my thoughts

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I’m Not A Procrastinator

Some people are procrastinators. They work opposite to Nike’s motto of “Just do it” … But why?

Why do some people delay what they know they have to do? 

I should know the answer to that question because I am one of those people. I don’t procrastinate with everything, and I try to do it less and less, but I am a procrastinator.  

I prefer to call it “delayed action”. I know I have to do something; I just delay in doing it. 

For instance, yesterday I posted seven weeks of material to a website that I maintain. 

It took a while because there was minor editing to be done for each of the seven posts. I also had to gather three documents, and write a summary for each of the posts. 

I know why I delayed my action: I didn’t want to spend the time. It took a lot of time to edit and upload those seven posts. 

The reason I got behind, though, and the reason I procrastinated was that I had a problem with the first post that I wasn’t sure I could solve. As a result, each week I put my work off because that first post was still not ready. 

After seven weeks, I finally tried to solve the problem and it turned out not to be much of a problem at all. It was more in my head than anything else. 

And that is why some people procrastinate. They think the task is too big and so they don’t start, or they get into the task and come up against a seemingly big obstacle and so they stop. 

I have to write out thirty Christmas cards with different greetings in them. It’s something that I’m not looking forward to. 

I want to delay my action on the task because it seems like it will take too long. It will cut into the other things I want to do today.

The truth is, when I actually sit down and write out those cards, that task will cut into anything I want to do.

But again, at the source of the delay is a problem I don’t want to solve. The problem is figuring out what I will write in all those cards. 

People who procrastinate somehow see a problem that is insurmountable. They also don’t take much time to think about the problem. 

If they took the time to investigate the problem, they would often find that the problem is not that big of a deal. There is a simple or easy solution to most problems. 

But, for the procrastinator, any problem or potential problem seems like a major road block … and so the work halts.

Often the work has to get done, so it doesn’t halt indefinitely. At some point – like with my posts to the web – one has to buckle down and get at it. 

That’s when the procrastinator declares, “I work better under pressure.” 

Not true. … The person who delays action just has a phobia towards problems. 

Here’s the thing: There is a problem we all have and that is sin. Sin is anything that misses God’s desired will for you. Do we deal with it or do we ignore it? That problem leaves us all at the doorstep of delayed action. The thing is sin doesn’t go away and it will have to be dealt with. In fact, Christ dealt with it already on the cross. Your job then is to confess and repent of it. And my advice is don’t procrastinate. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you tend to delay action on? Leave your comments below.

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I Think My Actions Changed The Weather

I sometimes wonder if our actions can actually change the weather. 

You see, right now we should probably have snow on the ground here in Kingston, but instead we have green grass … oh, and a touch of frost this morning. 

So far it’s been an interesting fall, with a lot of rain and more overcast days than I can could. … I was told that in October we only had three days of sun. 

Snow came early out west; there is lots of it in Ottawa … but we have none. 

I think it’s because I finally got winter tires. 

We got a new vehicle a couple of years ago and the tires were good, so I never purchased winter treads. 

But this year, my tires are a little more worn and, on a trip up north, they proved to be really bad in the snow. 

But since I got the new winter tires put on my SUV, there has been no need for them whatsoever. 

It’s like when you buy a new winter coat that you’re dying to wear. It’s impressive and you want to impress, but the temperatures stay high. You force the coat into action anyways even though it’s way too mild. You look like a fool and also learn that your new coat can act as a sauna as well as winter apparel. 

Can purchasing tires or a new winter coat really prevent the weather that is required to put them into action? 

I can’t say for sure, but it happens so often … as much as the weather man gets his predictions wrong. 

Now, I know I’m not the only one buying new tires, and there are people buying tires in snow-ridden places. I’m just saying that it’s uncanny how this works out for me. 

I know the snow is coming and really a major part of me is quite willing to delay the inevitable as much as possible. But I’d kind of like to know how these tires do in the snow. Will I be slipping and sliding around with them or will my vehicle be just as stable as if on dry asphalt?

It sure would be nice to be able to change the weather by my actions. It might be expensive, however. 

What else would I have to buy? 

Oh, I know! – a snowblower! I’ve wanted one of those for years, but my wife, Lily, keeps telling me we don’t need one. 

I can imagine if we got a snowblower in the next week that we wouldn’t see any white stuff on the driveway until after Christmas. 

I could also buy winter boots, and I could use some new winter gloves. 

I realize we are going to eventually get winter. I also don’t want to push winter into spring with a whole loft of purchases. That would not be good at all. 

… I’m not superstitious – really. I’m just making some observations about things that don’t happen when I prepare for them in some way. 

Here’s the thing:  Your actions can’t actually change the weather, but your actions can change someone. A smile, a word, a gift, an example can change a person’s day. Your consistent testimony can change a person’s destiny if they are drawn to the Father God by your actions. Be a light to others. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What would you like to change with your actions? Leave your comments below.

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I Lost Something Precious

Have you ever lost something that was precious to you, only to realize you could live without it?

It happens a lot and in many different areas of our lives.

Years ago I had a watch that I got from my dad. It was a Rolex so it was worth a little bit. My dad wasn’t wearing it and it wasn’t working, so I took the back cover off and cleaned it up.

The insides of that watch looked much different than your run-of-the-mill watch. It was all shiny and had a couple of jewels in it. I put it back together and amazingly it worked. 

Since my dad wasn’t used to wearing watches, he didn’t seem to mind letting his teenage son wear it. 

I had that watch for about three years. 

Then just before a camping weekend with my friends, I thought maybe I should get a new watch band because the band was starting to wear out. 

But I never got it, and the first night of the camping trip I lost the watch. 

I looked forever for it, and that weekend learned the truth that the big outdoors is pretty big. 

Though I was upset with losing that watch, now it means very little to me. I’m way past missing that hand-me-down from my dad.

We can also lose a friend. We can be very close to someone, but then distance and time cause that friendship to wain, and not be as important to us as it once was. 

We can lose friends through death. Where once they were part of our lives, and we saw them frequently, enjoyed their conversations, humour, help, and company, suddenly they are gone – people who were precious to us are no longer with us. 

This weekend we said goodbye to someone like that. 

Colin had been an integral part of our church since I arrived 22 years ago. When I look around the church I see his handiwork in so many places. 

It’s a real loss, but I know that, in time, the loss will be eased. I’ve experienced it many times in my life. 

You can also lose a friend through a disagreement. Maybe you were hurt or felt betrayed and the friendship is lost. 

It’s possible to remain friendly but, for all intents and purposes, you or they don’t feel the same, and you’ve lost that friendship. … That might be the saddest loss of all, because the friendship is still there just beyond your grasp. You can see it, but that friendship remains lost until the hurt or betrayal is dealt with –  and that takes two willing people who desperately want to hold on to something precious and not lose it. 

Here’s the thing: God is your friend if you have put your faith in His son, Jesus. To God that friendship is not something He wants to lose. But you could lose interest if you let other things in your life become more of an interest to you. You could let wrongs build up between you so that you try to avoid God, causing you to lose something that is right in your grasp if you don’t deal with those wrongs. God has already agreed to make things right. Confess your sin regularly and keep what is most precious.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What friendship have you lost, and what can you do to get it back? Leave your comments below.

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Your Greed Will Get You Every Time

We are all a little greedy at times; it shows up in many areas of our lives. 

We look at a buffet and heap our plates full, only to leave some uneaten at the end. 

Well, not always … if we don’t leave food on the plate, we often need someone to roll us out of the restaurant because we ate way more than we should have. 

One time when we were at Disney World in Florida, our son, Mike, saw people walking around chowing down on turkey legs and he wanted one, too.

He was 9 years old at the time and the turkey leg was about half his size. He still thought he could eat it. Not a chance! Before we threw it out, Lily, his sister, Karlie, and I all pecked away at it just to eat enough to justify throwing the rest out. 

I’ve also seen greed a million times playing hockey. A player will hold onto the puck too long before he passes or will try to stickhandle around one more guy. Every time the pass gets intercepted or he loses the puck. 

His greed keeps him from making the play.

The other day, however, I heard the greatest example of greed in years, even though this person’s greed was camouflaged as being unlucky.

While driving in my car, the radio station I was listening to had a game going on. The caller would tell the DJ where to cast a fishing line and you would hear the line go out and plop in the water. You would hear a reeling sound and then the announcement of what the caller won. 

Before this one caller made her cast, she told the DJ she was really unlucky. But after her first cast, she won $140. 

Now, I think that if you were an unlucky person, you would respond with, “I just got $140 for free. Thanks, I’ll take it.” 

But this unlucky person didn’t do that. She said, “I’ll cast again.” And there was no hesitation; she didn’t even have to think about it.

Cast two went out and, unbelievably, she won $150.  

For sure I thought she would take her money – after all, she was unlucky. 

Nope! Without blinking her eyes – and believe me, even over radio I could tell she didn’t blink – she said, “I’ll cast again.”

And this time she caught nothing. She lost it all.

And you just know what she thought after she hung up. She thought, “I was right; I’m unlucky.” 

No, you’re not, lady. You are, first of all, foolish … I’d like to say “stupid”, but my wife tells me I shouldn’t use that word. 

Second of all, lady, you are greedy. 

That lady was lucky. Out of all the people who called in to the radio station, she got through. Then she made money on her first cast and made more money on her second cast. 

That’s luck. But her greed overpowered her luck.

We all have that urge to get a little more than what is in our hand. Recognize when you get the urge and don’t be greedy.

Here’s the thing: Many people want to squeeze all they can out of life. They want to do it all before they give their lives to God. Don’t be greedy with your life, thinking you want a little more before you ask for forgiveness, or you want to wait just until … and then you will ask God to forgive you and be the boss of your life. Don’t be greedy; get right with God now. You never know when your game will be over.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find you are greedy with? Leave your comments below.

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When Your Batteries Need Recharging

I don’t think we could live without batteries, so why are they still so frustrating?

Batteries should last longer than they do. With all the advancements we have made, surely we could improve their longevity. 

… Mind you, parents might wish batteries had shorter charges so the annoying toys they bought their children for their birthdays would stop working. 

Well, too bad for those parents; their kids will grow out of them eventually. 

Some things have changed for the better. 

I remember I used to lose all my work if my computer battery died when I was working on a document and I had forgotten to save it.

Computers are better now. They have residual life that continues to provide a minimal amount of power to the computer even though the computer shuts down. They also save as they go to compensate for finicky batteries and user forgetfulness.

At least you no longer have to worry about losing everything you’ve typed since your last save. 

But still some batteries don’t work that way. I lost my bike computer when it was running. When I later found it, the battery was completely drained. I lost all the data from that bike ride. 

Now, even though the battery is charged, it won’t record certain bits of data. It will show me my speed, but won’t track my distance or average speed … and it won’t save any data.  

What’s with that?

If the battery on my drone dies, or gets turned off before I stop recording video, I lose all the video I shot. 

Come on! Why can’t we have some continuous save or residual power even when it’s turned off to protect the camera data?

And don’t get me started about battery memory! I’m paranoid about using my batteries until they’re almost dead before I recharge them. 

You should be able to recharge all batteries at any point without the fear of losing battery life if the battery has not been almost completely depleted before being recharged.

With many batteries, if you charge them when they have twenty-five percent life left, the battery will only give you seventy-five percent of battery life after that. 

Some say most batteries don’t have memories, but those people work for the battery companies. … It’s a conspiracy to keep us dependent on the pink bunny.

But hold the phone! With some batteries, you shouldn’t run them down under four percent because then they won’t recharge any more. … I now have a few fairly new batteries that are only good for putting in kids’ toys that you don’t really want to work.  

I know we can’t expect the same kind of experience as plugging into a power source, but in this day and age we should be able to have better standards and longer life.

Here’s the thing: Many of us live our lives to the fullest. We drain our batteries every day and often don’t recharge long enough to get to our full capacity. We think we can keep on going, and that the need for rest is slowing us down. But when God finished creating the world, He rested and declared that day holy – a Sabbath. We would do well to use the Sabbath for what it was made for – to recharge our batteries and honour God. We have made many advancements in our lives, but we still need rest, both physically and for our souls. Find your rest in Christ. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you take a Sabbath each week? Leave your comments below.

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What Dreams Are Made Of

I think I know what dreams are made of. 

There are many people who try to tell us what dreams are made of, but they just want to sell us something. There are countless companies who have exploited dreams to get people to spend money. 

Vacation destinations and travel agents are masters at promoting pictures and videos of beaches and sunsets, food and accommodations that draw you into the dream of being right there. 

And many people find their dream there. 

Then there’s the jewelry industry. They probably exploit the idea of a dream more than any other industry. 

They sell the dream of a relationship.

They show their products being given and worn, and do it in such a magical way. Then men try to recreate the dream as they reveal a diamond ring or a necklace to the one they love, or hope to marry. Women see the whole dream, beginning to end, as they first gaze at that piece of glassy stone. 

A lot of money has been made on dreams. 

But there are other dreams that don’t get us to spend money. They just scare us, or frustrate us or give us a warm feeling. Those are the dreams we have just before we wake up. 

Some say that they are made up of what we experienced the night before. If we saw a scary movie, we might dream about something that is frightening. If we’re in the middle of something that’s not finished, our dream may be about something frustrating, like not being able to catch someone. 

I don’t know about you, but I very rarely remember my dreams. By the time I wake up, I’ve forgotten what it was that was going through my mind. I’m only left with the feeling of frustration. 

My wife, Lily, however, often has dreams and they really bother her when she wakes up. She doesn’t like to talk about them because when she does that, it just sets them more in her mind. 

She usually blames me for watching something on TV the night before that put the stimulus in her head that freaked her out in the morning. But I’ve proved that to be wrong. 

The last time she had a scary dream, she had watched some romantic movie the night before that she had wanted to see. I took absolutely no responsibility for the movie choice or the dream that followed in the morning. 

But I know what dreams are really made of: dreams are a combination of thought and emotion. 

When you combine a thought with a strong emotion, you get a dream. That dream could be the kind that wakes you up, or the kind you have when you are awake that drives you to spend money, or give your life to.  

A dream starts with a thought, and as you ponder that thought, feelings become attached to it and become a passion. 

The result is a dream that will not leave you, but move you to pursue it. 

Here’s the thing: God places thoughts in our minds. The tiniest thoughts may be easy to dismiss, for fear that if we ponder them, they may stay with us. But if you will give that thought some time to get attached to emotion, it will develop into something you may want to pursue. It is true for those God is drawing into His family and for those God wants to serve Him in some capacity. So don’t dismiss that thought; ponder it. It may be that God is giving you a dream of the future. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What thought do you need to ponder a little more? Leave your comments below.

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I’m Old But Not Feeling It

I have heard it said that you’re only as old as you feel, but an occasional reality check pops that dream bubble every time.

I was recently speaking with someone about getting old and told the person how my grandmother lived until she was 99, broke her hip, had it replaced and passed away in her sleep about a week or so later. 

That happened 35 years ago. My grandmother would have been 134 right now if she was still alive. I was 27 at the time. 

Needless to say, I never knew my grandmother when she didn’t seem really old. It was normal for me that my grandmother was old. Grandmothers are supposed to be old. And no matter how old or young a grandmother actually is, to a kid she is old.

Then I thought about my dad. When he was my age, he never would have participated in the sports that I do now. So, in a sense, I’m kind of younger than my dad was when he was my age … which is a nice thought to have. 

But then the reality check …

I was in a hockey dressing room, having just finished playing. The room was filled with a cross section of guys – there were a couple of teens, a few in their 30’s and someone in his 40’s. There was another guy who was at least over 50 … and then there was me. 

I was the elder statesmen in that dressing room, but that was not the reality check for me. I still felt like one of them.

The reality check came when one of the guys who’s in his late 40’s started talking about a guy who had gone to his high school. While he was retelling the story, he mentioned that he had been in high school from 1985-1989. 

That first date stuck out to me, and I started to think. 

I looked over at him. He didn’t look like a young man. I knew he had a couple of children who were finished high school. 

I stared in his general direction as I came to the realization: 1985 was the year I started as a youth pastor; I was 29 at the time. 

I kind of squinted to picture him as a high school student, but I couldn’t.  

“You could have been in my youth group when you were in high school,” I said.

It didn’t phase him. He started to tell me about the youth group he went to, but I was stuck on the fact that this middle-aged guy was a teenager when I worked with youth. 

I was stunned, shocked and the reality of my age hit me – I’m old! … Fortunately, right then my back didn’t start hurting. 

And then I had this other thought: all those students who I had in my youth group way back when are old now, too. Haha … I may be old, but that’s funny!

Here’s the thing: In my devotions I read about how God’s pattern with us is always the same. The pattern is “out”, “through”, “in”. God brings us out of bondage, through the desert and into the promised land. So, at your age, where are you in that pattern? Make sure you get “out” by placing your faith in Christ, but then don’t stall going “through” the desert – many of the old souls died there. It is easy to grow old and never make it all the way through the desert. Read Deuteronomy 8:2 and seek God on what you need to get “in” to what God has planned for you. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need most to get through the desert? Leave your comments below.

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Contrasts and Comparisons

There are some contrasts that automatically illicit a comparison.

The other day when I was talking with friend in Calgary, he mentioned that overnight they had gotten their first snowfall. It left just a light dusting over the ground and probably by midday would be all gone. 

But this was September 14th, and it made me feel kind of sad for him. In fact, I felt so bad about that snow report that I couldn’t bring myself to tell him what the weather was like in eastern Canada. 

It was 9:30 in the morning and the sun was shining in my window. It was 24°C outside, but felt closer to 30° with the humidity. I had the air conditioner on in my office.

Then he told me it would probably get up to 6 or 7° that day. I just couldn’t rub it in.

I felt for a moment like I was in Florida and it was the middle of February or something. I almost mistook the evergreen tree out my window for a palm tree.

The contrast was just way too much for me to say anything. 

Besides, it’s September and the cold weather will be coming to us soon enough. I just didn’t want to jinx what we were experiencing here in Kingston.

Yes, I know that sounds superstitious, and I know there is nothing to it. 

… But when my hockey team is winning 3-0 near the end of the game, I don’t say the word “shutout” until the game is over … I’m just say’n.

It’s not like I turn my ball cap around backwards, or flip up the brim when my baseball team starts a comeback. 

… Oh wait, I have done that … never mind.

Relax, I really do know there is nothing to all that.

It was still impossible to avoid comparing my region’s temperature with his.

The contrast in weather in different parts of the country only really makes a difference when you know someone in that part of the country. Then you compare. 

I compare the weather I’m experiencing in Kingston to what my son and daughter are experiencing in Toronto. 

And I do the same with Lily’s family in Ottawa. 

I even compare the weather when I’m at our cottage with the weather back home in Kingston. 

I always feel better when it is nicer where I am than in another region. But that doesn’t mean I have to gloat or make someone feel bad for experiencing poorer weather than me. 

I don’t have to verbalized a comparison of the contrast. They might be perfectly fine with the weather they are experiencing. 

I could tell my friend was embracing his weather. And that was another good reason for me not to burst his bubble with my +19° difference.

It’s all good.

Here’s the thing: It’s almost impossible to not make a comparison of contrasts. And if the contrast has to do with a spiritual condition, there’s often an immediate and natural reaction of feeling better than them. But remember, if it wasn’t for Christ in your life, you would be where they are. Let that thought stop you from comparing and cause you to put yourself in their shoes. After all, you’ve been there. Then respond to them without comparing. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you been comparing lately? Leave your comments below.

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Can You Really Love Enough?

According to Hughie Lewis, “Love is a Curious Thing” – that was the title of one of his songs from the 80’s.  

But love is also complicated. 

Last week when I was writing my sermon, I was struck by an aspect of love in a fresh way: When you love someone, that love must grow or it will die. 

In other words, if you don’t continue loving more, you will end up loving less and less. 

Love decays if left unattended.

That is true with everything in this world. 

You leave metal out … it rusts. You leave grass alone … it gets full of weeds. You leave food out … it goes bad. You leave a pond without any water flow or some kind of filter … it gets stagnant. 

Pretty much everything decays, rots, or spoils if you don’t treat it, take care of it, or help it along in some way. 

There is plastic, however … it seems to last and last and never go away. Landfills are full of it; the oceans have flotillas of it. But even with plastic, scientists are finding that if you leave a plastic bottle of water in a warm environment long enough, it will produce cancer-causing molecules in the water. 

Nothing stays the same. 

Mountains erode; natural disasters get more disastrous. Why would we ever think that love can just stay the same, that it doesn’t change? 

There is an old joke about a couple who went to see a marriage counsellor. The wife complained that her husband never told her that he loved her. The man replied, “I told her I loved her on our wedding day and, if anything changes, I will let her know.” 

Unfortunately, that’s not true. Your love can’t stay the same; it will either increase or it will decrease.

When a couple gets married, they can look in each other’s eyes and say, “I love you with all my heart” and it’s true. 

But after a few years, that couple has shared many experiences – some really good ones and some not so good. 

If knowing each other more through those experiences doesn’t cause each one to increase their love for the other, it will produce a decrease. 

The more you know, the more you have to love or you will love less because you now know more. 

Perhaps we have so many marriages that end in divorce because people are still loving their spouses with the same amount of love they did when they got married – only that’s not enough love to hold a couple together after a few years. They need to love more.

For love to increase in the wake of experience, you have to embrace the good and you have to deal with the bad. 

You must determine to expand your love, nurture it, care for it, and constantly attend to it. 

You can’t love enough. There is always more.

Here’s the thing: If you recognize that God loves you, and sent Jesus to save you from hell, and your reaction to that is to love God in return, that is truly a great thing. But unless you love God more than the day you gave your heart to Him, you will love Him less. As you get to know Him more and experience more with Him, you have to love Him more, or you will love Him less. It’s that simple; love doesn’t stay the same. You can’t love enough. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How are you going to love God more? Leave your comments below.

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I Just Couldn’t Find it

This article was originally posted in 2012. 

Have you ever looked for something that you were certain of its location, but still couldn’t find it?  Don’t those times drive you insane?  

I find myself living out the definition of insanity, “doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.”  We probably all do that at times.

You either dig around in a drawer or a room, searching the same spots over and over,  hoping to find what you are looking for.  

You start talking to yourself, your blood pressure rises, you get angry with yourself, and then at the thing you’re looking for, until you don’t even want it anymore.  In fact, you hate it now, but you just HAVE to find it!

We’ve all been there; it’s not a pretty sight.  Your family starts out sympathetic, even helpful, but as you start to get frustrated, they start to vacate the area.  

As you start to sound like Gollum (from the Lord of the Rings), your family members look for things to do, errands to run, other places to be.

The other day, while preparing my sermon, I had three illustrations I wanted to use: one was a personal story, and the two others came from books.  I could remember some of the details for one of the illustrations, and even remember the book I had read it in.  

I had seen the title of the book the day before on one of my shelves, so I went directly there.  With the book in hand, I sat down at my desk and started looking for the story.

I looked at the beginning of each chapter because often times they started with a story.  That didn’t help.  I looked at the chapter titles to see if any of them would ring a bell.  

I was sure the story was in this book, but I wasn’t having any luck finding it. 

I was getting a little frustrated and I lost my confidence that I was even searching the correct book.  I got another book out by the same author and started looking through it, even though I didn’t think it was in there.  

Then I turned to the internet.  I googled the gist of the story with the author’s name.  I had to change my search three times before I got some results that seemed promising.  I looked at several hits but none of them were helpful.  

Then I discovered a document someone posted referencing the story.  Finally some hope.

The bad news was the document didn’t have the story details.  The good news was it confirmed that the story was, in fact, in the original book I had been looking in.  So I set to work to find the story.  I started at the back of the book this time.  I looked on pretty well every page for mention of it.  I finally found it . . . in the INTRODUCTION! 

Here’s the thing:  Sometimes I get all caught up in what I’m doing.  I know what to do, and it’s usually something small, within my power.  What I don’t do is ask God for help right away.  I fuss and stew instead of turning to the One who can guide me right to what I need.  Don’t wait until you’ve exhausted every avenue before you seek God, turn to him first. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question:  What have you learned from frustrating times like I described?  Leave your comment below.