garage

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The Third Time Is Not Always A Charm

They say there is a first time for everything, but I say there is a third time for some things.

the third time is not always a charm

What I’m referring to is the mistakes we make. Sometimes we can learn from our mistakes. There are other times when we just keep repeating the same mistake over and over.

If you do something for the first time that ends in failure, you may not want to try that again.

I know of people who had a car accident when they were first learning to drive. They were afraid of repeating their error so they decided not to ever drive again.

I think mistakes are important for us to learn from. They shouldn’t scare us away. We should use our mistakes to make corrections, to change the formula, to improve the process. 

That is why I keep using my garage every day. I don’t park outside the garage; I drive my car inside. 

The reason I tell you this is because the other day I drove my car into my garage door. 

You might be thinking that anyone can make a mistake, but this is not the first time I’ve done it.

This is the third time I’ve driven into my garage and wrecked something.

There is another saying, “third time’s a charm” … well, not when it comes to garage doors, it’s not. 

The first two times were a little different. I had a bike on top of my car both of those times and so I didn’t really hit my garage door but the frame above the door – one time destroying my bike rack and the other time knocking the side view mirror off my car.

This time it didn’t involve my bike, but the bike rack still gets a starring role in the story.

Usually when I come home from work, I hit the garage door button when I turn the corner onto our street. That way the door is almost up by the time I get to my driveway. 

This particular day last week, Lily was shovelling the driveway when I came home and she had the garage door already up. 

So when I hit the button, the door started closing instead of opening. As soon as I saw that, I hit the button again, but that only stopped the door. It didn’t send it back up. 

Meanwhile, I was smiling at Lily as I passed her on the driveway until “BOOM!” … The door was just low enough to catch the top of my bike rack.

I probably would have snuck under the door if the rack had not been there, but the lock on it is jammed and I can’t take it off.  

The accident pushed the bottom panel of the garage door off the track and put a good-sized dent in it. Now the alignment is off and the door doctor says I will have to replace the panel. 

At least we don’t need to replace the whole garage door. 

… And just maybe, after the third time, I’ve learned my lesson.

Here’s the thing: It is good to know that God will forgive you when you sin – even if it’s not the first time you have sinned that way. This doesn’t give you a license to sin, but it does give you hope that your failings can be forgiven even if you haven’t learned from your past mistakes.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What failing do you need to learn from? Leave your comments and questions below.

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The State Of My Garage Is Concerning

I’m concerned about the state of my garage as we approach the colder weather. 

When I grew up, my family home never had a garage. The car was always in the driveway, exposed to the elements. 

So, when I finally got a house with a garage, I decided that I was going to park my car in that garage. 

That sounds like a no-brainer, but if you drive around neighbourhoods you will see how many homes with garages have cars parked outside in the driveways – ALL … YEAR … LONG! 

In the middle of the winter when I’m driving to work in the morning I feel sorry for those folks who have a foot of snow on the top of their cars. Their windows are all frosted over while my car has no sign that there was snow in the forecast overnight.

I like parking my car in my garage and I don’t want that to change. But over the last six months, my garage has gotten smaller. 

What I mean is, it’s filling up with stuff other than my car. 

We used to keep two cars in our garage but, even if we had two cars now, we couldn’t do it. The one bay is filled with stuff.

That’s the reason so many homes with garages have cars parked in the driveways – they have too much stuff to park in their garages! 

I guess it’s cheaper than renting a storage unit … though my guess is that most of the people who are not parking their cars in their garages already have storage units filled to the brim.

The problem is people have too many things that they don’t need or use, but want to hang on to. 

That’s not my problem. 

My problem is that I have kids who have stuff they are not using and have nowhere to store it. They noticed we had a free storage unit attached to our home and took advantage. 

It’s not climate-controlled, but it’s dry.

And now my wife is starting to add to the collection of items we are storing in the unit. 

We have been doing some cleaning out of things we don’t need or want anymore. However, some of those things are not finding their way to new homes, the garbage dump or a donation store. 

They are just making it to the garage where they are starting to look like they fit in there really well. 

As I survey the items in our garage, I’m thinking that if I rearranged them a bit I could turn them into a nice little living area that we could rent out to someone.

They would have to put up with a bit of carbon-monoxide in the morning and evening when the car next to them was leaving and returning from trips … but we could reduce the rent. 

All we need now is a hot plate and a mini fridge. Anyone got spares they want to donate to the cause?

Here’s the thing: Clutter finds its way into our lives and it’s easy to add to the clutter without taking time to evaluate it. Clutter can be sin we don’t deal with, interests that fill our hours, or things that demand our time. If your life is too cluttered you won’t have much time for God – He’ll be parked outside in the driveway. Take some time today to survey the clutter in your life and make some room to bring God in from the cold.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is the biggest source of your clutter? Leave your comments below.

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How To Get Moving On Spring Cleaning

This post is from May of 2015. From time to time I repost articles from the past. I hope you will get a smile as you contemplate your own spring cleaning.

You know it’s spring when you get invited to sweep out your garage. The other day my wife informed me that she was going out to sweep all the dirt and grit from the winter out of our garage.  

I knew right away that this information was intel that I was to gather for a secret mission that was coming up – specifically the mission was to come on out and help her sweep.  

I pretended that I was still gathering data on the subject to delay my decision, but after a few minutes I decided to at least check up on the operation in the garage. 

Just as I thought, she was doing a great job. But the work had halted because she was talking to our neighbour. That’s one of the problems with working outside in the spring – everyone’s outside. 

To make it worse, we haven’t seen them or talked to them much because all winter we drive right into our garage and go in the house. Now that the weather is sort of, thinking about turning warmer, people are outside and we have to catch up.

That makes tasks like sweeping out the garage take twice as long. I had joined the conversation but when we were done I grabbed the other broom and started sweeping with Lily.  

Of course I wasn’t doing it quite the way she likes it done. Apparently the broom I was using creates a little more dust in the air than her broom. Or was it the technique that she used that kept the dust from forming clouds in the air? I’m not sure.

Once we settled that dust issue, however, we really were working like a machine. I wouldn’t say I would eat off the garage floor but it was looking pretty clean.  

That’s not to say that there won’t be other missions out to the garage to clean and put things away. I noticed that we have a mission to the dump coming up soon.  

This operation will have to take place in the next few days and it will involve our son who has a large vehicle this week. I’m just concerned that our communications have some outside interference (his friends) and we may miss the target unless we move in quickly.

All these covert operations that are signs that spring is upon us gave me a desire to try an overt operation. I’ve been waiting to do this for a while now.  

I took my bike rack that I got for Christmas and mounted it on the roof of my car. There was no camouflaging this from aerial surveillance or from ground recon work. 

The rack is in plain view and is a clear signal to all that spring is here, even though we need the temperature to warm up a bit to feel like it’s spring.

Here’s the thing: Having a quiet time with God is so important because though it is more of a covert action – something that no one else really sees – it is something that prepares you for what lies ahead. You will be far more prepared to face the challenges and opportunities that will come if you have prepared your heart with God first, in your private time with Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question:  What do you have to clean up that won’t be noticed too much but will make a big difference just the same? I’d love to hear from you. You can leave a comment below. 

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Why You Should Share Your Embarrassing Moments

We all have them. Embarrassing moments when we do dumb, stupid things that we wish we could take back.

bike on car

It might be something we said or did, but the result is the same: red-faced, head down, too shamed to look up or around to see if anyone noticed.

Embarrassing moments on You Tube go viral. It’s all good … except for the person who’s embarrassed.

I once took a picture of a vehicle stuck on top of a snow pile. The owner was so embarrassed she begged me not to post it on You Tube. I didn’t post it, but I did bog about it (read it here.)

Well, what goes around comes around. The other day I was coming back from a bike ride with my bike on my car roof carrier.

As I drove by the back of my house, I hit the garage door remote button and, by the time I pulled onto my street and into my driveway, the door was fully open.

So, like I do every day, I drove right in . . . that is until I got some resistance and heard this crunching sound!

Immediately, I realized what I’d done. I backed up and then my bike came bounding off the top of the car. Just to add to the embarrassment, it clipped my side mirror which is now wobbly.

I sat there, in my car for a moment, thinking I’d wrecked my bike, my bike rack and my garage. And most of all, I’d embarrassed myself.

When I got out and assessed the damage, my bike seemed to be fine, and the top moulding of my garage only had a little mark on it.

The mirror, well, it was wobbly and will probably need to be replaced. The bike rack … broken pieces and bent parts. Me … bruised ego.

I was embarrassed. I wondered who saw it, which neighbour would bring it up at our street BBQ. I wanted to hide.

But you know, as embarrassed as I was, the next day I told a friend what I did.

Mind you, I couldn’t even look him in the eye. I looked down or away from him most of the time,  until he commented after my story. He said “Ya, I’ve done that twice”.

All of a sudden I had company in my embarrassment, and it wasn’t so embarrassing any more. It was more like I joined the club of guys who’ve smashed their bikes into their garages.

I got so bold that two days later I told a couple other friends and they started telling their stories of crashing things attached to their vehicles.

It turns out I’m not the one and only idiot to forget I had a bike on my roof. There are lots of us and I found healing for my embarrassment when I shared it.

Here’s the thing: When we sin, there is, often times, shame that goes with the sin. That keeps us from wanting to confess it to God or others. We feel alone in it, like we’re the only one who has ever sinned that way. But the truth is, that’s Satan’s way of keeping you in your sin.

Confession frees you from shame – first because it’s no longer hidden, or a secret; second, because you find that you’re not alone; and third, because confession is the first step to turning from your sin. Don’t remain in shame; confess your sin.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What embarrassing moment have you shared and then found comfort in? I’d really like to hear from you; leave your comment below.

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How To Get Moving On Spring Cleaning

You know it’s spring when you get invited to sweep out your garage. The other day my wife informed me that she was going out to sweep all the dirt and grit from the winter out of our garage.

tips-cleaning-garage-floors-800x800

I knew right away that this information was intel that I was to gather for a secret mission that was coming up – specifically the mission was to come on out and help her sweep.

I pretended that I was still gathering data on the subject to delay my decision, but after a few minutes I decided to at least check up on the operation in the garage.

Just as I thought, she was doing a great job. But the work had halted because she was talking to our neighbour. That’s one of the problems with working outside in the spring – everyone’s outside.

To make it worse, we haven’t seen them or talked to them much because all winter we drive right into our garage and go in the house. Now that the weather is sort of, thinking about turning warmer, people are outside and we have to catch up.

That makes tasks like sweeping out the garage take twice as long. I had joined the conversation but when we were done I grabbed the other broom and started sweeping with Lily.

Of course I wasn’t doing it quite the way she likes it done. Apparently the broom I was using creates a little more dust in the air than her broom. Or was it the technique that she used that kept the dust from forming clouds in the air? I’m not sure.

Once we settled that dust issue, however, we really were working like a machine. I wouldn’t say I would eat off the garage floor but it was looking pretty clean.

That’s not to say that there won’t be other missions out to the garage to clean and put things away. I noticed that we have a mission to the dump coming up soon.

This operation will have to take place in the next few days and it will involve our son who has a large vehicle this week. I’m just concerned that our communications have some outside interference (his friends) and we may miss the target unless we move in quickly.

All these covert operations that are signs that spring is upon us gave me a desire to try an overt operation. I’ve been waiting to do this for a while now.

I took my bike rack that I got for Christmas and mounted it on the roof of my car. There was no camouflaging this from aerial surveillance or from ground recon work.

The rack is in plain view and is a clear signal to all that spring is here, even though we need the temperature to warm up a bit to feel like it’s spring.

Here’s the thing: Having a quiet time with God is so important because though it is more of a covert action – something that no one else really sees – it is something that prepares you for what lies ahead. You will be far more prepared to face the challenges and opportunities that will come if you have prepared your heart with God first, in your private time with Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question:  What do you have to clean up that won’t be noticed too much but will make a big difference just the same? I’d love to hear from you. You can leave a comment below.