connect

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Familiarity Breeds The Strongest Of Connections

Familiarity brings out the desire to connect. Have you ever noticed that in your life?

familiarity breeds the strongest of connections

I have, in fact, just this morning. I witnessed two strangers connect over something that was familiar to both of them.

Maybe there is some kind of bond that is created with familiarity, an invisible string that ties our hearts together with one another. 

When you think about it, familiarity warms our hearts. 

If we hear a song on the radio that we knew from long ago, often there is a noted smile that crosses our faces. We put our attention to it. We remember places and people who also shared that song with us. 

This connection is so strong that we can picture a place in the past where we heard that song. Our mood may have been flat or even down, but a familiar song changes that in an instant. 

And for at least the length of that song, our mood has brightened. 

Just being in the same room as someone we have known in the past can change how we talk, how we relate; we can even become more animated.

I know this is true when I get with the guys I went to high school with. Though we are all grown men, we start relating and acting and talking like we did back in high school.

That’s the kind of thing familiarity does. That invisible thread gets tied to each other’s hearts and we don’t go back in time, but the past somehow get injected into how we interact with each other. 

It really is an amazing thing. 

This morning at hockey there were two guys in the dressing room who didn’t know each other. They had never met before, except for seeing each other skating around the ice. But this morning they were changing in the same room.

One of the guys had a tattoo of Newfoundland over his heart.

I had noticed it, but didn’t say anything. I just figured he was from there, or it was a special place to him. 

But another guy across the room noticed the tattoo and spoke up.  

“You from Newfoundland?” he asked. And the tattooed guy responded, “Yes I am.” 

What transpired next was pretty amazing. It was that familiarity at work.

They went from complete strangers to being deeply connected to each other. 

Somehow, though being from different places on “the Rock”, they not only knew things about where each other was from, but they knew some of the same people.

The room might as well have been empty of other people because all they did was banter back and forth about their homeland. 

The more they talked, the thicker and thicker their accents got as they connected more deeply. 

They left the room together and when I finally emerged from the dressing room, they were still engaged in conversation beside the rink. 

I made my way out to my car, got my hockey bag into the trunk, and started to pull out of my parking spot. 

These two were now in the parking lot … still engaged in conversation. 

They may never leave each other’s company.

Here’s the thing: I’ve been reading through the Bible each year for the past 25 years. There is now a familiarity with it that draws me to it and warms my heart to it each day as I read. Daily read God’s word to develop a familiarity that connects you to God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What connection do you have with God’s word? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Great Intentions Will Get You Nowhere

I had great intentions this morning. I knew what I was going to do first … well, maybe not first. First I take some personal time with God and then I play hockey on Saturday mornings.

great intentions will get you nowhere

It was after that that I intended to write out a list of things I wanted to do today.

That was the catalyst for my great intentions.

Hockey was over at 8:30 am but I just finished writing out my list at 1:15 pm. No, it didn’t take me that long to write out my list. I just didn’t get to it. … So much for great intentions.

Other things consumed my time, like deciding to listen to music while I ate breakfast. 

I had issues trying to connect my phone with the speaker in the kitchen, but rather than just listen to the music from my phone’s speakers, I chose to solve the issue with the speaker in the kitchen.

In the process I listened to a lot of music on my phone before I got my kitchen speaker set up … and burned through a good deal of time. 

Then I checked my email on my phone, which sent me on a rabbit trail, that took me to facebook and a lot of scrolling. 

Before I knew it, I was feeling a little peckish, so I rustled up some lunch, which usually means reheating a leftover meal from earlier in the week. 

We had one meal in the fridge so that worked out for me. I also got wings out of the freezer for my dinner later, so I was all set for meals.

It was time to make that list. 

And when I make a list of things I need or want to get done, there is always more on that list than I had originally thought of in my head. 

Today my list is kind of long … not too long for a 9-in-the-morning list, but rather long for a starting-after-1-pm list.

What really messed me up was that I didn’t make my list until the afternoon. Somehow my brain thinks that when the list is made, then I have my instructions for the day. Until I make that list, I’m free-wheeling on whatever comes into my mind to do that minute. 

That’s just how my mind works. 

I remember years ago taking a Myers Briggs temperament evaluation. Along with the four letters that indicated what each particular temperament was, there was a prayer that went along with it. 

One of the prayers went something like, “God help me to keep my mind on one thi … Oh look, it’s a bird.”

For some reason I need a dock or a post to chain my mind to. For me, a list is that post or dock that keeps me focussed. 

I’m hoping my list will tie down my brain to the things I want to do today.

Here’s the thing: Our great intentions don’t mean anything unless we actually get to them. That is true with God as well. You might have great intentions to follow Him one day, but intentions won’t make that happen. You might have great intentions to forgive a person, or to clean up some part of your life. Great intentions won’t do it for you. You have to get at it and start. What are you waiting for?

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s your great intention and what are you going to do about it? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Let’s Connect Now More Than Ever

In these times of change and uncertainty, we need to intentionally connect more with each other.

Connect Now More Than Ever

As isolation becomes more and more widespread, and the normal ways of connecting with each other become harder, if we don’t work at it, if we just accept our isolation, we will slowly cut ourselves off from others.

And that’s not good at all. We can become very self-absorbed, thinking only about ourselves and our needs.

What has encouraged me is how my church family has responded to being isolated. I have heard over and over how people have been calling each other. People, who would not normally phone others, are burning up the minutes on their phones, chatting, cheering and encouraging other people in our church community. 

I’ve been thrilled when I have phoned someone and they’ve told me that this person and that person had called them this week. My heart shouts for joy when I hear that!  

It’s a sign we care about each other and a sign we are not going to let this isolation keep us from connecting with one another. 

But there is a segment of society that we could all learn a lesson from. 

Two months ago you would never have thought that this group could teach us anything. In fact, most people have just wished that this segment of society would finish maturing and finally enter adulthood. We just considered them as adult-ish.

I’m talking about the 22 – 30-year-old single male population. 

There is no better model than them right now for us to learn how to connect together. And the crazy thing is they have been practicing it for years already. It’s just natural for them.

I’m not saying that the females of this same demographic don’t connect as well – they may, but I can only speak of what I know and have seen. And these twenty-something-year-old males are masters at connecting. 

They are highly tech savvy, so they are on their phones, burning up data at lightning speeds. They text, video chat, send pics, phone, and play group video games with headsets …sometimes they do it all at the same time. 

These males could be isolated for months – heaven help us – and yet still connect with everyone in their circle on a daily basis. They are just that good at it.

For the rest of us, outside of getting into online video gaming, we need to work hard at using the means available to us to keep connected with one another. 

I like what many people are already doing. Let’s just keep it up. We now need to connect more than ever.

Here’s the thing: While we find ways to connect with each other, we should be as intentional to look for ways to connect with God. There are the basic ways to connect with God: through His Word, and through prayer. And especially now we should be taking full advantage of these ways of connecting with Him. But let’s also not neglect connecting with God and others at the same time. Make it a habit on Sundays to tune into a livestream service, and take full advantage of online Bible studies and devotionals. We need to connect with God now more than ever.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you doing throughout the week to stay connected to God and others? Leave your comments and questions below.