my experiences

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My Time with Screens Needs To Increase

Experts say we look at screens too much, but I’m realizing I’m not looking at them enough.

my time with screens needs to increase

I know mothers have complained about this since the invention of the television, but we’ve been staring at screens ever since.

And it has only gotten worse. 

With all the technology built into phones, people can have their eyes glued to a screen anywhere and all the time. 

There have been studies that show this is not good for us – not good for our brain development, our attention span, our eyesight and then, depending on how close we get to the screen, our health for the risk of cancer. 

But none of that worries most of us. We gravitate back to the screen after the slightest break. 

Have you ever stood in line waiting for something? How long do you study the back of the shirt of the guy in front of you before you pull out your phone and check your email, or scroll through some Instagram photos? 

The other day we had a rare occasion to have both our kids for dinner at the same time.  Everyone pulled up to the table and just before we were about to say grace, both our kids had their phones out and were looking at them.

There were no words exchanged, just a look and the phones were put away.

I guess what I’m saying is that we are always looking at screens. And with the coronavirus, we are probably spending even more time gazing into screens: TV screens, computer screens and the rest. 

But for me, I don’t think I’m looking at screens as much as I should be. 

With our new isolation reality, I’ve been doing much more online work. I preach my sermons online, lead a Bible study online, and give a once-a-week devotional online now.

This is all new to me. It’s also forcing me to look at screens more often, and specifically to look into cameras more. 

And what I’m realizing is, I’m not doing it as much as I should be. 

You see, I have notes that I use when I speak, and I have to look at my notes when I’m talking to a camera or I would be staring at the camera … but just staring and doing nothing else. 

Even when I’m preaching and the camera is way at the back of the sanctuary, it is really noticeable when I look down at my notes or look to the corner for some direction from our camera operator. 

When I do my devotionals, even though my notes are right beside the screen, you can tell when I look away. When I do that, I lose connection with the people who are watching on their own screens.

So the other day I found a cheap – actually free to me – way of making a teleprompter. 

It’s crude and a little makeshift, but it works. I’m going to use it for some of my onscreen appearances because I can look right into the camera and see my notes in front of me.

I can’t wait to have more screen time. 

Here’s the thing: Let me encourage you, during this time of virus isolation 2020, to keep yourself looking straight ahead. It is easy right now to get looking away from God and onto other things. But now, more than ever, we need to be staying focused on Christ and His Word. That’s how we can make the greatest connection with Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How could you connect with God more during this time? Leave your comments and questions below.

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A Tale Of Contradictions

We are all supposed to practice social distancing right now, but there are lots of contradictions.

A Tale of Contradictions

The other day I needed something from a store … well, maybe “need” is too strong a word.

I’d ordered a part to help me livestream online, but when it was delivered I discovered that it didn’t come with a power source.

Do you remember commercials for kids’ toys years ago? At the end of the commercials the announcer would say, “batteries not included”. Well, it turns out I ordered a product like that. It ran on DC current or rechargeable batteries but came with neither.

I headed straight for a store that sold both.

The store was practicing social distancing – which I completely understood – but there were obvious contradictions. 

I was first asked to stand in a line outside the store, marked with tape every six feet. 

I happened to be the only one in the line and, judging by the number of cars in the lot, there were probably only about ten customers in the store. 

In front of me was a store employee, standing a good six feet from me. He informed me how my shopping experience was going to go.

First there would be no cash, no paper receipts and, when I did enter the store, I would have an advisor who would assist me with my shopping. 

Okay, that was fine. 

The employee asked me what I was looking for and when I told him, I got the impression that what I wanted wasn’t really worth his effort. 

He said the two employees in the store that could help me were both busy with customers, so I would have to wait. 

In the mean time, he asked me for details about what I wanted. When I told him I needed a battery, he looked it up on his phone and promptly exclaimed they did not have that battery in the store.  

Unfazed, I replied, “Then I need a power adapter.”  

He wanted to know more about the adaptor so I pulled out the user guide and read the specifications to him. 

He apparently didn’t believe me, so he entered my six-foot bubble and asked if he could have the guide. He gave it back after he’d touched it with both his hands.

Armed with information, he went inside the store and several minutes later emerged with a box and another employee.

This other employee also got inside the six-foot perimeter to ask me more questions. He also touched my guide and had his hands all over the product they brought out to me. 

Once I decided to purchase the adaptor – and the possible accompanying coronavirus all over it – we went inside the store to complete the purchase. 

I decided to pay with my watch since I wouldn’t have to touch anything. It worked perfectly. 

I was told they were going to email me the receipt – perfect! But I had to agree to that by selecting “yes” on the key pad – crazy! I couldn’t do that without touching the screen with my finger or picking up the attached pen to select “yes”. 

Are you kidding me? How many others had touched those things? 

Their measures were strict but not consistent. Their contradictions made me want to wash my hands immediately … but there was no sanitizer anywhere!

Here’s the thing: We can find contradictions everywhere in life. We contradict ourselves when we say people need to be tolerant, but then we are intolerant of those who don’t agree with us. We can’t get away from contradictions. But God never contradicts Himself. When you align your life with Him, you can be sure you won’t be disappointed. 

That’s Life! 

Paul

Question: What’s a contradiction that has bugged you lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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My Days Are Getting Longer

The best part of early spring is how the days just keep getting longer and longer.

My Days Are Getting Longer

One thing I really like after the time change is how much later it stays light out in the evenings. It’s a big deal for me. 

For people who lived before there was electricity, they must have been ecstatic. They had so much more time to do things, to get things done. During one part of the year they would be shutting things down around 5 pm, but as the days got longer they could extend their work to 7 or 8 pm and later.

I remember when we lived in Edmonton and in the summer we could still be on the golf course at 10 pm! 

There were, however, some downsides … like when we ran summer camps. We wanted to end each day with a camp fire, but there is something lost when you’re sitting around the fire with the sun still high in the sky! 

Though the daylight is now extending later, I’m finding that my days are getting longer as well.

During this time when people are working from home, some not working at all, and others practicing self-isolation or forced isolation, there is less work being accomplished. 

More and more stores and businesses are restricting hours or closing their doors altogether. 

There is less that we can do. The normally busy parents, chauffeuring their children from one club or activity to another, have all stopped. 

For many people their days of work and activity are less. The light is increasing, but we have more time on our hands. … But that’s not what I’m experiencing right now. 

As the sun-filled skies linger longer into the evening, I find that my work is keeping pace with the ever-increasing light of day.

Some of the reasons my days are getting longer is that I’m having to learn new things right now to address the current COVID-19 conditions we are facing. 

There are also a number of different tasks or jobs I’m having to add to my day. 

I’m feeling a little like a green garbage bag. You know, there is always a little more you can stuff into one of them … the plastic stretches to make room.

It’s a huge contrast to when I’m on vacation. On vacation, I get up and decide what the one big thing is that I will do that day – maybe go to the beach, or hike a trail to a hidden lake. Everything else in the day then supports that main activity in one way or another. 

Right now, unfortunately, I need to make sure my list is constantly in front of me and that it is up-to-date so I don’t miss something important. 

Right now, all I know is that there is a part of me that wishes the days were getting shorter.

Here’s the thing: Whether your days are getting longer or have been shortened for the time being, be sure that on your list for each day is time with God. It is easy to get busy with work or busy with other things. At this time especially, don’t neglect time with God … and pray that He puts a halt to the coronavirus. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How will you make sure God is a big part of your day at this time? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I knew It Would Come To This

Last Monday I knew that we would have to cancel our church service. Even before the NBA announced it was postponing their season, I knew it would come down to this. 

I Knew It would comer to this

I just didn’t think it would happen as fast as it did.

This week has been a whirlwind of landmark announcements, precautions, instructions and down right fear. 

For the fear part we don’t have to look any further than the hoarding of toilet paper that happened this past week. If people contract COVID-19 they will get a high fever, cough and respiratory symptoms … and with all that toilet paper, they may also get a clogged bathroom throne! 

As the week progressed, I thought it might be good for me to think of a way to stream our church service to our congregation. As I said, I knew it would come to that eventually, but I thought I had a couple of weeks to work out the details. 

On Wednesday I signed up for streaming services on YouTube. I already had a YouTube channel to which I post drone videos that I make. All I had to do was click on the request and in twenty-four hours I was able to livestream through my account. 

… But I was just doing that because at some point – maybe in a week or two – I thought it would be necessary. 

I was wrong. As the weekend approached, there were more and more health suggestions and warnings. 

By Friday afternoon, I knew that we didn’t have a week to prepare – we now had one day!

Along with securing a livestream platform on YouTube, I also had downloaded a piece of streaming software, which I hadn’t yet installed on my computer. I wasn’t even sure what it did. 

Now I knew I was going to have to find out more about this software and actually use it. But maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself … 

It was clear that no one was going to force us to close our doors on Sunday. There were, however, recommendations on the size of gatherings organizations should limit themselves to. 

I couldn’t help but think of all the people out shopping in stores, stripping the shelves bare of essentials and non-essentials, purchasing what they “needed” while putting themselves at greater risk of catching or passing on the virus to other shoppers. 

People who were shopping this week were probably in closer contact with others than if they were attending a church service.

Though our church was under the size limit recommendations laid out by the health officials, I knew that there would be many people who, just to feel safe, would not want to come to church.

There were also a good number of seniors in the church who probably needed to avoid being in contact with people.

What went through my thoughts was to hold our service but offer a livestream for those who would stay home. 

That ended up being the plan we executed. How we put the livestream together, I’ll share with you in my next post.

Here’s the thing: Big changes can happen quickly, quicker than you expect or anticipate. If a face-to-face meeting with Christ comes quicker than you expect or anticipate, you will really want to be prepared for that meeting. The preparation is straight forward: place your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and make Him the boss of your life. That’s what you need to do to be ready for the unexpected. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What unexpected decisions did you have to make this last week? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I May Be Politically Incorrect Here

This is my politically incorrect blog post, so if you are easily offended maybe you should not read this one.

I May Be Politically Incorrect

I’m not normally very politically correct, but this one just might be considered by some to have gone too far. 

It all started with a trip to Costco. We don’t usually do any shopping on Sunday but we were hungry and there were two things – which grew to five things – that we needed to get.

Disclaimer: toilet paper and Gatorade were not what we went to Costco for.

We also really needed lunch and thought at Costco we could kill two birds with one stone. 

… After looking at the “two birds” statement, I should clarify that that wasn’t the politically incorrect part of my blog, so if you are offended because you love birds, sorry.

After we picked up the two/five items we needed, Lily and I headed for the cash. And no surprise, the lines were long. 

A lot of people were shopping on Sunday afternoon. The store was so busy; the checkout lines were six carts deep and more. 

When we finally got through, we went straight to the food counter and found their new feature of express ordering stations. We just tapped pictures on a screen of the items we wanted and paid for them right there. It was quick, convenient, and the only time there was no line. 

Then reality hit. We were stopped with many others waiting to have our number called to collect our food. 

After picking up our tray of food, we turned and gazed at the sea of humanity that was seated in the food court section. 

That was disheartening. Everything had gone so well, but now we had nowhere to eat. I was holding a tray of food and Lily had a cart in tow with five measly things strewn across the bottom. 

I went to get my cup filled, while Lily spied a vacant spot and made her way there with the cart. Someone beat her to it. 

There were no other empty seats … except the handicap table. 

We looked around and saw no one in wheelchairs, so we sat down. I even sat with only one cheek on the seat in an attempt to make it look like I was not really sitting there and was almost ready to leave. 

I wondered for a moment if we might get fined for sitting at the table, but then remembered fines apply to cars, not seats. 

As we ate, we started to get comfortable in our seats, not really looking around … until Lily spotted someone in a scooter. 

The jig was up. We started to pull our food together, telling the man we were getting up. He said it was okay; they didn’t have their food yet. 

Then we had a little conversation with him as we kept eating in the handicap seats while he waited for his wife to arrive. 

And then it struck me …

Who needed that seat more? The guy who was already seated in his scooter or the other guy (me) standing, juggling a tray with food and drink and trying to eat all at the same time? 

It seems to me, in that situation, I was more handicapped than the guy in the scooter was. He already had a lap to rest his tray on. I was helpless.

Here’s the thing: We are all helpless before God. We have nothing in ourselves to help our cause or case with God. We have no rights to petition Him with. We have no abilities that would make us valuable to Him. But oh, the loving grace of God that saw His Son, Jesus Christ, pay for our sin, and make it possible for us to be admitted to heaven … if you place your faith in Jesus. We are helpless without Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you thought would be your bargaining chip with God? Leave your comments and questions below.

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What’s Really Behind Decision-Making

This post is from February 2014. Every now and then I re-post an old article when my schedule is too busy.

The other day my wife, Lily, and I decided to look at living room furniture. We are on a little bit of a roll right now, just completing the final touches of our bathroom renovation that got downgraded to painting and changing a light fixture.  

really

Still, being in that remodelling mood, we decided to look at a couch Lily has been eyeing for ten years or more. I think there’s a few reasons we ended up looking at the couch now.  

The first reason is that I saw a rowing machine in a flyer and Lil saw my eyes get big. I also kept the flyer around and made mention of how good the price was.  

When my wife sees that scenario happening it’s like a perfect storm to her. The pressure to purchase comes in waves that are unrelenting. And so to try to divert this storm, she stated that there will be no big purchases made until we get new living room furniture.

I say she’s just a wuss who can’t take a little stormy weather.  

But the other reason we decided to look at furniture is that I’ve made it public that our living room couch is 28 years old. In the last few months, I’ve blogged about it, referenced it in two sermons, and the ultimate, I’ve sat on it.

Our living room furniture has lasted, but all good things come to an end and I think we are at that point with our stuff.  

In no time, I found myself transported to a furniture store that Lily seemed to know quite well. In fact, she seemed to know it better than I expected her to.  

She headed straight to the living room section and, before I could peel myself away from the 70 inch TV that was turned to the Olympics, she was talking to a salesperson.

She had her eyes on a sofa and, even worse, she was sitting down on it. The salesperson was a nice senior lady who seemed very accommodating. She may have recognized a sucker as soon as we entered, or maybe she was just very experienced in her work.

She agreed with us on everything we said so it seemed she was on our side and not working for the store at all.  

We complained at how the love seat price was only one hundred dollars less than the sofa yet it was only two thirds the size – that means two thirds the wood, stuffing and material. What’s with that?

By the end of our visit I wanted to buy the sofa right there. I wasn’t sure whether it was because I liked it, or that I thought Lily liked it, or that I wanted to buy it from the nice lady who seemed like she really wanted to sell it to us.  

I knew, however, we weren’t going to buy that day. Lil would never buy anything without checking prices in two, three or more other stores. We may also have to revisit this store a few times before we make a decision. 

Then again, it may be another 10 years before we actually settle on getting new furniture.

Here’s the thing:  There are many influences on our decision-making. Today I read in my devotions that the heart is most deceitful and incurable (Jeremiah 17:9-10). It’s so easy for our hearts to be influenced away from what God wants. We need to be vigilant at constantly working with the Holy Spirit for control of our heart.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What influences you in making decisions? Leave your comment below.

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When Déjà Vu Goes The Opposite Way

Déjà vu – we’ve heard the phrase. Many of us would say we’ve experienced it before. Well, I just experienced the opposite of déjà vu. 

When Deja Vu goes the opposite way

The word “déjà vu” is a French word meaning “seen before”. It’s when you feel like you’ve in some way already lived through what you are experiencing.

The opposite of this is called “jamais vu”. It’s also a French word, but it means “never seen”. It’s the feeling or experience you have when you recognize or know a situation, but it still seems very unfamiliar or unknown.

I’m using this definition loosely, but that’s what I just experienced last night at my niece’s wedding. 

Everything had gone well … the ceremony, the pictures, the spring roll h’or d’oeuvres which were really delicious and hit the spot before dinner. The speeches were meaningful, funny, touching and not too long. The food was delicious. 

Then it came time for the first dance. 

The bride and groom had picked a particular number to dance to and they had worked out some planned moves during the song. 

When that first dance was over, it was time for the bride to dance with her father. 

This is where I experienced jamais vu. 

Watching my brother on the dance floor dancing with his daughter was something I recognized. But with my daughter’s wedding coming up in about four months, it was also very unfamiliar and unknown. 

I watched John move around the dance floor, trying to detect if he had any special skills or moves that I might have to learn for when it was my turn. 

Nope. Nothing.

There was no pre-rehearsed number where he ended up doing the splits or the whole wedding party joined in sync with their choreography. 

There was none of that.

There was just John and Angela moving around the dance floor together, to a familiar song by a member of the rock group, Genesis.

That could have been significant because John loved Genesis and Phil Colins’ drumming. 

It had been suggested that John stop dancing part way through the song and play a drum solo while the song continued. However, this particular song didn’t have a drum solo … and John never sat down behind a drum kit. 

So though I don’t know what to expect when it’s my turn to do the father daughter dance, I now have an example of one that I could pull off without any practice … as long as my daughter doesn’t get any big ideas, or watch too many Youtube videos of father daughter dances. 

I do have one excuse and that is my knee. It’s still been giving me trouble and, unless I wear my brace, I think I may have to roam around the dance floor with my daughter much like my brother did with his daughter. 

… And that will give him deja vu.

Here’s the thing: We can read about heaven in the Bible. There are some passages that even give us a glimpse of what it will be like. The Lord tells us about His presence in heaven, but when we get there, to us it will be jamais vu “never seen”. We may recognize aspects of heaven but it will seem unfamiliar, unknown … but amazing!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you experienced that seems unfamiliar or unknown to you? Leave your questions and comments below.

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Why Inspiration Can Cost You Big Time

We get inspired by watching someone do something, but our inspiration is not always well-founded.

Inspiration can cost you

You know this is true – just think about how many times you have watched a TV show where they have said, “Don’t try this at home.” They sometimes even go further by telling you that their stunts were done by professionals and safety precautions were taken.

You know when they say all that that somewhere someone is going to get all excited, all inspired and try to reenact what they saw.

… As an aside, I went to a hockey game last night and at one point the puck was flipped high in the air in front of the goalie. A defensemen jumped to knock the puck down, but only got a piece of it, causing the puck to unfortunately fall behind the goalie into the net. 

Well, with absolutely no intention of repeating that goal, I did the same thing when I was playing early this morning. I couldn’t believe it! It happened exactly like it had the night before, only it was by my hand this time. 

I certainly wasn’t inspired by the defensemen’s feat to want to repeat it. 

I remember watching a commercial once when my son was about 10 years old. The commercial was for a piece of exercise equipment called, “the AbDolly”.

I was in a goofy mood at the time and thought I could make one. My inspiration fired up my son as well. 

Soon we were off to the hardware store, looking for items we could use to build our own AbDolly. About an hour later we came home with our purchases and got to work. 

When it was finished it didn’t really look anything like the AbDolly we’d seen on TV. I never used it for exercise but, on occasion, we have put it under really heavy items to move them around our basement. 

Oh, and the cost to make it was probably more than buying the AbDolly itself. … But we had fun.

The other day I was looking at purchasing a stand-up desk. They cost a lot of money, so I thought that I would look online for a DIY version of a stand-up desk. 

I found several – most were ridiculous – but there was a simple version that I thought I could make. 

I told Lily and she answered, “Don’t you dare!” (maybe she was remembering the AbDolly).

I replied, “I’m going to price this thing out”, and off I went to the hardware store. 

Meanwhile Lily went online to find me a decent stand-up desk. 

I had a price list, and recorded the cost of all the items I needed. When I got home I added them up and the DIY stand-up desk would cost me about $250.  

But from Lily’s list I found I could purchase a stand-up desk, that I could electronically control the height of, for about the same money as making a stationary one. 

This time my inspiration to make a stand-up desk didn’t get the better of me. Wisdom prevailed and I purchased one online. 

Here’s the thing: There are a lot of things that can inspire you, but from God’s perspective are not in your best interest. We can get all excited and inspired even though it is costly or there is danger involved. When we find ourselves in that situation, take time, weigh the dangers and count the cost. Then make the wise decision: listen for what God would have you do. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has got you all inspired right now? Leave your questions and comments below.

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Knowing The Outcome, I Was Surprised At My Engagement

When you know the outcome, your engagement with the subject changes drastically.

knowing the outcome

You may watch a program on television that you’ve seen before. You may not have seen it for a while, and may not remember all the details, but what you do remember enables you to watch the program differently.

You might watch it while you are doing something else so that you are not fully engaged with the program. After all, you know the story line. 

Then there are times when we might try to avoid knowing the outcome so that we can watch it after the fact but as if we were taking it all in live.

There are some movies, however, that you may have never seen but their outcome is so predictable that you know in advance how they will end. 

I’m thinking specifically of some of the Hallmark romance movies my wife watched over Christmas. I’d watch them for less than five minutes and know what guy was going to marry the girl in the story. 

In those cases I just turned around and found something else to do. 

But the other day I watched the last three minutes of a hockey game I had seen the day before.

It was a close game, a game that mattered to me. I remembered how tense I was as the other team pulled their goalie and had a man advantage. They hemmed my team in their own end and, with each shot, there was a fear that it would weave its way through the crowd of players on the ice into the back of the net. 

At any moment I feared the game would be tied up and sent into overtime. 

When I watched the game I couldn’t turn away; I couldn’t do something else. I was all in, fully engaged in the play.

In the end, my team kept the puck out and with about 4 or 5 seconds left to go in the game they got an empty-netter to seal their victory.

The next day when I watched that last part of the game for the second time, of course I didn’t watch with the same emotion. I knew how things turned out so I wasn’t as tense. 

When the Leafs couldn’t get the puck out of their end, I knew that it didn’t end badly for them. But surprisingly, there was still some emotion and engagement with those last few moments of the game.

I noticed the times when they could have cleared the puck and reduced the pressure, but for whatever reason it didn’t happen. 

I found I analyzed the play more than when I watched it the first time. I even had a few suggestions for the team watching them play the second time around. 

What surprised me was that I was as interested in watching the game the second time around as I was seeing it the first time. … I just had a different perspective. 

Here’s the thing: When you place your faith in Jesus Christ you know what is going to happen at the end of your life on earth. There is nothing up in the air, no fear of a sudden change. But you still live your life to the full, engaged in every moment and detail you experience. It’s just that the outcome is certain.

That’s Life!

Paul 

Question: Do you have the outcome of your life settled? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Everything Changed In An Instant

It doesn’t take long for things to go wrong. In an instant everything can change. 

In An Instant

One minute you’re talking, laughing, having fun, then, without warning, talking stops and you are panicked.

I look back and it’s happened many times in my life.  

Four years ago I was driving to my cottage, it was completely dark, my wife and I were talking, and listening to music. Then, in a split second, a deer ran by the corner of our car and we hit it. 

There was no warning, no time to react. Everything changed that instant. 

I remember 8 years ago, I was playing hockey, feeling fine. After the game I sat down in the dressing room and, all of a sudden, I didn’t feel fine anymore. 

Then 4 weeks ago, Lily and I were getting ready for bed, and we got a phone call that changed everything. 

It was our daughter, Karlie, calling to tell us she was engaged. Well, that kind of news changes everything!

Sometimes a sudden change is not welcomed, but like with our daughter’s news, Lil’s and my conversation suddenly changed in a joyful way.

One thing a sudden change does is it turns you emotionally 180 degrees. You can go from flying high to down in the dumps; you can go from complete exhaustion to totally energized.

When things change suddenly, our response time to it is immediate.

Last night I attended the Kingston Frontenacs hockey game as I usually do on Friday nights. They were playing the first place team in the other conference.

Through two periods they were playing like they were on top of the standings. Though I thought the other team seemed much bigger and stronger than our team, the Fronts were handling them really well.

They had scored some pretty goals and were leading 3-0. You could feel the energy in the arena; you could see the focus our guys had as they played their hearts out. 

Early in the third period we scored again to make it 4-0.

That should have been a premonition – a 4 goal lead is never a good thing. I remember the Toronto Maples Leafs had a 4 goal lead in the seventh game of the playoffs one year … and they lost the game and the series in overtime. 

Well last night, though it wasn’t a playoff game, we witnessed a similar comeback. In about 10 minutes, the opposing team scored 4 times to tie the game. As the time was winding down, it looked like overtime was a guarantee. 

With 30 seconds to go in the game, Kingston had the puck deep in the opposition’s end. 

But with 14 seconds left, there was a face-off in Kingston’s end. They lost the face-off and the puck stayed in their end.  

Just a few seconds left and they would get at least one point and a possible two points if they scored in overtime. 

And then in an instant – 2.5 seconds left to be exact – everything changed. There would be no guaranteed point, no overtime: a fifth goal against Kingston and it was over.

A heartbreaker for sure. Everything changed in an instant.

Here’s the thing: Anything can happen in an instant. When it does, it changes everything. Christ will come back one day and it’s going to happen in an instant. Everything will change. That change will be amazing for some and horrifying for others. Be sure you are set up for a joy-filled change and not a heartbreaker. Place your faith in Jesus Christ. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What memory do you have of an instant that brought you great joy? Leave your comments and questions below.