bathroom

by

Being Picky Is Not Someone Else, It’s You

Being picky is not something that should characterize anyone. Everyone is picky about some things; I know I’m not the only one. 

being picky is not someone else, it's you

When it comes to food, some people might say that I am picky. 

My roots are from England and I guess, traditionally, the food there is not the most adventurous on the planet. 

I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t consider it a meal unless there is some kind of meat involved. When it comes to meals, I don’t like to venture out into things I don’t know. 

I like certain vegetables, but not others. I think this is where my wife, Lily, gets the idea that I’m picky. There are edible objects like squash, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts that I will not eat – they are nasty and why should I?

I’m not a fan of broccoli either, but I eat it because apparently it’s good for you. From the way it tastes, it shouldn’t be good for you, but I guess I’ll take their word for it. 

Because I won’t eat some of these excuses for vegetables, my wife condemns me for being picky. I’m not picky; there are many vegetables that I will willing eat and enjoy eating. I’m just selective.

The knock, though, is that I’m being picky and she is not. 

Lily may not be too picky when it comes to food … well, even that’s not true. She has an allergy to fish and seafood. She’s always asking at restaurants if they fry the chicken in the same oil as the fish. 

Honestly, I’m happy to give her a pass on that pickiness. I would like her around for a long time. 

But just this weekend her pickiness perked its ugly head. 

We need a new light fixture in our bathroom. The fixture looks great and is not that old, but one of the sockets has a short. Both of us are getting tired of getting ready in the morning in light that resembles a sunset, just after the sun has sunken below the horizon. 

Unfortunately we were busy this weekend and didn’t get to a hardware store to look for something new. 

Lily had to visit her mother today and, this being my day off, I told her I would go and buy a new light fixture. 

I could see the panic come over her face and then the word, “noooo”. 

Am I incapable of choosing and installing a light fixture in the bathroom without her? Not at all. But choosing one she likes? – that she doesn’t think I’m capable of. Why? 

Because she’s picky. 

Lily doesn’t think I can choose a light fixture that she would enjoy looking at for the next ten or more years. 

When I floated the idea by her last night, she dropped what she was doing and started looking online for a fixture she might like. 

Guess how many she found? None. That’s because she’s picky.

Here’s the thing: Every one of us can find something we are picky about. Even God is picky when it comes to whom He will welcome into His family. Only those who place their faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord are welcome. But here is the great news: every one of us can make ourselves acceptable to God by acknowledging Jesus’ sacrifice as being for us personally, and trusting in Him for our salvation.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you picky about? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one in your email inbox twice weekly.

by

Can Anyone Understand The Mind Of A Designer?

I have a serious problem with designers. It doesn’t matter what kind of designer they are or what they design, I don’t think they live in the real world.

picture-2

I picture designers sitting in front of a desk – no, they would probably be sprawled out on a floor or deck with pillows all around them and crazy, jazzy music playing in the background. They have a pad of paper and pen in hand, or a tablet or lap top, and they are drawing.

I would wager that most designers are looking at the sky when they do their designing. They watch the clouds go by and imagine that they’re new cars, or dresses, or sofas – or in my case, bathroom furniture – and then they start drawing.

We are redoing our ensuite this week and wanted to spruce it up with maybe a new vanity, mirror and light fixture. We originally had big plans of putting in a new shower, but our shower space is so small there is really nothing we can do that would be different than what we have.

Then there is this empty space, good-for-nothing kind of space. It’s a space that we would like to do something with but can’t find that something that would look right in that space.

Bathroom designers have all kinds of ideas. You can spend thousands of dollars getting your bathroom to look so co-ordinated and luxurious, that you’d want to spend more time in there than the normal time you have to spend in it getting ready for the day.

The problem is that designers have these great designs but nothing is fitting in our bathroom! And for some reason, no designer on the planet has even thought of designing something that would fit in the bathroom we have in our home!

It’s like those fashion designers. They design cloths for fashion shows and models to wear down the runway. But who’s buying that stuff?! A woman would be laughed out of the office if she showed up for work in one of those outfits.

At the bathroom store, they have all these displays that fit together so well, but they are not displayed in the confines of a bathroom that has walls and actual plumbing that pretty much dictates where certain things must be situated.

I’m learning a few things though: your mirror should be an inch in width shorter than both sides of your vanity and your light over the mirror should extend about the same length as the mirror (for long vanities, two light figures).

We have finally been able to make some decisions. It’s not the dream we had when we looked up in the sky and the saw a cloud formation that looked exactly like our bathroom. I think it will look good and it will be functional.

Now we just have to finish the spackling and painting. And that’s another thing … what designer ever came up with towel racks that were literally cemented onto your wall?!  Must have been a crazy, fast moving cloud that day, and he didn’t see it right.

Here’s the thing:  Sometimes we get an idea we think is from God. However, others don’t see it that way. It’s not working out that well; it’s just not fitting. Still, often we remain convinced that this idea, direction, decision is from God. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate, listen to counsel, and seek God further on the matter.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What project have you worked on that didn’t seem to come together as you had imagined? Leave your comment below.