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A Canada Look-Back, I Mean Ahead

On July 1 we celebrated all that has made Canada what it is today. This was our 150th birthday.

I’ve only shared 61 of those birthdays with the country, but just writing that puts it in perspective how young a country we live in.

I’m only 14 years shy of being half as old as Canada. Wow!

My grandmother – if she was still alive today – would have only been 17 years younger than our nation. Now that would be impressive! My grandmother passed away in 1983 at the age of 99.

It’s all nice to look back on your birthday, but I want to look ahead in this piece.

When I think of Canada’s 150th, it brings a few questions to my mind that I wonder about.

One question I have is, “Will the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup in the next 150 years?”

It’s been 50 years since their last victory, but lately they seem to be making some moves in the right direction. I can wait a long time for it to happen, but I don’t have 150 years left in me.

I also wonder, “Will Donald Trump last 4 years in office, or will he even last the year?”

I get a CNN feed on my Apple Watch and 95% of the news that shows up is related to Donald Trump. I have never seen the news/entertainment industry so captivated with one person before.

Trump is like the Beatles were in the 60’s; no one could get enough of them.

As I watched TV and saw a protest on Parliament Hill, one question that came to mind was, “Will we ever come to a resolution with our Indigenous Peoples of Canada?”

The Prime Minister sat with the leaders in a teepee they had set up on the Parliament lawn. When he left, the Indigenous leaders were all encouraged and felt he had heard their heart. But a few hours later the protesters were trying to set up another teepee on the lawn.

I wonder if any real progress will be made on this issue in the next 150 years.

In light of global warming, my questions is, “Will the weathermen become more accurate in predicting rain and snow, or will the forecasts remain much the same – wrong about 50% of the time?”

Another question I have is, “With all the rights various groups have now, will we become cookie-cutter people, forced to think, talk and act like each other? … You know, shades of Orwell’s “1984”.

If that happens, it will cut down on the myriad of choices we have to make now. Things like fashion, interests, and food might not be all that exciting, but we won’t need an opinion; we will all share the same one.

Just think, when you need to buy a car, there would only be a few choices: Will that be a compact, mid-size or SUV?

I’m not convinced that what got us through the last 150 years will carry us on into the next. We are venturing into new territory.

Here’s the thing: We may have many questions about the future of our country and life in this great land of ours. We can’t foresee the answers to many of our questions, but there is an outcome that has already been determined. When Jesus died on the cross for mankind’s sins, He said He is coming back to take those who put their faith in Him to be with Him in heaven. That we can have confidence in. Make sure your faith is based in Christ because you can count on God to know the future.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What questions do you have about the next 150 years? Leave your comments below.

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I Think I Can Squeeze A Car Wash In Today

I think I will wash my car today. It could really use one; it’s been a while.

I have this power washer that I don’t seem to use very much. When I look at it, I have a desire to use it, but I never seem to get around to it.

Today will be the day that I get it out and spray down my car. It’s a good day to do it because we are in between rain days … and, if I wash the car early enough, I will have a good portion of the day to enjoy it before we get back into some lousy weather.

When I was in college, I was a professional car washer. I had a job with UPS washing their vehicles each night when they would return from delivering packages.

In those days that was the only form of advertising the company did. They believed that clean trucks communicated care – if they took care of their vehicles, they would also care for their packages.

Every evening I would wash down a dozen or more vans. I became rather quick at washing them too, so you’d think washing my car each week would be a cinch!

Well, it doesn’t seem to be that way. Though I like the look of my power washer, and have a desire to use it, I never really feel like I have the time at the moment to use it.

It’s always something I would like to do, when I have a little time.

The thing is there is always something else I need to or should be doing.

Sometimes when I fill the gas tank I run the car through the car wash there. The one by my place is quick and, like using my power washer, it doesn’t touch the car with brushes.

Opinions vary though. Some people think it’s best that a car wash not have brushes because they can scratch your car and rip off your side mirrors and antenna. Others say that if there are no brushes the car wash won’t do a good job of getting the dirt off your car.

I remember being in a discussion on which system was better. When my brother-in-law, who worked for Petro Canada overseeing the car washes in the region, was brought into the discussion, he simply said, “Oh, we touch your car all over the place!”

My neighbour across the street washes his car regularly by hand, but I like the idea of using my power washer. You don’t have to get so up close and personal with the vehicle, and you get to use a tool.

For me, washing my car is about using the washer as much as it is about getting the car clean.

I hope the sun stays out today because I am really talking myself into power washing some dirt off my car.

Here’s the thing: There are things in life that we have access to but never get around to. We might even like the idea, but never find the right time. If God is calling you to something, wanting you to move in a direction, don’t keep putting it off. If Christ is calling you to give Him your life, find the time, make a decision and trust your life to Him. There is no sense in not doing what’s available to you. You never know when it won’t be available any more.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to act on today that you might be tempted to put off again?  Leave your comments below.

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It Was A Plan B Picnic

Our annual church picnic turned out to be a big hit in more ways than one.

We hold a picnic every year in June; we’ve been doing it for years. This year, however, there was a little hiccup to putting it on.

We normally get a permit to hold it in the park. That permit gives us control of the large stone BBQ pit and covered pavilion … oh ya, and access to the baseball diamond.

This year we couldn’t get the permit. Some other organization must have beat us to it.

Our options were to either just show up at a park, bring our own BBQ’s and have our picnic, or to hold it at our church. We have a large lawn behind the church with trees along the edges.

Well, we decided to go with the church lawn as the site of this year’s picnic. It was easy to get people to come since we hold it right after our service on Sunday.

But the downside was that we don’t have any of the features of a park, like a climbing centre for kids or a ball diamond. We don’t even have swings.

So we purchased a jump and slide castle for the little ones, and came up with several games we could play on the field.

The week before the picnic, I sensed God speak to me about inviting the people around the church, and giving out free hamburgers.

I told the congregation and everyone thought that was a great idea.

Since our church boarders on three streets and we are across from a shopping centre, there is a lot of vehicle and pedestrian traffic that goes by our church.

What we decided to do was put up signs along the road, that just said, “Free BBQ. Come on over.”

Not only did our congregation get to enjoy hamburgers, salads, cake and desserts, but so did many people from our neighbourhood.

Maybe what put a smile on my face more than anything else was seeing people in our congregation interacting with those who stopped by.

People weren’t shy to chat it up, and the fact that the food was free made them all the more curious to talk and ask questions.

Several moms came with their kids and, of course, the kids wanted to jump in the castle and play the games.

The one thing we didn’t have, though, was a petting zoo. … Apparently there were a few moms and kids who came because they had seen on Facebook that the church had a petting zoo.

That was unfortunate for the church around the corner. I guess we got some of their potential guests.

When it was all said and done, it was a great day. People were well fed, had fun, socialized and we made contact with a lot of people we might never have met.

Maybe next year we need to offer pony rides. Just kidding.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes in life you can get discouraged when Plan A doesn’t work out and you have to resort to Plan B or C. The thing is our Plan B might just be God’s Plan A all along and we didn’t know it. God can turn any plan into the right plan if we choose to listen to His direction.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Have you had a Plan B that turned out to be Plan A? Leave your comments below.

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It’s Time To Get My Golf Clubs In My Car

The other day I put my golf clubs in my vehicle for the season … but I still haven’t used them.

We are now into June and I haven’t swung a golf club yet. … I know there are many people who will only play a couple of games this season, but that’s not me.

In fact, I can’t remember a year when I have not had my clubs out by now.

It usually happens like the hand off in a relay race. There is this zone where the two team mates are running and the one hands the baton off to the other.

For me that’s the time when the hockey sticks get taken out of the car and the golf clubs get put in the trunk.

But this year we’re getting past the transition zone and I’m about to be disqualified.

Well, not really disqualified, but I have a golf tournament I will be in this week and I need to get reacquainted with my driver before that date.

One of the biggest roadblocks is finding a little time between the rain drops that keep falling every other day!

All winter long you look forward to doing things outside and then a spring like this comes along and you’re still stuck inside because of the rain.

Golf and rain have never really gone well together, especially if there is thunder rumbling in the distance.

It’s never a good idea to be close to lightning with 13 lightning rods strapped to your back!

… I remember golfing many years ago with a friend and we were down in a valley when the thunder got loud and close.

We took cover for a while, but then decided we should make our way to the club house. As we were walking up the path out of the valley, I turned to say something to my friend.

At that moment the sky lit up behind him, making him a silhouette, followed immediately by a huge crack of thunder.

At that point we started running for the club house; we just wanted to get out of the target zone before we got hit.

But it’s not just the rain and potential lightning that has kept me off the course this year, it’s also the cool temperatures.

I’ve had that feeling of playing golf when it’s cool outside. If you hit the ball a little thin, you get this vibration that starts in your hands and moves up your arms.

You feel like the cartoon character, Wiley Coyote, who just missed the roadrunner with an iron pan and hit a rock instead, leaving his whole body vibrating in mid air.

Well, that’s what it feels like, and I hate that feeling.

But this week I will be playing, whether I’m ready or not. So I better brave the cold and rain and start hitting a few golf balls before that date.

Here’s the thing: There are things that will happen in life whether you are ready for them or not. So why wouldn’t you get ready for them if you can, even if getting ready is going to mean making some changes? Christ is coming back some day. The thing is we don’t know when. We need to be ready for His return, so why not prepare yourself now? Place your trust in Christ alone for your salvation. Yes, it will cost you, but you will be ready for His return and it will make the perfect transition to the next life.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What transition do you need to make right now? Leave your comments below.

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I Finally Found A Solution To Flossing

For a long time, I’ve been searching for a permanent solution to a small supply issue. I think I might have finally found the right product.

I like my dentist – in fact he’s a friend of mine and we golf together. However, I don’t like going to see my friend when he is working in his office … especially when I’m sitting in one of his chairs.

I’m, therefore, a big fan of flossing my teeth to help cut down on things he might find wrong with my teeth when I visit him.

The problem with flossing is that I can never get the floss to those back teeth of mine.

My fingers are too big to get that little, white string to my wisdom teeth way at the back. It’s possible that I don’t have a big mouth, but I’ve never been accused of that.

For me, a flossing solution has always been to use an apparatus to reach those hard-to-get-to teeth. Over the years I’ve used several different kinds.

I started with a big “Y” shaped instrument that worked for many years until I couldn’t find them in stores any more.

Then I found a version of that apparatus that came with dental floss built into it. I actually came to like this one better and had no issues for years … until again they didn’t sell them in stores any more.

Right around that time, a family member found a gazillion of the first type I used at a dollar store and bought them for me.

Not too long after that I happened to come across a quantity of the second type … I bought the store out.

For several years I kept using these products until recently I broke the last one.

Trying to find something similar and suitable has been difficult.

I think the manufacturers felt they needed something that would break more easily – the old types lasted too long. They want to make more money.

Well, everything I’ve tried is horrible! … until a week ago when Lily brought home a pack of single-use flossers that are the same shape and style as my old ones. They aren’t perfect, are a little flimsy, but they work.

Many of the other types are shaped in a way that you pretty much have to put your fist in your mouth to reach your back teeth.

With some, the floss is so weak that it breaks after using it between a few teeth. Sometimes the floss isn’t tight enough to get in between some teeth.

This new style, however, keeps most of my hand out of my mouth and the floss stays tight, even getting between those molars.

In the long run, the manufacturers win by getting me to spend more money on flossing … but having an option that works for me is worth it.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we like things the way they are. We are satisfied with our life, or our relationship with God, and we don’t see the need for it to change. However, God wants to stretch us and go deeper with us and that does require change on our part. It might not be comfortable at first, but don’t resist. Move towards where God is stretching you or how He wants to go deeper with you. In the end, it will be worth it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you been holding on to that you should let go of? Leave your comments below.

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I Had To Wonder If I Was Still Alive

The other day I had to pinch myself to see if I was still alive. That’s right, it was a scary moment for me.

A few weeks ago I had to renew my driver’s license. I filled out the paper work, got my picture taken and then waited for my new license to arrive in the mail.

Well, it arrived alright and when I looked at the picture on my new license, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure that the picture of the guy on the license wasn’t dead!

That’s when I pinched myself.

My eyes were open in the picture but that was the only thing that made the picture look like there was possible life there.

I understand the aging process, but how do you go from looking like you were alive five years ago to dead now?

There were some other factors that came into play with the picture, the main factor being the quality of the photo.

I’ve stepped into one of those shopping mall photo booths before, and for a couple of bucks you get a string of pictures that are pretty poor in quality.

The thing is you are usually making funny faces so, first of all, you look like you are alive, and second, your face is lit up by the flash so that you can tell the blood is still flowing through your veins.

When I got my driver’s license, there was a flash that nearly blinded me but it didn’t brighten anything up. The fact that the license is grey in colour only accentuates the lifeless look of the picture.

The next time I have to get a new driver’s license I’m going to put on makeup. I don’t have bags under my eyes but apparently under certain conditions I do!

The worker who was serving me wasn’t a photographer – I realize that. She did warn me not to smile, but come on! When she looked at the picture on the screen, why didn’t she gasp and say, “We better take that one again, sir. You look like you’re dead.”

I think if I worked at it I could look a little cheery even without smiling. I just needed a second chance.

I’m the one who’s carrying around the picture of the dead guy in my wallet for the next five years. You would think they could turn the screen around and ask me if I was okay with that picture before it was printed and laminated on my card.

I hope I don’t get pulled over by the police because I might get arrested for driving with no vital signs!

I’m thinking maybe I should try to photoshop my driver’s license. Then I could add a smile and cover up the bags under my eyes.

Maybe all I need to do is add a twinkle in my eyes to show I’m still kicking.

Don’t give up on me.

Here’s the thing: There are many people who are walking around like they are alive but a picture of their souls would prove that they were really dead spiritually. When you physically die, it’s too late to change the condition of your soul. The great thing is that while you are still physically alive, trusting your life to Christ will change the condition of your soul and give it life – life that you will keep right through eternity.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is the condition of your soul? Leave your comments below.

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When A Project Takes A Long Time To Develop

Sometimes you wait a long time for something to develop, then in a flash it’s done and it’s completion takes you by surprise.

It happened to me this morning. For what seemed like several weeks, the leaves on our maple tree were budding.

But we’ve had some pretty cool and rainy weather for the last while and it seemed that the leaves’ progress from bud to full grown was stunted.

I’d look out our living room window and see the little leaves still shrivelled up, not wanting to open. With every day of rain and coolness, it was like they just wanted to stay curled up to keep warm.

After a time I wondered if they would open up at all this year. Maybe they would stay in this dormant state all summer.

But this morning after an early hockey game, as I drove into my driveway, the sun was shining, creating highlights and shadows on and around our tree.

The leaves had opened up; they were big and full and dense.

Up until this morning, though all the leaves were on the tree, you could still see through it … not this morning.

The leaves have now created a beautiful rustling wall to the other side of the street.

It took so long for the leaves to get to this point, but when it happened, it took me by surprise.

You kind of forget about the incremental progress that was being made, now that the tree is in its full glory.

… I’ve been working on a project at work that is developing much like how our tree came alive this spring.

There have been many steps to the project, and many different people involved. It seemed that each step, however, was dependent on someone else do some little thing so that we could progress to the next step.

There also seemed to be one person who was in the middle of the progress or the hold up – just like the weather was the hold up for my tree.

We would get one thing done and then we would sit, not really knowing what to do next but having to follow up and nudge this person to move the project along.

After numerous phone calls over three days, I finally reached him in person. I explained our progress and asked him for his input. All he could say to me was, “I’m just the middle man.”

There were three parties that were involved in bring this project to completion. He worked for none of them. He was just the middle man.

We all needed him but the speed of the project was dictated by the speed of his response to each completed step.

I think this project right now is at the stage where the leaves are almost ready to unfold.

All I can hope is that by early next week this project will be fully complete and I can forget about the incremental progress that we’ve made along the way.

Here’s the thing: God’s plan for us, at times, may seem to be developing slower than we would like. That can be frustrating. We might want to try to get in there and hurry it along on our own. But there are many parties involved in a plan, and there may be a middle man who is slowing things down. Just be sure that you are not that middle man.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What project is God working on in you that you would like to speed up? Leave your comments below.

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It’s Like We Have A Brand New Kitchen

With just a little paint, our kitchen will be finished, for now. We’ve been working on our kitchen for about two months, but it’s coming to a close soon.

When I say “we”, I mean Lily and the people she has employed to work on it.

I have to say that the project is looking really good and the little things we did have made a huge difference in the look of the room.

Don’t get me wrong, Lil is not done. She still wants to get a new dishwasher and fridge, but those are going to have to wait for a while – the old ones haven’t died yet.

What won’t wait is new lighting in the kitchen. Apparently, the new lighting we purchased about 3 years ago (Lil says it’s more like 10 years, but who’s counting?) does not go with the new look of our kitchen. That means we have to take out perfectly good and relatively new lighting so we can spend more money on getting something that she will feel better with.

In my parents’ day, you fixed things in your house that were broken or were getting worn out. You didn’t just change something because you wanted a new look.

That’s why in some homes that were built in the sixties and seventies, you still might find a blue toilet, or an avocado-coloured bathtub.

They worked so why replace them?

That’s not how things work today. You make one change and that will start a ripple effect of changes to make everything match the first change you made.

Maybe it’s better that we do things this way now. It prevents you from going to use the washroom and finding yourself in a time machine that has transported you back to 1974, leaving you afraid to look in the mirror for fear you might be sporting an afro, big bell-bottom overalls, no shirt and platform shoes!

I had an outfit like that back in the day – minus the afro.

Personally, I will be glad when we are all done and there are no more … oh, one more thing.

I like the changes but I’m going to have to get used to opening and closing cupboards again. It’s been nice for the last month to just take whatever I needed off the shelves without opening or closing doors.

It’s too bad that the open concept look wasn’t the style Lil was going for. But really, it wouldn’t be right not to show off her work.

Lily used a special painting system to renew our kitchen cupboards. It was a four-step process, that turned our cupboards from an medium oak colour to black. That and new handles have made the cabinetry look completely different.

We also had a new counter and sink installed. Then she completed the makeover with a white tile backsplash.

Lily has done a great job on the kitchen and though I have questioned her ideas and teased her throughout the process, our kitchen truly does look stunningly new.

Here’s the thing: Your life with Christ is much the same as refinishing a kitchen: it takes time and effort to make the changes, and there will always be more changes to come. Be happy with the changes that God has made in you, but also be aware that there will be more to come. It’s like our kitchen – there will always be one more thing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What change is God making in your life right now? Leave your comments below.

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Her Emotions Got The Best Of Her

Often it is our emotions that dictate our actions and reactions.

This morning I came back from early morning hockey to find the lights on in the living room.

Normally, on a Saturday morning after hockey, things are the same as when I left at 6:30 a.m. – dark and nothing stirring.

But this morning there was activity. There was a vacuum humming in the background and I wondered what was going on.

There were a couple of possibilities: Lily had a lot happening and she needed to get a good jump on the day, or we had a guy coming in to do the backsplash in our kitchen.

I knew that it was a guy who was going to be doing the work and his work would focus only in the kitchen, but that didn’t matter; the whole house needed to be clean before he arrived.

… Turns out that neither one of those reasons was correct.

Lily had the vacuum out because there was a trail of ants in our living room and there was no way they were going to survive on her watch.

She was so busy vacuuming the little critters up that she couldn’t tell where they were coming from or going to. But she didn’t stop talking to them … in a rather loud voice, I might add.

That Dyson vacuum really swirled those ants up. They either got a great ride out of the deal or it was like they were swooped up and taken from Kansas to the world of Oz … only there was no yellow brick road, just a garbage can at the end of their ride.

The ants kept coming though. Lily was so preoccupied with killing them that she wasn’t doing anything about dealing with the reason they were coming in or how to keep them out.

Finally I decided to remove a large poinsettia plant from the living room that may have been their destination. And Lily got some spray we had in the garage to attack them.

We wiped up around the plant and made sure that the area was clean. Then we sprayed the place where the ants were coming in, as well as the outside of the house.

You would think that after that we could get back to the regular activities of the day and let the spray do its thing, but no! Lily wanted to make sure the stuff was working so she stuck around and watched the ants curl up and die.

… It kind of amazes me that she is perfectly fine seeing that kind of a massacre but when I put on a shoot’em up, blow’em up movie, she can’t take it.

At least in my movies no one really dies; it’s all made up stunts.

When it comes to ants in her house, there is no way she’s taking prisoners alive!

As far as the ants were concerned it was a real-life horror and they were the main characters.

I think watching the hockey game tonight, no matter how rough it gets, will be tame compared to this morning’s events.

Here’s the thing:  When something grabs our emotions, we can’t let it go. I wonder if many Christians have an intellectual relationship with Christ but it has yet to get to their emotions. Faith in Christ is more than giving assent to a belief; it involves being emotionally engaged in what you believe.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What grabs you emotionally about Christ Jesus? Leave your comments below.

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How To Prevent Making Multiple Mistakes

From time to time I repost an article I have written in the past. This one is from May 2014. With all the wet weather we’ve been having, I haven’t been out to the trails on my bike. I’m kind of itching to get out there. This post got me thinking of biking. 

Have you ever made a mistake that led to another mistake that led to, well, a complete breakdown? I had that experience last week.

Lily had gone to Ottawa for the day taking my car, the one with the bike rack. I wanted to go for a bike ride at the end of my day so I had to put my bike in the trunk of the other car.

That’s normally not a problem; you just take the front wheel off the bike and slide the bike in.  For some reason, this time it was a problem.

I spent about a half hour trying to get my wheel off, and in the process I lost two ball bearings from the axle assembly and never actually got the wheel off the bike.

It was a brutal failure; I couldn’t believe it. I’ve taken the front wheel off bikes dozens of times. But my new bike is a little different. No, it’s a lot different.

I would describe the differences but I would either hypnotize you in the process or put you to sleep – probably sleep would come first. Then you’d wake up and have an urge to bark at every bike you saw after that.

Taking the wheel off a bike with quick release should take about 30 seconds, at the most. I spent 30 minutes and never got it off. I could have used better lighting, but still.

I looked for videos on the internet to show me what to do. I examined the part and used an allen key/wrench to remove a part I should never have touched.

All the while, my neighbour, who works at the bike shop I go to, was right outside my garage cutting his grass. Did I ask him for help? Of course not; why would I do that? No, what I did was I took the axle apart and lost two very tiny ball bearings on my garage floor!

I never did go for that bike ride. Later that night I realized what I had done wrong. It should have taken me 15 seconds to get the wheel off, but it was too late now; I’d gone and lost some pieces.

So, here were my mistakes, if you’re counting . . .

I should have had better lighting and, along with that, I should have put on my reading glasses to get a better look at what I was doing.

I should have asked my neighbour for help. That was the dumbest thing I didn’t do. And I shouldn’t have taken apart the axle, especially standing in a garage.

I’ll tell you how the story turned out in my next blog.

Here’s the thing:  It is easy to make a mistake, but the smart thing is to correct that mistake before one mistake leads to another. The best thing we can do is look for someone who can help us. I know God is willing to help but He’s waiting to be invited. I also find that I will sometimes make more than one mistake before I ask Him for that help. So it’s what I don’t do that keeps me making mistakes . . . Seek God’s help first.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do to keep from making multiple mistakes? I’d love to hear from you. Leave your comment below.