commitment

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Fickle Fans And Me Don’t Mix

In some cities fans are fickle; it doesn’t take much for them to give up.

I don’t get it – maybe because I grew up in Toronto, that hasn’t seen a Stanley Cup outside the Hockey Hall of Fame for 50 years.

I was 11 when the Leafs last won the Cup, but the thing is I still cheer for them like they’re going to win it this year.

… I figure I have at least a couple more years before I see that happen again.

But I know other cities – some that I’ve lived in – that are pretty quick to give up on their team if they aren’t doing well.

Those are fickle fans. A real fan is a fan through the good and the bad, the long and the short haul. The bottom line is you don’t turn on your team.

That’s what’s got me concerned about the city I live in right now. What kind of fans live here?

Some are whiners, some are only good time fans, some are complainers. Not many, apparently, are true fans.

The biggest hockey action in my town is OHL hockey – these are the kids that are feeding the pro ranks.

In my town, the Kingston Frontenacs are the top bill.

Last year the team made a run in the playoffs but fell short. This year was a building year. The team wasn’t supposed to do much, and were expected to finish near or at the bottom of the league.

Well, they surprised everyone – maybe even themselves. They ended up 4th in their division, giving them home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Not too shabby in my books.

They did all this, mind you, with 13 sixteen and seventeen year olds, 4 of them on defence. That’s on a roaster of 23 guys.

To say they overachieved is a bit of an understatement!

But that doesn’t seem good enough for Kingstonians. The first two games of the playoffs saw smaller attendance numbers than an average regular season game this year … which was a far cry from last year’s attendance.

People blame it on many things: past experiences, higher ticket prices, waiting to see if they make it to the next round, and they don’t like where the arena was built. These are all excuses of fickle fans.

It’s almost like the fans said, “You had your chance last year and you blew it. We’re not doing that again.”

There are some people who wish for the good old days. They liked watching hockey then; those were real teams.

I remember my dad, at about age 70, was asked by another senior if he was going to attend a seniors’ service at his church.

He said he didn’t think he would go. The man replied, “We are going to sing hymns like the good old days.”

My dad’s reply was, “The good old days were not that good.”

We build the past up to be bigger than it was. The present is where it is at. Be a fan, not some fickle version of it!

Here’s the thing: When you make a commitment to Jesus Christ, it’s not some half-hearted, in the good times only commitment. You are trusting your life now and forever to Him and you need to give Him your all – not some whiny, looking back at the past, fickle version of it. Live your commitment.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How would you describe a real commitment? Leave your comments below.

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Comfort Is A Problem Moving Forward

There is something about old things that draw us back to find comfort in them.

I was just realizing this in the aftermath of Christmas.

My wife, Lily, and I had our two children home with us for a few days over Christmas. Yesterday we said goodbye to our daughter. Now that the house is a little more spacious, I realize that it’s really a little more empty.

Those few days with the family home brings back a comfort that we don’t want to end; we want it to stay.

That’s why we like old music; we find a comfort there that we don’t want to see leave.

That’s why it’s hard to make eating changes; there is a comfort in having that chocolate bar at 9 pm.

We can’t stop time, that’s for sure. We also can’t stop our kids from developing their own plans, dreams and pursuits. But it’s not like we can’t go on without the comfort of the old.

So what happens when we feel a little empty, when the comfort of having our children back home comes to an end?

We suck it up and accept it!

There are, however, some things we have much more control over. It is with those things that we struggle with leaving the comfort behind.

The comfort is like a craving – a craving that is stronger than your willpower, stronger than what you know is best.

Food is one of those areas for me – junk food, that is. It’s hard for me to say no to it. I crave sweet things more than most people.

But in the last month, I’ve tried to cut a lot of sweet stuff out of my life. … I know, this was a crazy idea to have around the Christmas season, but you have to start sometime.

This is what I’ve found: I feel better when I cut sweet things out of my life. I feel healthier, I lose weight, and it probably lowers my cholesterol all at the same time.

It sounds good, but in the evening when I look in the pantry, or on the counter, or if I walk into the living room, there are dishes of candy everywhere – sweet, mouth-watering candy!

Even though I have more reasons to say no to eating the sweets, there is a comfort in indulging in them.

I know I will not feel as good having that third cookie or eating several chocolate-covered almonds after already having a little of my toffee. But you know what? There is comfort in doing it anyway.

… That’s just one example. It really comes down to not being controlled by our comforts.

What do you want to do or change as you enter this new year? Start by figuring out how you are going to do without the comfort you find in whatever you want to change.

That’s the key.

Here’s the thing: At the beginning of a new year, make a commitment to God that you want to deepen your relationship with Him. To do that it will mean you have to make some changes that will most likely include doing away with some comforts. Figure out how you will put those particular comforts behind you so that you are free to move forward.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is one of your comforts you don’t want to part with? Leave your comments below.

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Why You Shouldn’t Wait To Commit

It’s no secret that I’m not a frequent flyer at the doctor’s office. I will see my doctor if there is something wrong with me, or on occasion when my wife pleads with me long enough to get checked out.

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Last summer was one of those occasions. In a weak moment, I said I would see my doctor or at least get my blood checked.

I got the form about a year ago, but it was so close to my vacation that I decided to wait until after to go to the lab to let them extract some blood from me.

I’m really not a fan of needles so it’s not something I do just on a whim. I avoid needles at all cost (I’ll write about that in my next blog). I’ve even been known to understate the last time I had a tetanus shot, so they didn’t have to stick me when I was getting stitches.

After my vacation, I delayed going for another couple of weeks, but by the first week of September I got the job done.

Then there came the waiting game. Would I hear from my doctor or would everything check out just fine? I kind of kept my fingers crossed for two weeks, and I didn’t hear anything.

I thought I was in the clear but I still held my breath for another week, just in case.

Then, at the end of the third week, my doctor told me my cholesterol was high. He gave me a couple of options: increase my cholesterol meds or lose weight.

I wanted to try to lose weight because, along with not being a fan of needles, I’m not a fan of medication either.

I was pumped and energized to get going. All fall the weight started coming down … then Christmas came and I lost my focus.

In the new year, my weight bumped up a little bit, so I couldn’t get my blood checked to see if my cholesterol had gone down. I wasn’t near my goal.

By February my doctor gave me the form to get my second blood test. I kept holding off because I couldn’t discipline myself to reach my goal.

Finally, this summer I made some headway on my weight loss again, and though I didn’t reach my goal, I’m hoping that my weight will be low enough to give me a good cholesterol score.

The other day, a year after I received my first lab requisition form, I took my second form (which I’ve had for six months), and got my blood tested.

I’ll let you know how things turn out.

Here’s the thing: When God calls us to make a commitment to something or take on a ministry role of some kind, sometimes our response is that we just need to work on an area of two before we say yes. The problem is there will always be something that causes us to think, “I’m not ready yet”. … If God is calling you to something now, just do it. He knows what you need to work on and He will work on you as you are obedient to His calling.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has kept you from moving forward with God? Leave your comment below.

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From Bad News To Work Out Room

I wrote earlier this fall about some bad news I got from my doctor. I had had a blood test, waited about three weeks, and thought I was in the clear, only to have my doctor pull me aside one day and tell me my cholesterol was high.

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I cringed, of course, but I kind of knew it – I had been pretty liberal with my snacking in the last while.

Since then I started to change my eating patterns. I wrote about this in a September blog called, “Difficult Choice” (your can read it here).

In that time, I’ve lost about 10 or so pounds. I say “or so” because on a given day I can go up or down as much as three and a half pounds.

It’s kind of crazy – I’m not sure if it’s my scale that’s lying to me or whether the pizza I had the other night really did put 3 pounds on me!

The thing is, I’ve been doing this for about three months and I think I’ve kind of hit a wall. I don’t seem to be able to get past the 10 or so pounds and go lower to reach my goal.

It’s time to start phase two of my plan. However, phase two requires Lily’s help.

No, I’m not asking her to make certain foods for me, or spot me when I lift weights, I need her to agree to let me purchase a rowing machine. I’ve wanted one for two years now since I took a  cardiac rehab course.

At the clinic they had a rowing machine and I really got hooked on that piece of equipment.  However, they are not cheap. I’ve wanted one but no one has sprung the cash to get me one for my birthday or anything.

Well that is until now. Somehow, without any real arm-twisting on my part, Lil thought we could make it a Christmas present to each other.

It’s really going to cut down on gift wrap this year, and Christmas morning we’re not going to have much to open because we ordered it and it’s already arrived!

My son had been telling people for ages that he no longer had a bedroom at our house, that we had turned it into a workout room. But all I had previously done was stick a weightlifting bench in the middle of all his stuff.

Now Mike has a real case for telling people he has no bedroom at home. I’ve taken his old room, cleared out most of the debris, set up my mountain bike on a trainer, put a weight bench in the room … and now have a brand new rowing machine as well!

My new gym room is nicer than many hotel workout rooms. And I’m counting on it to help me get past the 10 pound barrier and on to my goal.

Here’s the thing: To ensure I stay physically healthy, I’ve had to take some significant measures. What I was doing wasn’t getting me to where I needed to be. Your spiritual life is the same. You can’t just keep the same devotional time with God that you began with. To get where God wants you to be, you need to take measures to make your time with God more impacting on your life. You have to up your commitment level to spiritual growth.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you started that you realize you need to up your commitment level to? Leave your comment below.