golf

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How To Persevere 

Sometimes we are better when we have to persevere. You know, the struggle makes you focus more, work harder, come together or rise to the challenge.

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This week my son, two of his friends and I were in a golf tournament. It was a fundraiser for Youth Unlimited Kingston (Youth for Christ). This was the same foursome we entered the year before.

Last year we won the event (you can read that blog here), and this year the outcome was the same … but that wasn’t the only thing that was the same. The weather was brutal both years!

Last year it was cold and rainy; this year it wasn’t much better … though I do remember completely changing my entire ensemble after last year’s round, while this year I only changed my shirt.

The first year no one really knew what to expect from our team, but this year people were talking before things got going. I had the feeling that people saw us as the team to beat.

As one team was driving their cart past us on the way to their first tee, we heard the comment,  “You guys can’t win this year.”  To that one of the boys casually said, without looking up from his golf bag, “We probably will.” I just chuckled to myself at the confidence.

We knew people would be out to beat us, but the boys were gamers and wanted to repeat. I was more concerned that it would stop raining so that my clubs wouldn’t fly out of my hands when I swung at the ball.

But the rain didn’t want to go away. The clouds were dark and looming even when it wasn’t raining, and when it was it made playing golf as much fun as waking up this winter to my driveway full of snow for the fifth day in a row!

But there were highlights … one of the guys hit all three consecutive shots on one hole which gave us an eagle. Then on another, when three of us had missed the green on a par 3, the fourth stepped up and threw a dart at the pin, ending up 4 feet from the hole.

And that was the story of the round. When we needed a shot or a big hole to pick us up, someone provided something special to keep the momentum going.

In the end, we were a little disappointed; we had set a big goal and didn’t reach it. But we decided nine under par was all we could do and we just hoped that it would be enough or close to it.

Go figure, the weather caused everyone else to have the same struggles, and we won by 2 strokes. Now it’s off to Wooden Sticks for a $700 round of golf for four – our first prize winnings!

Here’s the thing: In life there are times when we have to persevere through things. It’s not easy to do it alone. Just like in our golf game when three of us blew a shot, and one of us came through with just the right touch, God is with you as you persevere through the game of life to provide the right touch when needed. Sometimes it won’t be until the last chance, but persevere. Turn to God and watch Him rise to the challenge.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you found God there with you when you have persevered? I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave a comment below.

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How To Transition To A New Season

We’re into October and it’s time for me to transition into the new season. Some of you are thinking, “Great. He’s finally recognizing the leaves are changing and that it’s fall.”

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That might be the transition some people make. They put the fall decorations around the house, get the rake out to bag the leaves, and start thinking of pumpkins and of the colours brown, yellow and orange.

But that’s not the transition to the new season I’m referring to. For me, the transition is going from biking and golf season to hockey season. And with that, I guess you could say, there comes some decorations.

One thing that I have to do is ditch the bike rack, and the clubs from the trunk, put the hockey sticks in my car and make room for my equipment bag.

But not so fast. I’m having a hard time making the transition to the new season. I still want to bike, and there may be a few more rounds of golf left in my clubs.

I have to admit I have some urges to make the transition. Every time I drive past the arena I think, “Boy, it’s time I get those blades out and hit the ice.” But I still am hesitant.

I just don’t want to put my bike away yet. I realize that there are fewer and fewer opportunities to mountain bike. It rains more at this time of year. It gets darker sooner. It’s getting cooler.

Also, making the transition will mean I have to lug my equipment out to the car and back into the house. I’ll have to put up with the annoyance of hearing “That equipment stinks!” from one unnamed person in the house (it doesn’t really smell).

I think what might put me over the edge to make the changeover is going a week without being able to bike, or finding there is not enough light to see the trails.

I know it’s just a matter of time, but I want to ease into it. Maybe I will play hockey once a week just to get my feet wet (or frozen, in this case). I’ll keep biking but I’ll play a little hockey as well.

I’m going to slowly make the transition … like when you go swimming in a lake, and slowly walk out into the deeper water, allowing your body time to adjust to the cooler temperatures. Lake Huron, where we swim, is like that – you can go a long way out before you have to go all the way under.

Once I’m in, it’s all good; I can stay in. I will have made the transition; I won’t be pining away for my bike or golf clubs. And I’ll enjoy the new season … until it’s time to transition again.

Here’s the thing: When God wants to change something in us, we often resist that change. We’re comfortable and don’t want to change. If we focus on the good or the blessings that change will bring – instead of the loss of what we have – we will slowly let God work that new change into our lives and let go of that thing we’re hanging on to.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you found to be a difficult transition to make? Leave your comment below.

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He Wouldn’t Stay on the Cart Path

You don’t usually receive much bruising from playing golf … “maybe get a blister on your little finger, maybe get a blister on your thumb”, as Mark Knopfler of Dire Staits might say.

But this past week, I was golfing with my son and I found out that golf can be a contact sport after all. I don’t normally use a golf cart but we were in a tournament and carts were provided.

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I arrived late, and my son, Mike, already had his golf bag on the cart behind the driver’s seat … I was relegated to being a crash test dummy in the seat beside him! At first I thought nothing of it – though his starts were a little fast, he was getting us to where we needed to go.

After a few holes, however, it started to rain and got a little chilly which, for some reason, impacted his driving quality. It may have been the rain drops on the windscreen that made the terrain difficult to see, or maybe it was that he was cold and didn’t have his hand fully on the steering wheel, but let’s just say the ride got a little rough for the last 14 holes.

About 12 years ago, he was driving a golf cart with my dad as the passenger and at one point Mike almost threw his grandfather out of the cart! The words “Wow, wow, wow, Mikey boy!” are etched in my memory as I watched my dad hang on for dear life while Mike had the cart on two wheels.

We even had a deja-vu moment the other day when Mike said “ Hey, that was like the time I almost tossed Grandpa out of the cart.” Obviously, it was a memory that has stuck with Mike too … not that it has impacted his driving habits over the years.

With the rain coming down, we had stuck an umbrella in one of the bags to keep the clubs dry while we were driving. That required someone to hold the umbrella in place and keep it from becoming like one of those parachute-stopping devices on drag cars.

While I was half turned and holding the umbrella with one hand, Mike drove the cart right through a hole, which jolted ligaments in my shoulder. I asked him if he saw that hole and his reply was he thought he could miss it between the wheels.

He just slightly misjudged and in the process caused me to hit my head on the roof! At one point, I thought I was in the Fast and Furious movie, “Tokyo Drift” when we swung around to pick up a ball one of the guys had left behind.

It reminded me of the first time he drove a go cart by himself. He got in front of me and was so impressed with himself, he looked back at me with a big grin and then proceeded to miss the next turn and cut right across the grass, bumping along until he got back on the track.

In the end, we made it back to the club house in one piece. We scored pretty well in the four man best ball tournament and each took home a new Callaway driver as first place prizes! … I just hope Mike’s driving on the road is a little better than his driving on the fairway

Here’s the thing: There is nothing better than being in the passenger seat when God is driving. When you let Him lead, it might be a wild ride at times but it will be exciting and filled with adventure.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has been your most exhilarating experience? Leave your comment below.

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I’ve Found the Secret

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference. The other day, my son and I went to our local golf store to try out his new golf clubs. Mike got new irons for Christmas, but we needed to make sure they had the right shafts for his swing.

The store we went to has a golf simulator that analyses your swing as you hit balls into a screen. As Mike started to warm up and hit some balls, I noticed that he wasn’t getting the distance I would get with the same club.

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The store employee mentioned that he was leaving all his weight on his right leg and what he needed to do was transfer his weight over to his left leg when he swung. I thought that was pretty common knowledge, but for Mike it was a revelation.

He started making that little change and his distance improved by about 25-30 yards, just like that. He was pretty psyched about the increased distance. I figured I would take a few shots to see if the new clubs would make any difference to my game. Sadly, they didn’t – even worse, Mike’s shots were now going a good 20 yards farther than mine!

Something as small as a shift in your weight can make so much difference to the distance you hit the ball and how you feel about your game. For a young guy, it’s all about the distance: the farther you hit, the better you feel about yourself.

Mike came home from the store and showed a friend his new clubs, he was so proud of them. He can’t wait until the spring to get a chance to use them. I think deep down he believes he will be able to beat me now. But I’m not that worried; he still can’t putt.

It’s really remarkable how little things, like shifting your weight, can make you feel good.  We often view the big things as mood changers. Things like winning a lottery, getting a big promotion, or making a significant move are what bring us big smiles.

But life is made up of little moments and not big events. Life is all about the little things, like savouring that steak that has been cooked to perfection, seeing the joy on your son’s face after he hits a golf ball, or anticipating the start of hockey on Saturday nights (finally).

We don’t live life from big event to big event. We live most of our life in the little moments that happen each day. It’s those little moments that make the real difference. It’s the little moments that sustain us every day until a big event comes along.

The last few weeks, I’ve been kind of frustrated. I think I’ve been trying to live from big event to big event and have gone through some deep valleys along the way. But if I would feed on those little moments I have each day, I would sail through even the longest gaps between big events.

Here’s the thing: The same is true with God. If we are waiting for God to do something big in our lives, we may get discouraged and frustrated in the mean time. Instead, if we are having little moments with God each day, they will take us through any valley we find ourselves in.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question: What are the little moments in your life (day) that can bring a smile to your face? Leave a comment below.

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Here’s Your Weather Warning!

Here’s a declaration I’ll admit: sometimes the weather man is correct.  The other day I went golfing with my son.  The weather was calling for rain, but since it hadn’t rained all day, I figured the evening would be rain free as well.

I have come to trust in looking outside to predict the weather rather than checking in with the guy who’s paid to give us 37% (approximate) accuracy on any given day.  But this day I didn’t look outside.  It was an opportunity to golf with my son so I jumped at it.

When we started, the sky was a little overcast but there was no hint of rain in those clouds.  By the time we got to the fourth hole, I was noticing some rather dark clouds coming our way.  But we kept going, as if somehow the clouds would part and go on either side of us, leaving a dry channel for us to golf through.

By the time we stepped up to the sixth hole, we were staring at black clouds that were now not that far in the distance.  There were rumblings of thunder which should have been a clue to us.  But we kept going.

It was no big deal – we were just carrying 13 lighting rods apiece in our golf bags, and when we pulled a club out of the bag, it was like saying, “Come on lightning, try to hit this little club.  I’ll swing it a few times to make it a hard target for you to track.”

We were brave, and stupid, but really brave.  We finished the hole, with the clouds almost over top of us.  Though it was only 5:45 pm, it seemed like it was about 7:30 pm with not much daylight left.

As we waited on the 7th tee for some people to clear the green, we saw some flashes of lightning followed quickly by thunder.  Mike took his shot and then I took mine.  It was a short par 3 so we got to the green in no time.

I walked to my ball on the green; Mike was already by the hole when I thought I heard something in the distance.  I bent down to check my ball, and I heard what sounded like a hundred horses running towards us.

I said, “What is that?”, then looked at Mike and yelled, “The rain’s coming!”  I took off running for the cart.  I don’t normally golf with a cart but I wasn’t complaining at that moment.  I jumped in just as the rain came pouring down.

Mike pinned the petal to the floor, but golf carts only go so fast.  With the wind and the angle of the rain, we got soaked.  We were driving through puddles, with rain and hail coming down all around.  When we made it back, Mike beached the cart by the overhang of the patio, as if that would keep us from getting more drenched.

It was like a flood; some guy was walking through a puddle that was over his ankles. Someone else said it would clear in about 15 minutes.  We went straight in to get a rain check.  Neither Mike nor I had any desire to preserve our rounds.  It would be best to start again another day.  At least we didn’t get hit by lightning.

Here’s the thing:  In life, God gives us warning signs that we are going down the wrong path or making a wrong decision.  Sometimes those signs seem so far off in the distance, rather than reacting to God’s warning, we keep going, feeling like we still have time.  What happens is we get comfortable living with the warning and even braver as they get closer.  We need to act on God’s warning signs early, because the storm comes in quickly and hard.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question:  How comfortable have you become continuing on in spite of God’s warning signs?  Leave your comment below.