haircut

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Your Time Has Boundaries That Change

There are certain things you will do no matter what time it is. But what I have found is that what you will do at any time can change.

your time has boundaries that change

Here is an example of what I’m talking about: When I was in my teens, if someone said, “Paul, we have ice at 2:00 am Saturday morning,” my response would be, “I’ll be there. What arena?” 

At that stage in my life, it didn’t matter what time of day or night I would play hockey. I was on call 24/7. 

But that is not how I feel about playing hockey today. I still love playing just as much as I did back then, but now I have limits – or should I say boundaries – as to when I will play.

For years guys have asked me if I wanted to play hockey on their teams. My answer has always been the same: I don’t like playing the late games. 

Adult hockey usually starts at 8:00 pm in the evening and by the time you get home it’s 10:00 or 10:30 pm. 

But that’s not all. When you get home that late after playing hockey, you are still wired. You can’t just flop on your bed and fall asleep. You have to unwind for a while. That means you are not getting to bed until 11:30 pm or 12:00 am.

If you have to get up in the morning, it’s a killer. 

And then think about the games that start at 9:00, 10:00 pm or later. 

I once played an 11:30 game, got cut and needed to go after the game to the hospital for stitches. The emergency was empty that night but I still got home at about 3:00 am. 

Not much sleep to go on to teach Sunday school the next day … or should I say, later that morning. 

So now when someone says to me, “Hey Paul, we have ice. You want to play?” I respond with, “What time?”

I won’t do late any more.

It’s true with a lot of things. I will do it in keeping with the boundaries I’ve set. 

But just the other day I threw out the boundaries and agreed to get my hair cut whenever a time was available. 

I would not normally book a haircut in the morning. I usually have things already scheduled then. But when you haven’t had a haircut for 3 1/2 months, you are willing to take any appointment. 

I called my barber at the first of the week and he hemmed and hawed. I told him it didn’t have to be that day, and he responded with “I realize that”. He paused a few more seconds and then said, “How early do you get up? How about 7:00 am Saturday?”

I didn’t even flinch. “I’ll be there,” I replied. It was like the guy had booked a sheet of ice. 

I’d get up to play hockey at 7:00 am on a Saturday. It turns out I’d get up to get my hair cut at 7:00 am too. 

… Well, not always.

Here’s the thing: When something is really important to you, you will change your schedule, make exceptions and do what you have to do in order to accommodate that important thing. Well, consider your relationship with God. If He is important to you, what lengths will you go to in order to spend time with Him? I hope you can respond, “I’ll be there”.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What stands in your way of spending quality time with God each day? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Haircut – Who needs a Haircut Right Now?

The time is getting close to when I can finally get a haircut, but should I do it?

haircut - Who needs a haircut right now?

I haven’t had a haircut since the last week in March. I haven’t gone this long without cutting my hair since 1975, when three months with no haircut was normal and maybe not long enough.

But that was then.

Things are much different now than back at the end of high school. Styles changed and I got older. My hair got shorter … though I still had a bit of a mullet when I got married in 1985. 

My hair has also gone through some changes over the years. I now have a balding spot at the back of my head and my hair is getting thinner. 

The texture of my hair has also changed. It used to be thicker and more wiry. I could not get a regular comb through my hair. When I did comb it, my hair stayed in place. Even if the wind was strong and blew it a little, one stroke with my hands and it all went back into place. 

Now my hair is more straight and limp. I basically need a mirror if it hits the wind. My hair will be all over the place. 

When I used to wash my hair, it was never a big deal. Now every time I wash it, I feel like “I can’t do anything with my hair”. … That was a line from a commercial back in the sixties and seventies. Now I finally understand what they were talking about. 

I played golf with my son last week and when I put my head down to putt, my hair fell down all over my face.

Based on the fact that my hair is getting longer, it’s a no brainer to get it cut, right?

Right! 

Well, that’s what I thought. But I have people telling me they like my flow. It’s driving me crazy, but they like it. It’s not just random people saying this to me, it’s people who are close to me – people whose opinions matter to me: my wife, my kids, my friends. 

So I’m having second thoughts about getting my hair cut as soon as my hair guy has a space free in his chair. 

But when I go out in the wind, I’m reminded how much I really do need a haircut. 

In a couple of days I will be able to say goodbye to being creative with how I take care of my hair. It won’t have to be something that is on my mind throughout the day. 

But will I? When I long for something, sometimes when it comes about I’m not as eager to jump at it. Sometimes I will see how much longer I can go without it. 

I just may do that with my hair. We will have to see what happens.

Here’s the thing: Some people think they have lots of time to decide to follow Jesus. Right now you may like your life and not want to submit to Christ just yet. But when will that time be? And when that time does come, will you think about waiting a little longer to make that change? Perhaps even wait too long? Now is the time to choose Christ as your Saviour. You will have lots of life to enjoy with Him in the lead. 

That’s Life! 

Paul

Question: What are you delaying that you know you should move on right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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This Isolation Is Taking Us Back In Time

I can see where this isolation is taking us – right back to the 70’s!  

This Isolation is taking us Back in Time

I’ve already started to see some people’s facebook pictures of what they looked like in their teens. 

Why the photos? Well, with hair salons and barbershops closed, our hair is going to get longer … at least for the people who have hair. 

I’ve already started thinking of how I might comb my hair after it reaches a certain length, because my present hairstyle is not going to work. 

I’m also interested to see how many Donald Trump look-alikes start cropping up. You know, guys who are thin up top and have to start doing the combover.

It should be good for laughs … but it brings me back to a time that I don’t really want to go back to.

Back in the seventies, I could not imagine myself with short hair. Now I can barely handle thinking about what I would look like if I had long hair again. 

The picture might give some ideas. 

If we get to that place – and we’d have to be isolated a long time because I don’t think my hair grows as fast as it did back then – at least we have better resources now to deal with long hair than we did in the 70’s.

In the early 70’s, my hair would take upwards to an hour and a half to dry after a shower. If I needed to go out then my only recourse was to put on my mom’s hair dryer. 

That’s right, I said “put on”. 

That hair dryer had a base unit that generated hot hair which, in turn, flowed through a tube into a plastic bonnet-like shower cap that was perforated with holes on the inside. 

I was quite a sight sitting with that dryer on my head! 

When the first blowers came out, they barely had enough power to blow out a candle. The blower dryers we have now would have no problem drying my 70’s long, thick hair. They can pretty much dislodge the hair from my head if I’m not careful!

Until my kids were in their twenties, they had never seen me without a moustache or goatee. It was a tough adjustment for them to get used to looking at my clean-shaven face. If we end up staying holed up in our homes for a long time, my kids will have to get used to seeing their dad in a whole new way.

I wonder if having long hair again will make me look younger. In reality it will probably just make me look creepy, and who wants that?

So I guess either our isolation will have to end sooner than later or our premier will have to list hair stylists as an essential service and get them back to work.

Even then, think of the backlog of people trying to get their hair cut. We might have to wait another month just to get an appointment. 

Here’s the thing: I think we are more concerned with how we look to other people than to God. Yet others don’t see us when we first get up or when we are sick; only God sees us all the time. He sees us when we are at our best, but also when we are at our worst. We should pay more attention to how we look to God than how we look to people. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your plan if our isolation lasts longer than one month? Write your comments or questions below.

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Say Good-bye to That Mullet

About four months ago, I wrote about how I’m not very observant. I had missed noticing that my wife had gotten a haircut while I had been away on a trip. Well, it turns out that Lily isn’t a cracker jack CSI herself when it comes to noticing someone’s haircut!

For this entire past week she didn’t notice that I had had every single hair on my head shortened. In fact, I had to tell her I got my hair cut. For me this was no big deal, it wasn’t like she didn’t notice a big blob of mustard dangling from the corner of my mouth.

Paul's mullet.001

She acted like it wasn’t a big deal either, but for some reason, me not noticing her new haircut was a big deal. She says it’s not the same thing … but it seems like EXACTLY the same thing. And our two faux pas prove a hair cut is easy to overlook.

However, some things are impossible to miss, like a child’s growth when you haven’t seen them for a few years. The first words out of your mouth are, “Wow! Have you ever grown!” You can’t help but notice something like that.

Or when you haven’t seen your high school buddy for twenty five years. He shows up at a gathering and you wonder who the new guy is, only to find out that this “new” guy with no hair, a ball cap and a good sized belly is your old school friend. When you finally recognize him, you ask yourself, “What happened to that guy?” because you undoubtedly are going to notice that kind of change.

Those changes are easy to be aware of, but how should any one be expected to notice someone’s hair that is maybe a quarter of an inch shorter and in the same style as when you left for work in the morning? That’s right! No one should have to notice something like that.

There should be a rule across the board that there has to be a certain amount of change differential for something to be worthy of being noticed. Anything less than that differential doesn’t have to receive a comment.

Now, if I had a mullet and got the “party in the back” cut off, that should be worthy of being noticed. But even if that dazzling image eluded her inspection, it wouldn’t cause me much concern.

And when Lily’s “hairdo’s” escape my scrutiny, I only have to go another four weeks or so until I get another shot at it. One thing I am glad for is that it doesn’t take her four weeks to get over my lack of observation or I’d be spending more alone time in front of the TV.

… During playoff season that’s not all that bad … Hey … !

Here’s the thing: Out of all the things we should notice in life, the most significant are what God has done and is doing. We should notice what He has created and marvel over it. We should notice the prayers He answers for us. We should notice how He wants to shape us through the circumstances in life. And we should praise Him for who He is and what He has done. God’s activity in the world and in our lives should never go unnoticed.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you have the hardest time noticing? Leave your comment below.