devotions

by

This May Be The Coldest Time Of The Year

For me, this is becoming the cold time of the year. I know that it’s the middle of April and the snow is long gone, but I’m freezing!

When I’m in my basement, I have to have a blanket over me just to prevent my body from going into hyperthermia.

As you go down to our basement, you can feel the temperature change when you get about halfway down the stairs. The staircase is only 12 steps long, but at about stair 5 I’m feeling the cold.

It doesn’t help that we’ve had a lot of rain – it’s probably a little damp in the basement.

Still, I’m freezing and I have to spend a lot of time in my basement right now. It’s hockey playoffs and I’m not going to miss watching the Leafs play in the playoffs for the first time in four years.

I will do what I have to in order to survive the frigid temperatures of my family room.

I fully understand that in a couple of months I will be loving the fact that it is cooler in the basement, and I will gladly spend time down here just to keep cool.

But right now, I can hardly bear it!

I’m thinking about keeping some mitts and a wool toque down here for when a game goes into overtime, or double overtime like it did last Saturday.

… The problem with that is it would be really hard to type out this blog post wearing something covering my fingers.

In the middle of the winter when the snow is flying and the temperatures outside are well below zero, I’m warm in my basement because the heat comes on regularly.

But the upstairs is not cold because that’s where the thermostat is. It might be 21 degrees upstairs but down here where I am right now it’s only 17.

I remember when I was a teen and I worked at a restaurant part time. Every once in a while we would have to get something out of the walk-in freezer.

When you first went in you would shiver, but then it was okay … for a couple of minutes. After that your blood started to solidify. You started moving in slow motion and you just prayed that the door wasn’t locked from the outside.

That’s the way I feel down here some evenings.

I don’t like coffee or tea; I really don’t like any hot drinks … but I’m starting to think a little hot chocolate might be in order.

… Maybe with a few marshmallows on top.

The one thing that is good is that my exercise room is down here. I’m exercising more because it’s the only way for me to generate a little heat in my body!

I can see my time in the basement lasting another couple of months with hockey playoffs going to mid June. … I guess I’ll feel like I’m sitting ice level in an arena for a while.

Here’s the thing: You may find yourself in an environment that is not the most comfortable. It may be that God wants to stretch you in an area that you find difficult to adjust to. Don’t try to move to a more comfortable environment until you warm up to your knew environment or until God wants you to move out of it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What new thing is God leading you into? Leave your comments below.

by

Relationships Come And Go

When you think about it, many of our relationships are short-lived.

People come into our lives for a period of time and then they leave again.

Though there are some relationships that we will have for all our lives, or for good portions of our lives, an abundance of our acquaintances are short-lived.

These relationships may not be completely gone from our lives, but they become more of a memory than an active connection that we keep.

I recently thought of this because, as the chaplain for an OHL team, the players are around for a maximum of four years and then they vanish from our lives.

As a pastor, I have experienced this in a variety of ways. I’ve worked with other pastoral staff who came into my life and then after a time left. When I was a youth pastor, I had teens in my ministry for about seven years and then they would start to leave for higher education or work.

With the transient nature of our society, there are always people coming into my church and then moving on to other places.

They say a church needs to grow by about 10% a year just to stay even because about 10% will be moving on each year.

… There is something about an old relationship that stays with you even after you lose contact and that is the memories.

It’s memories that keep a past relationship current in a small way.

For instance, I have some really good friends from back in my high school days that I don’t see much any more – some I haven’t been in touch with for years.

But I still feel like I have a connection with them, and that link is my memories.

Unless our memories fail us, even when we no longer have contact, there is still some semblance of an intact relationship.

This past week I said goodbye to a few of the Kingston Frontenacs who will be moving on from OHL hockey, and it was a sad parting.

They will be moving on to new things in different places; I won’t see them on a weekly basis. They were in my life for a time and now they’re gone.

But there are memories that will create a bond so that if our paths cross again our relationship can pick up where it left off.

When you think about it, memories are so important to a relationship. The more significant memories you build, the more connected you will remain, no matter how far apart you are, or how infrequent you have contact.

On the one hand, relationship do come and go. People are part of your life for a time and then they are not. But because of memories, they never really leave.

I guess the thing we need to concentrate on more than anything else is to have significant experiences with the relationships we have now. Then when that contact is gone, our memories will serve to keep our relationship active.

Here’s the thing: We should focus on having significant experiences with the Lord so that in those times when we feel alone, forgotten, or far away, our memories will serve to remind us that our relationship with God is current.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What past relationships do you have that are still vivid because of the memories you have? Leave your comments below.

by

It’s Nearing BBQ Season And I’m Not Ready

It’s a little early in the year, but lately I’ve been thinking about my BBQ.

Maybe it’s because the hardware stores have pulled them out from winter storage and put them on display for all us meat lovers.

Around here, early April is not really BBQing season, but I have a problem with my barbecue and, if I don’t figure out a solution in the next few weeks, I will miss some of the season.

Our present BBQ is about 6 years old which, in BBQ years, is like 15. It seems that when we take the cover off it after a winter, it has aged at least 2 years.

Metal and harsh winter conditions don’t do well together so BBQs start rusting and deteriorating over time.

In essence, my 15 year old BBQ needs some help. … If it were a dog, I could take it to a veterinarian and pay for an operation to help give it a few more years. But it’s not so easy with a BBQ.

Every grill is a different size. Believe me, I’ve checked out every big box hardware store in my city, and I’ve done it more than once.

It’s impossible to find the size of grill you need for your BBQ. You can replace burners and heat shields because they come in universal sizes, but grills? – that’s a different story.

Actually, you can buy universal grills – I’ve tried them before on other BBQs that I’ve owned – but they’re all the same. They don’t work.

Every time you take a scraper to them they shift and fall down onto the burners. Even flipping burgers can cause these universal grills to move and drop off the supports.

We have a cast iron grill now which I think is the hardest to maintain. You have to season it with oil to keep it from rusting … continually … who has the time to do that?

I should really think about buying a new BBQ this year and be done with it. But it’s one of those 4 burner, all stainless steel models with a cabinet underneath. I just hate to have to toss out all that metal just because I can’t find a grill that will fit it.

What I would really like to get is a stainless steel grill that fits because I think it would be easier for me to maintain. But if there is a place that sells such a thing they are not advertising.

There’s a great business for someone to start: making grills for all sizes of BBQs. It would save the landfills, keep people from having to buy new BBQs every few years, and would prevent a whole lot of wastefulness.

Too bad there wasn’t an old BBQ junk lot somewhere, where you could buy cheap parts for aging BBQs … that’s just wishful thinking.

Here’s the thing: As much as I would like to keep my BBQ and just replace what is absolutely necessary, the reality is the whole thing has got to go. Spiritually the same is true when we come to Christ. You might think you can keep certain things in your old life and only replace a few parts, but the Bible says in Christ you are a new creation. You can’t hang on to those old parts that aren’t working properly because they can make you ineffective. Embrace the new nature, your new nature in Christ.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you hanging on to that you just need to replace? Leave your comments below.

by

That Was A Real Close Call

I dodged a couple of bullets today – a few close calls on the ice.

I was playing hockey with my regular Saturday morning crowd and there was an incident or two that could have cost me.

The first was a blindside hit. It was supposed to be a stick check but he got a little body as well. I went down but I wasn’t hurt.

I was a little surprised because I didn’t see it coming; he came from behind my left shoulder.

I went down rather quickly and I was probably more shocked than hurt that he got more than my stick. We don’t play contact hockey, though in this sport you can’t avoid some contact … it’s just not supposed to be on purpose.

I’ve seen a few players in the NHL go down with hits like mine and suffer from concussions. I was really glad that I was okay.

It was a good thing the guy was young with not a lot of weight behind him to really cause a jolt.

Play continued and, even shortly after the incident, I didn’t think anything of it as I tried to wheel the puck up the ice.

Then later on in the game, I took a stick right across my visor. Again it was an accident – a guy following through on a clearing pass.

I know for sure that, if I had not had a visor on my helmet, I would have got a pretty good cut by my forehead nose area.

There is no question in my mind that I would have been going for stitches, because years ago I caught a stick to the head just like it and ended up with 5 stitches just above my eye, as well as two black eyes.

The only difference was the visor. In fact, the reason I wear a visor today is because of that cut I received about 30 years ago.

I was 31 years old then and I realized that hockey was a pass time and not my career. I needed my eyes for my career so I took precautions … thus the half visor that I still wear today.

I remember that injury well. It came the night before my first parents’ meeting of the teens that I worked with. I got ribbed a little about the black eyes. People joked that Lily took a frying pan to me.

This morning before I started playing I was actually more concerned about my knee. It hasn’t felt very strong and stable the last few days … but I wore a brace so my knee was good.

These two potential injuries on the ice today came completely unexpectedly. I guess you could say that I was fortunate or that Lady Luck was on my side. I’m just glad that I didn’t have to visit the emergency room or sit in the dark in the quiet room.

Here’s the thing: Everyday we have things happen around us that could cause us harm. It could be that we were a split second away from serious injury. We can’t plan for it or protect against these things most of the time. Some people think it is just luck. But I believe in a God who watches over us, where nothing escapes his oversight. Those inches, split seconds, and near misses are a result of His protective hand. No matter how many times you’re injured, think of how many more times you escaped unscathed, and thank God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What close call have you experienced lately? Leave your comments below.

by

You’ve Got To Know The Right Guy

Knowing the right guy is so important. When you need advice or expertise, being able to connect with the right person is invaluable.

When it comes to making or fixing things around the house, I’m pretty limited.

I can do a few things as long as they don’t involved sharp objects. I’ve just had way too many cuts on my hands to be comfortable with saws and knives. … Hey, I’ve even done some damage in the past with a screwdriver and I wouldn’t consider it a sharp object.

In the past week or so I needed some advice on the kitchen upgrade we are doing at home.

Let me say upfront, I’m not doing much on this one; Lily is doing most of the work, which involves a lot of painting.

But we were also getting a new kitchen counter and that meant we would have to disconnect the water to the kitchen sink for about a day.

There were no shut-off valves under the sink so I needed another solution … unless we wanted to shut off the water supply to the entire house for over a day … No!

The guy at the hardware store said I needed a converter piece to connect our old style pipes to the new kind of pipe and then add a shut-off valve to that.

Well, I bought all the parts and it came to about $52. I thought that seemed like an awful lot of money for 24 hours of water!

I mean, for that money, there was no ride I got to go on, or show I got to see, or course I got to play. It was just plumbing parts … pretty uninspiring.

After I bought the parts I had a few days before I had to shut the water off, so I just kept them all in the bag.

The day before I needed to shut the water off I decided to go to another hardware store to see if there was a simpler solution.

I showed the guy at the store a picture of my present hook up and he suggested a threaded cap.

It was basically a plug that screwed into the end of the pipe. It only cost me about $11 and about 10 minutes to complete the whole task.

He was the right guy to ask.

After the new counter was installed, we needed a piece of wood to span the length of the opening under the sink. It needed to be 1 1/8″ thick, and if you know anything about wood, that’s not a common thickness.

I went back to the hardware store and the wood guy was totally unable to help me; he had no solution for me.

However, the next day I was talking to a friend who works in construction and told him what I needed.

Without hesitation he said, “You need 5/4 piece of wood. You have to get that at…”  and named the supply house.

Again, knowing the right guy made all the difference in the world.

Here’s the thing: We experience a lot in life that we don’t have answers for. We come up against things that we are totally unprepared for. But no matter what it is, Christ is that guy who can help us in our need. So often we don’t go to Him first. Christ is the authority and expert; He is able. Go to Him before you look elsewhere for help.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need advice and help with right now? Leave your comments below.

by

A New Take On “Take Your Kid To Work” Day

The other day was like “take your kid to work” day only flipped around.

I was visiting my son last week and one day I went in to see where he works. Mike’s told me a lot about his work, but I wanted to put a picture to what I was hearing. I wanted to see his working world and the people he works with.

It wasn’t just like “take your kid to work” day; I didn’t go into work with him. Mike starts at 5 am and there was no way I was going to go in that early!

I drove over later in the morning but, as I made my way, I couldn’t help but think about the times I took my kids to work.

Some time when they were each in junior high, I took Karlie and Mike to work with me. I set up my day to let them see a variety of things that I do.

I gave them some work to do while I studied, and we went out for lunch … which I remember was a big hit – one of the highlights of the day. I took them with me when I made some visits, and we did some work together on a project I had on the go.

I think both of my kids had a fun day coming to work with me. It certainly was different from their school work and they got to see firsthand some of what I do rather than just hear about it.

That’s what was nice about going into Mike’s workplace. I got to see firsthand what he does and where he does it.

I got a tour of the plant, met some of the people he supervises and some others he works with.

After I had seen the place and met pretty much everyone who was there at the time, it was almost lunch.

He took me to a lunch spot that he’d been to before and we had a nice meal together … although interrupted by a work call that I could tell was going to change his afternoon plans.

On the way back to his office, we made plans to meet up after work. I then left for a business appointment of my own that I needed to make in the area.

As I drove away, I was really glad I had gone in to see Mike at work, to see him in his environment and meet the people he works with. It gave me context for when he talks about his job.

I’m really proud of what he does and what he’s accomplished so far in his career.

There was just one thing that was exacting the same as when I took Mike to work back when he was in junior high … I still paid for lunch.

… Some things take longer to flip over than others. But I wouldn’t trade it.

Here’s the thing: If you have kids, at some point things are going to flip from you to them. You will eventually watch them do the things you once did … but it’s more than just what they do, or how they work. Are you setting a spiritual example for them to embrace and live out in their adult lives? What you do now will flip from you to them. Make sure the most important thing – your relationship with Christ – is flippable.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What good traits do you see in those you influence? Leave your comments below.

by

I Don’t Like Wallpaper Much

I remember why I don’t like wallpaper that much – it’s not a fun task to take it off!

I’m sure there are some types of wallpaper that can be easily removed … maybe it’s just the ones my wife picks that aren’t.

We are renovating our kitchen right now. I should really say that Lily is renovating the kitchen. She has done all the planning and work so far.

We have a new range and, in a couple of weeks, we will have a new counter. But before that comes, we needed to take off some wallpaper that Lily had put up as a backsplash above the counter.

The new backsplash will be tile.

I’m not sure if it’s proper protocol, but I would have put the tile right over the wallpaper … if it hadn’t been for Lily’s choice of wallpaper years ago!

This wallpaper has some texture to it. It looks like tile so it’s not really flat against the wall.

But really, how hard could it be to remove paper from a wall?

Well, it turns out that it can be pretty hard.

I came home from work one evening to find Lily working on the wall. She said she had been doing it for a couple of hours and she hadn’t gotten very far.

Of course I tried to help and do a little of the work. But this is what I found: this wallpaper had to come off in three layers!

There was a plastic-like layer that held the colour of the paper; the second layer was sort of foam-like to give it the texture and look of tile. Then under that was the paper with the glue that stuck it to the wall.

Each layer had to come off on its own. Let’s just say there was a lot of scraping that needed to be done.

It reminded me of the last time I took wallpaper off a wall.

At that time we lived in Edmonton and had just bought our first house. The previous owners had some pretty disgusting wallpaper on the living room walls and we wanted it off immediately.

They were also smokers … so picture Lily and I sponging down the walls with brown water dripping down from the ceiling to the floor.

The paper was an old style and pretty much cemented to the wall. It was a brutal job.

This one was cemented much the same. Lily wondered why it was so tough; she had used this same wallpaper in Edmonton. Then she remembered that she never took it off the wall there. She had just put it on a few months before we moved.

Well, the stuff we just destroyed the kitchen walls over has been up for 21 years. Let’s never do that again!

Here’s the thing: Habits stick to us like cement or some kinds of wallpaper. They don’t break or come off easily. That’s good and bad news. The good news is if we have habits that are the kind we should keep, they will stick with us. If we have habits, however, that need to go, be replaced or just displaced, it’s going to be a fight. It will take a lot of work, but you have help. The Lord is with you to help you as you deal with those habits. Lean on His muscle to remove those old habits.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What habits in your life need to be removed? Leave your comments below.

by

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.

by

I Think I Might Be Losing My Touch

I may be losing my touch; on the other hand, I might just need a change in equipment.

I’m leaning towards it being the equipment’s fault, and not me because I don’t want to give into the idea that it’s really me.

Over the last month, I’ve noticed that I haven’t had the same touch with the puck when playing hockey.

I seem to be aiming right at the goalie when I shoot, or I’m missing the net. I just don’t seem to have the same authority when I fire the puck any more.

It could be that I’m in a slump right now … that happens even to the pros.

When I watch the pros on TV miss the net, I get frustrated with them. I figure, as professionals practicing or playing pretty much every day, they shouldn’t miss when they shoot, and they shouldn’t put their shots right into the goalie’s body. But they do sometimes.

I guess, based on that, I should give myself a break. But I don’t; I figure there is something wrong.

In some ways I’m hoping that it’s my stick. I’ve had the same one for a while now. It could be suffering from carbon fibre fatigue – that’s something like metal fatigue, only with the material the stick is made out of.

If it’s the stick, at least it wouldn’t be my fault. But purchasing a new stick that runs in the $300 range isn’t something I would like to have to afford right now.

If it’s me, I can’t fix that, but at least it wouldn’t cost me so much money.

I remember the days when I was in my 20’s and I would take my wooden sticks back to Canadian Tire for a refund when they broke.

All sticks would break, but if I could get mine to break within the first two weeks, I could get a new stick for free.

It was a good deal. I don’t think I paid for more than about four sticks per season … but in those days sticks only cost about thirteen dollars.

Now they are crazy expensive but are supposed to last a long time. I try to avoid taking slap shots to reduce the wear and tear on mine.

I do that for two reasons: first, economically, I want my stick to last a long time; second, I don’t have a great snapshot anyway.

I cut so much off my sticks that I ruin the flex point and technology of the shaft’s design.

Right now I don’t have any answers; I’m just a little frustrated.

Who knows? Maybe in a few weeks I’ll be able to work it out. Then I won’t have to blame my hockey stick for any of this.

But up until then, I’m putting all the blame on my stick … that way I don’t feel so old.

Here’s the thing:  Some people always look for someone else to blame. When something really bad happens, they blame God. It’s easier to blame God for something than to admit you are the problem or that it is a natural consequence. That way you don’t have to take any responsibility, or change, or admit to anything. But doing that only keeps you from owning up to the truth; it keeps you from getting back on track.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you blamed God or someone else for this week? Leave your comments below.

by

A Plan That’s Coming Together

My wife’s plan is slowly coming together, and so far it hasn’t cost me any blood, sweat or tears.

For the last couple of years Lily has wanted to redo our kitchen. All our appliances are over 20 years old and the counter top has a few nicks in it.

Those nicks, by the way, are all from Lily’s hand … although she only claims one of them to be hers for sure.

So the counter top seems to be the main item in this refurb, but along with it are some pretty expensive items that may be added a little later than sooner.

There was one item that she slipped in early and that was a new range. She said it made sense to have it in place when they came to measure for the new counter.

Now when I hear “range” I think of a farm, and cattle and grass and stubble. The range Lily had in mind was an induction top convection oven. I’m not sure what all that means other than you have to have the right kind of pots for the elements to work, and you can cook more than one sheet of cookies at the same time … which I’m all in favour of.

This reno may not have cost me blood, sweat and tears, but it is costing a few dollars.

I guess it’s time. This project has been on her list for ages and it seems that more than once we put it on hold because something else needed our attention and money.

At this point we are committed. A down payment has been made on the counter and they are coming to measure in a week or so. According to Lily they will install the counter about two weeks after that.

In the mean time, Lily has already painted the kitchen ceiling, and the range is in place. She still has to paint the walls, and arrange to have some tiling done above the counter.

But there is one other thing that needs to happen and it’s something I’m not too sure about … nor is Lily for that matter.

Rather than breaking the bank on new cupboards, Lily is going to paint our cupboards with some special cupboard paint.

That’s right, she found a paint that is specially designed for painting kitchen cabinets.

Personally, I’m afraid I will have to put on white gloves before I open any cupboard for fear of scratching the paint.

I can just see me putting on those white gloves just like the guy who carries the Stanley Cup.

We’ll probably have a little basket of them as you enter the kitchen. That way no one will be able to gouge Lily’s paint job.

It’s possible that this will work. My only fear is that in a year’s time, we will be looking to purchase new kitchen cabinetry … Cha Ching $$!

Here’s the thing: It’s easy to get in a rut, living with the same things, never changing or upgrading them. We can also live with things in our life, never dealing with or addressing them. We can do that for years, becoming very accustomed to those things – things that need to be replaced, things that need to go. There is no guarantee that making the changes will work out in the end, but give it a try. As uncomfortable as it might be, as inconvenient as it might seem while you are going through the change, in the end you will like the results.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to change in your life? Leave your comments below.