enjoy

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We Forget How Much We Enjoy Things

This week I noted that you can forget how much you enjoy something when you haven’t experienced it for a while.

We forget how much we enjoy things

It can happen in all areas of our lives. For instance, when I was growing up my mother often made a lemon cake-top pudding for dessert. She would make it every couple of months so the memory of the taste and texture was engrained in my mind. 

As an adult though, years and years went by without me having that lemon pudding. I kind of forgot about it. 

But somehow my wife, Lily, found that old recipe of my mom’s and decided to try it. 

Unbelievable! – that’s all I can say. Everything about that pudding was amazing from the way the soft, fluffy cake emerged from the pale yellow semi-thick sauce to the lemony taste that can’t be replicated in any other dish. 

I truly forgot just how good it was. … Sorry, the recipe is an old family secret now. 

But the other day I had an experience much like that. I went golfing.

I’ve golfed a lot over the years. Many years ago I would golf three, sometimes four times a week. But my golfing has tapered off over the years for many reasons.

One reason is that it takes up a lot of your day, and my days seem to be fuller, busier than they used to be. I’ve also lost some of my golfing partners to other things, and my interests have shifted. I’ve done far more mountain biking over the last ten years than golf. 

So on vacation I booked a tee time for Lily and I. It took me three weeks to do it and I’m not sure why. The thought of golfing sparked some interest but I guess not enough to pick up the phone, search for a deal and book a time. 

Finally I got around to it, and you know what? I had forgotten just how much I love taking out that driver and giving my golf ball a good smack. 

I get excited standing over a twenty foot putt and stare down that hole, willing my ball to go in.

I love standing on an elevated tee box and looking down the fairway at the contoured mowing, the trees on either side, and the lush green gleaming in the distance. 

I’ve played one other time this year, but for some reason this round brought back how much I enjoy the game of golf. 

I didn’t score all that well – what golfer is ever satisfied with his or her score?- but I hit the ball well. 

That feeling of hitting the ball in the sweet spot of the club face and then watching that ball sail through the air towards the target – mmmm … just like that lip-smacking lemon cake-top pudding when it crosses your teeth and hits those taste buds.

I’m going to feast on that enjoyment and savour every moment of it as I look forward to my next game in a couple of days with my son. 

Maybe I will score better too!

Here’s the thing: I’ve noticed that in life we can get completely focused on what we are experiencing, especially the trials and difficulties, like what many of us may be experiencing now. All our effort and focus is on what we can do to alleviate, or eliminate the trouble. We forget we have a God who is all powerful. During these days, reach out to God and remember just how good He is in the midst of the rough waters in life. Enjoy Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What aspect of God do you need reminding of right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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No Complaints; Just Enjoy

I don’t want to hear any complaints about the weather. Let’s just take it and be satisfied.

We are experiencing a bit of a heat wave where I live. And it’s not just the temperature that we have to consider – it’s the humidity that sears the heat in.

It has been a long time since I’ve felt this kind of weather, other than in Mexico or the Caribbean. 

It was 36 Celsius yesterday and, with the humidity, it felt like 49! 

If you are not watering your grass, you don’t have any, and even then, the green stuff you see on your lawn may only be weeds. 

We went up to our cottage on the holiday and discovered that in our community there was a watering ban … and a ban on AC! The park we are in was experiencing brown outs and the only way to stop it was to cut the AC, since it’s such an drain on the power grid.

I say that’s okay; I’ll take the heat over air conditioning. I’ll battle the hot temperatures, keeping in mind that before long we will have a good five months of cold weather that I’m going to have to layer up for. 

It was so hot, we hung out on the beach until after 8 pm and then went back down at 10 pm to catch some John Tavares Day – I mean Canada Day – fireworks.

… I just can’t contain my excitement over the Leafs signing Tavares in the free agency sweepstakes! … but back to those fireworks on the beach. 

It was pitch black out after the light show and, though we headed back to our place, the beach was still littered with people.

Many still had their beach chairs set up! People were lying out getting a tan from the moon and the stars. That’s how hot it was. 

But the heat doesn’t stop some people from pining away for cooler temperatures. They would welcome some rain, because we really need it. 

Well, the farmers might need it, but we don’t. Summer should be a time when your grass is brown. If you can keep your grass green all summer, you either live on a golf course or you are experiencing less than perfect weather. 

Let’s enjoy this heat. Let’s celebrate it and not look beyond it to cooler, wetter weather. Just get out and embrace it. 

I realize there are many people for whom the heat is not ideal – the elderly and those with breathing issues. But listen, the weather won’t suit everyone all the time. They can treat those really hot days like a winter day. If it was really cold and snowy, they would stay indoors.

Right now we have a little heat. Let’s enjoy it. Spend more time at the beach; get out and do some things that you can’t do when it’s -15 outside. 

I don’t really want to hear people tell me they can’t wait for a break in the weather. Come on! Embrace what we have been given and be enthused about it. 

Here’s the thing: People are always looking for perfect. And if they find perfection in something like the weather, it is only short-lived. There is nothing or no one who is perfect except for God. So be enthused about Him; give yourself completely to God because it is only in Him that you will find perfection and true satisfaction.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What was the last thing you complained about that you really should have been thankful for? Leave your comments below.

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Some Jobs Are Just Plain Fun 

The other day I got a taste of one of the few outdoor jobs I don’t mind doing.

leaf blower

My grass needed to be cut – probably for the last time this year. But before I cranked up my Briggs & Stratton engine, I needed to clean up the leaves that had fallen off our tree.

I used to hate that chore, but I don’t mind it now because I have a power leaf collector.  The thing is awesome! – you should have one too.

Even if you don’t have a tree in your yard – or a tree on your street for that matter – you need to have one of these babies! Hey, the wind blows in the fall and leaves can come to your address from far away and land on your lawn … I’m just saying.

What this leaf collector does is it sucks the leaves up like a big vacuum cleaner (only much cooler) and then it cuts the leaves in little pieces so they take up less space and can be compacted easier. See? … Awesome, right?

In the old days, I would rake the leaves. It was such a tedious job, I couldn’t handle it.

But there’s nothing like having a motor strapped to my side, that’s producing a deafening 75-90 db (decibels) of pure suction power, to give me a bounce in my step, a spring in my stride.

I know I’m not the only one who enjoys collecting their dead leaves this way. When one of my neighbours saw me using mine for the first time, he went out and bought one too.

And the guy that lives across the street from me, well … the other day he sucked up every – I mean EVERY – leaf from his lawn! It took him hours, but he looked like he was enjoying himself.

And the lawn looked like a carpet when he was finished.

We have lots of leaves still on our tree so I know my job isn’t finished for the year. Besides that, there are the trees across the street, and all those leaves blow my way.

I’ll be busy burning out my ear drums, and filling up bags of leaves for the leaf collection guys, like I was being paid to do it. … I can see me doing this when I’m 90 and have to ride on one of those little three-wheeled scooters!

In the meantime, I’m spreading the love around because, while I wait for all my leaves to fall off my tree, some of them are blowing onto my next door neighbour’s yard.

He will probably be buying one of these lawn vacuum cleaners soon.

Here’s the thing: What can keep you growing with God is finding a tool or study method you really enjoy. It could be a set of questions you ask yourself about a Bible passage or even a special place you go to spend some time with God. When you find something that you enjoy, milk it for all its worth and enjoy a rich experience with God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you found enjoyable about your time with God? Leave your comment below.