Christ

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If It’s Out Of Sight, It’s Out Of My Mind

There is a saying “out of sight, out of mind” and it is particularly true with me. If something is out of my sight, there’s a good chance I will forget about it.

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Case in point: I’m not a great guitarist, but I like to play my guitar a bit. I used to keep it in its case, but I would never see it so I never thought of playing it.

Eventually I got a stand so my guitar now sits in our family room in plain sight, creating a much greater chance that I’ll pick it up and strum a little.

I need to do that with a lot of things because if I don’t see them there’s a good chance I will forget about them.

Maybe that’s why I have so many papers on my desk. I’m afraid that if I put those papers somewhere, like in a filing cabinet or file folder, I will forget about them and not get at the work they represent.

Lily doesn’t really like my “out of sight, out of mind” system for getting things done. For her it creates clutter.

The other day there was a new piece of clutter: I received my renewal for our car licence plates. I don’t need to renew for a couple of months, and since I don’t like giving the government my money earlier than I have to, the way I operate means the renewal form will be on our kitchen table for some time.

Now maybe right about now you are sympathizing with Lily, but here’s the flip side …

A week ago I was getting low on Bisoprolol – it’s a beta blocker, and one of the pills I take for my heart. So it’s kind of important that I don’t run out of the stuff.

What I do when I get low is I put the bottle on the kitchen table to remind me to call the pharmacy for more. I can’t just call in at any time, however, because my insurance company, who pays part of the cost, doesn’t want me to start stockpiling the little pink pills. I have to wait until I’m down to 4 or 5 pills.

Since I load my pill dispenser every Saturday for the next week, I have to have that bottle on the kitchen table for a few days.

So there the bottle sat, prominently displayed. … The problem was that we were having company and so Lily moved the bottle.

She moved it out of sight which meant it was out of mind for me. I never thought of it until Saturday rolled around and I was filling up my dispenser.

Not only could I not find my Bisoprolol bottle, I had forgotten I needed to order more!

So Saturday morning I was scurrying around trying to find my pills and then trying to get my order in a.s.a.p. so I didn’t miss a day.

We’ll be keeping those bottles on the table from now on.

Here’s the thing: If you want to be consistent in spending time with God, keep your materials (Bible, devotional book, journal) in plain sight, ready to go for when you meet with God. Being able to see them will remind you that you have an appointment to keep with the Lord.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do to ensure you keep your time with God each day? Leave your comment below.

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When The Conversation Is Out Of Your Control

Conversations usually flow from one topic to another at a gathering, but when the party is heavy on the testosterone you lose all control of the dialogue.

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That would be how I would describe our Easter dinner this year.

In my last post (read it here), I wrote about our plans for Easter dinner and said that in this post I would write about how it turned out.

Lily was sort of forced to buy a thirty pound turkey because that was the only size she could find at the grocery store. To save me from having to eat turkey for the next six months, she came up with a plan to invite some people who knew how to finish off a ton of food.

We invited two players from the Kingston Frontenacs hockey team, and two of our son Mike’s friends.

That gave us five guys 25 and under, myself, Lily and our daughter, Karlie. When it came to the food, Lily and Karlie didn’t stand a chance. And when it came to the conversation, the guys monopolized that too.

Easter is a time when our focus is on the resurrection of Christ, the price He paid for our sins and the amazing gift of a relationship with God that Christ offers us.

However, some of our company had just come back from an afternoon of riding quads on muddy trails, so naturally the boys needed to spend some time rehashing all the ups and downs of the episode.

Some of our conversation around the dinner table focussed on the more spectacular antics on the quads, getting stuck, who almost died on the outing and who made the biggest fool of themselves.

I’m not much into that sport; in fact, I’ve never ridden a quad before. I have, however, ridden my mountain bike on some pretty muddy trails, so I was all ears as we listened to the exchange among the guys. Voices and laughter seemed to get louder as the stories turned to the personal shortcomings of one and all.

At Easter dinner there is nothing wrong with diverting from the main theme of the day, but hey, we also had some hockey players with us who are right in the middle of the OHL playoffs.

Everyone wanted to know how they were feeling about the series and how they thought it would turn out. We analyzed the team and talked about old hockey stories that related.

Of course, on any hockey team there are some characters that stand out. And just like with the boys who went quading, there were moments in the conversation that focussed on some of the crazy antics that happen within a hockey club.

By the time dinner was over, there was a table full of stuffed people who barely had room for dessert.

Though we didn’t really talk about the Easter message – other than a quick explanation and saying grace – most of the guys felt like they’d been verbally crucified by the others over the course of the meal … not typical for an Easter dinner, but typical when you gather five young men around the same table and bring food into the mix.

Here’s the thing: When guys get talking the stories can become bigger and better. The biggest story in the history of the world, however, is the love God has shown us in sending His only Son to die on a cross so that you and I can have a relationship with Him. There is no bigger story!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you relate to the biggest story in history? Leave your comment below.

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The Turkey Was Meant To Be

Some things are meant to be. You don’t always know why at the time, but it makes sense later.

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For Easter dinner this year Lily decided to cook a turkey. She went out and bought a thirty pounder.

Some farmers try to plump up their turkeys before they get to market. I think Lily’s trying to plump up the family, but I’m not sure for what!

Thirty pounds of turkey split four ways … well, you do the math. I’d have to play a lot of hockey AND be on my rowing machine for a couple of weeks to get rid of all that extra weight that would be showing up on my scale each morning.

To be fair to Lily, she didn’t look for a thirty pound turkey; it’s all she could find in the store. She was forced into it.

Nevertheless, we needed to do something to cut down on that total turkey intake we were looking at on Easter Sunday.

We knew Karlie was coming home and would participate in the feast but probably to a minimal degree. Mike would also be home for Easter dinner, and that would mean lots of potatoes and gravy, too.

That left Lily and I to clean up the rest and I wasn’t looking forward to eating leftovers for the next month. I like turkey leftovers, but there is a limit to how long I really want to be eating them.

Lil also has this volunteer position as a chef for a major frozen food company that helps with leftovers. I believe it’s called “Lil’s kitchen creations.”

She’s been doing this for a year now. She cooks a large meal, more than we can eat, and then makes up single serving containers of the meal which she freezes and delivers to her mother, and sometimes Karlie and Mike.

Well, with a thirty pound turkey, that’s a lot of frozen meals, even if they are spread around to others.

Lil needed a plan for this meal and so she started thinking of who else she could invite. She did the smartest thing: she invited some young guys over.

There were a couple of Kingston Frontenac hockey players on the list. Young guys in their late teens are much like chocolate Easter bunnies: they are hollow inside, perfect for hiding a lot of turkey and stuffing.

… I remember the days when I could hide a lot of food. But those days are long gone. I need to get on my stationary bike for twenty minutes after a turkey dinner or else I’m looking at buying a new belt!

Lil figured that if she also invited Mike’s roommate and another of his friends, they would be able to do damage to the turkey. Guys in their mid twenties have had lots of practice putting away large volumes of food; they know where to put that stuff.

So we were all set. The distribution of thirty pounds of turkey was accounted for. … I’ll let you know in my next post how it all turned out (read it here).

Here’s the thing: You have to make the best of what you have. And when you have plenty, you need to spread it around. At Easter we have the greatest message there is: Jesus died for our sins so that we can be forgiven, and because He rose from the grave, we can have a relationship with God and heaven waiting for us. That’s a large meal that needs to be shared with others.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Who can you share the message of Easter with? Leave your comment below.

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I Desire To Do What I Can’t Do

There is something about not being able to do something that creates a desire for doing it.

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… I don’t mean a fanciful thing like seeing someone perform a neurosurgical procedure, or climbing Mount Everest – not that you couldn’t do those things, but they would require more than just a desire to make them happen.

I’m talking about seeing something that is perfectly in your grasp or power to do but you are prevented from doing it because of a commitment to do something else.

Today I went down into our family room and as I passed by the pool table it seemed more luring than normal. Maybe it was the way the light was hitting it. The lonely cue ball resting on the green cloth seemed to be inviting me, calling me, “Come and play”.

I took a longer look at the table than normal. My gaze lasted until I sat down. And in my mind I had a little conversation with myself on whether I should play a fast game or not.

I sat down on the couch and I didn’t play pool … but the urge was there. I wanted to but I really couldn’t because I was committed to doing something else.

I thought about it and realized that I didn’t really want to play pool as much as I didn’t want to do what I was committed to doing.

You see, that pool table has sat in the same spot for over ten years – It’s not the kind of pool table you move around. I pass by it every day. Every time I walk into our family room, it’s there to greet me.

But it doesn’t lure me in every time I see it. I don’t play pool nearly as often as I probably should. I ignore it more than I play it.

But sometimes when there is something I must do, but don’t feel like doing, that’s when the desire to play pool is at its highest.

I don’t know if you can relate or not but this phenomenon doesn’t just happen to me with my pool table. It happens with other things as well.

It’s that principle of longing for something you can’t have. It’s a temptation to shirk your responsibility, or put off what you don’t want to do.

I read a phrase in the Bible that is sort of like this principle. In Deuteronomy 28:67 it says, “In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening, ‘If only it were morning!’…”

Now the circumstances involving that verse deal with disobedience to God, but the idea of wishing for something you can’t have – because you don’t like what you are facing – is the same.

I didn’t give in to the lure of the pool table. I sat down on the couch and did what I was committed to do … write this blog post.

Here’s the thing: There will be times when something else will look more attractive than keeping your commitment to meet with God. It’s that principle of not wanting to do something you’re committed to. Don’t give in to the temptation because it will only become harder to resist the next time. Stick to meeting with God and see afterwards how luring that other thing really is. I’ll bet you pass by that pool table without a thought!

That’s life!

Paul

Question: What seeks to lure you away from your time with God? Leave your comment below.

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Saturday Morning Starts Early

Saturday mornings I play hockey at 7 am … some people think that’s too early to be getting out of bed for something you don’t have to do.

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I’ve been getting out of bed for things I like to do but don’t have to do for most of my life.

I wouldn’t say it’s always easy. There are many times it’s a struggle to get up simply because I haven’t had enough sleep.

One time in high school, some guys decided to set a new Guinness World record for the longest indoor ball hockey game.

We played in shifts over three or four days, 24 hours a day. Everyone would play for a few hours and then have a couple of hours off.

Some guys slept in the school but I lived across the parking lot so I went home. I had a tub of baking powder by my bed. I would sit on my bed, put my feet in the baking powder, and then go to sleep.

When I got up I would rub on heat liniment, put my feet back in the tub and get ready to play. There were times it was brutal trying to get out of bed for my next shift.

Then there were the times I played golf every Saturday morning with a couple of guys. Many times I slept through my alarm and woke up to little pebbles hitting my window.

It was the boys waking me up to hit the links.

I love playing hockey or golf early in the morning but it’s not always easy getting up.

That’s why I wasn’t too surprised when my son didn’t respond this morning for hockey … he gets half his genes from me you know.

I texted him at 6:15 am to make sure he was awake and ready for me to pick him up. I got no reply.

That was a bad sign. I waited five minutes, then I phoned.

Mike’s phone rang about eight times before it clicked off. I knew right then he might not make it.

I called him again with the same results; the phone just rang and rang. I decided to call right back thinking that maybe if the last call seemed dream-like this call would get him conscious.

It didn’t work; no response. So I got in the car and backed out of the garage.

I decided to try one more time, just in case … no luck. I figured his phone was either buried under clothes or in another room.

I drove to the arena, got dressed, stepped onto the ice, took a few shots and then felt my watch vibrate on my wrist.

I took a look and there was a voice mail message. I knew who it was immediately. I went back to the dressing room and gave Mike a call.

He was pretty groggy but said he’d come. Surprisingly, he got about half the game in.

It was nice having him on the ice with me, and good to know that he’ll also get up for something he likes … even if he needs some friendly help.

Here’s the thing: Meeting with God in the morning is something I like doing, and I hope you do as well. But in order to ensure you’re able to get up, it’s best to get enough shut-eye during the night so you are able to rise to the occasion.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you ensure you can get up early for something you enjoy? Leave your comment below.

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I Got Sick Anyway

I did everything right and I still got sick! Has that ever happened to you? Well, that’s where I ended up.

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My wife came down with a flu of all flu’s. I’ve never seen her down for so long before. It hit her quick and it hit her hard.

Lily was in bed for two days, and dragged herself around the house for over a week. She even said that maybe next year she would get the flu shot … that on it’s own tells me just how sick she was!

This was not something I was going to catch if I could help it. So I did something I haven’t done often in our 30 years of marriage: I slept in the spare room.

There was just no way that I was going to breathe in what she was breathing out. I would get infected as I slept, completely unaware of what was happening to me.

It kind of reminds me of two guys back in college who decided they were going to prank their neighbours next to them in our dorm.

Their room was just on the other side of the wall and there happened to be a hole in that wall … on one side anyway. The guys made a small hole in their room at the same place.

During the night as the neighbours slept in bliss, the guys blew baby powder into their room. The neighbours next door never knew what hit them.

In the morning they woke up to their room covered in what looked like fresh fallen snow. The white powder was everywhere, on the beds, in their hair. … I think there was retaliation the next night.

The thing was the powder was silent. It came over them when they slept; they never noticed it at all.

And there was no chance I was having my immune system hijacked by Lily turning towards me and breathing flu germs in my face all night.

She realized this flu was not something that should be passed on and volunteered to sleep in the spare room for another four nights.

That’s five nights we slept in separate rooms while being in the same house. That has never happened before!

We did all the right things. I stayed away even when she desperately wanted a hug, just some human contact … well, I sort of hugged her at arms length. I was also washing my hands like a surgeon – I hope surgeons wash their hands as much as I did.

In the end, she slowly came back to the land of the living, yet still low on energy. She seemed to have recovered enough for me to let her back in our bed.

And then it happened. I was drinking lots of water – tons of it – getting plenty of sleep, exercising and taking care of myself. But I woke up one morning with a scratchy throat.

I didn’t end up as sick as she had been, but for all my purposeful, proactive prevention, the sickness didn’t escape me. I’ll be okay.

Here’s the thing: Sin has this kind of ability to sneak up on us. We can do all the right things, stay clear of triggers, give a wide birth to temptation. But when we are not looking, when we least expect it, sin can creep in when we thought we were in the clear. We can never let our guard down.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has snuck up on you, even when you took precautions? Leave your comment below.

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Get Greater Understanding From A Different Perspective

When you see things from a different perspective it opens a whole new world of understanding.

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I went to a movie yesterday; it was based on the Easter story called, “Risen”. It wasn’t quite the typical presentation about Jesus’ death and resurrection.

This movie gave the angle of someone from the outside looking in on what happened. We were witnesses to how the Easter story unfolded from the eyes of a Roman officer.

It’s a different way to look at it. The Roman officer was charged with unravelling the mystery of the disappearance of Jesus’ body from the tomb.

I won’t spoil the movie for anyone who might want to see it, but it’s very well done. It’s a good story and basically follows the Biblical account, from a non-Biblical perspective … that means there are events in the movie that are impossible to know if they actually happened or not, but they give you something to think about.

It’s like a different camera angle of the same scene. … There was a movie called “Vantage Point” that was made that way.

In that movie a president was shot and the movie took you through six different sight views of the shooting. Each angle provided a little more information because they could see something from that view that they could not have seen from one of the other vantage points.

In my sermon yesterday, I made reference to this same principle. I said if you have trouble forgiving someone who has hurt you, look at all the sin you have committed against God and put it on a scale opposite to the hurt you experienced. I’m sure that hurt will pale in comparison; yet God has provided forgiveness to us in Christ Jesus.

A different perspective gives you new information to help you understand and make better decisions and judgements.

When a hockey team snaps their nine game winning streak, some people wonder what’s gone wrong. From a fan’s vantage point there’s a problem with the team.

But from the team’s perspective, they know they’re in first place and are, therefore, rolling out all four lines against a team that is trying to gain a higher place in the standings and are sending out their top line every second shift.

That’s what made the movie I saw yesterday refreshing. It wasn’t just a re-tell of the same story. It was the same story from a different vantage point.

Unfortunately, this movie has a limited run in theatres; it may not even be there in the two weeks before Easter.

I would recommend the movie to anyone. But go to the movie knowing the Biblical account of the resurrection. First read the last chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Then you will be ready to see the Easter message from a different vantage point. It will get you thinking.

Here’s the thing: Many people make up their minds based on something they’ve heard, or an experience they’ve had. That’s okay to do when the issue is where to go on vacation or what restaurant to eat in. But when it comes to your life and future, you need to look at all the angles. God loves you; check out how He has shown His love to you. Read the Easter story, see the movie “Risen” if you can, and make a decision based on a greater perspective.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What keeps you from seeking a greater perspective? Leave your comment below.

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Don’t Get Caught Up In The Moment

Have you ever been caught up in the moment, so much that you didn’t think of doing something that could improve that moment?

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… That sentence sounded a bit like a riddle that will leave you hypnotized. Let me try to explain.

The other day I was driving to work and my car was very cold. I was shivering and thinking about how cold I was almost all the way to work before I turned on the heat to warm things up.

I’ve had my present car for over six years now, so I know the car’s ways and quirks. One of the things I know about my car is how long it takes to warm up when it is cold.

I need to travel 4 kilometres before the heater really kicks in and starts to blow warm air into the cabin of my little Accent.

Up until that point, turning the heater fan on is pretty much counter productive. I’m cold already from the temperature outside; I don’t need to add to my coldness with a frosty breeze in my face.

So what I do is leave the fan on low or completely off until I drive four kilometres, and the heat starts to kick in.

I take the same route to work each day so I don’t have to look at the odometer to check if I’ve gone the necessary distance. I know when I pass a certain spot on the route that I can turn on the heat and actually get some.

The other day, however, as I was driving to work, I couldn’t get over how cold it was. We’ve had such a mild winter, I figured it should be pretty much over, and higher temperatures should be on the way.

I know the various groundhogs in Punxsutawney, Wiarton, and Shubenacadie had mixed responses when they emerged from their holes. But we should get the benefit of the doubt – two of the three didn’t see their shadows … that means early spring!

… I’m not sure you can trust the judgement of a groundhog anyway. I was just trying to get to work quickly so I could get out of the cold.

It was then that I realized that I’d passed my heat point several kilometres back. I was less than a kilometre from work when I remembered to crank up the heat.

It barely took the edge off by the time I pulled into my parking spot.

I was kicking myself for shivering all that way when I could have had the heat on and gotten warm instead.

My present situation of being cold had captured my attention and kept me from taking a small action that could have changed my circumstance.

Here’s the thing: When we are dealing with something that discourages, saddens, or frustrates us, we can concentrate on our state to the point where we don’t take any action to change our situation. There may be nothing in our power we can do to remove or change our present circumstance, but if we fail to take our situation to God, we miss out on an opportunity to find relief. Don’t be so into your moment that you fail to call on the Lord who can help you. He’s right there all the time.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: What caught your focus so that you failed to do something that could have changed your situation? Leave your comment below.

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The Danger Of Going Down Rabbit Trails

Yesterday, as I wrote my sermon, I kept going off on rabbit trails … putting aside the main thing I was working on to focus on some tangent, or supplementary topic.

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It happened quite naturally. In writing my sermon, I came to a place where I needed an illustration. As I got an idea, I started to research it in order to be able to use it in my sermon.

The problem was I got hooked on my research and about a half hour later found myself still working on finding out more about the subject of my illustration, instead of my sermon.

I felt like my brother’s dog, Chopper. He’s an adorable looking – in an ugly kind of way – Old English bulldog. … I guess what I’m trying to say is he makes you smile when you look at him.

He’s not the most active dog, though he can be. Most of his day he spends lying down, taking lots of naps, and just hanging out.

But if you say, “chippy”, he leaps from whatever he’s doing (usually laying down pretending to watch television), and he’s off, ready to case down some imaginary, furry little rodent, in the other room, in the back yard, wherever.

Well, that’s what I was like with this illustration, and the thing was I didn’t just do it once, but several times.

I kept catching myself getting lost in some story or detail that was way more than what I needed for my sermon.

It made for a long day of writing. I would write a little and then investigate something that I could relate back to my sermon but that in no way would get me closer to finishing my sermon.

I’m sure most people can not relate, but likely everyone, at some time or other, has had those moments when they got lost in doing something while they were supposed to be doing something else.

In the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator, the ENFP personalities are a little like that. Their prayer goes, “God, help me keep my mind on one th… LOOK, A BIRD! …ing at a time.

That’s not my personality type but I could own that prayer … at least yesterday I could.

Normally, if I struggle writing my sermon, I eventually get a little frustrated. The funny thing was this time I didn’t. I guess it was because I was discovering new things and I was fascinated by them.

There was a part of me that wanted to finish writing but another part of me that wanted to soak in other stories and interesting anecdotes.

I did finally finish writing, and it’s a good thing too because, though it was Friday, Sunday was coming.

Here’s the thing: Life can take us down various rabbit trails. Sometimes those trails have to do with hurts or opportunities. They can take our focus and interest for a long time, even years. But they prevent us from getting back to the main thing. And there is a deadline to that main thing; we just don’t know when it is. Be sure your sins are forgiven and that Christ is functioning as your Lord – that’s the main thing. Everything else is just a rabbit trail.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has been a long rabbit trail for you? Leave your comment below.

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A Baptism By Fire!

Have you heard the phrase “baptism by fire” before? It has come to mean someone’s initiation into something new.

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Many of us have had experiences like it when we began a new job or joined a new group, and were thrown into a task, leadership position, or project right away with no time to settle in.

The term “baptism by fire” was first used this way in the military around 1822 and referred to a soldier’s first time in battle.

But the original expression comes from the Bible in Matthew 3:11 where John the Baptist says, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” It refers to Jesus convicting people of their sin, of righteousness and judgement.

Years ago I had an experience that included all the meanings of this phrase.

I was a youth pastor and on one Sunday was going to baptize 13 teens, one in the first service and 12 in the second.

Some churches baptize people by sprinkling them with water, sort of like the first few drops in a light rain shower.

Not our church – we get you all wet, from head to toe. It’s baptism by immersion. It symbolizes that your old life is buried as you go under the water, and you have a new life in Christ Jesus when you come up out of the water.

When instructing teens, I would often tell them, “I’ll hold you under longer if you don’t pay attention” … I was just kidding.

I’ve baptized people in rivers, lakes, and an ocean. Sometimes the water’s been freezing, but this time it was hot – real hot!

I was ready to go into the baptism tank in that church, which was like a large, rectangular hot tub, without the jets. But as soon as my toe touched the water, I immediately jumped back, because it was burning hot!

I didn’t know what to do. I tried to go into the water a little way but came out; it was so hot.

I knew the teen’s mom was in the service specifically to see her son get baptized. The lead pastor was wrapping up the announcements and about to introduce the baptism.

I had to make a split-second decision. Knowing there was no way to tell anyone the temperature of the water, I went for it.

I waded into the water and made my way around the screen and into view of the audience. The water came up to just below my chest and it was scalding.

I’m not exactly sure what the temperature was, but the caretaker later said the hot water tank was set at 140 degrees, so it must have been somewhere between 120 and 140 in there.

It was so hot I could hardly spit out my introductory words. But in walked my victim … I mean, the young man to be baptized.

I stood there listening to his short testimony, but every time I even twitched, it felt like flames were coming up my legs.

When he got through talking, I put him under the water and back up again in record time. Then I almost pushed him out of that tank!

… My skin was beat red from 9:30 in the morning until about 2:30 in the afternoon.

Here’s the thing: For any baptism by fire, you’re glad when it’s done but you’re also thankful for the experience. Although Christ convicts of sin, righteousness and judgement, if you receive His forgiveness, you’re so thankful to experience that baptism by fire.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: What’s your baptism by fire story? Leave your comment below.