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Christmas shopping – I Could Use Some Help

For me, Christmas shopping has always been that task that has been left to the last moments. 

Christmas shopping - I could use some help

Over the years there is probably no other activity I’ve procrastinated over more than Christmas shopping. The biggest reason has always been time. Where do you fit shopping into your schedule? My answer has more than often been, “at the end of it”. 

I’ve had some crazy last minute shopping trips … like the year I spent four hours on Christmas Eve looking for the main gift to give my wife, Lily. 

I travelled to every mall in Edmonton and twice to the West Edmonton Mall (at the time the largest shopping mall in world). I had seen a sweater for Lily but I could not remember where I had seen it. 

By the end, I was pretty sure I had made up that sweater in my head. And the sweater I did get her was a conglomeration of all the sweater ideas I had looked at. 

That day was one of my worst memories. I was stressed!

But now I don’t have time constraints to keep me from shopping early and often.

My problem is nobody is coming up with good ideas for Christmas presents. What I mean by that is, an idea has to pass my approval rating to really be considered as a possible present option. Not every suggestion is worthy of me going to the store. I have to want to give the gift. 

I’m not sure if this is a “me” thing. But unless I’m really feeling it, I can’t lay down the money to purchase it. 

There have been years that family have gotten gifts that they never asked for simply because I didn’t like their suggestions. 

However, I don’t like taking gift giving into my own hands because it’s a lot of work. I have to weave my way through the stores and the other shoppers just hoping something of interest will catch my attention.

That’s a lot of work, especially when you don’t like shopping in the first place.

This year I’m being faced with this kind of scenario because no one is coming up with viable options for me. 

I even put a message up on my sign board for my family to read. It says “Should be shopping for presents, but nobody wants anything.”

Where are the good old days when my son would literally circle every toy in the Sears Christmas wish catalogue? It made things so much easier. 

Now with less that two weeks before Christmas I have to get moving to find just the right gifts to get my family. 

Sure I have the time – I have all afternoon today, in fact – but wandering around a shopping mall is not my idea of fun. 

I want to get gifts that I can walk into a store and grab off the shelf and go directly to the cash register with. 

All I know is I’m going to need a few extra naps after all my shopping trips in the next week or so.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes, like at Christmas, we don’t know what we need, or we think we know what we need but it may not be what we need most. Unlike me trying to figure out Christmas presents for my family, God knows exactly what we need. He sent us the greatest gift of all, His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the perfect gift for everyone. We have no greater need than to be made right with God (forgiven) and made part of His family. This year be sure you have God’s gift of Christ for yourself and for others in your life. It’s all there for you by placing your faith in Jesus Christ. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need most this Christmas? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Shopping Doesn’t Mean The Same Thing For Everyone

Let me ask, is shopping a leisure activity or is shopping a hunting activity for you? 

shopping doesn't mean the same thing for everyone

There was a time when hunting was far more prevalent than shopping. … But when you think about it, now shopping has mostly taken the place of hunting. 

The days of going out to kill an animal so you could have meat for dinner have been replaced. Now we go to the grocery store and pick out a juicy steak or frozen pre-cooked ribs already sauced.

We hunt for bargains at the store. We go to malls to gather the items from the list we made before we left home.

But for some people shopping is not so much a hunt, or a replacement for gathering the necessities of life. No, shopping is more of a leisure activity.

So when you shop, is your approach more like a hunt or an activity? 

… To be fair, even hunting has taken on a more leisurely tone lately. I have a friend who just got back from hunting but didn’t shoot anything. He was 15 feet from a moose but they weren’t in season so he didn’t bag the prize. 

There was a time if you came back from the hunt empty-handed you and your family were going hungry. It was imperative that you hunted until you had something to bring home.

Still there’s a distinction between shopping as a hunt or an activity.

For me, when it comes to shopping, I’m more of a hunter than an activity seeker. I like to get in, bag that item I’m looking for and get out.

Recently, due to my wife Lily not feeling all that well, I’ve been doing most of the grocery shopping. This is not my forte, but I’m getting the job done.

Recently on one trip I had to stop a fellow shopper to ask her where I would find egg noodles (at least I was in the right aisle). 

She showed me where the noodles were and told me there were different shapes, to which I said, “I guess I’m going to have to phone a friend for this one.” I had to phone Lily to find out which shape of egg noodles she wanted. That meant using two “lifelines” on one item on that shopping trip. 

The biggest thing I’ve learned lately about shopping is that I’m a hunter. 

… Although at some places it could be tempting to turn shopping into an activity. At Costco there is such a variety of items, an abundance of products and samples to lure you in to making it a leisure outing. 

But not for me – one time I even went to the checkout with one item. The guy in front of me was astonished and asked how I was getting out of there with one thing. 

I’m a hunter, man!

The other day at Costco I picked up four items. When I got home, Lily asked what new things they had in the store. I didn’t know; I never looked. I got my four items and quickly got out. 

No leisure strolling for me. 

Lily, on the other hand, likes shopping and looking at the different items … and that’s how very differently we approach shopping.

Here’s the thing: It is a good thing God’s approach to you and me is a hunter and not just a leisure shopper. There is a song I’m reminded of that gives a picture of this. The song “Reckless Love” has a couple of lines that say, “Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God. Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine”. If you ever get the sense that someone is seeking you, hunting you down, it’s God … and He’s doing it out of love. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you need to respond to God’s love for you today? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I’m Surprised Every Time I’m Asked For More

When I’m asked for my input, I’m always surprised more is expected of me.

I'm surprised every time I'm asked for more

We’ve all heard the statement, “This isn’t what I signed up for.” Usually we make that statement because there is more to be done than we had initially thought.

… Like when a friend asks you to help him move out of his small apartment, in your mind you estimate a quick job, thinking it will be simple. So you agree to help.

But when you get to his apartment, you’re surprised. Nothing has been packed and your friend doesn’t have enough boxes. This means that the truck will not be loaded in a neat uniform, stacking format. Odd shaped individual items will create a haphazard, uneven load … and the move will take twice as long as you thought. 

This type of scenario happens to us repeatedly. And we are surprised every time.

As much as we don’t want it to happen, we can’t seem to learn from the previous experiences.

There have been times when I’ve gotten a phone call asking if I would complete a short survey. They promise it will only take five minutes … but it never does. 

Then they ask you to use only the words they give you to describe your answer. So your answer isn’t really how you feel. You want to answer “fine” but they will only accept “substandard” or “outstanding”. “Fine” doesn’t fit with either of those two options.

What bugs me is I fall for these asks over and over. I’m surprised every time and have to slap myself on the back of the head because I’ve gotten sucked in once again.

Apps are famous for asking us to rate them. They offer 5 stars to pick from. But when you do, they take you to another page with a series of questions they want you to answer.

This week I got an email about a product I purchased from Amazon. I saw the five stars and, like some kid who’s repeated grade 9 math four times, I hit the star of my choosing. Instead of accepting my rating, I was whisked away to a site that not only wanted a star rating but also a title for a review.  

“Great”, I typed. But that was not enough. They wanted a picture of the item … probably a picture of me holding the item with a big smile on my face. 

They also wanted a review of up to 200 characters. Without providing all this information I was not able to submit my rating. 

I spent another two or three minutes trying to get around having to provide all their requirements and finally quit the rating review all together. 

What a waste of time. No one was satisfied. They didn’t get a rating and I spent way too long attempting to give one.

The worst thing is that in six months I’m probably going to get a request to rate another purchase or an app that I used … and I will have forgotten the whole experience, expecting to click on 4 stars out of 5 and be done. 

Here’s the thing: There is more to our life than we realize. When you put your faith in Christ, He accepts you as you are, but He will ask you to grow deeper with Him and it will require more of you. The difference is the more you get to know Christ, the more you trust Him. You will give more of yourself to Him because you want to. Giving to God comes from a desire to enjoy Him more.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has surprised you lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Unrealistic Expectations Can Really Leave You Deflated

We all have expectations, but unrealistic expectations are never met. 

unrealistic expectations can really leave you deflated

There are all kinds of expectations, ones we keep to ourselves, ones we share with others. 

Some of our expectations are based on logical outcomes from patterns we see. Some expectations are wishful thinking or based on a hunch. 

Unrealistic expectations are just not good.

Sometimes our expectations depend on someone else’s actions. But if we don’t verbalize to that person what we expect, well, it’s still unrealistic.

There was a time – or should I say there have been many times – that my wife Lily expected me to do something but never told me what she expected.

… Like the time I got ready for biking and she got all disappointed because she thought we would spend the afternoon outside working in the yard together. How was I to know that was what she expected? You can’t expect something from someone that they don’t know anything about.

When I was a kid, I pulled out my tooth and put it under my pillow. In the morning my tooth was still there. I expected the tooth to be gone and some coins in its place. But I had not told anyone I had pulled my tooth out, so how could the tooth fairy (Mom and Dad) know how to meet my expectation?

We can also have expectations that are just pie in the sky. They are not based in reality. The data doesn’t confirm what we are hoping for, but we expect an unrealistic outcome anyway.

This was the story of the Toronto Maple Leafs this year. 

Fans were furious and fed up with the team after they failed to advance to the second round of the playoffs. The team certainly didn’t meet their expectations. Now they are calling out all the responsible people who should be let go because of their failure.

I, on the other hand, was pretty happy with how the club did in the playoffs. But my expectations were based on some realistic data.

The Leafs had not beat Boston all year. They finished third in their division behind both Boston and Florida, and ended up seven points behind Boston in the standings.

How could any Leaf fan go into the playoffs expecting them to come out on top in the first round?

I figured they would win one game. They won three and they could have just as easily won a fourth. The Leafs took a team that was better than them to the seventh game and overtime. 

They far exceeded my expectations, but not the unrealistic expectations of so many other fans. 

If people question why they were in that spot in the first place, it’s a money thing in my opinion … too much money invested in four players. It handcuffs them from rounding out the team.

Leaf fans (of whom I am one) were expecting something the team could not produce. Yet we criticize the players and the coach for not meeting our expectations. 

The coach actually got them to play a defensive style of hockey that could win.

For me, I still remember their 1967 Stanley Cup victory and until they change the data, I’m not having unrealistic expectations about the club.

Here’s the thing: We all have expectations for the end of our life. If our expectation is unrealistic, our hope for the end of our life will go unmet and even be far worse than we imagine. God’s word has given us clear expectations for the end of life and, if we follow God’s plan for us, our expectation will be realized. Trust Jesus with your life.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: For what do you consistently have unrealistic expectations? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Being Free In The Western World May Not Be As You Think

I’ve come to believe that we here in North America – Canada anyway – are not as free as we think we are.

being free in the western world may not be as you think

On the surface it seems like we can say and do what we want … within legal limits, of course. 

In fact, there are more freedoms now for some things than ever before. Marijuana is now legal – that’s a new freedom. But at one time they put cocaine in Coca Cola and that was legal! 

… Maybe there are tradeoffs.

Still, I can go where I please and can say what I want. … But can I?

Can I express my opinion or will my ideas and actions be considered by some to be wrong, even against the law … to the extent that I keep them to myself for fear of being fined, constrained or even arrested?

I saw a video the other day that really disturbed me. 

A reporter – some call him a personality; I’ll call him a citizen – was walking alongside a Federal Minister asking questions. He had a camera crew with him and a microphone in his hand. The Minister was walking fast and wasn’t answering his questions. 

Suddenly a man dressed in black stepped up and blocked the citizen with the microphone. The citizen had his head turned and didn’t see this man step up and they bumped into each other. The man in black then grabbed the citizen and told him he was under arrest for assaulting an officer. The man in black was a police officer of some kind.

I’ve seen this move before in basketball; it’s called a pick. A player will stop and block an opposing player so his teammate with the ball can get around the opposing player.

That’s what happened in the video. The officer set a pick on the citizen and the minister walked around them both. The citizen was arrested for committing a foul. 

The only problem here was the officer was moving and moved into the citizen to set the pick. In a legal pick, the blocker must first have his feet planted and be stationary. In my observation, the guy committing the foul was the man in black. He should have been arrested … or the reporter should have been given two free questions to ask the Minister. 

I heard later that, after the reporter was arrested, they dropped the charges … and for good reason: it was all on video. (You can watch the video here.)

There was no assault; there was just a poorly executed basketball move to stop an annoying citizen (reporter) from carrying out his assignment. 

We believe we are free and, in fact, have rights to express ourselves in a legal way. But we are not as free as we think. 

Apparently, an annoying citizen can be arrested for asking questions that an elected member of Parliament does not feel particularly inclined to answer.

If you’re a person of influence or power, it goes with the territory that you’ll be stopped and asked questions, regardless of whether you want to answer or not.

Just ask any celebrity or sports personality. They don’t have people arrested when they’re asked questions they don’t like. 

Sadly, someone else can deem our expression as wrong and even illegal.  

… Which leaves us thinking twice about how we express ourselves and our freedom.

Here’s the thing: Many people think that to give your life to Christ is to give up your freedom to make decisions for yourself. But none of us are free to make our own decisions and think as we want. A Christian simply chooses to place his freedom under God’s rule. And we all place ourselves under those who were elected to rule over us, regardless of whether we think it’s good or not. One thing we can be sure of is that God has our best interests in mind.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you felt you couldn’t express your opinion? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Circumstances Should Dictate Our Actions

In order to be successful in our pursuits, or even protect against harm, we need to understand the circumstances we live in.

circumstances should dictate our actions

It’s one thing to be blindsided by something you didn’t see coming, but, if you are unaware or not paying attention to the circumstances, you will not see what’s coming. Then your reaction or actions will be out of step with reality.

This can apply to even the weather.

If you are unaware of the outdoor temperature, it’s very possible that you will not be dressed properly for going outside.

That may be a minor inconvenience in the summer, but in the winter it’s a lot more serious. You definitely want to be wearing the right coat when the temps dip below 0 Celsius, or wearing boots if there is a foot of snow outside.

To be caught unaware of these circumstances would be a mistake you wouldn’t want to make again.

On the other hand, if you have a rare collection of baseball cards and don’t understand that card collection is a hot fad at the time, you will probably miss out on getting as much for those baseball cards as you could have.

I’m beginning to wonder if some people in real estate right now are not paying attention to the circumstances they are in. They’re not in tune with the signs of the times.

My son is looking to buy a condo right now. Some might say it’s not a good time, but sometimes your circumstances force the issue.

He’s looked at a lot of homes and has put offers on a few. What he’s finding is the sellers all want more than what they are asking. 

I don’t blame the sellers because who wouldn’t want to get more than your asking price? But the economic circumstances we find ourselves in right now might not accommodate that kind of thinking or selling practice.

Some sellers set a price but don’t want to settle for anything less than way over what they are asking. Then there are other sellers who set a low asking price and take bids on a certain day. They are hoping for a bidding war that will drive up the price of what they get. 

However, we don’t live in that world right now. That’s not reality.

Twice now my son has placed the best offer on one of these bidding listings. Once he was the best offer between a whopping total of two bids. The other time he was the only bid. He didn’t get either one of the homes. And because what the owners really wanted was a figure far above the asking price. 

It seems that some real estate agents and their clients still believe the circumstances are like they were during covid.

The other night ended with two unhappy groups and a lot of wasted energy, hope and expectation.  

You have to know your circumstances.

Here’s the thing: We can see the world struggling environmentally, struggling to find peace between countries, struggling to solve world economic and health concerns through a one-size-fits-all controlled system.

Thousands of years ago the Bible predicted it all, but also gave a hope in the midst of it all. That hope is Jesus Christ and, by having our faith in Him, no matter what happens to this world we can share eternity with Him in heaven. Be aware of the circumstances and act appropriately.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What circumstances have you been ignoring lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I May Have Left It Too Late Again

I looked out the window this morning and thought, “I may have left it too late”.

I may have left it too late again

I wanted to cut my grass one more time this fall. I don’t like it being too long through the winter. 

Today is a bright, sunny day and, though the temperatures are a little lower than what I’d like, it would be a good day to cut the grass.

However, there is one problem with that plan: we have leaves all over our lawn. My idea of one more quick cut before the snow flies is a good one, but first I’ll have to spend an hour vacuuming up the dead leaves.

If I had done it two weeks ago there would have been very little clean up to do first and it would have been much warmer outside. But I kept saying to myself, “the front yard doesn’t really need it yet, even though the back yard could use the cut now”. 

Well, four days ago I noticed that the front yard could use a mow. The grass was looking a little fuzzy, like the hair on your head does just before you go get a haircut. 

The thing is for the last four days the weather has been a little overcast and rainy – not optimal for getting out there with my lawnmower. 

This morning, however, with how sunny it is, I’m considering doing the task. I realize that the longer I leave the leaf problem, it will only get worse since our tree still has about sixty percent of its leaves hanging on for dear life. Many haven’t even changed colour yet. 

But that extra work of getting rid of the leaves before I cut the grass is creating a dilemma of whether to cut or not. I’m wondering if I’ve missed my window. Maybe I should just let the grass go until spring.  

I remember when I was a kid and it was my turn to cut the grass in the backyard. The task would take an hour and a half; there was never a time I wanted to do it. I would look at the lawn and think, “maybe I’ll wait till tomorrow”. 

I always left it too late and then paid for it. I ended up spending two hours cutting the grass because it was so long. 

I hated that task, but when I left it too late, I hated it even more.

You would think that so many years later I would have learned my lesson and not put off the things I should do … but here I am, considering if I’ve left it too late. 

I think I have one more window today and tomorrow before it rains again. 

I have a few other things that I need to attend to first. … I hope in the spring I won’t be shaking my head and muttering that I left it too late again.

Here’s the thing: Often we have adequate time to get something done, accomplished or settled. But how quickly that time goes. Concerning your relationship with God, don’t make the mistake and think you have lots of time. Be sure you have a relationship with Jesus Christ now. You don’t want to miss your window and for eternity shake your head that you left it too late.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you most prone to leaving until it is too late? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Instructions – Are They Really For Everyone?

When assembling anything, following instructions is optional for some people and not for others.

instructions - are they really for everyone

I personally am one who likes to follow the instructions. 

I don’t want to be that guy who puts something together and has a handful of nuts and bolts left over. It looks like it’s finished, but will it work or will it fall apart? 

There are the companies that just use pictures for a manual and leave you a little confused. 

More than once while building a “KALLAX” or a “BILLY” from IKEA I had to take something apart because I had put the wrong piece in place.

I, for one, just want clear easy-to-follow instructions that guide me to the assembled product. 

Then there are those who you expect to be able to do things without instructions, like the person who maybe had built that product a hundred times and can do it in the dark, blindfolded with only one wrench. That guy is the expert.

We don’t expect the expert to follow the instructions. We expect him to just go at it and get the job done. 

I remember watching a friend do the Rubik’s cube back when it first came out. The guy could solve it in a matter of seconds. His hands flew as he spun the cube and made little adjustments. Then, all of a sudden, each side was all one colour. 

I was fascinated at his skill and knowledge. I had complete confidence in him to solve the cube in any state of mess.

We figure the experts know what they are doing and can do it without having to follow the instruction manual step by step. 

Well, this week we had to get a new stove for the cottage. It runs on propane and the range we got had to be converted from natural gas to propane.

I watched a bunch of YouTube instruction videos on how to make the conversion. But I decided that I didn’t want to take the chance of blowing Lily up while she was cooking spaghetti or something. 

I called in an expert, someone who is trained in working with gas. However, I think this person may not have done too many stove conversions before. 

I got a little nervous when she opened the manual and started reading it like I would have done. 

To be honest, I was not confident that she would be able to do the job until right near the end. 

But the expert was able to finish the job … even though it cost me more than it should have in labour. 

If she wasn’t an expert before, she is now. I guess it was a good thing we had the instructions for her to follow.

Here’s the thing: Most people go through life trying to figure out what their life is all about. Along the way they discover their skills and gifts, their passions and aptitudes. Some try to figure out the purpose of life and their purpose in it. We can try to figure that out on our own, but we have an instruction manual given to us that will guide us to it. It’s called the Bible, God’s instruction manual for us. I encourage you to use it. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How are you at following instructions? Do you welcome them or resist them? Leave your comments and questions below.

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The Neediest One In The Family May Be You

It takes a lot of wisdom to deal with the neediest one in the house … and someone can always claim that title.

the neediest one in the the family may be you

When two people get married, the title of “neediest” switches between the couple depending on the situation. 

But when that couple has their first child, that child becomes the neediest person in the family. Period. And that position doesn’t change until another little one enters the family. Then, of course, the new child becomes the neediest. 

There are the diapers, clean ups, feedings – it really doesn’t stop. Just making sure you have everything in the “go bag” is exhausting. 

Babies are dependent on their parents for everything … or, if you’re lucky, on the grandparents sometimes. 

Kids are needy. That’s a fact.

Children pretty much trade needy positions back and forth throughout their growing years.

Even when you reach the stage that they are no longer under your roof, that doesn’t mean one of them won’t be the neediest – one of them will. It just looks a little different and costs more … just kidding, well, maybe I’m not. 

Lily and I have been in this empty nest stage for many years and we have gotten very used to it. Sure, we were there to help our kids set up their first homes, making purchases, packing and unpacking boxes, renting vans, driving long distances.

However, the neediness of the persons in our family has steadily gone down over the years. 

Since I’ve retired, though, I’ve noticed Lily has become more needy. She somehow needs more help in the kitchen, help with laundry, help with cleaning and on it goes. 

But there is now a new neediest one in our home. And this guy is by far the neediest of them all. 

His name is Martin. You’d think that with a name like Martin he would be an engineer or a doctor or something. Martin is neither; he’s a dog. He’s a nice dog, but man is he needy.

For the last two weeks we have been dog-sitting for our daughter and son-in-law while they’ve been on vacation. 

Martin is a well-behaved dog, but he is also a rescue dog which brings a whole other level of neediness to the situation. 

This guy needs petting and loving 24/7. And we found out early that if you give him all the attention he wants, he becomes demanding about it. 

We’ve had to back off a bit. 

But still, he is by far the neediest one in the family now. 

He’s shedding so much that Lily’s got the vacuum on high alert. He needs walks every day, food and treats. But since he can’t get food out of the cupboard, we even have to set his food down for him.

The little fellow runs like a gazelle and wants to be chased in the backyard every time we let him out. 

Oh, and Martin even needs us to pick up after he does his thing. I didn’t sign up for that part. 

We love the guy, but he sure is needy – the neediest one in the family.

I don’t see it changing any time soon.

Here’s the thing: We all have long lists of things we need and want. I wonder if God has the same thoughts about me as I have about Martin: “I love you, man, but you are the neediest guy I know.” Thankfully, God expects us to depend on Him, to need Him. If we think we don’t need God, then we foolishly have placed ourselves in the position of God in our lives. Since we obviously can not secure our own forgiveness or eternity, being needy is a good position to be in. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to depend on God for? Leave your comments and questions below.

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The Least Possible Will Not Meet The Requirements

Sometimes we do the least possible to meet the requirements or demands. 

the least possible will not meet the requirements

Some people are more prone to this than others, but inside all of us there is probably an area of our lives where we do the bare minimum. 

I remember a time when our son was in a church kids’ program where the kids got rewarded for memorizing Bible verses. Each week he sat down with an adult to recite the verse or verses he’d learned that week.

One evening I was helping him with his verses. He was learning the verse but before he had really mastered it, he said to me, “That’s good, Dad.”

I commented, “What do you mean, ‘that’s good’? You don’t know the verse well enough yet.” 

His reply was immediate: “Well, I make sure I tell my verse to so-and-so and she likes me. I get three helps and I can do it with three helps.” 

“Wow!”, was all I could come up with.

My son knew what it would take to get his reward and he was not going to do any more than that.

He’s not the only one. We all have propensity to do the minimum to get or meet the grade, the requirement, the standard.

There have been instances when I had to present something at a meeting and hadn’t spent much time working on it. I looked at what I could present and, though it wasn’t complete, I was able to give enough information to bide me enough time to complete the assignment for the next meeting. 

I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there at one time or another. 

I guess what bugs me is not those isolated times where we are in a pinch and just need to get by. What bugs me are those who live their life by this code and, on a daily basis, will do the least possible to meet the requirements.

I think my garbage man is that kind of guy.

Each week we put our compost bin out to the curb. So often some of what I put out gets left behind. 

In the winter it’s not the end of the world because stuff stays frozen. But now that the warmer weather is here, that bin can get quite smelly because our compost consists solely of kitchen scraps. 

It’s just Lily and I at home so we usually only have a couple of small bags in our compost bin. I couldn’t figure out how the guy could not get it all each week. They have hooks on their trucks to turn those bins upside down and dump everything out of them.

But each week there is a bag left at the bottom of the bin. 

This week I watched the guy and now I know. 

He opened the lid, stuck his hand in the bin and took out the first bag he could reach. He would have needed a longer arm to get the bag at the bottom. … But it’s faster than using the truck’s hooks.

Technically he took the compost, but he didn’t get it all. He did the least possible.

Here’s the thing: There are some people who believe they can do the least possible with God. They might say, “I try to do good things”, or “I prayed a prayer”, or “I believe in Jesus”. But without following Christ with your whole heart, you are merely doing the least possible to meet the requirements. The thing is God knows it all; we don’t fool Him. Put your faith in Christ and follow Him with your whole heart. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Where have you been guilty of doing the least possible? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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