all the items we would need to get the work done. 

It was “Ready, set” … and then I looked at the trim around the windows and I wasn’t sure how easily that trim would come off. 

We don’t want to have to repaint the walls. 

As I looked at the first window, I was ready, and all set, but instead of going, I stopped. I didn’t want to make a mistake taking that trim off and so, instead of exploding out of the blocks, I just stopped. 

Well, maybe today will be the day. I’m going to start in a room that needs a new paint job, so if I make a mess of the paint around the windows, it won’t matter. 

Today it’s “Ready, set, go!”

Here’s the thing: We can be ready to do something God is calling us to do, or we can even come to the place where we want to put our faith in Him. But it’s all for nothing unless we do the next step and go. We can be “ready, set” but if we stop, it’s no different than if we never did anything. Go for it and go for God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to follow through on and do right now? Leave you comments and questions below.

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The Ridiculous May Make Sense After All

What seems ridiculous when you first encounter it may make sense when you investigate more deeply.

the ridiculous may make sense after all

Have you ever been half awake in bed, with the sun just starting to create shadows in your room? You look at something across the room through half closed, blurry eyes, but you can’t figure it out. It looks like a box with the lid opened slightly and some papers sticking out of it. 

You know that there was no box in your room when you went to bed. It’s ridiculous to think that there is a box there, but you’re fascinated because it looks so real. 

As you start to rub your eyes and raise your head off the pillow, you begin to see what is really there beside the closet door.

It’s just the shirt that you left on the floor. Yet the way it was arranged, mixed with the shadows and your blurry, skewed vision, it really looked like something completely different. 

Sometimes those scenarios take so much thought and energy that you flop your head back on your pillow and hit the snooze button as you mutter under your breath, “Well, that mystery is solved.”

Today I was looking at a Dr Pepper sign I have in our basement when I noticed something. There was a clock-shaped figure on it with just three numbers. The hands on this clock were pointing to three numbers: 10, 2, 4.  

At first I wondered, “This is ridiculous. Why would they just mark three numbers on the clock and why those three numbers?” 

But then I remembered I also have a Dr Pepper clock in my workout room and there are only three numbers on that clock. I wondered if they were the same three numbers. 

I checked and, sure enough, the clock has only three numbers and they are 10, 2 and 4. And on the clock, just to make it more ridiculous, the four is at the bottom of the clock where the six is supposed to be. 

As ridiculous as this seemed, I thought there has to be a reason, some explanation for all this. 

I investigated further and found out a few things about my favourite beverage: First, it’s the oldest soft drink in America. Second, it was created in Waco, Texas which explains why it is so popular in that state.

But what about my mystery? 

Well, it turns out that research back in the 1920’s and 30’s discovered that sugar gave people energy and that most people have a natural dip in energy at 10:30, 2:30 and 4:30. 

So Dr Pepper came up with a campaign to encourage people to drink Dr. Pepper at 10, 2, and 4.

My mystery was solved. What once seemed to be ridiculous actually had some reasoning and purpose behind it.

This topic has got me thirsty. I think I could go for a Dr. Pepper right now.

Here’s the thing: Over the years, there have been many things in the Bible that experts had deemed ridiculous. But each time the Bible has proved to be true. For example, some cities mentioned in the Bible, that experts said never existed, have been discovered by archeologists. The Bible says that in the end times people will be given a mark, and you won’t be able to buy or sell without it. That seemed far-fetched a couple of thousand years ago. But at this particular time with a global longing for a world wide vaccination, or not allowing people to travel without having that vaccine, the idea of a universal mark doesn’t seem ridiculous any more.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to investigate about God more deeply? Leave your comments and questions below.

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When Old Guys and Winnebagos Describe Your Life

There are images that come to mind when we hear certain words put together, like “old guys” and “Winnebagos”.

When old guys and Winnebagos describe your life

Those three words together cause us to play one of several scenes in our minds.

There was a time that I would always look to see who was driving those big, huge motor homes … 99% of the time it was an old guy. 

Now, some people would call me an old guy, but when I say “old guy” I’m not talking about someone who has adult children. I’m talking about someone who has adult children who have adult children.

In the past, the old guys driving those big, huge buses-turned-into-luxury-hotels-on-wheels were in the age range of about 80. 

It may have been that I was younger then and anyone over about 55 looked like they were 80+ to me, but I always questioned whether they should be the ones driving those big rigs, whether they should, you know, give the job to their grandsons, who were probably about 40 and could easily handle those machines.

Now-a-days you see younger people driving the big Winnebago-style vacation homes, but they are not driving grandpa’s; they have their own. 

When someone reaches 80, they have to take a driver’s test every year. This qualifies them, and assures the MTO, that they will still be safe behind the wheel.

But the MTO workers are probably thinking cars, not tour buses.

There should be a whole other set of tests for an old guy driving a fast-moving train down Highway 401 at 102 km.

… Which reminds me of another image that comes to mind when I think of old guys and Winnebagos. They are always towing a car behind the massive boat they are captaining down the interstate. The motor home is big enough, but adding a trailer just makes it that much more of a site. 

Well, I now have a new image of old guys and Winnebagos and this really was a Winnebago. 

I was looking out the windows at the cottage and one of those buses turned at the corner in front of us. 

He cut the corner way too hard, almost ran over our cedar shrub, and took out a garden moonray light. He also ran over some landscape ties that we have edging our driveway. 

His tires went over the end of the ties creating a teeter-totter effect, flipping the landscape ties out of the ground and snapping them in two places.

The best part was he just kept going like nothing happened! 

It turns out, ya, you guessed it, it was an old guy driving the rig – and not just a 55-year-old old guy. This fellow was way over 80.  

We did catch up to him and he seemed oblivious to what he had just done. He said he only takes the rig out about once a year. 

… Maybe once a year too many.

My hope is that he doesn’t leave the park the same way he came in! 

Here’s the thing: When you give your life to Christ, you essentially let Him drive your life. But over time you can find that you are back behind the wheel. Eventually when you cut a turn too sharp, or run something over, you realize you shouldn’t be driving the bus. Well, if that’s you right now, it’s time to give the keys back to God and let Him drive your life. Do it today.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are indications that you are driving your life instead of Christ? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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It Doesn’t Take Much To Make a Big Difference

It doesn’t take much to make something look a whole lot better. In fact, just a little is all you need to make a big difference.

big difference

We came home from vacation and our back lawn was incredibly long – so long that the grass couldn’t hold itself up; it was laying down … that’s how long it was. 

It looked atrocious … kind of like the way most of us looked in the early seventies to our parents. We thought we looked great, but our parents hated our long hair. It was wild and unruly – at least mine was. 

Over the last five months many of us experienced that wild and unruly look again, while others experienced it for the first time. With hair salons closed because of COVID, we all went a long time without getting trimmed.

I, for one, was coming up with a new way to comb my hair every day. When my hair got too long for one look, I started experimenting where I would part it. I went from sort of a side part to gradually moving my part farther up my scalp until it got to the middle. Sometimes I whisked my bangs to the side, sometimes they just flopped down my forehead.

The one consistent thing about my hair was it looked bad. It always looked like I needed a haircut three weeks ago. 

Well, our lawn looked like that after our vacation. 

I really didn’t want to cut it because I knew that my lawnmower would be chugging the whole way and I would be stopping and starting, having to keep clearing the clumps of grass out from under the machine deck.

When I thought about it, I remembered when I was growing up and had to cut my back yard. It was big and would take over an hour and a half. We would always leave it too long so it was even more painful to cut. We would have to take two steps forward and then back up, step forward and then back up again. 

Looking at our lawn the other day, I had that painful memory that made me wish we had paved the whole yard.

When I got out there, I decided that I would have to cut the lawn two or three times over the next several days to get it as short as the front yard. 

I started on the highest setting on the lawnmower. To my surprise it didn’t clog up and I was able to cut the grass in a reasonable time with ease.

I was just trimming the tops though. I figured I had a few more passes to go. 

… Maybe not. When I stepped back and looked at it, even though it was a couple of inches longer than the front yard, the back yard looked great – nice and trimmed. 

It looks so good I’m going to leave it for a few days before I do any more trimming. 

… Maybe long can look good.

Here’s the thing:  Salvation is a little like that. When you give your life to Christ and have your sins forgiven, there is still much that needs to be changed. But that initial faith that you place in Jesus Christ makes a big difference in you. The transformation is huge and noticeable. Sure, there’s lots more to work on; that can come later. Just be sure to take that initial step, to give Jesus control. It makes a big difference.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What little thing do you need to do that will make a big difference? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Thirty-Five Is Way More Than Just A Number

Thirty-five is just a number until you put some context to it, and a number can have many contexts. 

Thirty-five is way more than just a number

It can represent the number of years one has lived on this earth. … I remember when I was 35 years old, mountain biking with my youth group in the mountains in Jasper, Alberta. A bunch of them wanted to take a black diamond trail, so I figured I should go along. 

About a third of the way down, I thought to myself, “I’m too old to keep up with these kids.” I had watched them grow from junior-highers to 16 and 17 year olds and I was feeling old.

Thirty-five can also be used in the context of money. It wasn’t that long ago when $35 was about the price of a round of golf. Well, those days have long gone.

Some people might have possessions that were made 35 years ago, but I can’t think of too many things I own that are that old. 

I don’t have any clothes from back then; I don’t have a bike that is that old; certainly not a car … though a car that old would be considered vintage.

The house I live in hasn’t been around that many years, and I don’t have children that age either.

But I do have something that is 35 years old and that is a ring. It was made 35 years ago and I actually received it 35 years ago to this day (August 17).

I know you’ve guessed that it’s my wedding ring.

Thirty-five years ago today I married Lily. Well, it’s not quite 35 yet because we were married in the afternoon and I’m writing this in the morning. 

A “35” in front of “anniversary” has context. Some might consider it vintage, while others would say we’re just getting started.

But thirty-five years of marriage packs a lot of memories, and those memories go back to when we looked like kids.

I have memories of our honeymoon in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that I can’t give you any details about … though we did play a number of championship mini-putt courses there.

I also have memories of our 10th anniversary when we stayed in the FantasyLand Hotel at West Edmonton Mall. We stayed in the Polynesian Room, but I can’t give you any details about that either.

What I can tell you is that I have loved every minute of our 35 years together. 

Well, every minute might be stretching it.

Lily and I have shared many amazing times, emotions and events in our life together. And we have also shared some low times as well.

Like any marriage, you reminisce about the good times and grow deeper together in the tough times. 

I even remember one anniversary where we spent the night in a dorm room of a university, while taking twenty-one high school students to a youth conference in Waterloo, Ontario.

… Funny thing is I can’t give you any details on that one either.

Here’s the thing: Most of us can quantify our love for someone. We can identify when we realized we loved that person and we can calculate the time from then until now. But God’s love for us is more complicated than that. His numbering system is more difficult to quantify. God says in the Bible that He’s “loved you with an everlasting love”. That almost defies putting it into context, but we know exactly what He means. Accept His love today if you haven’t already. Celebrate and reminisce about His love if you already have it. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What number means something to you? Leave your comments and questions below.

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We Forget How Much We Enjoy Things

This week I noted that you can forget how much you enjoy something when you haven’t experienced it for a while.

We forget how much we enjoy things

It can happen in all areas of our lives. For instance, when I was growing up my mother often made a lemon cake-top pudding for dessert. She would make it every couple of months so the memory of the taste and texture was engrained in my mind. 

As an adult though, years and years went by without me having that lemon pudding. I kind of forgot about it. 

But somehow my wife, Lily, found that old recipe of my mom’s and decided to try it. 

Unbelievable! – that’s all I can say. Everything about that pudding was amazing from the way the soft, fluffy cake emerged from the pale yellow semi-thick sauce to the lemony taste that can’t be replicated in any other dish. 

I truly forgot just how good it was. … Sorry, the recipe is an old family secret now. 

But the other day I had an experience much like that. I went golfing.

I’ve golfed a lot over the years. Many years ago I would golf three, sometimes four times a week. But my golfing has tapered off over the years for many reasons.

One reason is that it takes up a lot of your day, and my days seem to be fuller, busier than they used to be. I’ve also lost some of my golfing partners to other things, and my interests have shifted. I’ve done far more mountain biking over the last ten years than golf. 

So on vacation I booked a tee time for Lily and I. It took me three weeks to do it and I’m not sure why. The thought of golfing sparked some interest but I guess not enough to pick up the phone, search for a deal and book a time. 

Finally I got around to it, and you know what? I had forgotten just how much I love taking out that driver and giving my golf ball a good smack. 

I get excited standing over a twenty foot putt and stare down that hole, willing my ball to go in.

I love standing on an elevated tee box and looking down the fairway at the contoured mowing, the trees on either side, and the lush green gleaming in the distance. 

I’ve played one other time this year, but for some reason this round brought back how much I enjoy the game of golf. 

I didn’t score all that well – what golfer is ever satisfied with his or her score?- but I hit the ball well. 

That feeling of hitting the ball in the sweet spot of the club face and then watching that ball sail through the air towards the target – mmmm … just like that lip-smacking lemon cake-top pudding when it crosses your teeth and hits those taste buds.

I’m going to feast on that enjoyment and savour every moment of it as I look forward to my next game in a couple of days with my son. 

Maybe I will score better too!

Here’s the thing: I’ve noticed that in life we can get completely focused on what we are experiencing, especially the trials and difficulties, like what many of us may be experiencing now. All our effort and focus is on what we can do to alleviate, or eliminate the trouble. We forget we have a God who is all powerful. During these days, reach out to God and remember just how good He is in the midst of the rough waters in life. Enjoy Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What aspect of God do you need reminding of right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Being Startled Can Be A Good Thing

On a good day I’m a little jumpy, but the piece of mail I received yesterday really startled me.

Being startled can be a goo thing

Some people get surprised more than others. I’m one of those people who gets caught off guard all the time. There are times when my secretary will come to my office door and I feel inside like I jumped up and hit my head on the ceiling. 

I’m not sure why I’m like that. It may be when I’m really focussed on something – you know, totally dialled in – and that knock or voice seems to come from out of nowhere. 

Whatever it is that causes me to be startled so easily, as I get older it seems to be happening more. … Please don’t anyone throw me a surprise party of any kind. I could go into complete cardiac arrest! 

I’m not good when people sneak up on me or come around a corner right when I arrive at it. Sure, it’s funny for everyone around to see, but think of the guy who’s already had a heart attack. Don’t purposely take any more years off of my life.

So the other day I got startled in a different way. 

On the kitchen table was an envelope addressed to me. Immediately I recognized it as originating from the government. 

At first sight of it, I gulped and wondered if it was the CRA wanting to review my income tax submission. They refer to it as a tax audit but I don’t like that term. 

I took the envelope in my hand and looked at it a second time to make sure the name on it was mine and not someone else’s. It didn’t matter whose; anyone else’s name would do.

Then I noticed that it had come from Scarborough, Ontario and that is not where any of my tax papers come from or go to. 

Now I was curious. So I opened the envelope, and out came official looking documents. 

I didn’t have my glasses on so I could only read the heading without squinting and holding it in and out to adjust the focus. I made out the first few words of the letter and it said “we are pleased to inform you …”

Those are encouraging words unless they come from the government. Then they can be a set up.

I looked at the heading which read, “Old Age Security”.

What? I just turned 64. How could this be?

Well, apparently the government automatically enrolled me in the OAS benefit and I will start receiving it 12 months from now. I even have a client number. 

Did you get that? I’m a client of Canada’s Old Age Security. Why would they startle me with this news so far in advance of me actually receiving OAS? 

I just kept staring at those words “Old Age Security”. I was squinting and couldn’t believe what I was seeing so I got my glasses. … Maybe that should have tipped me off to the fact that I am getting old enough to be an OAS client. 

Though this letter did startle me, I have a year to settle into it.

Here’s the thing: Do you get startled when something you were fearing turns out to be in your favour, or when something good comes out of bad? Do you kind of jump back when something works out that you didn’t think would? Don’t take those things for granted. Be startled and take note of how God worked in your favour. Make that little heart check and thank Him for His blessings. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has startled you about God lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Your View Of What’s Important Might Be Blocked

Last night from my deck, I looked at the sky and found the view a little lacking. The sky looked very interesting; it was just that there was too much blocking my view.

Your view of what's important might be blocked

I like living in the city where you’re close to everything you need and the things you enjoy doing. But the one thing that kind of sucks about city living is the view of the sunset.

We should have a great view of the sunsets each night. From our patio window or deck we just have to look a little to the left and we can see a fabulous array of red, orange and purple colours as they bounce off the clouds and contrast against the blue background.

It’s a pretty sight; there is just not enough of it. 

I guess that’s why some people build houses in the country and put them on the crest of a hill. From that vantage they get the full view of the sky as it interacts with the sun and the clouds. 

When we’re at the cottage walking on the beach at sundown, we get that full panoramic view with nothing obstructing the scene before us.

Not so much at home. I can see the sky but there are wires, poles, houses and trees that block the lower half of it from my view. When I take a picture of a sunset, I end up with a very thick transmission wire running right across the image. 

I could mount my GoPro somewhere to get around it, but I’d have to hoist it up a flag pole to get it above the wire.

I could send my drone up a hundred feet to get a better view but I’m not allowed. I live within a no-fly zone radius of an airport, so I can’t fly my drone off my back deck.

It would be nice to have an eraser that would just remove the wires and homes that are in the path of the sunset. It might upset the people who live in those homes to be rubbed out like they didn’t exist … not that my home was here first or that it’s built on higher ground … but it sure would improve my view. 

I realize that what I wish for is not something that I have any power to do. I’m just saying it would be nice, on a particularly absolutely gorgeous night, to have those homes and wires removed some way. 

I’ve seen software that can remove things from pictures so that you never knew they were ever truly in the shot.

I guess that is the best I can hope for. 

Here’s the thing: What might be blocking your view of seeing God in all His majesty and magnificence? It could be unforgiveness or a lack of gratitude. It might be sin in your life. Maybe you are preoccupied looking at something else. Whatever it might be that prevents you from seeing the glory of God, you have the ability to get it out of the way so that you can see God correctly. Let me encourage you to remove anything that blocks your view of seeing God for who He is.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What could be blocking your view of God? Leave your comments and questions below.

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My Clock Is Displaying The Time Again

I finally got around to fixing my night stand clock and I think I’ve finally got it right. 

my clock is displaying the time again

It’s not that the clock wasn’t working and I used my electronic skills to get it to keep time again. The problem was not keeping time, but that sometimes I couldn’t read the time it was displaying. 

Let me explain.

When do you usually need to look at the clock on your night stand? – at night time or early in the morning when it’s dark in the room and you can’t see very much. 

Years ago I was visiting a friend and, in the room I stayed in, they had a clock that projected the time onto the ceiling. I thought it was such a great idea that I looked to buy one. 

Just think about it. When you are lying bed and want to know the time, where is the best place to look? That’s right – just look up at the ceiling. You are probably already facing that way. And when the room is dark, the red numbers stand out clearly overhead.

Now the clock I got has a defect. I’m not sure if it was a design flaw or a problem with my particular clock. When the time is projected on the ceiling, the numbers are like four feet high …literally. The time displays across the entire ceiling. 

It’s just a little too much … well, a lot too much.

So I searched for a solution and I found an old magnifying glass that was the perfect size. The magnifying glass needed to be about two inches above the clock so that it could project an image on the underside of a shelf that hangs above my night stand. 

I needed some way to raise the magnifying glass up those two inches. I won’t bother telling you how I did it but I’ll tell you the things I used: a lid from an old camera film canister, a business card and some tape. 

All this did the trick. It was like I was MacGyver! 

But having it just sit on the clock wasn’t good enough. It kept falling off the clock or getting bumped. 

I got tired of repositioning it so the other day I came up with a way to keep my little telescope device in place. For that I used the insert of a pill bottle cap, and some two-sided tape. 

Time will tell (pun intended) if what I rigged lasts long-term, but I’m happy. 

Now I don’t have to have the glow from a clock giving me a sun tan or skin cancer while I sleep but, at any moment, morning or night, I can look under that shelf and read the time. 

Here’s the thing: How far will you go for God? Will you do things for Him only if they are easy, if they fit in with what you are already doing? If God asks you to do something that might be difficult or take some effort, even mental effort, is that too much to ask? I went to a lot of work just to get the time to project at a reasonable size on my shelf. Will you go the second mile when God asks you to do something for Him? Think about it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you said “no” to, just because it would take some extra work on your part? Leave your comments and questions below.

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