grapefruit

by

Experiences Can Happen When We Least Expect Them

We should always be prepared for experiences that are out of season. Most of the time, it is easy to tell when things are out of season. 

experiences can happen when you least expect them

You know when you bite a Macintosh apple in the middle of July that you are having a not-in-season fruit.

In Canada apples ripen in the fall. So if you are eating apples in the summer, those apples were probably picked in October of the previous year. 

Now, with trade partners and global shipping, today we can often get fruit that might be produced in season somewhere else in the world.

Although grapefruit ripen and are picked in the summer months, I eat them right through the winter. I eat half a grapefruit every morning because, for much of the year, the grapefruits I eat come from Israel.

That’s an example of an out-of-season experience. 

But we have these experiences in other areas of life as well. 

The best sales usually come when a product is at its end or out-of-season. Whether it is clothes, BBQs or snowblowers, we look for those out-of-season sales.

When we lived in Alberta, we had a pastors’ conference every fall. In those days it was always held in Banff – a picturesque spot definitely worth seeing, but it is a tourist place. 

Summer in Banff is beautiful and an awesome place to go hiking, camping, etc. In the winter, it is a true winter wonderland with skiing, snowshoeing and shopping. Banff is as beautiful in the winter as it is in the summer. 

But there are bumper seasons in Banff. You could call them out-of-season times, when the weather is not as warm as in summer, but there is not enough snow to ski. 

That’s when we held our pastors’ conference. We could get hotel accommodations for several hundred people at a fraction of the cost of what it would be in season. 

Those conferences and experiences in Banff were simply due to the out-of-season time we met. 

This week I had some out-of-season experiences: I played hockey in July. 

I could have easily decided to go biking instead of playing hockey, but I don’t often get that out-of-season experience so I made good on it. 

And I’m sure glad I did.

There’s nothing like showing up to the rink with your equipment bag slung over your shoulder, hockey stick in hand, wearing shorts and sandals. And there’s nothing like coming out of a cold arena into the hot sun after sweating it out on the ice in about 4° Celsius.

I haven’t played hockey in the summer for many years. I just haven’t had the opportunity. So there was no way I was going to miss getting in on some out-of-season experiences this past week. 

You just have to be ready to play any time anywhere.

Here’s the thing: There is a verse in the Bible that says “be ready in season and out of season”. It is a charge to a pastor by his mentor. But we should all be ready to speak about Christ, who He is and what He’s done for us any time an opportunity presents itself. Experiences in sharing what we believe can present themselves at any time; we just need to be ready.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Would you say you are ready in season and out? What would it take to be ready?  Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email weekly.

by

Beware of Dangerous Fruit

You’ll notice the name and header of my blog have changed. When I created the blog ten months ago, I really had no idea what to call it so I just went with the church name.  I made this name change because it better reflects the content of my blog. Let me know what you think of it. (I also simplified the website address to psthatslife.com)

One night this week, I came home from work, and instead of smelling that sweet aroma of food being prepared, my wife Lily was engrossed in research.

grapefruit

Now when I get home from work, I make a beeline for the pantry.  Nothing gets in my way of that. If Lily is in the path, I greet her with a kiss and a hug, but not a long hug because, she is in the path to the pantry.

You see, I get hypoglycemic which means I have to eat something right away.  It could be anything, but a kiss will not cut it and a hug will only keep me from falling down, and even then, I could take her down with me.  I need food when I get home and I need it fast!

So, as I was filling my face with chips (oh, did I write that?) Lily was calling me to come see what she had found on the internet.  After scarfing two more handfuls of chips, I made my way to her office where she told me about some research on grapefruit.

Apparently, grapefruit reacts to some medications, creating an overdose effect, a massive overdose in some cases.  (When she mentioned grapefruit, I immediately thought that would be a good chaser to the chips I had just eaten.)

But she was suggesting I shouldn’t eat grapefruit anymore. The whole reason I take “Crestor” instead of “Lipitor” is because I like a little grapefruit for breakfast. Now she was telling me studies show that another pill I take (Plavix) reacts to grapefruit.

I kind of laughed at that point because I have been eating grapefruit everyday for the ten months I have been on this pill. Then I checked and said, “Yup, my heart’s still beating. Hey, I’m alive.”  Lily just rolled her eyes and told me to watch the news report on the internet.

The video was from ABC news. They had their medical expert speaking as if it was a life or death matter. At the close of the interview he said, “Whatever you do, call your doctor and stop taking those drugs.”

I laughed, then asked Lily to play it back. I was right! The expert doctor said “stop taking the drug”. My doctor told me to never to miss taking “Plavix”; it’s keeping my stent open.  But this guy said stop the drug, but keep on eating grapefruit!

So the next morning, I had grapefruit for breakfast.  Later I viewed the video again and they had corrected it. Lil was still worried so she called the pharmacist and he suggest that I stop eating grapefruit.

They’re ganging up on me!

Here’s the thing: Even though it was a possible danger for me to keep eating grapefruit, I ate it the next day anyway.  When confronted by our sin, our natural tendency is to keep on sinning. The key isn’t to dismiss the danger just because nothing bad has happened yet. Rather, dwell deeply on the harm sin in your life can bring and make the change.

That’s Life,

Paul

Question: How do you react to sin in your life? Leave your comment below.