Christ

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The World Is Taking Notice Of Canada

The world has taken notice of Canada … again. Though Team Canada beat the USA in the World Hockey Championships preliminary round the other day, that’s not what the world has its eyes on.

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We have a fire raging in and around Fort McMurray and 80,000 people have been evacuated from that city. The pictures and videos are horrifying and spectacular all at the same time.

Scenes of cars driving on highways with 50-foot flames raging all around – unbelievable!

They’re like video clips from a disaster movie. I don’t particularly like disaster movies, and this fire is certainly something no one wants to see have a long run.

There are some who are concerned for all Canadians, however, these people don’t really have a good grasp of our nation’s geography.

The runaway fire is in one small region of the province of Alberta. Fort McMurray is about 2800 kilometres from Kingston, where I live… but that’s a straight distance; driving distance is over 4000 kilometres. I could almost drive to Miami, Florida and back again covering that distance.

So, for most of Canada, this fire isn’t lapping at its door. It is for the people of Fort Mac and its severity has people all over the world watching.

What they really should be interested in – what the world needs to focus on – is how the people of Alberta have rallied to support and help those who are fleeing their homes and city.

My former church, Beulah Alliance, has opened its doors and arms to those who have sought refuge in Edmonton, providing shelter, food, and basic needs. But that’s just one church.

Albertans everywhere are reaching out to their fellow citizens in an amazingly, generous fashion. I heard one company owner is even providing work in Edmonton for one of his Fort McMurray employees who has been evacuated there. That’s over 500 km’s from where he regularly works!

Story after story of acts of kindness keep being reported. As amazing as the images of this fire have been, it’s nowhere near as amazing as the tales people are telling of how good others have been to them.

The citizens of Fort Mac won’t forget this catastrophe, but they also won’t forget how they have been treated either.

I just hope the world sees more than the fire pictures. I hope they get to see the giving and the thankfulness as well. It’s the “we can help” attitude that I think is so inspiring. You don’t see that every day.

I guess it takes something like this disaster to bring out the best in people. And the world is seeing Canada at its best, even in the midst of the tragedy of an out-of-control forest fire.

By the way, Team Canada plays Belarus next. I wonder if the world is watching?

Here’s the thing: When tragedy strikes, what we look for is help. We are desperate for help; we are more readily accepting of help. Sure, our neighbours can lend a hand and our family and friends will be there with support. But there is no greater help available to us than that which God can provide. It makes sense to seek His help, to seek His presence in our dire straights. It even makes sense to seek Him when there is no tragedy, no disaster. He is always waiting to give us the support we need.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What could you do to help someone today? Leave your comment below.

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I’m Having A Difficult Time With A Home Project

I always find home projects to be more difficult than they should be. I think it has something to do with being handy … which I’m not.

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I can do things, but it always comes at a price to me.

The idea of completing something around the house is appealing, but the actual work never ends up being enjoyable.

I’ve spent time in emergency rooms; I’ve left projects half done for months; I’ve gotten myself completely frustrated to the point of smashing the project with whatever is in my hand at the moment.

Mostly what deflates me about projects is the time. Everything I do takes longer than I figure it should take.

There is always a wrinkle, a hitch, an exception, an unforeseen catastrophe that makes the project go way beyond the time I’ve estimated for it.

A couple of weeks ago I wanted to change the tires on my car. I was going on a trip and wanted to take my winter tires off and put my summer tires on.

… Not a big deal; I can do it in about thirty minutes.

I had a little time the night before I was leaving so I got to work. I jacked one wheel up and took the lug nuts off. When I went to take the tire off, it wouldn’t budge.

There was nothing holding the tire on, but it was glued to the hub!

Fortunately, I had this happen to me once before so I knew what to do. I started kicking the tire – not just tapping it with my foot – I was whaling on the tire with my heel as hard as I could!

The theory is, by kicking it, you create a vibration on the wheel so that it releases itself from the hub.

I went into action, but nothing. I got a rubber mallet, and still nothing. I looked at the time this was taking and realized it wasn’t worth it so I put the nuts back on the tire, lowered the jack and went on my trip the next day with my winter tires still on.

About a week later, after my trip, I decided I better try again. I started with the same tire and I got out all the equipment I thought I would need to work on it. To my surprise, It came off fairly easily.

I put the summer tire on in its place and moved to the next tire. Surely, it would not be stuck on as well.

Wrong! It was so frozen to the hub, though I pounded and pounded, and worked up a real sweat, the tire never budged.

I tried a different tire – same result. Nothing I did would loosen the tires so I could change them. I had to drive for a day with one summer tire and three winter tires.

I found videos on the internet that gave me solutions … they didn’t work.

My thirty minute project has now taken me a couple of hours and I’ve only changed one tire!

Today I’ll purchase a sledge hammer and see what that bad boy can do for me.

Here’s the thing: Time is often an issue for us because we try to do things without the right tools. Spiritually, we often struggle with things because we don’t go to the right source. Seek God first; let Him have what you’re struggling with.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find yourself struggling with right now? Leave your comment below.

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You Have More Connections Than You Know

I’ve met people who seem to have connections with everyone, but we’re all pretty connected. What I mean is we all know people who know others who we know.

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You don’t go too long before you bump into people you know, or who know someone you know. Every time Lily, my wife, goes shopping it seems she meets people she knows.

What is really amazing is finding you have a common connection with someone who lives on the other side of the country.

With travel being so easy and available, it’s hard not to find connections between people. Still,  it’s not like you can go up to someone who lives in California and say ‘I know a guy who lives in LA. Do you know him?”

We chuckle at that kind of thinking, but seriously, we can run into people in far away places and find that we have a connection …

On our trip to Mexico, I ran into high school friends at the airport. We live in different cities, been out of high school for 40 years, and have not consciously made contact or kept in touch over that time.

Yet there we were, flying on the same airline to the same destination, staying at the same resort for the same length of time. Wow, that was freaky!

Yet even more far out than that was a couple Lily and I met while waiting for a shuttle bus to take us from our resort to a nearby town to go shopping.

We were waiting for the shuttle when a couple came up to us and asked if we were going into Playa del Carmen. After we said yes, the husband asked where we were from.

I told him we were from Kingston, Ontario, and then to be polite to these total strangers, I asked where they were from.

Their reply was, “Edmonton, Alberta”, but then they corrected themselves by saying, “actually, we live in Sherwood Park”.

Since Lily and I had lived in Edmonton for eleven years, we told them we knew exactly where that was.

I mentioned that I had been a pastor at Beulah Alliance Church in Edmonton, and that we have a sister church, Sherwood Park Alliance Church, in their area. … Beulah and Sherwood Park are both large churches so I figured even if they didn’t go to church they might have heard of one or both of these churches.

Their response was very interesting. Their children attended the school that was associated with Sherwood Park Alliance.

To that I responded, “Oh, I think I used to know the principal of that school; I played soccer in college with him,” and then uttered his name.

Their eyes got all big and they said they knew him very well.

So there we were at a resort near Playa del Carmen, Mexico, by chance meeting people who lived on the other side of Canada from us, and we both knew the same person.

How’s that for a connection?

Here’s the thing: In life there are many connections just waiting to be uncovered. Spiritually, God wants to reveal His connection to us through His Son, Jesus. Don’t be shy about uncovering or developing that connection with Christ Jesus.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has been your most amazing connection with someone? Leave your comment below.

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I Would Like To Blame Someone For The Weather

We like to blame people when the weather is not as we would like it to be. When it’s rainy, and someone has just flown in from somewhere, we say he has brought the bad weather with him.

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We don’t blame cloud formations or weather streams from the north. We blame people … like the weather man. We wouldn’t be satisfied if the weather man was 100 percent accurate while we were experiencing frosty weather.

We would look for someone else to blame.

So here’s my problem … I just got home from a week in Mexico, where the temperature was about 30 Celsius day and night … and I’ve come home to single digit degrees! People here can’t blame me for the cool weather, but I’m sure looking for someone to get all snarly with.

Every morning it’s been minus one when I’ve gotten up and it takes most of the morning to rise above 5 Celsius.

I had a real frozen awakening my first day back in the office. I’m sure it was colder in my office than it was outside! Unfortunately, since I had turned the furnace off before I left on vacation, I really don’t have anyone to blame for my office temperature other than myself.

I haven’t checked the extended forecast because down south it was the same temperature all day every day, and I got used to walking around in a bathing suit.

It was nice … my wife, Lily, never once asked me what the weather was like outside. At home, when she is getting ready for the day, she always asks what the temperature is. Right now the answer is the same every day: cold.

When we got back, I had a sun tan. Actually, I singed myself a little playing beach volleyball a couple of days. But a day or two back in the land of “We the North” and I’m as pale as I was before I left.

I thought I might have a head start on a summer tan, but now I’m afraid I will have to start all over again.

I just can’t figure out who I can blame for this cold weather. Blaming “global warming” doesn’t really do it for me; it’s not personal. I want someone to feel bad, or at least feel like they are on the hook for the weather I’m experiencing.

I would blame our western provinces since our weather usually comes from there. But they’ve been experiencing some nice temperatures; they’re out.

I’m really at a loss of who I’m going to blame. I might have to resort to the guy who does the weather on Channel 11. I don’t like his attitude in giving us the forecast. I don’t watch him much, but why would I? … He’s responsible for the rotten weather we’re experiencing.

Here’s the thing: We like to put the blame for our sin somewhere else. We might think someone else enticed us, or that the devil is to blame, or that our circumstances are at fault. When we do that, however, we fail to take the proper responsibility for our own sin. Don’t blame others; take a firm look at your own contribution to sin. Then you will be ready to fully confess it before God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you tend to blame for the sin in your life? Leave your comment below.

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Make Time To Climb The Stairs

From time to time I republish posts I have written in the past. This is a repost of an article I wrote in April 2013

Does anybody like to climb stairs anymore? Has anybody ever liked to climb stairs? I’m just wondering because it seems like people try to avoid them if they can. 

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The other day, I was doing a hospital visit and my wife Lily was with me. As we got close to the elevator, she said, “We are not taking the stairs, are we?” I looked at her and replied, “You take the elevator and I’ll meet you on the 6th floor.”  

She answered that she didn’t want to climb the stairs because she was in high heels and a heavy coat. I’ve never climbed stairs in high heels before, but as I recall, my heels don’t normally hit the ground when I climb, so it should be a mute point. 

Lil isn’t a wuss so she took the stairs with me, but she was lagging behind a little. I would chock it up to those darn high heels but her huffing and puffing gave away that she was really just out of stair climbing shape.

For the last year or so I’ve been taking the stairs more often. It’s not because I like climbing stairs; it’s because it helps me get closer to my daily walking goal. And I’ve learned a few things in taking the stairs over the elevator:  

One thing I’ve learned is if you dislike crowds and being in close quarters with people, take the stairs – you’ll have the place to yourself! When I take the stairs at the hospital, 90% of the time I never encounter anyone else. The other 10% I just see hospital staff.  

If you want to sing or whistle while you get to your destination, take the stairs. Not only will no one hear you, the acoustics in the stairwell really make for a rich, full sound!  

If you need some quiet to think, take the stairs. The only sound you will hear is your own heavy breathing as you round the 5th floor.

I’m not petitioning for more people to take the stairs – I like to whistle undisturbed when I climb. I’m just saying there’s more to taking the stairs than giving you a heart attack.

There are some people who like to climb stairs. In Toronto, at the CN Tower, they’ve been running a fundraiser stair climb for 23 years. They get about 6,400 people walking up the 1,776 steps (that’s 144 flights!) every year. 

My daughter has made this climb the last two years, first doing it in just over 17 minutes and this year in under 16 minutes. I get out of breath just linking about it.

For the most part though, multi-floor buildings promote the use of elevators and escalators. The stairwells are usually in out-of-the-way places reserved for emergencies … and then good luck finding them! 

Of course, the older we get, the more we start looking for those elevators. I’ve heard that 70 year olds can spot an elevator at 60 paces, but still not be able to read what button to push without their glasses!  

I figure I’m not there yet, so I better keep using the stairs.

Here’s the thing: We gravitate to what’s fast and easy until that is all we can do. Becoming more like Christ takes time and work. If we’re always looking for the fast and easy, we may never look much like Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do the hard way just to not give in to the easy? Leave your comment below.

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The Other Side Of The Clouds

From time to time I will republish a post I have written in the past. This is a repost of an article I wrote in May 2015

On a recent plane trip, I became fascinated by two very different realms that exist in our world. There is the realm below the clouds and the realm above the clouds.

other side of the clouds

On the plane ride home from Calgary we flew above the clouds with the sun shining brightly all around and into the cabin of the plane. I noticed how some people shut their blinds so that they could sleep or to cut the glare on their TV screen while they watched a movie.

Looking out my window the sun was unhindered and I found myself squinting to shade my eyes as I looked out.

Below the plane was this white base that seemed firm and as I focused on it, in my mind I could envision a vast landscape of mountains and valleys. It was pure white, clean and bright, inviting.

On our descent, the clouds looked softer and billowy and certainly not solid like before.  They morphed into a wispy cottony substance as we enter them.

This particular day, the cloud cover was thick and it seemed that we traveled a long way to get through the clouds.  Everything out my window was grey and it resembled thick smoke when it is whipped up by the wind.

At one point, I thought, “How long are we going to be in these clouds?” I was surprised how thick they were.

When we finally got through, the scene was vastly different from above the clouds. Though it was only 1 pm, it looked like it was late in the evening.  The realm below the clouds was dark and grey, rainy and dull.  It was a complete contrast to the realm above the clouds.  The realm below was sun starved and I felt an immediate dip in my spirit.

Though this was the realm I live in, there was something about the realm above the clouds I wished was present.  Despite my familiarity with the terrain and the landscape, I had a longing for the bright warm and inviting sun.

So here’s my thought: When life seems rotten, when we’re down and things are going all wrong, internally we are in a realm much like I found myself in below the clouds.

In reality though, the sun is still shining – shining as bright as ever, providing warmth and light and goodness.  It just seems as if the sun is absent.

I envision the sun as God’s goodness and blessing shining on us.  For me to experience that once again, I turn to prayer.  I can’t break through my realm (through the clouds) to the realm above, but my prayers can.

Some times the clouds are thick and it seems to take a long time for my prayer to make it through them.  But that doesn’t mean God’s love isn’t shining down.  In the book of Daniel, he once wondered why it took so long for God to answer his prayer.

Look up Daniel 10:1-14. The angel tells Daniel his prayers were received right away but that he was delayed in responding, like there was a battle going on in the clouds.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we have to pray for a long time before we see a break in the clouds, and the sun shining again in our lives.  But what I need to remind myself of is that my prayers are received by God instantly, and regardless of how long it is before my prayers are answered, God’s love and grace is shining down on me as bright as ever – even when I can’t see it. And that’s good to know.

That’s Life!

Paul

What are your thoughts on delays in answered prayer?  Leave your comments below!

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My To-do’s Are Never Ending

Recently I had a to-do list that I was trying to work through – the only problem was that it kept expanding. For every item I crossed off the list, I added one or two more to it.

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When I have a list of things I have to do, there is no greater pleasure for me than to be able to check those items off the list when they are completed.

And to be honest, when I check something off a to-do list, I give it more than a check. When I make the list out by hand, on a piece of paper, I don’t usually put a check mark beside the item when I’ve done the task … I obliterate it from the paper!

It’s like I don’t want to be reminded of what it was that I’d just finished. I draw lines through it about a dozen times so that the best intelligence agent could not decipher what lies beneath the pen strokes.

But I find that I only use pen and paper when I’m in a time crunch and all the to-do’s need to be completed by a deadline. Otherwise, I use a task app which puts a nice little check beside each item and fades the type for a while before it totally disappears. The app is called “Nozbe” and it’s a great little task manager.

This week I’m in one of those time crunches and so out came the lined paper and a pen to scratch out my to-do’s.

The first day I made some progress … not as much as I’d hoped, but I was able to almost rip through the paper with my lines on a few of the tasks.

The next day didn’t turn out as well. I was able to obliterate two items from my list but had to add three more that also needed to be finished by the deadline.

One of the items came as a by-product of completing a task. It was one of those,”well I did this, which means now I have to do that” kind of thing.

Another task was something new that came up. It didn’t really matter; it all felt the same. My list was not getting smaller.

I was inclined to give up on the list all together and just do what came to mind until the deadline, but that would cause me greater grief in the end.

That’s the problem with to-do lists: they don’t end! There is always another thing that needs to be taken care of.

Right now I’m going through my list to determine if there are some things that can wait, and be completed after my deadline.

What would make me happiest is to know that I have gotten to the end of my to-do list. So before I add anything else to the list, I will destroy my current task sheet and start a new one … after my deadline.

Here’s the thing: We need a sense of completion with things, whether it is a to-do list or reading the Bible. When you have a goal in mind, I would suggest that you set up a reading plan and work to complete it before you start your next plan. That way your Bible reading won’t seem never-ending but will have a start and finish date. Then move on to the next plan.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you gain a sense of completion with your Bible reading? Leave your comment below.

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The Season Is Over!

It’s been a long season, but now, in mid April, thoughts are turning to new things suited for warmer temperatures.

That’s right, the hockey season has come to an end for me.

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You might think it’s the end because the NHL’s regular season is over and the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t make the playoffs again this year. … The only good thing about that is that none of the other Canadian teams made the playoffs either, so I’m not hearing the usual spring jokes about the Leafs hitting the golf course early.

The real reason hockey is over for me is that the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs were ousted from the playoffs tonight in the second round.

I’ve been the chaplain of the team for the last two years, so I’m pretty attached to this group. I’ve met with them weekly and attended most of their home games. I know how hard it is for them to be done after having such a great season.

As a team they set several records. They finished first in their conference and also had a decisive win in the opening series of the playoffs.

Now a few guys who have completed their junior careers will have to move on to new chapters in their lives.

In September it won’t be “pick up where we left off”, it will be “start all over and try to prove ourselves once again”.

For me, it’s no more chapels, no more trips down to the arena to chat, no more Friday night games, and no more pizza for the guys … well, at least until next season.

It was a long season but I was willing to go for another month or so. I’ll be out in Calgary in May and I understand the Memorial Cup is in Red Deer this year. I would have gladly driven the hour and a half from Cowtown to see the boys play if they had have made it.

Not now though. It’s all over. I’ll probably have a few more games of pick up hockey before I dry out my equipment for the year. And unlike some people in Canada who will not be watching the NHL playoffs, I will.

I don’t just watch hockey because I like a team; I like hockey, therefore I will watch it.

I just find this year a little tougher to let go than other years. I had such high hopes for the “Fronts”. I really care about those guys and I know they must be feeling pretty low.

I just hope I get a chance to say goodbye to them before they all disperse to their home towns. I’m so proud of them and all they accomplished this year. … Get your sights fixed on next year!

In a couple of weeks, I will be playing golf and mountain biking and this hockey season will be long behind everyone. We will move on; reset for the fall.

Here’s the thing: You can work really hard for a long time, and then stumble. In the moment, it seems like there is no way forward, that all is a loss. But the Lord is a forgiving God, and He longs for you to come to Him and reset your soul. Don’t stay discouraged; run to God and get moving on a new season.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to run to God for right now to get moving again? Leave your comment below.

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You Can Trust Your Memory

I don’t know about you, but I don’t always trust my memory. I find I more readily trust what I’ve written down or am able to look up somewhere.

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Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I don’t trust my mind with the information I gather. I feel I must write it down or I think I will forget it. The truth of the matter is I probably will forget it.

The process of writing something down seals it in my mind so that I don’t have to worry about using my mind to remember it at all.

But my mind is more powerful than I give it credit for. This week was proof of that …

I was in the research phase of sermon preparation, gathering information and gaining insight and understanding of the passage I would be preaching from on Sunday. I was recording this information, making notes on my computer.

At noon I stepped out for lunch and, when I came back, my computer was off. I hadn’t plugged it in and the battery had run down. My computer is six years old now so the battery doesn’t last as long as it used to.

I plugged it in and turned it on. Often in this case, the computer has just gone into a deep sleep, like a hibernation. It’s not really turned off, but it almost takes as long to boot back up as a fresh start up. The difference is all the programs are still open when it’s comes back on.

Not this time. I had to start up my computer and then open my programs again. When I did that I found I had lost all my notes.

It reminded me of the early days of computers when, if you didn’t save your document regularly and your computer crashed, you lost whatever you hadn’t saved.

I learned through many losses to save every time I paused from typing.

Now word processing apps save data automatically … but I don’t use a word processor to record my sermon notes.

I lost it all.

The great realization I made, however, was that I could remember a lot of the notes I had made.  The next day I was able to retype them and continue from there to make more notes.

I made triple the amount of notes I had typed the day before, but then had to leave for a meeting.

By the time I came back to my office, my computer had shut down again. And once again I lost all my notes.

Yes, everything! – the retyped notes from the day before and all the new notes I’d made in the morning.

On my third attempt to record my commentary, I made sure that I closed the program before I left my computer alone. Again I was amazed at how much research I remembered as I reentered my data for the third time.

The process of writing something out locks it into your mind more securely, which in turn allows you to trust your memory with that information.

Here’s the thing: Many people say they can’t memorize or remember scripture passages. You’ll find you are able to remember far more scripture if you write it out. If there is a passage you want to remember, write it out a few times, say it several times and you will find it sticks in your mind better than you thought it would.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your method for remembering scripture? Leave your comment below

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It’s Time To Look Back And Reminisce

Have you ever done something for a long time and then looked back and reminisced about it?

20th-anniversary

Well, I did that this week. On April 1st I celebrated 20 years as the pastor of my church. It sure seems like a milestone to me … and that’s no April Fool’s joke!

Nineteen years didn’t seem to be that big a deal, but twenty does. There is only one place in which I have lived longer, and that’s Toronto.

At 25 I left Toronto for school in Regina to be a youth pastor … with many questions and fears, but no other desire than to work my whole career with junior and senior high students.

Being five to seven years older than most of my freshmen class, however, I wasn’t so sure becoming a youth pastor at 29 would be something anyone else would think was a good idea.

All along the way though, my call continually reminded me that this was not something I had dreamed up for myself; it was God’s idea. Whenever I got to wondering about my future, there was always some confirmation that kept me going.

After getting to my first church, I didn’t think I was going to last there very long … the first two years were pretty tumultuous. Again God worked and I ended up being one of my senior pastor’s longest serving assistant pastors, and the longest lasting youth pastor he’d ever hired.

During my time there, I worked with over 25 pastoral staff, and over 30 office and secretarial staff. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave there after eleven years.

God once again was so clear in His direction, however, that I had to pursue a role as a senior pastor.

I remember being interviewed for the position at my present church, and at one point I was given an opportunity to ask some of the congregation how they saw the church in five years.

I will never forget the first answer someone gave. It was simply, “looking for another pastor”. I quickly responded to her by saying, “I hope not”.

Well, that was a long time ago, and I’m still here. I’m not sure, though, where the person is who made that comment.

I remember as a youth pastor when I was given opportunities to preach, I was always up really late the night before trying to finish my sermon. In those days I still had my full time work to do and had to squeeze sermon prep into an already busy schedule.

Still, coming to Kingston, I was concerned that I would be burning the midnight oil on Saturday nights, cramming hard to get that last illustration into my message. I was concerned enough to tell God I wouldn’t be able to do the job if that’s what would happen.

Now as I look back, there may have been a few times – but less than 5 in 20 years – that that happened, and all because of extenuating circumstances.

The last 20 years haven’t all been easy, but I’ve clearly seen God’s hand on my life and ministry over that time. Thanks, Lord.

Here’s the thing: The most important thing I did 20 years ago was obey God’s voice and the direction He gave me. If you will hear God speak, and obey what He tells you, I’m confident that God’s hand will be on your life and ministry too, whether that is in the market place or as a full time vocation.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you known when God was telling you to do something? Leave your comment below.