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I Just Finished Three Weeks Of Ribs

I thought it would take a week, but it’s taken three weeks for my ribs to feel better.

Usually when I get hurt, a week will do it and I’m back to normal – but not this time.

Three weeks ago I had a nasty fall off my bike and bruised some ribs (read here). I naturally thought I would be back on my bike in a week.

It’s taken a lot longer!

In that time I’ve slept mostly in another bed; in that time, I also had a short bout with a cold. But all the while I still managed to get a half hour of exercise in each day.

A couple of years ago we got a new mattress. Lily preferred an extra firm one, whereas I liked one that had some cushion to it. … It turns out that a firm bed isn’t so great when your ribs are sore.

I ended up spending a few nights on the couch because it was so much softer. Then I moved to our spare bedroom. That bed has a memory foam topper, which used to reside on our old mattress.

Wow, I’d forgotten how nice it was to sleep on that thing! Even with wrecked ribs, it was so nice to sink into it again.

… I think I stayed there an extra night before I moved back to our bed.

The cold I got was unappreciated, and it came courteous of Lily. She had picked up a cold about a week into my rib ordeal and hacked all the way home from our cottage – that’s five hours of recirculating germs flying around the car while I was trapped inside.

How could I not catch something?

But man, did I ever pay for it! With every cough I needed to hold onto my ribs for stability.

And sneezing – that was the worst. It felt like my heart was on fire, and the burning in my chest resonated for about ten seconds after each sneeze.

It was a good thing that cold was short-lived.

The only setback I had – other than sleeping in my own bed the first couple of nights – was one exercise session.

I found that riding my stationary bike didn’t really hurt my sore ribs. It’s mostly a leg workout and I could always bike hands-free when I felt some pain from stretching out to hold on to the handlebars.

It was the treadmill that was the killer. I got back on it way too soon. I started slowly and at first it wasn’t too bad. But by the end, I was holding my ribs because they felt like they were bouncing around inside me – not good.

… That’s all in the past now. It’s been three weeks to the day and I’m not only pain free walking on the treadmill (even jogging), but I just pulled off ten minutes on the rowing machine.

Today, I’m going back to the trails and hopefully I’ll stay on my bike this time.

Here’s the thing:  For many of us, staying consistent at something is not easy. There are all kinds of things that can disrupt even the best routine. When our routine of spending time with God is interrupted, we can get discouraged, frustrated to the point of giving up. Don’t give in to defeat; don’t dwell on the interruption, whatever the cause. Get back to your time with God; with Him you can pick up again like it was yesterday.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What unexpected thing has interrupted a routine you need to get back to? Leave your comments below.

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Embarrassment Can Last Forever

I’m sure everyone, at some point, has wanted to kick themselves for something they did or said.  For many of us, this happens rather frequently … too frequently for my liking.

prayer meeitng

I remember entering a Sunday School class when I was in my teens and making a snide remark about the teacher, thinking he wasn’t there yet … only to hear the teacher respond. At that moment, I wanted to take my words back.

As I recall, I didn’t remain in the class for the whole lesson that Sunday.

Then there was the time I was with a bunch of friends on a bus and I saw a man burning leaves on his front lawn. I yelled some comment out to the man which, in the moment, I thought was quite witty.

But all my friends thought it was lame – I mean really lame! I was pretty embarrassed at that moment, and every once in a while, even 40 years later, I still feel like kicking myself for making that comment.

The times we stick our foot in our mouth – or do something so dumb that the actors of “Dumb and Dumber 2” would be embarrassed for us – stay with us and its hard to forget them.

But the worst are the times we say or do things that hurt someone else. Those are the worst because it’s about more than just being mortified or humiliated; you’ve caused someone pain as a result.

By the time you’re in your 50’s, you’d think those days would be over. When the person is a loved one, like a daughter, you’d think this couldn’t happen.

But it did happen with me the other day. I was in a meeting … a prayer meeting. Four of us had grouped together and shared some personal things we wanted prayer for.

I was just about to pray for my daughter Karlie – in fact, the first few words had come out of my mouth – when my phone started to ring.

I know, you’re supposed to turn your phone off in the movies, services and prayer meetings. Well I hadn’t, and my ringer is a funky piano tune.

I panicked and went for my phone, quickly swiping my finger across the screen and answering it.

Of course being in a prayer meeting I couldn’t talk loudly, so I quietly said, “Hang on; I’m in a meeting,” as I moved to an exit.

That’s right, I left praying for my daughter to answer a phone call!

I was kicking myself all the way to the exit. And I’ve been kicking myself ever since!

How could someone do that? How could I do that? What message did I send my daughter in that moment?

I know this is one of those moments that I will cringe about every time I think of it … for years! You can’t take your actions back; you can’t undo what’s been done.

All I could do is say, “I’m sorry, Karlie. I panicked and did the wrong thing. Will you forgive me?”

Here’s the thing:  When we sin, that memory can linger with us and Satan can use it against us to discourage us, to make us too embarrassed to go to God with it. But the best thing, the only thing we should do, is confess our sin to God and move on from there. You can’t take it back. You might not even be able to forget it, but it doesn’t have to keep you from restoring your relationship with God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s one of your most embarrassing moments and what did you do about it?  Leave your comment below.

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Four Reasons To Stay Focussed

Bad things can happen when you don’t stay focussed. I learned that lesson (again) the other day while biking in the woods. Mountain biking is a little different than road biking.

Andras-Parti-falls-mountain-bike

On the road you just stare at the pavement in front of you, maybe a white line as well.  But when you are biking on a trail amongst the trees, there are all kinds of obstacles you have to watch out for.

You have to focus on what’s ahead of you, like that rock (whoa), or that root, log or (yikes) that cliff! If you’re not paying attention you’re going to crash. If you lose your focus for a moment – even on a trail you know by heart – you could be in trouble.

I found myself in that place the other day. I was biking on a trail I’ve been on at least a hundred times. It was near the end of my ride and getting dusk so I turned on a light to shine on the path ahead of me.

I was going down a steep hill, which I like to take fast at the top and then slow down near the bottom because of the obstacle that’s there. At the bottom of the hill the path also makes a 90º left turn.

That’s not that big a deal, but to make that 90º turn you have to go over a huge log that lays across the path. If your front tire hits the log at the wrong angle, you fly over your handle bars. If you’re going too fast, you’ll miss the turn and smash into a tree.

You have to focus, start slowing down near the bottom, hit the log on the right angle, get off your seat, get your weight over your back tire, (oh ya) AND turn left.

I was doing everything right as I approached the log. I barely have to think about it, but I do need to focus on what I’m doing.

I’m not exactly sure what my light reflected off of, but out of the corner of my eye I saw something. And instead of staying focussed on what was ahead of me as my tire hit the log, I turned my head slightly to see what caught my eye.

About three seconds later I was six feet from my bike, picking myself up off the ground!

What had happened was I had stopped focussing on what I was doing. In other words, I lost sight of my goal (literally); my eye was not on my target. That’s the first reason not to lose focus.

Next, I lost my balance. Going downhill, having to turn and go over a log was impossible without staying focussed on the path. I could NOT navigate the course without focussing.

Then I fell. In my case, I bailed in mid air. I knew it wasn’t going to end well and I figured I’d do better if I wasn’t attached to my bike. … When we lose focus, we fail.

Then lastly, I hurt myself. I really banged up my shin (the same shin I had hurt one week earlier). I will heal but I’ll be sore for a bit and carry a scar for a while.

I just hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow so I can get out there and try it again!

Here’s the thing: It doesn’t matter whether it’s biking or the Christian life. If you lose your focus, you’ll lose sight of your goal of living for God, then you’ll lose your balance, making mistakes which will cause you to fall, or sin, that will leave you and/or others hurt and with scars … Four good reasons to stay focussed on your Christian life.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you lost your focus and witnessed these four things? Leave your comment below.