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Report Cards Are Out – What About Our Prime Minister?

Well, school is finished in Ontario for this academic year and report cards are being sent out. 

Report Cards Are Out - What About Our Prime Minister?

Report cards simply tell us how we are doing. … I wonder what kind of marks our Prime Minister should get. 

Justin Trudeau has been at the helm throughout this whole pandemic, holed up in his home, the Rideau Cottage.

Three plus months is a long time to be living in a cottage!

I’m just thinking that my cottage is under 500 square feet. It’s fine for us because we spend a lot of time outside. But our Prime Minister only comes out once a day to give a press conference. Mind you, he does have to completely dress for it … which is something that should be noted. 

If he did these news sound bites via video, he would only have to put on the top half of his suit. He could be in boxers for all anyone would know.

And he has been faithful at coming out of his cottage every day. I’m thinking though that he must be getting good at COD (call of duty). 

On second thought, he would not be playing that game – way too much violence for him. He’s most likely more of a Mario Kart gamer. 

He’s probably rocking his Nintendo Wii.  

Though his cottage is not really a cottage, still it must be boring not venturing farther than just beyond his front porch to place his latest money offering before the public.

We don’t really know what he is doing, though he is asking the leaders of the world to pull together during this time. 

But he won’t even leave his property. He won’t even take the drive to show up at work. 

I go into the office every day, and there is no one else there. Trudeau could sit in the House of Commons and answer his own questions, from the echo off all the empty seats.

He’s doing that already with the news reporters. He controls our eager news force (who insist they give Canadians the real news) as to who can ask questions. That means our news agencies are reporting what the Prime Minister wants us to hear and not what we really need to know.

From his cottage, sprawled out on his couch, the Prime Minister is leading the country, making decisions without any challenges. 

Canada is the only G7 country that presently doesn’t have a functioning parliament. All these other countries are managing to have their governments meet. 

Justin likes it this way. He doesn’t have to answer any questions he hasn’t scripted. He only has to face friendly faces once a day. 

Our Prime Minister is doing as he pleases and cares less if he bankrupts our country as long as he gains political points among the globalists. 

Justin Trudeau has fallen into a perfect storm for himself. We all might be suffering through this pandemic but, for him, he couldn’t have asked for a better screenplay to act in. 

The report card for our leader should show a “F” for Fear in facing the opposition, “F” for Fake in creating his own news, and “F” for Failure in leading our country. 

Here’s the thing: There is not much we can do with our present leader other than to speak up more and to seek God who will lead us well. God is a leader who has no fear of opposition, He is all truth and He will lead your life with integrity. Trust Him.

That’s Life!

Paul 

Question: Who do you have your hope in right now? Leave your questions and comments below.  

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What Marks The Seasons Of Your Life?

The change in the seasons is marked in various ways. 

What marks the seasons

For some it is a date on the calendar that moves us from one season to another. For others the weather is a popular, telltale sign that we have entered into a new season.

Some people mark the seasonal changes by events. There are so many of them: the start of NHL hockey, baseball playoffs, and you definitely know fall is right around the corner when the NFL football season starts. 

For me, I take my cues regarding the changing of seasons from all the above. The date, the weather and events all play a part in my sensing that the new fall season has just begun. 

But there is another thing that clearly indicates that we have moved into fall, and that is when my wife, Lily, brings home the gourds.  

I’m not talking about a family with three children all with the name “Gord” – like the two Darryls in the Newhart TV show back in the 80’s.

I’m talking about gourds like pumpkin, zucchini and squash.

For some reason these are the symbol of fall in our home. I’m not sure if it’s because they all ripen at this time or they have a more earthy, dull sky, rainy look to them. 

I’m not saying I don’t like having these gourds around the house. I’m perfectly fine having them displayed in the centre of our kitchen table, just as long as one of them doesn’t go missing for a few hours and end up on my dinner plate for me to eat. 

Gourd food is nasty. Squash is nasty tasting, and I don’t care if you put butter and brown sugar on it to mask the flavour. 

You have to remember that this was a food the pilgrims ate when they first settled in North America. Sure they were thankful for it all then … they were starving at the time! 

If I didn’t have any food to eat for a week, I could probably force down a little squash to keep me alive. 

But listen, those days of being thankful for squash are long gone. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for squash – I’m just thankful that when I see it displayed on the table that I don’t have to eat it. 

Well, the other day after Lily came home from the grocery store, I noticed four gourds proudly displayed on our kitchen table.

I know one is a pumpkin – it’s miniature in size, far too small to make a jack-o-lantern out of. Then there is a yellow gourd and two green gourds … certainly not the colours of spring or summer. 

So now it’s definitely fall. Every possible sign known to man has declared it. We just have to face it. 

We’ll be okay.

And you can be sure I’ll be counting those gourds at every meal and checking my potatoes to see if she mixed some squash in there.

Here’s the thing: Here is an exercise for us as we face a new season. What are the signs that Christ is involved in your life? How many signs of Christ’s involvement in your life can you identify? Does Christ show up every morning in your devotions? Is He around when you have decisions to make? Does Christ show up in your conversations? Take some time and list the signs. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What will it take for you to be fully engaged with Christ? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Why You Should Think Hard Before Getting A Tattoo

The other day I went biking and found a few wet spots on the trails. Once home, I took my socks off and was drawn to the contrast between the tattoo-like pattern on my legs and my lily-white feet.

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Besides the fact that my feet are in serious need of a tan, the pattern of the mud on my legs got me thinking about what I would look like with some body art on my legs.

I’ve seen people who try to cover much of their body with tattoos and sometimes I wonder, maybe they should have gone biking first to get an idea of what it would look like if it were permanent.

… you know, before it’s there for the rest of your days.

In my town there’s a tattoo place called “No Regrets – tattoo and removal”. They will put a permanent tattoo on you but if you change your mind, they can take a laser to you and remove it.

I still think it’s better to think through the whole thing very carefully before you take the plunge in the first place.

In my mind, I think it would be profitable for people not just to think how cool it would be to have some tattoo on their skin now, but to think what they might want 20 or 40 years from now.

You know when you’re about 70, your skin will get quite wrinkly and that once great looking tat of your ex-girlfriend right at the top of your shoulder will have stretched to cover the greater part of your upper arm!

Or that tattoo on your muscular chest that was a testimony to your love for your wife Mandy, now with your flab and folding skin, sometimes reads “I love you Man” when you sit a certain way.

There is something to say about those lick’em stick’em tattoos that we would get as kids. Moms didn’t really like them but at least they were coming off in a few days. And if Mom really didn’t like them she could scrub that part harder at bath time.

I’m just saying that doing something permanent should be thought out thoroughly so that you don’t have to find some guy who has a laser in his back room and is eager to use it on you.

For myself, I liked the fact that I could have my picture taken looking like I had just come back from “NY Ink” or “Don’t Tell Momma’s Tattoos” only to slip into the shower and remove it all with a little soap and water.

I got a little scraped up on my ride that day but those markings too will go away in a week. Two years ago at Christmas I bough the whole family fake arm tattoos (you can read that blog here), I enjoyed wearing my tattoos for a day but I can’t say that I’ve put the sleeve on since.

Permanent is a long time; it should require lots of thought and consideration before you make something permanent.

Here’s the thing: Considering a relationship with Christ is not something that should be done lightly. It is, after all, a permanent decision. It should be weighed and considered carefully because you, like Jesus Himself, will bear the marks for the rest of your life. I believe those marks are worth bearing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What permanent thing have you done that you’ve had second thoughts about since?  I’d love to hear from you; leave your comment below.