God

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I Don’t Want A Negative Opinion

Yesterday I started to form a negative opinion of a restaurant I actually like.

My opinion is based on an experience – if fact, my last experience at this chain of restaurants.

My wife, Lily, and I were traveling and needed to stop for gas and something to eat. I noticed a “Five Guys” burger place close to where we were gassing up, so when the tank was filled we made our way over.

When you have eaten in a restaurant before – maybe many times before – you kind of have an expectation of how things will go … especially in a chain restaurant where they try to create the same eating experience in every franchise they establish.

When we entered, there were several people in the order line ahead of us. It seemed like the two guys ordering at the counter either didn’t know what they wanted or were ordering for an army.

Turns out they didn’t know what to order. It’s a burger joint; they make burgers – no chicken, no fish, just burgers.

How hard is it to order a burger? I’m sure it wasn’t their first burger.

… But that wasn’t the issue. After the cashier finished with that marathon two-burger order, she disappeared.

I couldn’t remember what she looked like because she wasn’t quite as tall as the cash register so I never got a good look at her from my position fourth in line.

Close to five minutes went by before she returned to the cash and started to serve the next guest in line.

By the time we placed our order, we had been in line close to fifteen minutes.

Now if we were eating at the Keg, and waited fifteen minutes to order, I wouldn’t think anything of it. But this was a burger place … did I mention they only make burgers?

Then we waited for our food.

We had to clear our own table because obviously the paid staff weren’t doing the job. I picked the cleanest table and then wiped it down with some napkins.

When we finally got our food and started to eat, Lily and I began to reminisce about some of our other restaurant experiences.

We had a doozy a few years ago at a Burger King that has been etched in my mind forever.

That experience was almost matched at another Burger King, so now I can’t go into a Burger King without thinking something is going to go wrong.

I know Five Guys is a good restaurant and their food tastes great; I just don’t want my latest experience to taint this opinion.

They say it takes seven compliments to undue one negative one. I’m wondering if the same is true with an eating experience.

If so, I need to get back to “Five Guys” seven more times so that what happened yesterday doesn’t jade my opinion of a restaurant I actually really like.

Here’s the thing: You may have had an experience in your life where you blamed God or felt God didn’t treat you the way He should. Be careful not to let your view of that experience taint your opinion of God who is holy, good and all powerful. He’s God and He loves you and has a plan for you. Remember who He is and keep going back to Him. Don’t let one experience taint your opinion and keep you from seeking Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What experience with God in the past has given you confidence in Him? Leave your comments below.

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I Hit Trees; I Don’t Hug Them

I had a run-in with a tree the other day. It didn’t work out so well for me.

It was dusk when I went for a ride on the trails. I guess my depth perception was not quite on spec with the low lighting.

I cut a corner kind of tight and my shoulder clipped a tree as I went by. I think I only polished the bark of the tree, but it gave me a nice-sized raspberry.

It almost, but not quite, knocked me off my bike. It did send me on a collision course with another tree. Fortunately, I kept my balance and narrowly avoided the tree on the other side of the trail.

It’s not the first time I’ve been stopped by a tree while riding trails on my mountain bike.

There was one time when I came around a corner, and a recent storm had caused a large tree branch to hang over the trail at about shoulder height.

Well, I caught that tree with the upper part of my left arm and it kicked me right off the back of my bike. It was like I had hit the ejector button on my seat.

This time I think I misjudged the tree because I couldn’t see the trail as well as I needed to. I had some glasses on that go clear when there is little light, but I think they may have been slightly fogged up.

At any rate, soon after my incident with the tree, I took my glasses off and could see the trail and obstacles a lot better.

If this had happened years ago, that tree would have been thinner and maybe it wouldn’t have been so close to the trail. If I had hit it when it was young, it would have moved with my impact and provided a little give.

But now that tree was solid; it never even budged. It almost seemed like it was leaning in towards the trail just a little … like it was waiting for me to come by just to give me a shot.

I’m not blaming the tree; it’s not like it tripped me up. I was the one steering my bike. I take full responsibility for pointing my wheel too close and leaning in a little too early.

But I tell you, I went from traveling at about 12 km per hour to about 2, in one second.

It was like those crash tests that they do with automobiles. The auto manufacturers do it to test air bags and the car’s crash engineering. They put a dummy inside a vehicle and then they drive the vehicle into a brick wall.

In my case, I was the dummy.

I wasn’t trying to prove anything, but I now know how those dummies feel, that’s for sure.

Here’s the thing: We can be going along in life and rather quickly run into some kind of trial that stops us instantly. How you respond to that trial is important. You need to improve your eyesight, take assessment of the situation, and then put your focus on the trail ahead. Often on a trail we can’t see very far ahead, so rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Seek Him regularly and often to stay on the path and avoid further obstacles along the way.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What obstacles have knocked you back lately and how are you responding? Leave your comments below.

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To Share Life, Some Old Barriers Must Be Crossed

We can now share life with others like never before, but there still remain some old barriers.

I remember when I went away to college years ago. Back then you were cut off from what your family was doing until you went back home.

Sure, we could send and receive letters in the mail to keep up with life on the other side of the country, but by the time we got it, it was old news.

We could call on the telephone, but with the time zone differences and the long distance charges, at least with my family, it was a rare, “special occasion only” form of connecting.

It’s not like that today. We have all kinds of social media and communication technology at our disposal. We can share life with anyone, any family member, no matter where they or we may be.

Distance is no longer a factor to sharing life.

Just the other day, on Canada Day, my wife, Lily, convinced me to stay downtown and watch the fireworks even though I like to be home Saturday night before I preach the next day.

We stood for a long time on a pier waiting for the big event to happen. We figured it would be a good show since it was Canada’s 150th birthday.

We arrived at the pier in daylight with really no one around us, but as the sun went down, more and more people crowded around to get a good spot to watch the fireworks.

Our son was in town and managed a great vantage point, with some friends, on a boat in the harbour.

When the light show began, Lily thought she would video some of it and send it to our daughter, Karlie, in Toronto.

But then she thought, “Why don’t I just video chat the whole thing!”

It was pretty neat. We were standing on a pier in Kingston, holding a phone so that Karlie could watch the fireworks from another city. We could converse with her and see her just like she was standing with us.

In that moment we were sharing life together … even though she was 250 kilometres away.

It’s truly incredible that we now have the ability to carry on with others far away as if they were right next to us.

But even with all this ability to share life, sometimes we have a hard time communicating thoughts and emotions that are inside us.

And it doesn’t matter if a person is beside us or in another country – no amount of technology or social media will cut through the difficulty of sharing parts of our lives with others.

That old saying “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” describes the barrier that will always exist regardless of how our communication progresses.

We can share life together wherever we are, and yet not really share life at all.

Here’s the thing: Some of us find it difficult to share what’s going on inside us – sometimes we can’t even put a finger on what we are experiencing. Though sharing life experiences is important, it’s equally important to share your thoughts and feelings. The great news is there is an avenue for that. God is listening and wants you to share those thoughts and feelings with Him. He can also provide you with great counsel if you will learn to listen as He shares with you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you used technology to share life with someone? Leave your comments below.

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A Canada Look-Back, I Mean Ahead

On July 1 we celebrated all that has made Canada what it is today. This was our 150th birthday.

I’ve only shared 61 of those birthdays with the country, but just writing that puts it in perspective how young a country we live in.

I’m only 14 years shy of being half as old as Canada. Wow!

My grandmother – if she was still alive today – would have only been 17 years younger than our nation. Now that would be impressive! My grandmother passed away in 1983 at the age of 99.

It’s all nice to look back on your birthday, but I want to look ahead in this piece.

When I think of Canada’s 150th, it brings a few questions to my mind that I wonder about.

One question I have is, “Will the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup in the next 150 years?”

It’s been 50 years since their last victory, but lately they seem to be making some moves in the right direction. I can wait a long time for it to happen, but I don’t have 150 years left in me.

I also wonder, “Will Donald Trump last 4 years in office, or will he even last the year?”

I get a CNN feed on my Apple Watch and 95% of the news that shows up is related to Donald Trump. I have never seen the news/entertainment industry so captivated with one person before.

Trump is like the Beatles were in the 60’s; no one could get enough of them.

As I watched TV and saw a protest on Parliament Hill, one question that came to mind was, “Will we ever come to a resolution with our Indigenous Peoples of Canada?”

The Prime Minister sat with the leaders in a teepee they had set up on the Parliament lawn. When he left, the Indigenous leaders were all encouraged and felt he had heard their heart. But a few hours later the protesters were trying to set up another teepee on the lawn.

I wonder if any real progress will be made on this issue in the next 150 years.

In light of global warming, my questions is, “Will the weathermen become more accurate in predicting rain and snow, or will the forecasts remain much the same – wrong about 50% of the time?”

Another question I have is, “With all the rights various groups have now, will we become cookie-cutter people, forced to think, talk and act like each other? … You know, shades of Orwell’s “1984”.

If that happens, it will cut down on the myriad of choices we have to make now. Things like fashion, interests, and food might not be all that exciting, but we won’t need an opinion; we will all share the same one.

Just think, when you need to buy a car, there would only be a few choices: Will that be a compact, mid-size or SUV?

I’m not convinced that what got us through the last 150 years will carry us on into the next. We are venturing into new territory.

Here’s the thing: We may have many questions about the future of our country and life in this great land of ours. We can’t foresee the answers to many of our questions, but there is an outcome that has already been determined. When Jesus died on the cross for mankind’s sins, He said He is coming back to take those who put their faith in Him to be with Him in heaven. That we can have confidence in. Make sure your faith is based in Christ because you can count on God to know the future.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What questions do you have about the next 150 years? Leave your comments below.

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It Was A Plan B Picnic

Our annual church picnic turned out to be a big hit in more ways than one.

We hold a picnic every year in June; we’ve been doing it for years. This year, however, there was a little hiccup to putting it on.

We normally get a permit to hold it in the park. That permit gives us control of the large stone BBQ pit and covered pavilion … oh ya, and access to the baseball diamond.

This year we couldn’t get the permit. Some other organization must have beat us to it.

Our options were to either just show up at a park, bring our own BBQ’s and have our picnic, or to hold it at our church. We have a large lawn behind the church with trees along the edges.

Well, we decided to go with the church lawn as the site of this year’s picnic. It was easy to get people to come since we hold it right after our service on Sunday.

But the downside was that we don’t have any of the features of a park, like a climbing centre for kids or a ball diamond. We don’t even have swings.

So we purchased a jump and slide castle for the little ones, and came up with several games we could play on the field.

The week before the picnic, I sensed God speak to me about inviting the people around the church, and giving out free hamburgers.

I told the congregation and everyone thought that was a great idea.

Since our church boarders on three streets and we are across from a shopping centre, there is a lot of vehicle and pedestrian traffic that goes by our church.

What we decided to do was put up signs along the road, that just said, “Free BBQ. Come on over.”

Not only did our congregation get to enjoy hamburgers, salads, cake and desserts, but so did many people from our neighbourhood.

Maybe what put a smile on my face more than anything else was seeing people in our congregation interacting with those who stopped by.

People weren’t shy to chat it up, and the fact that the food was free made them all the more curious to talk and ask questions.

Several moms came with their kids and, of course, the kids wanted to jump in the castle and play the games.

The one thing we didn’t have, though, was a petting zoo. … Apparently there were a few moms and kids who came because they had seen on Facebook that the church had a petting zoo.

That was unfortunate for the church around the corner. I guess we got some of their potential guests.

When it was all said and done, it was a great day. People were well fed, had fun, socialized and we made contact with a lot of people we might never have met.

Maybe next year we need to offer pony rides. Just kidding.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes in life you can get discouraged when Plan A doesn’t work out and you have to resort to Plan B or C. The thing is our Plan B might just be God’s Plan A all along and we didn’t know it. God can turn any plan into the right plan if we choose to listen to His direction.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Have you had a Plan B that turned out to be Plan A? Leave your comments below.

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The Grass Isn’t Much Greener On The Other Side

We arrived at our cottage last night, just before dusk, and I noticed the grass had not grown very much. The grass was long but it wasn’t any thicker than it was when we were here the last time … and we had seeded it then. 

We don’t get up to our cottage all that frequently, just a couple of days in each of the months leading up to our vacation.

We do the same thing after our vacation as well. That means there is not a lot of time to really take care of our lawn and encourage its growth.

Last year we put in an underground sprinkler system on a timer to make sure the lawn gets the water it needs.

If you’re asking, “WHO put in an underground sprinkler?”, well, we did it ourselves and it’s more like we McGyver’d a system together on the cheap.

Anyway, I thought this would make sure our grass was green and lush.

We do have a rather sandy base to work with, so a beach volleyball court would probably have been easier to achieve than thick, green grass.

All that aside, I really thought that when we arrived yesterday there would be new grass growing and we wouldn’t be able to see the ground in between the individual blades.

It’s not like that at all.

It’s been a good three weeks – maybe even four weeks – since we’ve been up. (My brother cuts the grass in between our visits.)

But I thought the grass would be greener and thicker and newer.

We put grass seed down before we left last time, but what a disappointment.

It’s in the same scraggly state as when we left it. Neither Lily nor I have a particularly green thumb, but how green does your thumb need to be to grow grass?

There are only a few things that are needed to grow grass. You need dirt, water and sun. My dad proved that you don’t need anything else.

Before I was born, my dad and mom moved into their first home in the late fall.

They decided to wait until the spring to deal with their non-existent, all dirt lawn. In the spring they noticed little green shoots coming up, so they let them grow and later went on their summer vacation.

By the end of the summer they had a lawn. It was green and that’s all they cared about … though they were afraid that it was 100% weeds.

The next spring the back yard was a sea of yellow dandelions. But when the yellow was gone, it was green again.

For years my dad was afraid to have the weed man spray our lawn for fear that it would kill it all.

The bottom line is, I know it doesn’t take much to get a green lawn.

So during this visit, I’m scheduling our sprinkler system to come on more often and we are going to lay down a heavy layer of seed.

By my vacation, I better need a swather to cut my lawn!

Here’s the thing: Sometimes when things don’t work, we just give up. When God is developing you, urging you deeper into relationship with Him, sometimes it doesn’t seem to be working. Don’t give up; just keep allowing God to finish His work in you because what He has in store will be well worth it all.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s growing in your life right now? Leave your comments below.

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Dad’s Day – What A Memory

It’s Saturday and I just got a Canadian Tire ad on my phone for Dad’s day.

The ad said I only had one day left and they had gift ideas for every type of dad.

It got me reflecting on what type of dad I was. As my mind wandered around our local Canadian Tire store, I thought, “Am I an automotive type of dad, or a fishing and hunting type of dad?”

I could be a hardware, fix-it-yourself type of dad or maybe a gardening and outdoor living type of dad.

Out of all the sections in that store, I would have to say I’m more the sports type of dad.

But Canadian Tire is just selling products a dad might like; that is not really the type of dad I am.

When I look back on how I’ve interacted with my kids, that would be a better indicator of what type of dad I am. Now that my kids are adults, there’s a lot of time to look back on.

I spent time playing with them … even if some of that play time was them playing on and around my body while I napped.

I read stories to my kids at bedtime … so what if I changed the stories a bit and got them all hyped up instead of settled down to sleep?

I helped my kids with a whole variety of things from learning things, to figuring out things, to making things. … That “ab dolly” Mike and I made – though it didn’t turn out so well as a workout machine, it has come in handy over the years assisting in moving things from one spot to another.

As a dad, I showed up to games and tournaments to cheer on my kids. I even did some coaching in the early years. It was always great to watch my kids compete and play hard at whatever sport they were in.

My kids got to see me at work more than most kids get to see their dads, and they also spent time with me while I did my devotions early in the mornings.

I’ll never forget when my then 5 year old son sat next to me one morning while I was writing in my journal. When I’d written over a page he asked me, “Dad, why are you scribbling?”

I replied, “I’m not scribbling, I’m writing.” He shook his head and said, “You’re scribbling, Dad.”

… There are still adults who think the same thing about my writing.

When I look back though, what stands out to me is that the time went by too fast and I missed doing way more than I did.

And one more thing, I should have talked to my kids more. I answered a lot of their questions, responded to them and showed interest in what they were doing, but I didn’t share my heart with them as much as I should have.

They could have gotten a better understanding of my relationship with God than I let them in on.

You can’t go back, but I do have the future. I need to let them in on that side more.

Here’s the thing: We can’t go back and do things differently, but we have the future and we can start from here to do things with our kids, to help them and share our hearts with them so that they know what makes our faith tick.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to start doing from now on with your kids? Leave your comments below.

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Wow, It’s Just Another Birthday

It’s my birthday today (Friday), and they say I’m one year older … but I don’t feel one bit different than I did yesterday.

I don’t really feel any different one day to the next, but I guess as you look at the past and then ahead to the future, that’s when you start to feel your age.

This year I joined a baseball group for those over 60 – I think I’m the young guy on the team. Playing ball again has got me looking back to years gone by.

In Monday’s game, I tracked down a few fly balls and, though I got to most of them in time to make a play, my quadriceps muscles have been killing me the rest of the week.

I never really thought about my muscles years ago. When I needed some speed, I just ran harder. Well, now it’s not so easy; now I pay the price for trying to get to a well-hit ball … couple that with three all-out sprints to first base and I wish I had a wheel chair to move around in this week!

I did manage, however, to play golf with a friend near the end of the week. He made a comment that he never thought walking 18 holes was exercise, but now he does. That’s crazy talk! … but I had to agree with him.

During my previous game I had carried my clubs around the course. I found out that I can do that for nine holes without a problem, but I’m not able to carry my clubs for 18 any more. Yet years ago I had though nothing of it – it was just walking.

When I look back on things, I definitely see how I’m a year older today.

Then when I look forward, I see what is to come … and it’s coming quicker than I really want it to!

I performed a funeral last week and visited a few elderly people in my church. All these people were very vibrant when I first took this position. I guess that’s what staying in one place for a long time does – you get to see people grow up and grow old.

I’ll admit I’m not really excited about life in a senior’s home or nursing home. Maybe I’ll change my tune when I get to that age … all I know is that I feel it closing in on me.

I also know that the longer you live, the less friends you have. But when your best friend is your doctor, simply because you see him more than anyone else, you know you’re really getting old!

Well I thought today I might take a day off of exercising, and even cheat a little on what I eat, but with all these thoughts of aging, I might have to re-think that.

Maybe I’ll have to double up on the exercise and ask for the senior’s meal at the restaurant tonight … which we all know is not a discount but just a smaller portion.

Here’s the thing: When you think about maturing in your relationship with God, it can be hard to tell one day from the next if you are progressing. At times it might seem like you’re moving forward, but other times going backwards. Well, look in the past and look ahead to the future to evaluate your maturity in Christ over a longer period of time. Then make sure you don’t stop where you are at, but keep moving ahead.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you noticed about your relationship with Christ over many years? Leave your comments below.

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It’s Time To Get My Golf Clubs In My Car

The other day I put my golf clubs in my vehicle for the season … but I still haven’t used them.

We are now into June and I haven’t swung a golf club yet. … I know there are many people who will only play a couple of games this season, but that’s not me.

In fact, I can’t remember a year when I have not had my clubs out by now.

It usually happens like the hand off in a relay race. There is this zone where the two team mates are running and the one hands the baton off to the other.

For me that’s the time when the hockey sticks get taken out of the car and the golf clubs get put in the trunk.

But this year we’re getting past the transition zone and I’m about to be disqualified.

Well, not really disqualified, but I have a golf tournament I will be in this week and I need to get reacquainted with my driver before that date.

One of the biggest roadblocks is finding a little time between the rain drops that keep falling every other day!

All winter long you look forward to doing things outside and then a spring like this comes along and you’re still stuck inside because of the rain.

Golf and rain have never really gone well together, especially if there is thunder rumbling in the distance.

It’s never a good idea to be close to lightning with 13 lightning rods strapped to your back!

… I remember golfing many years ago with a friend and we were down in a valley when the thunder got loud and close.

We took cover for a while, but then decided we should make our way to the club house. As we were walking up the path out of the valley, I turned to say something to my friend.

At that moment the sky lit up behind him, making him a silhouette, followed immediately by a huge crack of thunder.

At that point we started running for the club house; we just wanted to get out of the target zone before we got hit.

But it’s not just the rain and potential lightning that has kept me off the course this year, it’s also the cool temperatures.

I’ve had that feeling of playing golf when it’s cool outside. If you hit the ball a little thin, you get this vibration that starts in your hands and moves up your arms.

You feel like the cartoon character, Wiley Coyote, who just missed the roadrunner with an iron pan and hit a rock instead, leaving his whole body vibrating in mid air.

Well, that’s what it feels like, and I hate that feeling.

But this week I will be playing, whether I’m ready or not. So I better brave the cold and rain and start hitting a few golf balls before that date.

Here’s the thing: There are things that will happen in life whether you are ready for them or not. So why wouldn’t you get ready for them if you can, even if getting ready is going to mean making some changes? Christ is coming back some day. The thing is we don’t know when. We need to be ready for His return, so why not prepare yourself now? Place your trust in Christ alone for your salvation. Yes, it will cost you, but you will be ready for His return and it will make the perfect transition to the next life.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What transition do you need to make right now? Leave your comments below.

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I Finally Found A Solution To Flossing

For a long time, I’ve been searching for a permanent solution to a small supply issue. I think I might have finally found the right product.

I like my dentist – in fact he’s a friend of mine and we golf together. However, I don’t like going to see my friend when he is working in his office … especially when I’m sitting in one of his chairs.

I’m, therefore, a big fan of flossing my teeth to help cut down on things he might find wrong with my teeth when I visit him.

The problem with flossing is that I can never get the floss to those back teeth of mine.

My fingers are too big to get that little, white string to my wisdom teeth way at the back. It’s possible that I don’t have a big mouth, but I’ve never been accused of that.

For me, a flossing solution has always been to use an apparatus to reach those hard-to-get-to teeth. Over the years I’ve used several different kinds.

I started with a big “Y” shaped instrument that worked for many years until I couldn’t find them in stores any more.

Then I found a version of that apparatus that came with dental floss built into it. I actually came to like this one better and had no issues for years … until again they didn’t sell them in stores any more.

Right around that time, a family member found a gazillion of the first type I used at a dollar store and bought them for me.

Not too long after that I happened to come across a quantity of the second type … I bought the store out.

For several years I kept using these products until recently I broke the last one.

Trying to find something similar and suitable has been difficult.

I think the manufacturers felt they needed something that would break more easily – the old types lasted too long. They want to make more money.

Well, everything I’ve tried is horrible! … until a week ago when Lily brought home a pack of single-use flossers that are the same shape and style as my old ones. They aren’t perfect, are a little flimsy, but they work.

Many of the other types are shaped in a way that you pretty much have to put your fist in your mouth to reach your back teeth.

With some, the floss is so weak that it breaks after using it between a few teeth. Sometimes the floss isn’t tight enough to get in between some teeth.

This new style, however, keeps most of my hand out of my mouth and the floss stays tight, even getting between those molars.

In the long run, the manufacturers win by getting me to spend more money on flossing … but having an option that works for me is worth it.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we like things the way they are. We are satisfied with our life, or our relationship with God, and we don’t see the need for it to change. However, God wants to stretch us and go deeper with us and that does require change on our part. It might not be comfortable at first, but don’t resist. Move towards where God is stretching you or how He wants to go deeper with you. In the end, it will be worth it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you been holding on to that you should let go of? Leave your comments below.