frustrated

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My Riveting Experience Almost Left Me Frustrated

I had a riveting experience the other day. 

my riveting experience almost left me frustrated

No, it wasn’t exciting or anything like that. I was trying to rivet a couple of clasps on my briefcase.

I don’t know too much about riveting, but I do own a rivet gun. … I’m not sure why they call it a gun because nothing comes shooting out of it. 

My fear was that if I went anywhere with my briefcase I would lose the two clasps that were dangling. 

This briefcase is a satchel style that you sling over your shoulder. It has a couple of zippered compartments for paper and my laptop and a flap that comes over the zippered compartments and attaches to the front of the bag with two clasps. 

The two ends that the clasps clip into are attached to the satchel by rivets. One rivet on each end had broken off so the ends spun around and put more pressure on the rivets that were still in place. 

I figured I just needed to put a couple of rivets in and I would be good to go again.

But it wasn’t working. The rivets would not stay in.

In hindsight I think it was partly due to the fact that I don’t know how to use my rivet gun all that well. But it was also partly due to the fact that the rivets I had were not long enough.

So off to the hardware store I went. 

Now I like to snoop around for what I want and only ask for help when I’m frustrated or need some expert advice. On this trip, however, an employee came up to me rather quickly and asked if I needed helped.

Inside I was thinking, “No, I’m good”. But I didn’t want to put the guy off so I replied, “Sure, what do you know about rivets?”

He admitted he didn’t know much but took me over to where he thought they might be. 

We looked at them and I asked a couple of questions. The employee didn’t seem to have any answers nor think the ones we looked at would work. He offered no other solution, so I thanked him and walked away. 

I thought these hardware guys were experts, but he was no help at all. 

I circled around a couple of aisles and then decided to go back and take a closer look at the rivet section myself. Upon closer scrutiny, there was a package of multi-length rivets with some  that were longer than what I had. 

I bought the package, went home and then had to figure out how to properly work my rivet gun to complete the repair. 

After a couple of failed attempts, I decided to watch some YouTube instructional videos. Some were useless, but from a couple others I figured out what I was doing wrong with my rivet gun.

I was then quickly able to fix my briefcase.

Now I’m confident that the next time I have to leave the house, nothing is going to fall out of my briefcase.

Here’s the thing: There are many people who offer advice and wisdom to us. We must be able to distinguish between what is good advice and what is bad. If you spend time in God’s word you will train yourself to be able to tell the good from the bad.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Where do you go to get good advice? Leave your questions and comments below.

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I’m Frustrated With Someone Else’s Computer

We all get frustrated with our computer sometimes, but do you ever get frustrated with someone else’s?

I'm frustrated with someone else's computer

The other day I found myself a little frustrated with a friend’s computer. 

I’m a Mac guy and have been since the late 80’s. I’ve always maintained one computer is not inferior to the other; it is just what you get used to. If you are used to Mac OS, the Windows world seems difficult to navigate. The opposite is true to a Windows’ user and the Mac seems awkward to use. 

For many people it comes down to preference, much like our preference for cars.

I have never owned a Ford automobile and probably never will. My dad never bought Fords and maybe that’s where I got it from. Maybe it’s how they look, maybe it’s a reputation I’ve picked up on, but I don’t want to own one. 

Someone else might tell me I’m nuts, that Fords are the best cars and trucks on the market. It comes down to our preference. 

The thing is, you don’t get frustrated over someone else’s preference. It doesn’t get in the way of you doing what you want or driving what you want to drive.

The other day, however, I was frustrated with my friend’s choice of computer that he uses. 

I am trying to offload some of my responsibilities to other people. I won’t be able to do them forever and I need others to take on some of the things I do at work.

Updating our website is one of those things. 

This task is second nature to me because I’ve been doing it for so long, but to hand this task off well, I wrote out clear step-by-step instructions of what someone would need to do. It was all going to be easy … except that my friend couldn’t do some of the required steps on his computer. 

I have a program that is native to my Mac that edits pdf documents. It is so easy. I can delete pages from a pdf and also save the document to a different file format. I just assumed this could be done as simply on a PC. 

But no, it could not. There was no program that could make the changes to a pdf on his computer. 

I certainly wasn’t going to suggest that he spend a lot of money to buy a program that would work. So I was left frustrated that I still had to do much of the work to update the website. If he worked on a Mac, he could have done what I do. 

But this week I found a work-around. I have sent him to two websites – one website can delete pages from a pdf, and the other can save a pdf to a jpg file. 

I’m hoping I’ll be able to hand the whole operation over to him now. 

Here’s the thing: When you read the Old Testament, there are certain places where you can possibly see God’s frustration with people – in the garden with Adam and Eve, in the days of Noah, and certainly many times with the Israelites. But God didn’t let frustration get in the way of what He wanted – a relationship with us that was unhindered by sin. God’s solution was to send His Son to pay for the sins of the world. Now there is no frustration. We can have an unhindered relationship with God if we place our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. The frustration is removed through Christ. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What frustration in your life needs fixing? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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I Was Prevented From Being Fined

The other day I was prevented from doing something that could have resulted in a big fine.

At the time I was a little frustrated, but now I’m glad the situation stopped me. A fine could have been thousands of dollars.

I’ve experienced this kind of unwanted, unsolicited restraint in the past and, to be honest, it can be downright maddening … until you discover what you’ve been saved from.

It happened when I was driving, speeding on the highway, passing cars. 

I consider it sacrificial driving because all the cars behind me could up their speed a bit, knowing that I would be the target of any radar up ahead. 

As I was cruising along, a truck pulled out into my lane. I had to slow way down, to probably about 15-20 km’s slower than I was going. 

The passing took an eternity and I was thinking all kinds of bad thoughts towards the truck driver in front of me. 

The longer it took, the more frustrated and furious I was with the hold up … that was until we passed a highway patrol car with radar pointing my way.

I would have been caught for sure; it would have been a big fine. 

That truck that was ticking me off saved me big time. 

Then the other day I took my drone to fly it around some locks on the Rideau waterway system. There are a number of locks around Kingston. 

I thought it would be picturesque to film above and around the locks and nearby rapids. 

The first lock I drove to was packed with people. There was some kind of art festival there, and it also looked like there was a wedding about to take place.

So I drove past and kept going to another lock up the river. This one was off the main road a bit and I thought maybe there would be no one there. 

But when I arrived there were five cars in the parking lot – enough people around that I couldn’t really fly my drone in a safe manner.

So I drove on, a little frustrated that I was prevented again from capturing what I thought would be some amazing footage. 

In both attempts it was the people who were present that prevented me from flying my drone – not that they said anything, but legally I can’t fly my drone within 30 meters of people. 

Later when I was mulling over a possible day or time when no one would be around, I started thinking about the symbol I saw on the sign there. I began to wonder who operated those locks. So I looked up the symbol and found that the locks are controlled by Parks Canada. 

… And the fine for flying a drone in a national park can be as high as $25,000!

All those people and events just saved me a good chunk of change. I would have flown my drone completely unaware that I could have been fined big time for doing it. 

My frustration is all gone. Thanks people!

Here’s the thing: Sometimes you may find yourself frustrated with God. You’ve asked Him, pleaded with Him, even begged Him, but the answer you are looking for is nowhere in sight. You can’t understand why God would not answer you. Just consider that your current frustration may be preventing something unwanted and unpleasant from occurring in your life. … Let your frustration with God go. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What frustration in your life might be a blessing in disguise? Leave your comments below.

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My Tech Company’s Got Me Frustrated

I’m pretty frustrated with tech companies right now. In the past two week I’ve had more than my share of dealing with them.

These companies that provide internet, television and cell phones are gouging people. And they’ve reversed the commitment to the customer. The customer must commit to them.

This week I had a phone conversation with our television and internet provider. It seems they hiked our rates by $79 a month … in the middle of our commitment! 

Somehow they are able to force us to commit to staying with them for two years, or pay large penalties. But they don’t seem to have that same kind of commitment to us.

Over the first year we had rate increases about every three months – little ones, like seven dollars here, four dollars there. 

By the end of the first year we were paying $28 more a month than what we had agreed to at the start of the contract. 

Then, when our first year was up, they took away all the credits we had been getting during that year, which added another $79 per month to our bill.

The customer service woman I spoke with was sympathetic because she said that, at the end of the day, she was a consumer as well … but she wouldn’t give me back my credits. 

Instead, because I complained, she found a way to adjust our service to give me some credits back and then threw in a few TV stations for free that I probably won’t ever watch. 

That’s why they are free – no one is watching them! 

She was able to cut my bill but I’m still going to be paying significantly more than I was a month ago, and massively more than when I started with them.

What bothers me is that in other countries they don’t have the same kind of issues with tech companies. 

My wife, Lily, is in Lisbon, Portugal right now. In her hotel room was a cell phone that she could take and use anywhere in the city while she stayed at that hotel. 

She could call anywhere in the world – we’ve talked on that phone a few times. And she has unlimited data on it! 

It is mind boggling. 

A cell phone in Canada with 5 gigs of data is over $100 per month. Does it cost that much in Canada to do business? 

When it comes to technology, Canada ranks number #2 in the world at generating internet traffic use per capita. Maybe these companies realize they’re in high demand so they are soaking us because we will pay anything for this precious technology we are so hooked on. 

I know one thing and that is the next time I negotiate a contract with one of these tech companies, I’m going to make some demands. 

… Like if they raise their rates past a certain amount, I will be free to take my business to another company at no penalty to me. 

Here’s the thing: This is how Satan works … He presents something that looks pretty appetizing. Then once he has you signed up for it, he can change the terms and show his true colours. The crazy thing is we fall for it all the time – just like we do with tech stuff. The key is to recognize God’s plan for you and stick with it. It may be tough at times, but the terms don’t change and the future is guaranteed. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has got you looking for a way out? Leave your comments below.

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I’m So Frustrated With This City!

I have to rip on a city. I don’t want to call them out, but I can’t help myself right now. 

Richmond Hill, Ontario is just beyond the borders of Toronto, and is part of the GTA. The people that run that city have deep issues they need to seek help for. 

Here’s my story:  

The other day we left Kingston to spend the night at our daughter’s place in Richmond Hill. No big deal – thousands upon thousands of parents do this kind of thing all the time.

But it was 6 pm when we left home and we forgot to tell our daughter to get us a parking pass. 

No, our daughter doesn’t live in a parking lot or on a major street or even a busy street. She just lives on a residential street in a quiet part of the city. 

But you can’t park at night on a street ANYWHERE in Richmond Hill without a parking pass! 

It’s not the cost that bugs me so much; it’s the hassle of obtaining a pass.

It was later in the evening when we got to her place. Our daughter was out of printer ink so we had to drive to her work to order and print the parking pass from the city’s website. 

Where I live, if I need to park somewhere, I go on an app on my phone, and in a couple of clicks I’ve paid for my parking. It’s all done via the app – no printing required; nothing to put on the dash of your car.

It’s simple and quick. 

Not in Richmond Hill! They apparently don’t know about cell phones and apps. You have to print out a copy of the pass that you ordered on their website.

Not only that, but Richmond Hill has now added a complication to the process. Before, we could go on the website and type in the address of where we wanted to park. Now we’re required to have an account! 

You have to sign up and create a password – including a capital, a number and some other squiggle mark – just to park your car!

It’s not getting easier to park in Richmond Hill. And unfortunately, after doing all that, our payment was declined due to some website error … three times … on two different valid credit cards by two different people.

So there we were, at our daughter’s work, at almost 10 pm, with no way of obtaining a pass to park on her street. 

We had to go back to her house, get her car, and drive back to her work to leave our car there for the night. 

Is it possible for Richmond Hill to be a more uninviting city? I think not!

Maybe they don’t like the riffraff of family visiting their children.

Whatever their reason for making people’s visits so frustrating, it makes me want to grab a can of spray paint and graffiti something on their city hall.  

What am I thinking?! I’d probably have to get an account on their website to pay for a graffiti pass.

… You know, I feel a little better getting all that off my chest.

Here’s the thing: There are times when we get really frustrated with God. Maybe we are going through a difficult time, or God’s not answering our prayers. Often we bottle those feelings up and hold them against God. But instead, we should tell God how we feel. Let Him know your frustration. There are so many Psalms that start with the Psalmist wondering why God’s not helping, but by the end of the Psalm he has turned to praising God. Get it off your chest and see how God will change your feelings.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s been really bugging you lately? Leave your comments below.

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I Just Had A Date With Frustration

I’m a little frustrated right now – actually, I’ve been frustrated most of the day.

In the morning I was cutting it fine getting to work for an early meeting, only to find myself driving behind the slow guy who drove just fast enough to keep me from getting around him.

At noon I had a short turn-around to get my lunch and rush back to work for another meeting. I got stuck behind the lady who didn’t like moving into the intersection for a left-hand turn until there were no cars in sight.

We had to wait for a whole new light cycle until we got an advance green light. Only then did she finally feel she could get through the intersection, allowing me to go through as well.

Later in the afternoon I had a couple of drop-ins at the office that put me behind in a project I was working on.

… I was beginning to feel like I had a companion with me and its name was frustration.

On the way home from work, traffic was heavy and every time I changed lanes to get into the lane that was moving faster, it became the slow lane almost immediately.

More frustration.

It was almost like frustration was following me around, and sitting next to me with everything I did.

After I got home from an evening meeting, I watched the third period of the Leafs’ hockey game on TV.

It was the one part of the day where I felt that frustration had left my side; it had gone to interfere with someone else’s life – the Leafs were up 2-0.

However, shortly after the third period got underway, the Flyers scored. I quickly realized that, at best, frustration had only momentarily left me … like it went out to the kitchen to get a drink or snack of some kind.

I could feel my frustration build with each play or broken play the Leafs left on the ice.

Frustration – my new found best friend – was sitting so close I could feel it on my neck.  There was a cloud over us and, if it could have rained in the room, it would have.

I’m not sure if I was talking to frustration or to the TV, but I was getting more and more vocal about how my team was playing as the game progressed.

When Philly tied the game up, I kind of noticed a smile on frustration’s face and I didn’t like it very much.

I didn’t have a good feeling about the end of the game.

The game went into overtime, but not much – just 18 seconds in, the Philadelphia Flyers scored the winning goal.

I didn’t like frustration at that point, but it just wouldn’t leave me alone. I even found it putting words in my wife’s mouth, causing me to react negatively to her.

I saw it standing just over her shoulder with a big grin on its face. This was no friend; how could I let it hang around me all day?

I went to bed and hoped I wouldn’t see it in the morning.

Here’s the thing: Frustration can attach itself to us through the simplest, unsuspecting things. And it can stay with us and interrupt our day. That’s when you need to stop, take a breath, and focus on Jesus, being thankful for Him and what He’s provided for you. You will get a new perspective … and you won’t have to entertain an unwanted friend like frustration.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: During what recent frustration should you have stopped, breathed and refocused on Jesus? Leave your comments below.

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Frustration Won Me Over

I was frustrated last night and I carried that frustration to bed with me.

It was the day that determined the two teams that would go on to the Super Bowl.

My frustration was not with the games or the teams; in fact, both the teams I wanted to win, won.

The first game I watched rather intently, but the second game … well, I was interested; I wanted to see it, but I had watched so much football already that I was a little football weary.

I didn’t want to entirely miss the game, so I turned to multitasking.

Now, I am not a great multitasker; I need to focus on one thing at a time. So when I do a couple of things at the same time, my productivity goes way down.

Yesterday that was okay; I didn’t mind. The game was going to be on all evening; I had time on my hands and just needed a slight distraction, while still being able to follow the action of the game.

There were a couple of multitasking possibilities for such a situation: I could play pool – the TV was right there; all I’d have to do was turn it – or I could fly my new drone around the family room.

… I tried both of these activities and still there were 3 1/2 quarters of football to go.

I then resorted to my go-to TV multitasking standby: my computer. I wanted to make some changes to our church website that I hadn’t gotten to in a long time.

Since I was doing two things at the same time – watching a game and working on the computer – I wasn’t frustrated at first when I ran into problems making the changes I wanted to make.

I knew that I had plenty of time while the game was on, so I just turned my attention to the plays for a few minutes.

As the game neared the end, I really wanted to be at the end of making those web changes … but I still couldn’t figure out how to do them.

Long after the game was over, some show was on TV that I was not one bit interested in, but it provided background noise that kept the frustration from really taking hold of me.

I looked at the time – it was way later than I wanted to be up and working on this! Then the frustration set its hooks into me and I laboured on it a little longer, with a little more angst building inside me.

I finally gave up for the night; frustration had won, but I planned to try another approach the next day.

It was time for bed, but how could I sleep? I was all keyed up, frustrated and not really ready to settle down.

So I put on a movie and let my mind chill out. It worked; it wasn’t long before I started to nod off.

… I had just needed to turn my attention to something else.

Here’s the thing: Frustration captures and controls our thoughts and emotions. If you turn your frustration over to God, and focus your attention on Him instead of your frustration, He will give you relief in mind and emotion. He will also give you a way out or through your frustration.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kinds of things frustrate you most? Leave your comments below.

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Anyone Need Their Grass Cut?

From time to time I will republish a post I’ve written in the past. The post was originally written and published in October 2012.

Sometimes you start a simple task or job and it grows into something bigger. I have certainly experienced this at times in my life.

ask-julie-what-proper-mowing-height-grass-1-copy

One time we had a water leak in our vacation trailer.  I decided to see if I could fix it myself.  I checked and found the problem needed to be fixed from the outside, which meant peeling off the metal shell at the front of the trailer.

I started at the bottom and noticed the problem extended a little higher so I took off the next strip, then the next, and the next.

When I had the whole front of the trailer removed, with just the wood frame left in place, I stepped back and thought, “What have I done?!”  It was way more work than I had thought.

Another time we had a leak in our basement.  I thought I would dig a hole outside and patch the foundation where the leak was.  In the end, the hole I dug was over 5 feet deep and about 12 feet long.  Again, that job got way bigger than I had first thought!

Reading about those two experiences, you might think they weren’t that bad, and that I must be a handy guy.  That’s where you would be VERY wrong!  I’m not that handy, and for all the handy work I have done, I don’t really like it.

It takes me too long; I don’t have the right tools; I make mistakes; I get frustrated; I get discouraged; I cut myself (another story).

Recently, we were at our cottage on a rainy weekend, when we happened to get a break from the rain for a few hours.  I decided I’d better take the opportunity to cut the grass since we wouldn’t be back for a few weeks.

It’s such a small piece of lawn that the job really doesn’t take much time.  But, as I was running the lawnmower over our grass, I thought about my brother’s lawn.  He had left his cottage a few hours earlier in the rain and I had noticed that his lawn needed a cut.

Since he’s up at his cottage almost every weekend and often cuts our grass (because we don’t get there all that frequently), I thought it was my chance to return the favour.  So, when I finished our lawn, I walked over to his place and started to cut his grass.

As I got close to finishing, I started to think about my brother’s neighbour who’s wife had just had surgery and was in intensive care at the hospital.

I thought, “That guy doesn’t need to be bothered with his lawn”.  So, as I finished with my brother’s lawn, I just kept going and worked on his neighbour’s.

As I walked back to my place pushing my lawnmower, I realized this was one of the few times a job that got bigger didn’t become frustrating or discouraging.  In fact, I walked with a sense of satisfaction that I had, in some small way, been a help to others.

Here’s the thing:  One of the greatest ways we can show the love of God to others is not by telling them but by showing them.  The problem is it takes time and, for many of us, time is precious.  We don’t have a lot of extra time to allow the task or job we are working on to become any bigger.  But sometimes that is exactly how we are to “love one another as I have loved you” John 13:34.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of “loving one another” acts have you done recently?

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Frustrated On The Road Again

Traveling the other day, I found myself a little frustrated. The conditions were good; the sun was shining, and the road was dry.

FrustratedDriver

The traffic, though heavy, was moving at a good pace.

I had some music on and really, what more could you ask for? … Not much, except I would have liked the guy in front of me to get out of the way!

I found him a little annoying. Well, to be honest, a little more than annoying.

For one thing, he didn’t drive at a steady pace. He would keep up with the traffic ahead of him for a few minutes, but then slow down by almost 10 km/hr. I found I was on the gas, off the gas the whole trip.

I would have passed him but it was only a two lane highway and there was steady traffic coming the other way.

I figured he wasn’t much of a skater – he had to have weak ankles not to be able to keep his foot on the gas at an even pressure for very long.

I found myself analyzing what he was probably like. I came up with his personality traits and the kinds of things he was thinking about.

If I had have had a police sketcher in the seat next to me I think I probably would have been able to come up with a fairly good picture of what he looked like.

My picture might not have looked anything like the guy in real life, but it was dark out and so we will never know for sure.

Let’s just say my description fit him to a T.

The other thing that bugged me about his driving was he used his brakes all the time. We were driving on a highway; there were no lights, just straight road!

There was no need to touch the brakes, but it was like he needed to hit them frequently just to make sure the pedal was still there or that someone hadn’t tampered with his brake line.

Like in most things, momentum is key. I’ve learned in mountain biking to try to use your brakes as little as possible, because any forward momentum you’ve built up will be lost as soon as you put on the brakes. Coasting is a better way to control your speed than stepping on and off the brakes.

However, on a bike when you loose momentum, you have to expend a lot of energy pedalling to get it back. In a car you just have to put your foot back on the gas pedal … unless you have weak ankles and can only sustain the pressure on the gas for a short amount of time, like the guy who was driving in front of me.

In the end we parted ways. He turned off the road, and someone else had to drive behind him and get all frustrated.

As for me, I’ll forget about him, but there’s plenty others out there who will take his place in front of me.

Here’s the thing: Life can frustrate you at times. You may even be a little frustrated with God, feeling like He is not clearing the way for you. Patience is required, and maybe that’s what you need God’s help for more than anything else.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has you frustrated lately? What will you do about it? Leave your comments below.

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When Something Important Is Kept From You

Have you ever thought that something had been kept from you? You know, when you were little and you caught bits and pieces of a conversation your parents were having?

RoadBlockage

You were dying to know what they were talking about, but you were not permitted to hear the details. They kept them from you.

Have you ever thought God might do that with us from time to time?

… Like when two disciples were walking with Jesus and they didn’t realize it was him until after he left them? The Bible says “then their minds were opened”.

A couple of days ago we came up to our cottage to spend a week. It was still April and this was the first time we were up since we closed the place in the fall.

On arrival everything looked in order. It was nice to see the digs had stood up to the winter and won!

We turned everything back on but when I went to turn on the furnace, because it was still April, and it is Sauble Beach, I got no heat.

The furnace came on; I could hear the roar of the blower. I heard the click of the igniter to fire up the furnace, but all that came out of the ducts was cool air.

I checked everything, the switch, the circuit breaker, the gas. It was all working but still no heat.

I worked for about two hours in the cold; I was chilled and frustrated. I couldn’t think of anything else I could do. It had to be a furnace problem; I would have to call a service guy.

But that would be in the morning, and we needed a way to keep warm that night! I borrowed a space heater from my brother’s cottage, and Lily and I went out for dinner, so that I could get warm.

And just to make sure we were going to be warm enough, we also bought a space heater of our own.

That night we were warm alright – almost too warm. In the middle of the night we had to shed some of the covers that we had piled on the bed.

The next morning when I woke up, I lay in bed and an idea popped into my brain. I think God put it there. I think I was kept from that thought the night before.

As I lay in bed, I remembered that we had put duct tape over the furnace exhaust vents in the fall. I realized there probably was a safety feature on the furnace that wouldn’t allow it to fire up if the vents were blocked.

I jumped out of bed, went outside, took off the tape, came back in and “budda boom, budda bing” the furnace worked like a charm.

I shared the tale with some people who told me that a guy had done the same thing years ago, and almost died of carbon monoxide poisoning! They got him out just in time. Wow! Thanks, God.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we’re blocked from getting what we need. God may have a reason for keeping things from us. Be aware that blockages are possible, and when you’re frustrated, seek God. Determine to obey Him and ask Him to reveal what the blockage is and how to remove it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When was the last time you felt frustrated and blocked from something you needed? Leave your comment below.