apple watch

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It’s An Antique To Me But Nobody Would Notice

I feel like I’m wearing an antique and it is only seven years old.

it's an antique to me but nobody would notice

How in the world could something under ten years old be considered old at all? In the automobile industry a car has to be 20 years old to be considered a classic. 

Where I vacation every year they hold a vintage car show where the cars all park on the beach. You see cars from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Those machines are real antiques. 

People have put a lot of love into them and they look like they are brand new. The curves and lines on those vehicles are mesmerizing. But when you look inside you see how basic the dashboard and instrument panels are. 

An automobile can be called a classic after 20 years but, to become an antique, a car must be at least 45 years old. Then to be considered vintage, well, those cars were build between 1919 and 1930.  

At any rate, any of those classifications are far older than the tired, old thing I wear every day.

Antique furniture has an even stricter standard for old. To be considered an antique, a piece of furniture must be at least 100 years old. And most antique dealers consider vintage pieces to be 40 years or older.

So seven years is nothing, but that’s how old my watch is. Even in terms of watches, it’s not that old. … But it is an antique when it comes to smart watches. 

I have the first Apple Watch. It is so old that they didn’t even have a series number for it. I got my watch in 2015 but they didn’t start assigning series numbers to the watches until 2016. They have just started calling my Apple Watch series (0). 

And why would my watch be considered an antique? Well, first off they don’t make them anymore. You can’t buy a new one and they stopped upgrading the software for it in 2018. 

The Watch operating system (OS) that my Apple Watch runs on is 4.3.2 while the latest Apple Watch series 7 is running Watch OS 8.5.1.

You can see why my watch has been left in the dust. It’s vintage, a classic and you might even consider it an antique.

I realized how old fashioned my watch was this morning when I wanted to adjust my activities goals for the week. Every week my watch asks me what my goal is and it gives me a suggestion based on the activity I have done in the previous week. 

Truthfully, I’ve not done well at reaching my activity goals this week, so my watch suggested a lower goal for me than usual. I wanted to correct it but hit the wrong button. … To figure out how to change that goal took 15 minutes! 

Even vintage apple watches do it differently than mine. After some digging, I finally found out how to change the goal in some archive on the internet. 

It’s 7 years old and already a classic.

Here’s the thing: What has your relationship with God become? Hopefully it has matured into a sweet, beautiful, loving, cared for relationship – like a restored 1957 Chevy, or like a timeless Victorian armchair. The great thing is, if your relationship with God has become a little tired and worn, you can restore it to its full lustre with some time and attention. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to do a little work on? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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Walk A Mile With Me

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to walk a mile in another person’s shoes?

Well, let me tell you what it’s like to walk a mile in my shoes – actually 22 kilometres to be exact.

I should clarify that I used the stats from my wife’s Apple watch because somehow, even though we walked everywhere together, apparently I only walked 21.56 kilometres. … I’m not sure what’s up with that! 

We spent our last day in Rome taking tours – first was a walking tour of the Vatican. To be honest, it was not high on my priority list but I was glad we saw it. It was amazing. 

The Sistine Chapel paintings and St. Peter’s Basilica are true wonders of beauty and architecture … not to mention ingenuity to build on such a grand scale. 

As inspiring as that tour was, you have to know that Lily and I started our day at about 5 am. Because Lil is frugal, she thought a good brisk walk at 6 am in 4 degrees for 4 kilometres would be a good thing.

By the time we got to the tour line, I wasn’t cold anymore. We had hoofed those 4 k’s in about 45 minutes. 

After that first tour, we had some time before the next tour. And, of course, the second tour didn’t start at the Vatican, but about 3.5 kilometres from the Pope’s place.

We were a little tired and I needed to eat something since we hadn’t had breakfast. So we found a little spot I like to call McDonald’s.  

I know what you’re thinking: “What in the world are you doing eating at McDonald’s in Rome?!” Well, I need non-sweet, non-sugary food in my belly in the mornings, and most of the cafes had pastries and carbs that wouldn’t last me very long.

To redeem myself, from the Mickey D’s on our way towards our next destination, we stopped off at a cafe where Lil got a cappuccino and a pastry. It was good to sit down at those two spots because we still had a lot more walking to do that afternoon. 

Our next tour started at the Colosseum, which involved a lot of walking on its own. Then we headed over to the Roman Forum and spent some time there. 

Walking through the Forum was all down hill, but as they say in mountain biking, “every time you get a downhill, there will always be an uphill that follows”. At the end of the Forum, we climbed up a windy road to get some great pics looking down at the Forum from above.

We then walked to the Pantheon and it seemed like we passed a church or a fountain or a statue at every turn.

We finished our tour at the Piazza Navona which the guide said was too small for chariot races. … I bet she’s never seen the wagon races at the Calgary Stampede! … I’m sure they could have done chariots in the Piazza.

Finally, we were done … I mean, we were really done in. We found the closest restaurant and sat down. 

We closed out the day with a 3 km walk back to our hotel … tired of walking, but very satisfied.

Here’s the thing: We walked a long way that day – maybe you wouldn’t walk that far; maybe you would. We walked it for ourselves, for our own benefit. When Jesus came to walk on this earth, He walked for your benefit. So when you think of walking in someone else’s shoes, that’s what Jesus did, including dying for your sins … because that should have been part of your walk too. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you respond to someone walking in your shoes? Leave your comments below.

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I Did It Again

“I did it again!” These were the words that popped into my head this morning. 

Unfortunately, reading these words doesn’t give you the emotion with which I said them or thought them. 

… Years ago I was finishing my basement and had a door that needed to be trimmed so it wouldn’t get stuck on the carpet.

I didn’t have all the tools I needed so I used what was available to me. I used a keyhole saw to do the work. This saw had a thin blade that tapered to a point. But the blade was also very toothy, if you know what I mean.  

While sawing through the bottom of my door, the saw slipped out of the groove and sawed the base of my finger. 

It bled like crazy so we hurried down to the hospital to get it stitched. 

Five stitches later and three months later, I was working on a sliding door. Again I needed to cut down the panels which were made of fibre board. 

For this job I used a utility knife. As I was cutting the board along a ruled line, the knife slipped off the board and sliced the end of my finger.

The first words that came out of my mouth were, “I did it again!” Off I went down to the hospital to get another set of stitches, this time near the tip of the same finger.

Now you have an idea of the emotion in which I used the words, “I did it again!”

This morning I used those words, not because I cut my finger, but because I missed my move goal on my watch. 

I’ve written before about the three rings on my watch that I try to complete each day (read about that here). The move ring tracks how many calories I’ve burned in a day. 

Back in August of 2017 I had a streak of 231 days in a row until I missed the next day by only a few calories. 

I was just not paying attention. It really fried me because I was trying to go a whole year without missing my move goal.

Over the next few months I missed my daily goal every once in a while, but finally got on track until just a few days ago my streak was 286 days. 

It was all going well. 

I was traveling to Spain, however, and that concerned me. How would the time change affect completing all my rings? I would lose five hours on the flight. 

Well, when I got here, it seemed like everything was okay. I looked at my watch and, by the end of the day, I had all my rings completed. 

But this morning when I checked, all the times on my watch have been corrected to the time it is in Spain. And guess what?  

It shows my move goal was short on the day I travelled.  When I saw that I said to myself, “I DID IT AGAIN!”

Now you know how I’m feeling.

Here’s the thing: Have you ever had this same feeling and expressed the same sentiments as “I did it again” when you sin? It can be very upsetting when you give into temptation again. Thankfully, God is a forgiving God and you should be quick to seek His forgiveness. That forgiveness enables you to reset, move on and not get stuck in your sin.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to reset In your life and move on from? Leave your comments below.

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Goals Can Become Discouraging

Goals are good to have, but when you fail at a goal it’s not easy to get back on track – especially if you have to start over.

I have an Apple Watch which I use to track my fitness every day. I track how much I stand each day, the time I spend exercising each day, and how many calories I burn each day – that’s called my “move” goal. 

On August 28, 2017 I missed reaching my move goal for the day. 

That was no big deal in itself, but I had not missed a move goal in 231 days. I had really wanted to go 365 days in a row of making my daily move goal, and I had been well on my way. 

You can imagine how disappointed I was. (You can read about that here.)

The toughest thing to get my head around was that I had to start back at day one. I had to go 231 days just to get back to even. 

Well, I sputtered a bit. 

I went 68 days in a row and then blew it. I kept slipping up and having to start my streak over. 

On April 28th I missed my move again … but that was the last time I did. 

Just the other day, I beat my old streak of 231 days in a row of making my move goal! 

Now every day I set a new record. I’m back on track to reach that goal of mine to have 365 consecutive days of meeting my move goal. 

It took me eight months to get back to a consistency with my move. 

There is a chance every day that I might miss it. For instance, yesterday I had to drive to Toronto and back. That’s a long time sitting in a car.  

Every day now I have to be conscious of what I do so that I don’t slip up and have to start all over again. 

When I was a kid we would play four square at recess every day. 

It was so popular that there was a line up of kids waiting just to get into the first square. As kids would get knocked out of the squares, I would move closer to getting into the grid. 

When you got there, you didn’t want to leave. You were playing the game. It was exciting; you didn’t want to stop. 

But one false move and you went to the back of the line … and waited for your turn again. 

With my move goal, it seems like these past eight months I’ve been in line, waiting for my turn. 

But now I’m on the grid and I don’t want to get out of the action. Each day the pressure is on to keep making it. 

All I can do is keep moving and stay alert.

Here’s the thing: If you are a follower of Christ, you have a goal of pleasing Him every day. It gets discouraging if you consistently miss that goal. So try for consistency. There are two things you need to be aware of: First, when you miss, you are not out of the game. It might feel like you went to the back of the line, but you’re still playing. And second, be alert. It’s so much better when you are on the squares pleasing Him with your life and relationships. So watch out for things that could knock you off the grid.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find can get you off your game plan in pleasing God? Leave your comments below.

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I’m Finding I’m Having A Challenge With Change

I will be doing something this week I don’t like to do: change.

There are some things I like to change, and others I have no problem changing, but there are some things I will avoid changing at all costs.

Change is a curious thing. I have an Apple Watch with several very different bands. I like that; I like to be able to change my watch strap.

In fact, before I got my Apple Watch, I had a collection of watches in all shapes and sizes because I like to change them up.

I’m not sure I would have been all that excited about moving to a new watch if I couldn’t do something to change the look at least a little bit.

But when it comes to other things, like changing my email address, well, that’s a whole other matter.

I’ve had the same email address for 22 years, and been with the same internet company all that time.

But things are going to change here this week. We got a new internet service and TV package.

I really struggled to make the change because I didn’t want the hassle of informing everyone that they have to stop using my old email address and change to a new one.

The crazy thing is I don’t mind doing it for other people. I get those email messages that inform me that so-and-so’s email has now changed so please update my contact list.

I do it; I don’t have a problem with it, and it works fine.

But just thinking about changing mine, well, it creates a stress that is not rational but real.

It doesn’t make any sense, but I really don’t like the thought of changing it. I’m sure no one will be devastated that they can’t contact me if they forget to make the change in their address book … and possibly I could lose some contacts that are more like spam anyway.

That wouldn’t be so bad.

I just don’t like the thought of all that I have to do to make this change … even though I actually don’t have to do all that much.

But the thought of doing it seems a bit too much. It’s disruptive; it’s changing something that has been the same for a very long time.

It’s like changing out old hockey equipment. I hang on to the same equipment until I am forced to make the change.

Years ago I had a pair of long johns I would wear under my equipment. I had the same pair for so long that they had holes all over them.

I actually sewed them together, so that I could keep wearing them – that’s how crazy my aversion to change is!

With my email address change, the price tag was what eventually forced my hand.

We could save close to $50 per month by making this bundle change.

I just couldn’t justify my old email address being worth that much money.

And you know, just talking this all out right now has made the change seem a little more doable.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we can get stuck in a sin because we have a hard time with change. Sometimes we have a hard time moving forward in our relationship with God because it will mean change. Be careful that an irrational aversion to change doesn’t keep you from dealing with sin and moving closer to God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is something that God might be asking you to change? Leave your comments below.

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Oh, The Sweet Taste Of Victory

I can almost taste the victory – that’s the victory of completing the Apple watch fitness challenge.

I’m not sure if Apple thought that we weren’t using their watches to succeed at keeping up with our fitness goals or routines … maybe they just wanted to help us all be a little more motivated to get exercising at the beginning of the new year.

At any rate, they put out a challenge to Apple watch owners to complete their fitness rings every day for a week in January.

There are three fitness rings that the watch measures. One is standing. You complete this ring by standing a minimum of one minute per hour for 12 hours a day.

This sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? But if you work at a desk or sit in a car, or do both, those hours can easily tick away without you standing in every hour.

You have to be conscious of it and get out of your seat for at least a little bit each hour.

Then there is the move ring. This measures the calories you burn simply by moving about in your day. You don’t have to put out much effort at all to get this ring swirling, but it won’t budge if you are sitting down most of the day.

And then there is the exercise ring. This ring measures when your heart rate is elevated – not like in a stress-filled meeting, but by exerting yourself physically.

These three simple rings wind around my watch face, and this week I’ve completed all three rings for six days.

Tomorrow is the last day and I know I will be able to do it.

I haven’t set the bar too high, but it did require me most days to do specific workouts for at least 20 minutes. For me, it’s either I play hockey, or use my stationary bike and rowing machine to get my exercise in.

It wasn’t a cinch but it also wasn’t hard for me to accomplish. The trick was to be aware of what I needed and make sure the day didn’t slip away without me getting in those necessary, needed elements.

For example, I knew on Thursday that I had an evening meeting in which I would just be sitting. During that day I was mostly sitting as well.

But I did have a midday meeting outside the office and so I decided to also spend a half hour on my bike and rower to ensure I completed my exercise ring before my evening meeting.

So what’s the prize for all this? Do I win a new Apple watch or get a discount on a new Mac computer?

… It would be nice to win some free software or something.

Unfortunately, none of the above. All I get is an achievement award that shows up in an app on my phone.

It’s not much; it’s sort of like the online course I took at the end of the year. When I completed the work, I got to print out a completion certificate with my name on it.

Wow … it probably won’t get framed or put on the wall.

But along with the satisfaction of completing the challenge, there is the knowledge that a healthier body will enable me to live longer and with more energy. … Sweet victory!

Here’s the thing: Though there may not be any big wow’s for daily living for God, you do experience God working through you and you get to spend eternity with God in heaven. … Sweet victory!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find satisfaction in? Leave your comments below.

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This Watch Really Has Changed Everything

You know how you can get something new and think to yourself, “Hey, this changes everything”?

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Well, maybe you haven’t ever thought that, but Apple thought of it. In a recent advertising campaign, that was the slogan they used: “This changes everything”.

Well, about five months ago as a gift, I got an Apple watch. Since then it really has changed everything. Besides the fact that it will do everything short of cooking my breakfast in the morning, it really has changed my life.

It’s changed how I think through my day. I used to go through my day without a thought for my body. Then I got a step counter and I consciously considered how many steps I take in a day.

But that’s nothing! Since I got my watch, I’m thinking of how many calories I’m burning in a day, how often I’m standing during the day, and how much exercise I’m getting each day.

I used to feel good if I played hockey a couple of times a week. Now I’m trying to get thirty minutes of exercise in each day.

It would be nice, however, if the watch could shut my mouth in the evenings to liquorice or chocolate. But I’m figuring out that there’s a part that I have to play that’s more than just wearing the watch on my wrist.

Some people would call it deficiency; I call it first generation Apple watch … they’ll figure that out in future editions.

My watch has also changed how I use the stuff in my pockets. I don’t haul out my wallet or phone nearly as much anymore.

I answer texts by speaking into my watch (like I’m an FBI agent speaking into his hand). I get my points for purchases right from my watch; no more swiping a card. I even answer my phone like Dick Tracy used to do in the cartoons when I was a kid.

My watch has got me to be conscious of how much water I drink in a day. Now I know when I need to take a sip. As a result, there have been a few times where I’ve had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

They say we are 96% water … I may be approaching 97% on those nights. I think I’m a little waterlogged!

This watch has even changed how I play hockey. The other day I was on the ice, playing defence. The puck was at the other end of the rink when I suddenly remembered I wasn’t recording my on-ice exercise.

I took off my glove to set it, but as I looked down at my watch, I saw the puck go through my legs and heard some heavy breathing. I fumbled with my stick and dropped it. I had to control the puck with my feet, move it to a corner and then kick it over to a teammate.

I wasn’t that successful, but they didn’t score. When the puck cleared again, I hit the start button on my watch and everything was good.

Here’s the thing: Christ changed everything over 2000 years ago when He died on the cross for our sins. What we need to consider now is how have we changed our lives because of Him? He changed everything, but it really only changes everything for us when we accept the changes and implement them in our lives. Give yourself completely to Christ’s change.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When you look at your life, how has Christ changed everything for you? Leave  your comment below.