devotions

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Having Different Definitions Can Cause Trouble

We have different definitions of being ready … at least we do in our home.

Getting ready to go somewhere has always been a point of tension for Lily and I.

It seems that I am always waiting for her when we are going to leave the house. In her defence, sometimes she has more to do before she is ready to leave.

But I think it has to come down to a difference in our definitions of being ready.

On Saturday we decided to go to a store late in the afternoon. The store was not going to be open for very long so we needed to go quickly.

I asked, “So, are you ready to go now?” Lily answered, “Yes”. I headed to the door and put on my shoes. Lily headed into the bedroom!

I was literally ready to walk out the door when I had asked her if she was ready to leave. Lily just needed one minute before she was ready to close the door behind her. 

This was not an isolated incident; this is a reoccurring scenario.

When we were recently going to our cottage for a few days, we had a number of things we needed to take with us, being the beginning of the cottage season. 

The night before I piled everything we needed to take by the front door. Lil did the same.

The next day when I was ready to start packing the car, I knew that everything that needed to go was right there before me. 

Lily said she was ready. “I just need to put the food from the fridge into the cooler”, she said.

“Great”, I thought as I started to pack. The only problem was that the bag with her clothes was not at the front door. 

I started packing but the bag wasn’t showing up and I needed that bag near the beginning of the packing because of its size.

She said she was packed, but apparently not completely packed. There were still a few things she needed to add in. 

When I say “I’m all ready”, by definition I mean “I am ready this instant”. When Lily says she’s ready, her definition means that there are only a couple more things she needs to do first. 

We did finally pack the car and head off to the cottage. As we were driving, we got a text from our daughter, asking us to pick her up on the way. 

I asked her if she was like her mother and still needed to pack. Karlie replied that everything was by the door. 

Lil shot me a look and said, “I guess she’s not like her mother.” 

Well, when we got to Karlie’s house, I expected to grab her bags that were by the door and leave. 

It was perfect … she still had a couple of things that had to be added to her bag! Then we left. 

I guess it all comes down to definition.

Here’s the thing: We may have different definitions of being ready for Christ’s return, but there is only one definition that matters: His. Ensure your faith is securely placed in Christ as your Saviour and Lord because, when He returns, there will be no time for one more thing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your definition of being ready? Does it fit Christ’s? Leave your comments below

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It Was a Royal Day At My House

It was a royal day in our house today. I don’t mean we had a visit from someone from the royal family or anything. The day was just filled with hours of television tuned to the proceedings and the analysis of the royal wedding of Harry and Meghan.

I’m not much of a royal family follower. I have a hard time identifying anyone past the next in line to the throne. But my wife, Lily, can recognize pretty much anyone who has a remote chance of being the king or queen.

I wasn’t sure if she would be getting up at 4 am to start watching the festivities, but she discovered that we have a PVR so she decided to sleep in a bit and watch the pregame show later.

When I left for hockey at 6 am, all was quiet at our house, but by the time I got back at around 8 am, the TV was definitely on and tuned in. 

She kept channel surfing too, not to see what else was on but to check out the quality of coverage on the other networks.

I, however, had lots to do and didn’t really have time to watch a wedding. After all, I’ve performed many weddings; I didn’t need to watch one on TV.

But there it was; I couldn’t get around it. So I found myself watching some of the ceremony and that long, tedious drive around town in a buggy.

They could have gotten to the reception in about one minute, but they took a ride in a horse-drawn carriage down a road they called, “The Long Walk”.

I noticed the horses acting up a little, so maybe they found it to be a long walk as well.

This wedding captured Lily’s attention. She didn’t want me to make any comments about the hats and fascinators, or any of the people in attendance. 

She didn’t even like me singing along to “Stand By Me” when the choir sung. She just wanted to soak it all in without any distraction. 

I couldn’t help thinking that at hockey a few hours earlier no one in the dressing room had mentioned the wedding. And no one was in a hurry after hockey to get home to see it.

… That’s not to say that I didn’t have any comments to make about the wedding.

There were a few things I noticed: 

Oprah Winfrey seemed to be walking around aimlessly in a daze. Elton John didn’t seem to like the sermon from the Bishop. He had his nose turned up when the camera was on him.

The Queen must have forgotten her glasses, because she was all bent over when they sang the hymn. She could barely see the words.

The bride’s mother seemed to be more sad than happy with everything that was going on. 

The commentators yammered on way too much about nothing. 

And Prince Phillip was walking really well for a guy in his late 90’s who’d just gotten a new hip! 

Those are just some of the things I noticed.

Here’s the thing: When something impressive, something that is bigger than life comes along, it captures our attention. We take notice and pause to take it all in. God has given us His Word, which is filled with insight into Him and what He wants us to know. Don’t act like you don’t have access. Let it capture your attention every day.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What strikes you about God’s Word? Leave your comments below.

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It Was My Most Difficult Drive Ever

Even though the driving conditions were excellent, last night was one of the most difficult drives I have made.

I’ve driven through snowstorms when all you could see were the big flakes coming right at the windshield. 

I’ve driven in rainstorms that were so heavy and dark that I was thankful when lightning flashed so I could see the lines on the highway.

But a drive like the other night’s ranked up there as one of my all-time most dreaded times behind the wheel.

Ironically, the weather couldn’t have been better. The roads were dry; the sky was so clear the moon and stars lit up the road.

The traffic was light and I was never hindered by trucks or cars from passing slower vehicles. 

What made the trip one of the worst was that I was tired … really tired.

I’d done a lot of driving in the previous two days, and had some late nights. Earlier in the afternoon we’d taken a two hour trip to see Lily’s mother for Mother’s Day.

I never go to bed at 9:30 pm but that night I could have. Instead, we were just starting to make the two hour trek back home.

I’ve had some scary night drives in the past. When I was young and foolish, I fell asleep in a buddy’s car driving back home from out-of-town.

When he woke me up, I thought we were home. He instead said we had a flat tire. I also noticed that my shoulder was a little sore.

I couldn’t get out of my side of the car, but when I climbed out the driver’s side and came around to my side, I noticed we had two flat tires, and racing stripe-like indents all along the body of the car from the steel cable on the guard rail. 

My friend, who was driving, had also fallen asleep. 

Another time in my 20’s, I was driving up to my girlfriend’s cottage late at night after working all day and leading a youth group activity in the evening. 

My girlfriend was tired and said she was just going to close her eyes. I turned up the music but it didn’t help. I woke up when we hit the shoulder. I swerved back onto the road, and eventually stopped the car about twenty feet down in the ditch between the highway.

I sure didn’t want that to happen this time, but I was so tired it could have. I snacked on a few things, changed my position often, and kept shaking my head.

I leaned forward so that my chin was almost on the steering wheel. Lily rubbed my back and pinched my shoulders – anything just to keep me awake.

We talked to our daughter on the phone for about thirty minutes of the trip. It was a good thing because just being involved in that conversation helped to keep me from closing my eyes.  

I was never happier to turn into our driveway. I think I was asleep within minutes of walking into the house.

Here’s the thing: When you are tired, there is a tremendous pull to give in, close your eyes and rest – even when you know that it’s dangerous to give in to that temptation. The urge is so strong, it can be overpowering. The best way to prevent that danger is to not put yourself in the situation at all. … When it comes to sin, the same is true: don’t put yourself in a place where the temptation is too great to resist.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do to keep yourself from temptation? Leave your comments below.

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It’s The Little Things That Make It Special

Often it is the little things that make something really special and stand out. 

Yesterday I attended an event at the Hockey Hall Of Fame in Toronto. We took in all the sights and looked at the history making events and people. 

There were even a few former NHLers who attended the event. One was Ron Ellis who not only was a Hall of Fame member but also has his name on the Stanley Cup.

A visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame isn’t complete without visiting the room where the Stanley Cup resides. 

The room itself is amazing. It’s set in an old bank with a high, domed, stained glass ceiling. The room is adorned with the many trophies that are handed out to NHL players for various achievements, as well as glass plates with images of those who have been inducted into the Hall. 

But the key piece, the item that stands out over everything else, is the Stanley Cup. 

I got my picture taken with the cup but I told Lily that I couldn’t touch it so I wouldn’t jinx myself from ever winning it … haha.

But that’s one of the things that make the Stanley Cup the most special of all trophies in sports. 

It’s a magnificent looking trophy, so large you need two hands to hold it. It’s also old, having been first awarded in 1893. 

Those little things are what make it the greatest trophy in sports. 

I joke about not touching the cup, but a Junior hockey player or a current NHLer won’t touch it until they win it. 

The cup has gone around the world, spending a day in the home town of each player who has won the cup that year. 

People have drank from the cup; they have sat babies in the bowl of the cup. The Stanley Cup has been left on the side of the road; it’s been tossed in a river. There was once an attempt to steal the cup. 

It has been touched and held by more people than any other professional trophy. 

And there is no other celebration of victory that centres around a trophy quite like the Stanley Cup.

Some trophies are handed out to the winning team in a press room or locker room. Some are presented on a high stage with all the focus on the owner who created such a great team.

But the Stanley Cup is the focal point of the hockey championship. It is presented to the captain, who skates around the rink and then passes it to his teammates who each get to skate and lift up the trophy. 

The win is all about getting your hands on that cup. Oh ya, and the honour of having your name permanently engraved on it. 

… Now that’s special.  

It’s all those little things that make the Stanley Cup the greatest trophy in sports. 

Here’s the thing: It’s the little things in Christianity that make it special. The big thing is that Jesus died on the cross to pay for all mankind’s sin – that’s a big deal! Other religions leave it up to you to have to work your way to their god. But the God of heaven did all the work for you. That’s big; there is no religion like it. But our God is also very personal. He meets with us, speaks to us through the Bible, helps and directs us on a daily basis, and lives in each of us by the Holy Spirit. Those are the little things that make being part of God’s family so special. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is one little thing you are thankful to God for? Leave your comments below.

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It Appeared Out Of Nowhere

Yesterday something just appeared on me and I have no idea how it got there. 

I had just washed my hands and, as I was drying them, I looked at my fingers and noticed something I hadn’t seen before. 

In fact, I was so surprised I exclaimed, “Whoa” out loud. I said it loud enough that others heard me.

I felt I needed to explain my surprise to them, so I walked over and showed them my hands.

You could tell the middle finger on my right hand was a different colour. It was dark red, sort of like it was going to develop into a big bruise. It went from the knuckle of my hand all the way past the middle knuckle on my finger.

The thing is I can’t remember what I did to get it. 

That’s not like me. I usually know what I did to get the aches and pains, bumps and bruises I incur.

But I couldn’t remember what I did to get this injury. I do remember hurting my knuckle, but what I did doesn’t seem memorable enough for me to be able to recall it. 

It’s sort of like my wife, Lily. I will see a bruise on her arm and say, “How did you get that?” And her reply is always the same: “I don’t know.”

She never knows, and I always walk away muttering to myself, “How can you not know how you got that?” 

I usually know exactly what I did to get a bruise … even when I was on a powerful blood thinner for a few months after my heart attack years ago. 

Back then my doctors didn’t want me playing hockey or really doing anything where I could get hit because of the chance of bruising. Even then I could tell you where I got bruises from. 

But not this time. 

I told someone it might have happened when we were doing yard work at the church, or it could have happened when I was playing hockey earlier.

But I just don’t know. It’s a mystery just like all of Lily’s bruises (not that she has a lot of them).

I don’t recall many times when something just appeared on me out of nowhere. 

I do, however, remember a time that something disappeared into nowhere. That was at our wedding. 

One of our bridesmaids fainted during the ceremony; the pastor made an amazing catch and got her before she hit the ground. 

Lily’s cousin had recorded the whole wedding so when we got the tape – yes, the tape – and viewed it, I was waiting to see all the action. 

But all you saw was her losing her balance and then poof, she was gone. Lil’s cousin edited the incident right out of our video.

It was amazing. One minute she was there, the next she was not. 

And that’s what I’m hoping for with my finger, that the redness disappears as quickly as it appeared out of nowhere.

Here’s the thing: The Bible tells us that one day Jesus is going to return, and His return will come as a surprise. There will be many who will not be ready. There are lots of predictions and sign watching right now about when Jesus will return. It could be soon. But my view is to be ready now so that you are not taken by surprise when Christ appears out of nowhere. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Are you ready now for Jesus’ return if He should come today? Leave your comments below.

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It Feels Like The Longest Days Of The Year

We are in the longest days of the year right now. I realize that it won’t be until late in June when we reach the maximum daylight, but still, these are the longest days of the year.

I used to live in Edmonton which has long days in the summer. I remember being on a golf course at 11pm at night!

When I directed a week of junior high camp for a few years, we would turn the clocks ahead. We called it “camp time”. We did it so the sun wasn’t still high in the sky when we would have our camp fires. 

Those definitely were long days. 

We got blackout blinds on our kids’ rooms so that when we put them to bed they didn’t think it was still the middle of the day.

But right now, at the beginning of May, we are experiencing the longest days of the year.

And if you are wondering why that is, it’s not that the sun is standing still in the sky. It’s not even that it is staying light out most of the night in Alaska. 

No, it’s that we are experiencing the NHL playoffs. 

You see, with eight teams still in the playoffs, there are two games every night and one is always a western game, giving us in the east a starting time of about 10 pm. 

… That means my days are very long, often extending after midnight.

Even though my team is out of the playoffs, I can’t stop watching the games. They flow from one to another. 

If one game runs a little late with overtime, the TV network joins the next game immediately … and the best part is you don’t have to wait for the national anthems to be sung. You get beamed into live action as a player is receiving a pass up the ice.

One of the difficult things about these long days is my day don’t start any later than usual. I’m up at my regular time; I’m just not getting to bed until much later than I’d like.

It’s not hard to handle this pace for a day or two, but day after day with no breaks until this round is over and four teams will be knocked out, that’s tiring. 

And I know what you are thinking – “Just don’t watch the late game.”

But that is easier said than done. 

If I open a bag of potato chips in front of you and say just have one, how well would you do with that? – especially if the bag was still hovering around your nose after you had devoured your first chip!

See? I thought you might understand if I gave you that analogy. 

These are long days we are in, and as much as I have enjoyed the action in all the series, I will be looking forward to a week from now when we will only have one game a night.

… Maybe I’ll have to take a nap early in the evening so I can stay up and watch those late western games.

Here’s the thing: When your routine or schedule gets changed, do you find that it is hard to maintain some of the things you are used to doing? There is never a time where God is thrown off His plan or will. With Him everything always gets accomplished right when He determines it. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you get back on track when your routine or schedule has been interrupted or adjusted? Leave your comments below.

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I Just Crossed Something Else Off My List

Well, I think I’ll cross one more item off my list of things I can and will do.

You get to a certain point in life where you have to remind yourself that you just can’t do things you did twenty years ago and think they will have no effect on you.

My son was moving on the weekend and needed a little help from Mom and Dad. This was his first big move that he’s had to do himself.

The last time the company moved him. All he had to do was grunt and point. He didn’t even have to pack!

Not this time – it was all on his shoulders. Plus he didn’t need to take some of his belongings to the next place.

Guess who gets to store those? Fortunately, we no longer have that second car taking up room in the garage so we have a whole half of the garage just waiting to receive his stuff.

Years ago when I was young, the church that I worked for used to call on the youth pastor and college pastor any time someone needed help moving. 

I did lots of moving back then. We even came up with a name for ourselves: “Dave and Paul, One Trip Movers”. 

And we did our best to get every person’s junk onto one truckload so we didn’t have to go back.

That was years ago though … a distant memory. I can’t do that kind of moving any more. It takes a toll on you.

This time we did a round trip from Kingston to Burlington and back in 24 hours. We brought all the stuff back to our home that our son doesn’t need right now. 

The next day we were up early to drive back to Burlington – a total of 975 km in all. About half way through the day, I realized how tired I was. 

That’s when you question yourself, “Do I really want to do this again? I know I did it in the past and can still do it, but it’s not as easy as before.”

I remember a few years ago when I shingled my cottage roof, looking at the job and thinking it wouldn’t be very difficult. I had experience shingling roofs, albeit 30 years earlier. 

When we finally finished the work, I remember saying to Lily,  “Well, I’m not going to do that ever again!” 

It was one of those items I crossed off my list of things that I can do. 

When you are young, new things get added to the list of things you can do all the time. It’s exciting.

But at this stage of life, I am happy to cross a few things off that list that I don’t need to or have to do any more.

I think moving people is one of those things that’s going to end up being crossed off the list. 

Of course, when it comes to family, you have to make exceptions. 

Here’s hoping for a company move next time.

Here’s the thing: There are things in our lives that we used to do, that we didn’t think anything of. But as we grow in our relationships with Christ, we need to keep evaluating our actions and cross off those things that don’t meet with our level of maturity in Christ, which should be constantly increasing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to cross off your list of things you do? Leave your comments below.

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My Family’s Wall Of Shame

I’m writing this blog while standing in front of our family’s wall of shame. I’m sure that most homes also have some form of our wall.

Our wall of shame is in our family room. It has a set of three lights that shine strategically on the pictures that hang on that wall … you wouldn’t want to have any shadows cast over these photographic gems!

I’m sure you realize that what we have isn’t really a wall of shame, but the affectionate term our children have given to some pictures – a whole wall of random pictures that give a brief glimpse into the lives of each member of our household.

The wall provides a snapshot of how our family has grown over the years, as well as one shot that Lily snuck in there from my early years playing hockey as a kid.

Though it shows how our family has grown over the years, in reality it shows how our kids have grown and how Lily and I have aged. 

From this wall, you get an idea of the things that we think are important, things we like and a few shots that were just too cute to not include on the wall.

Females who look at the wall get all warm and fuzzy, while males usually take to mocking within seconds.

The wall is well positioned to ensure that the maximum amount of embarrassment is doled out. 

It’s right by our pool table, so while you are standing waiting for someone to take his shot, it provides a perfect diversion to look and make a comment about one or more of the pictures on the wall.

I remember going to an art gallery one time, and listening to what people had to say about the various pieces of art on display. I was relieved for the painter’s sake that he was not living. He didn’t have to hear all the random comments made about his work.

We don’t have that kind of luxury here in our family room. One of us is usually standing within ear shot of some wise crack.

But humiliating as our wall of shame is, it is nothing compared to the other wall Lily had going upstairs in the hall. 

Yes, both these walls are courtesy of Lily; she is the designer and chooser of the pictures. 

The wall upstairs featured a series of pictures our family had taken on a cruise ship. They were brutal! The photographer had us pose in positions no one else had been able to do nor will do again. 

Fortunately, that wall recently got painted and because the pictures had received so much abuse by Karlie, Mike and I, they didn’t get put back up.

I’m all for looking back and reminiscing about the past as you look through old photos or scan through them on a computer, but having them on display 24/7 for years and years? 

All I can say is it will be a great wall of memory when I’m no longer around.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes when we scan over our lives, we feel shame for things we’ve done, or didn’t do. We can see glimpses of specific times or events that caused us pain. There is One who has constant access to the images of your entire life. If He is your Saviour and Lord, you can know He looks at you not with disappointment or shame, but with great joy and pleasure. If we have received His forgiveness, there is no longer any wall of shame. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What would you like to keep hidden from others? Leave your comments below.

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My New Technology Doesn’t Work With The Old

Trying to use new technology with old technology doesn’t always work very well. Sometimes the two are incompatible.

I found that out recently when I got myself involved in a project just to be nice. By the time I had finished, however, I didn’t feel all that nice! 

I was asked to lend my video camera to someone for a project they wanted to film. Someone else was also asked the same thing.  

When it came time to film, the person doing the project chose to use the other camera. That was fine with me. 

But a few days later, that camera owner informed me that her camera would no longer hook up to her computer and that the person who had done the filming had assumed she would edit the film for him.

I agreed to help and to get the files off the camera and to edit the video for her. 

Bad call on my part! The camera wouldn’t hook up to her computer because the video files were recorded in an old format.

… I remember many years ago wanting to add front shocks to my mountain bike, thinking they would be a great feature to add.

When I went to the bike shop to ask how much the transformation would cost, I was informed that my bike was too old. The old front end construction didn’t allow for the addition of a new fork with shocks.

I ended up purchasing a new bike with front shocks. It cost a lot more money than my original plan, but the old bike construction was just too restrictive to keep using it.

I was facing the same problem with the camera, except for one difference: I thought that somehow there would be a way to get those video files into a useable format.

I worked on it, searched the internet and found some solutions … or what at first looked like solutions but weren’t.

I did discover that I could buy an application that would do the work for me, but it would cost $50 … not worth it for a six minute movie, especially since I would have no use for the program once this project was finished.

I spent over five hours working on this project that I was only asked to lend my camera to! 

I’m not sure you sense my frustration here, but if steam could come out of my ears … well, you’d maybe have a picture of my frustration.

In the end, I used a free program that read the files and converted them to a useable format … except it didn’t save the sound. I had to use that program to interpret the files, then replay the files while recording the sound from my computer screen. 

It was not perfect, but it worked. … I will definitely tell the owner of that camera to throw it out and not use it again.

Here’s the thing: The problem with technology is that it is continuously changing. If something is over five years old, you might find it no longer works or you can not get replacement parts for it.

God never changes. You can always connect with Him and relate to Him using the same means we have used for centuries: continue to pray, worship and serve Him. We may keep adding new formats, but the means remain the same. God longs to connect with us, and we never have to look for a new way. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you had to replace because the original was outdated? Leave your comments below.

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What To Do When Weather Is Looming

Last week we were warned of looming weather. There was supposed to be a bad storm with freezing rain coming our way. 

It was supposed to start in the early hours of Saturday morning, but when I got up for hockey at 5:30, there was no rain and it was above freezing. 

I thought after hockey I might have difficultly driving home, but there was no rain and temperatures were still in the positive numbers.

The weather stations were ramping up their warnings, like it was going to be bad and that our city was in the red zone of the storm.

Yet when I looked outside to the street, the road was drying up.

The weatherman said to make sure we had gas in our cars. I wondered where I would have to drive to if there was freezing rain, and how long this was going to last. 

Were they suggesting that I needed to get out of the area, sort of like a nuclear fallout zone?

People were filling up with gas; they were stockpiling water. 

I had already been contacted by another church who was wondering if we had a plan for our Sunday service or whether we would cancel it. 

That got me thinking because I hadn’t thought about our service at all. We always just have it. But this week we were scheduled to have a lunch after church.

After conferring with my board, we decided to only cancel the lunch and let everyone make their own weather dependent decisions about coming to church.

Nothing was actually happening when we made that decision. It was just looming, with the threat of starting at any time. We didn’t know when; we didn’t know how bad it was going to be. 

But the threat of what might have been coming had us making plans, checking the sky, stockpiling supplies … Hey, Lily, how’s our candle inventory?

I remember the ice storm of 1998. The Canadian Encyclopedia called it one of the largest natural disasters in Canadian history. McLean’s magazine called it “The Great Ice Storm.”

We didn’t cancel church back then, and it was in January. We didn’t have power or heat, but we did have a service, though only a handful of people attended. 

I just remember having my jaw wide open as we drove through the deserted streets to get to church.

That one was more severe and long-lasting than this one was predicted to be, but it also was never looming. We just woke up and faced it. 

This time it was looming and the more it loomed, the bigger the storm became in our minds. 

When something is looming, it’s not usually considered a good thing … like when the music in a scary movie hits a certain chord, you know something bad is looming and about to happen.

Or when the US, Britain and France conduct bomb strikes on Syria, you know that reactions by Russian and Syria are looming. 

The looming part gives us time to think and plan and not be caught off guard … and maybe head to the bomb shelter.

Here’s the thing: People were worried and planning on what might be an inconvenience for a few days. But Christ is returning sometime and, though it’s been looming for over 2000 years, it’s still looming. Make sure that you are benefiting from the looming of Christ’s return: think about it, plan for it, and don’t be caught off guard. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you prepare for looming situations?