my day

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The Bugs are Really Bugging Me

It’s just the end of May and the bugs are really bug’n me! It’s probably not any worse than other seasons, but I’ve had a few more run-ins with them this year than in the past.

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Last week while biking, we stopped for a few minutes to catch our breath, but the mosquitos were so bad we had to keep moving. Fortunately, those little creatures don’t try to keep up with us while we are riding or it would be torture going over a log or around a sharp turn swatting at the little varmints.

This past week, my wife and I were driving in the country, noticing the beautiful scenery of trees and lakes at almost every bend in the road. At one point, we thought it was raining, but there were no clouds in the sky or rain drops on our window.

We then, realized it was a swarm of bugs that had made the sound of rain on the windshield when we plowed through their impromptu gathering in the middle of a highway. (They were probably deciding which holiday weekend campfire they were going to hit next!)

When we got to our destination, the front of the car, the backs of the side mirrors, and the front grill area were literally carpeted with dead bugs. I think the Lepage’s glue company should look into using a bug formula for their glue because these insects stuck on the car like crazy glue!

Then last night we were parking our car by the harbour in town. We found an empty spot but as we pulled in, we realized why no one was parking there. There was a swarm of bugs all around the car!

As the chivalrous guy that I am, I kindly backed the car up to let Lily out away from the swarm. Then I drove back into the spot AND the swarm of bugs and parked. Squinting and holding my breath, I fought my way through the cloud of black insects, only sustaining a mere flesh wound.

But these instances are minor compared to bug infestations of the past. I remember as a young teenager in Toronto going to the store and seeing the store owner with a broom, sweeping up thousands of dead June bugs all around the door of his store.

I remember walking through a playing field out west in the 80’s and thinking the grass had an odd brown colour to it, only to discover that with every step on that field a cloud of grasshoppers would fly up.

Bugs really know how to bug us, don’t they? I’m glad I have arms and hands to whack them and get them out of my face. I feel sorry for animals like horses and cows who have to stand there and take it because God didn’t make their tails long enough to reach their faces.

Here’s the thing: When we meet up with a swarm of bugs, our immediate reaction is to close our mouth and eyes. We don’t even have to think about it; we just do it. It’s an instinctive reaction and that should be how we are with prayer. When we come into a cloud of trouble, our first instinct should be to pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and help. It should be the first thing we do, and we shouldn’t have to even think about doing it.

That’s Life!

Paul

 

Question: What bugs you the most in life? Leave your comment 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.

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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.

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Choose Your Socks Wisely

They say you never know what a day will bring, but sometimes you can sense a day is going to have a certain theme to it. It would be nice if you could go to a drawer and, like picking out a pair of socks, pick your day’s mood (and, of course, check to make sure there’s no holes in it).

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Some people get up on the wrong side of the bed. Others roll out of bed the wrong way and voila, their day seems to be magically selected for them. Fortunately for me, I usually roll out of bed feeling good about what is ahead for me.

Unfortunately, that feeling doesn’t always last very long. The sock drawer effect happens and I pick out a day of frustration to wear like a ratty, old pair of sweat socks.

That happened to me recently. For the first hour or so (getting up, doing my devotions, showering and having breakfast) everything went well. Then I was informed that I needed to drive my wife somewhere on my way to work.

Sometimes it just takes a little rewriting of the daily script to initiate “a day of interruptions” theme. … Oh, and believe me, that did it! Driving Lily to her destination, I was a little agitated. It detained me from getting down to my planned work.

When I finally got to work, in walked an unplanned, unscheduled, perfect illustration for my “interruptions” day. The man was seeking help but each time he had come the previous week, he had been told to come back as I had been on vacation.

The last time he had been told to phone first before he came in. Instead, he just showed up. He was in need of some financial assistance and though I am not a money lender, as a pastor I am used to trying to help out people in his position.

He needed food and the solution was to get him a grocery store gift card. However, after being put off a few times already, he was not in a mood to be put off again.

As I listened to his story, my heart went out to him. Yes, it would be an interruption for me to stop what I was doing to go buy him a gift card, but I felt that’s what I should do.

Unfortunately, he had a few restrictions. He could not go to the grocery store that was the closest to the church. The next closest did not have a store near where he lived.

That meant this interruption would take even longer. Half way there I remembered I had taken my wallet out of my pocket and it was still on my desk at church, so I turned around and went back.

I got the wallet, drove back to the grocery store, and bought the gift card only to notice that the store was affiliated with a grocery store that was close to the church. I could have purchased the card there and saved half the time!

That’s how my day went, one thing after another … until I got home and changed my socks.

Here’s the thing: You can focus on the frustration of each day and get all agitated inside. OR you can view the events of the day as things God brings your way and deal with them as opportunities to serve Him. Your choice.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your biggest frustration?  Leave your comment below.

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Dreading Another Shopping Trip

Shopping is NOT my favourite sport. I like to do almost anything else rather than shop, unless you count doing work around the house. But for me, shopping for clothes with my wife is in a whole other category.

For starters, shopping – especially in a mall – causes an energy drain in me like nothing else. I can enter a mall standing tall and walking briskly, but after a couple of stores I’m trudging along like a soldier carrying a 40 lb. backpack at the end of a 20 km hike.

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I don’t understand how women can shop for clothes. The options are limitless, and I’m just talking about the stores to choose from. In any given mall there’s an average of three men’s clothing stores, but there are usually over 10 stores carrying women’s garments.

In each store, there are racks and racks of clothes that look very similar with merely a pattern or colour change to them. But it seems most women have to browse each and every rack.

There is something about touching the clothes that women feel they must do. They have to touch almost every piece of clothing in the store. I can tell if I’m going to like something standing five feet from the rack, but women have to grab hold of each piece and look at the front of it … and then the back of it.

I don’t know much about women’s fashion, but if you’re a “winter” don’t even go near the yellow and peach displays. It’s a waste of time.

Women’s clothing stores also crowd their space. There are too many clothes for the square footage. For men, this causes a huge problem. We are left standing in a sea of shirts and skirts and accessories with very little room to walk around.

It’s in women’s stores that you find men holding purses … not because they want to, but because their wives have to try on a third or fourth coat just to make sure that the first three coats that looked the same were the wrong ones.

Why don’t they put chairs in women’s clothing stores, either by the entrance so we can catch our breath before we move on to yet another store, or near the change room so we don’t have to be called over to look at something?

I’ve looked at other men in women’s stores and they all have the same glazed over look in their eyes, like they’ve been hypnotized by bright blues, many shades of red, and green patterns on the blouses – do they still call them blouses or just shirts now?

It should be mandatory to put comfort stations in women’s clothing stores, like a play area for men instead of kids. You can picture it, can’t you? – complete with comfortable chairs, a big screen TV with some game on, complimentary drinks and peanuts while you waited.

I know, that’s called a restaurant … never mind. Hey Lil, I’ll meet you in the sports lounge around the corner when you’re done shopping; here’s your purse back.

Here’s the thing: When I look at my life, the things I do each day, places I go, things I say, God should rolls His eyes and be completely uninterested in my life. But it’s absolutely the opposite! He is interested in every aspect of my life, no matter how many times I do, say and think the same things. God doesn’t get worn out being attentive to my life.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do to stay engaged in an activity that doesn’t naturally interest you?  Leave your comment below.

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The Health Risks of Cheering

For health reasons, maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs shouldn’t make the playoffs more than every nine years. That’s how long it’s been since the last time my stress level went off the scale.

Frankly, I had forgotten what it was like to watch a playoff game in which I really – and I mean really – cared about the outcome. For almost a decade I never really got too excited in the playoffs because I didn’t really care which team won.

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This year is different. I care, and I had forgotten just how much I cared until the series began. Unfortunately, my wife and I decided to take a week’s holiday in the US during the first five games of the playoffs.

The US usually does everything big: their stores are bigger than in Canada; their restaurants serve larger portions; their cities, for the most part, seem larger. But when it comes to hockey, it takes a backseat to basketball and baseball.

To be fair, NBC has done a great job of covering the playoffs so far. Their motto has been “every night, every game” … but not the Leafs! They were on CNBC, whatever that is. All I know is that our hotel room didn’t get that channel and neither did the places we went to look for the games.

By the time we returned to Canada, I had missed the first 4 games of the series, and the fifth game was being played while we were driving home. When we crossed the border, we checked for radio stations that might cover the game.

We finally found one but it was competing with a station that was airing a talk show in another language. I could barely make out that the Leafs scored to make it 2 – 0. I immediately pressed harder on the gas pedal believing that any police officer would understand my urgency to get home.

I got home with 10 minutes left in the game. There was no unloading the car, no unpacking – it was straight to the TV!

I was so stressed for the last half of the period that I couldn’t sit down. I paced back and forth in our family room, watching, holding my breath, screaming at the players on the TV to get the puck out of their end.

I thought I was going to have a heart attack, and I know what that feels like so I had my Nitro ready in my back pocket just in case. Well, we won and that set the stage for game 6.

This time I was home for the whole game. I was able to sit, but there was no talking, no distractions, just rocking back and forth on the edge of my chair. The only calming effect was the pizza and Dr. Pepper.

The Leafs played a great game and won, which brought the series down to one last game in Boston. It was do or die tonight. After a promising 4-1 lead, a loss in overtime has left me a little shaken. If there are no more blogs after this one, you’ll know the Nitro didn’t work.

Here’s the thing: Much of what we get stressed about is over in flash and has no lasting effect on us. Eternity, on the other hand, is something worth stressing over if we are not ready for it … because the effects are forever.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What thing or event causes you the most emotional stress? Leave your comment below.

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You Can’t Beat The Real Thing

Though television and the internet have provided us with live images from around the world that we would never see otherwise, what they can’t do is give us a live experience.

Certainly television news tries to give us live experiences of wars and disasters. The commentary of the reporter is always dramatic. They somehow think that showing the same footage over and over and making the same comments seeps into our psyche so it becomes like an experience to us. … but it doesn’t really work.

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My wife, Lily and I took a trip to Atlantic City, for a week’s get away and to relax. No, not to gamble, though there are a plethora of opportunities to do that.

We aren’t even staying in one of the casino hotels. In fact, we are staying at the very end of the famous Atlantic City boardwalk. To be accurate, the boardwalk used to go past our hotel.

About six months ago, a hurricane came through and wiped out the part of the boardwalk that runs in front of our hotel. I’m surprised it didn’t destroy part of the hotel we are staying in as well.

I remember seeing the news reels on TV when the disaster took place, thinking that it was too bad. I even felt sorry for the people who lost homes and for the damage it caused them and the city.

But until yesterday, when my wife and I walked along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, and saw the remains of the portion of boardwalk that was lost during Hurricane Sandy, I had not experienced it.

It’s not that we experienced the storm, but our experience of being right at the site of the damage is something television and the internet can’t give us. For example, there’s something better about going to a live sporting event than watching it on TV – even though on TV you get replays and commentary and all kinds of extras.

It’s the same with going to a concert or performance of some kind. There is something better about being there live. If you are there, it is an experience. If you’re watching on television, you are only tuning in to it.

There have been major events that were so pivotal that we remember where we were when they happened: when President Kennedy was shot, when Canada beat the Russians in the 1972 hockey summit, or when the twin towers were struck.

The experience was not the actual event in those cases. The experience was with the place, the people and the emotion of where we were at the time.

For instance, I remember being in the library of my high school, with wall-to-wall people watching the game on three little TVs. I remember the place erupting when Henderson scored his goal. I remember everybody hugging and cheering and shouting (yes, shouting in a library) when the buzzer went. I watched the game live but my experience was in my school.

The point is, our experiences are with live events we are present for, not something we see on TV or the internet.

Here’s the thing: We can see something about God, read something about Him, even be with people who have experienced God. But until we personally engage with Him, meet with Him, or have some dealings with Him, we can’t say we have had an experience with God. We have just been looking on

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What event can you remember in detail as to where you were and who you were with?  Leave your comment below.

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What To Do When The Unexpected Happens

Since my wife was away on the weekend, it was just my 22 year-old son and me at home. More accurately, it was like I was home on the weekend and Mike dropped in and out from time to time.

He wasn’t home for dinner on Friday night so I just had some leftovers. Lily usually leaves me with a fridge full of leftovers, not so much to help with meal preparation but to keep me from spending money at restaurants when she’s way.

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On Saturday morning, I made my regular breakfast of hot oat bran cereal and some fruit. At noon it was still pretty quiet in Mike’s room, so I just had more leftovers for lunch (that my wife had so nicely packaged in plastic containers for us).

Midway through the afternoon, a scary looking creature emerged from his downstairs bedroom. He had worked until 4 am, so 3 in the afternoon was like a “brand new day” for him (check out my blog, “From Plans to Reality”).

There had been an accumulation of dishes in the sink from the past three meals, so I thought I would just clean them up and start fresh at dinner. Besides, I knew that dinner on Saturday night was going to be take out, so few dishes required.

By now, Lily knows that no matter how many leftover meals she puts in the fridge for me, there is a 100% chance that I will be purchasing at least one meal on a weekend. For Saturday dinner, it was a unanimous decision: hot wings from our favourite chicken wing joint.

Three pounds of chicken wings with Frank’s Red Hot sauce … mmmm, I could eat them several times a week. It’s a good thing I have a wife who exerts a little concern for my health and our budget!

Not many dishes for that meal – just a couple of plates, a couple of glasses and we threw the cardboard container in the garbage . . . I mean, the recycling bin.

By the time Sunday morning rolled around, there weren’t too many dishes in the sink. But still, I thought I would just clean them up before I headed out the door to church. By that point in the weekend Mike had been home for one meal and used only one plate and a glass.

When church was over, I thought if Mike was awake, I’d bring home some food for a late lunch. I texted him, and to my surprise he was up and was heading out the door; he didn’t need lunch. So I just came right home.

And that’s when my perfect weekend exploded! The kitchen was a disaster and the sink was full with a bowl, pot, plate, three spoons, a few glasses, an empty container of yogurt or something, and a blender container and parts.

How do you use three spoons in one meal? I thought I was coming home to a clean kitchen and in one meal, my son blew the place up!  Now I know how my wife feels every week!

Here’s the thing: You can be living a pretty clear life before God, pleasing Him with your words, thoughts and deeds. And then out of nowhere, you sin and it seems like you have blown everything with God. When you find an explosion in the kitchen, you just wash the dishes and carry on. When you sin, you do the same – repent to God and carry on.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of messes get you upset the most? Leave your comment below.

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Guaranteed to Cure the Common Cold

If you want to know how to get over a cold really quickly, I have the secret remedy. You may have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of hockey equipment to do it, but I swear by this method. I’ve been doing this for years and the results speak for themselves.

Johnson And Johnson Recalls Children's Cold Medicines

The other day I woke up with not the beginnings of a cold, or even the sniffles. I woke up with a full-blown, about a 2 days in cold, without any prior symptoms. I have no explanation for it other than it’s my wife’s fault. She must have given it to me.

There is a slight possibility that my late nights this past week have weakened my immune system, but I really think it was Lily who gave me this cold. She may not have had any symptoms herself, but I think she’s sometimes a carrier for these types of germs.

So there I was, sneezing every fifteen minutes, blowing my nose every ten minutes and coughing in between. My body was a little achy but I was more chilled than anything. I even hauled out my Grandma afghan, and when I do that, I’m sick!

I tried to get a good night’s sleep but I tossed and turned all night. I woke up the next morning not feeling any better. Mind you, my alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. and NO ONE feels at the top of their game at that hour!

I had a decision to make: roll over and go back to sleep, or drag my achy, chilled, sorry-looking body out of bed for hockey. It was a quick decision I made – I had to! If I thought about it for even a few seconds, I would have pulled the covers up over my head.

I had gotten out my hockey equipment the night before, just in case. But if I was going to play, I needed something else: the secret remedy/weapon to blasting a cold out of your system. I needed a sweatshirt, the thicker the better.

This remedy involves all my regular hockey equipment, but I wear a t-shirt AND a sweatshirt under my hockey sweater. This allows me to – how can I put this delicately? – sweat like a pig. Oh, I sweat when I play hockey, but with the extra layers, I get to the point of overheating and that’s the condition you need to be in to gain the desired results.

Just to make sure my method was going to work, the group that was coming on the ice after us needed a few extra bodies. I decided to stick around and keep the perspiration flowing.

When I was all done, I was pretty tired. By the time I changed and showered, I was feeling achy and chilly again. So I came home and jumped into bed for a couple of hours. When I got up, voila! I was better! – aches gone, chills gone, the need to blow my nose … well, I’m still going through Kleenex at a rapid rate, but I feel better.

Here’s the thing: For many of the requests we have of God, we just pray. It might be a nice, calm, logical prayer of what we want or need from God. But there are some things that require us to sweat it out with God, to get on our knees and pour out our hearts and souls to Him. That’s the tough work of prayer. You shouldn’t neglect that kind of prayer.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Have you found yourself in need of sweating out your prayer with God?  Leave your comment below.

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We Need To Connect

Something has changed in my family that I’m not really excited about. There are a host of changes I have been thrilled about over the years, like being done with diapers, and driving the kids everywhere, whenever. But this new change doesn’t thrill me.

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The other day was my wife’s birthday (not the change I’m referring to) and she received the usual greetings via the telephone from family members who live out of town. If you answer the phone when these calls come in, you know they just want to talk to the birthday girl, so you try to quickly pass the handset off to her.

But when our daughter calls, usually we all get into the conversation a little bit. It’s like we are all together again as a family. There have been some years when our daughter (who has been out west for six years) has video chatted during birthdays: we have set a laptop in her normal place at the table and then met as a family for birthday dinner.

That didn’t happen this year. I didn’t even talk to my daughter on my wife’s birthday.  It was like she wasn’t part of our birthday celebrations; she just had an insider conversation with her mom.

It’s partly my fault. I should have told Karlie what our plans were for the day and then had her join us for part of it. I missed not having another voice to tease my wife. When the three of us gang up on Lily, it’s even better than when just my son and I do it!

Maybe this is just a change that’s inevitable and there is nothing we can do about it. Maybe it happened because my daughter used up her data plan in the first two weeks of the month and is now internetless (new word) until the first week of May.

At any rate, Karlie was missing from the celebration this year … and that’s a change I don’t really like. I’ve noticed that changes in the family just seem to happen. You don’t really anticipate them; they just sort of slide in on you and you deal with them.

… Like when your son decides to move in with some buddies downtown for the summer. You don’t preplan to turn his room into a home gym because he may be back by the fall.  But when the room is empty for a while, the thought crosses your mind for a second … or two.

To be honest, I like change. I’ve enjoyed watching my kids grow up, face new challenges, and transform before my eyes into full fledged adults (mostly). But for some reason, I like my family to remain the same around special occasions.

Maybe that’s weird; maybe that’s trying to hold on to something that keeps the family members from truly becoming their own individuals. But to me, it seems with the technology we have today, if we used it to maintain family gatherings, it could keep the family closer.

Here’s the thing: We are able to travel great distances at a moment’s notice. And that can take us away from the special occasion of meeting with God’s family at church on Sundays. We can even get used to being away from this special occasion on a regular basis. But we miss out on celebrating with the family when we aren’t present. We have technology to keep us connected. We should make sure we do what we can to remain close to our church family.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you remain close to family when you’re not present?  Leave your comment below.

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From Plans To Reality

Some people are big planners; others are not. I don’t happen to be a natural planner. I HAVE to plan and so I do it, but it’s work for me. It takes considerable effort on my part.

In a perfect world, I would wake up every morning and say, “It’s a brand new day!” You have to say it out loud though, and with a Jamaican accent. And one more thing, you really have to roll out the “br” sound. Try it with me: “It’s a brrrrrand new day!” (Don’t forget the Jamaican accent.) … I know you feel better just saying it.

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That’s how I would love to approach each morning: every day a blank page, and me eagerly awaiting what will happen. The only problem with that is I have responsibilities and I have wants and dreams cluttering that wishful blank page.

This morning in my devotions I read Proverbs 16:9 which says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

That means all that I’ve done in my life so far is really the Lord’s doing. My plans, my dreams and my wants – all the things I’ve gone after – have only come to be because God established them.

That also means the custom platform shoes and knee-length coat with an 8 inch fur collar I bought in the 70‘s was because God established it for me (maybe not, but I really wish I could find a picture of that get up). It means that my plans and dreams that haven’t materialized or worked out are because God didn’t establish them.

I could be sad or angry that I haven’t gotten all I wanted, hoped or planned for, or I could take comfort that I did get what God wanted, planned and dreamed for me so far.

Going on from here, I could stop planning and dreaming, sit back and start each day with “It’s a brand new day” and see what happens, or I could try to figure out what God has planned for me and follow that.

But how can I know God’s plans in advance? And how detailed are God’s plans? Are His plans as detailed as what I will have for breakfast, or whether I should buy a new Apple product – it doesn’t matter what, anything will do. (I’d sure like Him to establish that plan!)

Maybe we can’t live that way. Instead, we have to keep making plans, keep dreaming and hoping but roll with what actually is established. I wonder if most of our frustration is just being upset that God changed our plans on us.

We would be happier if we were prepared for changes to our plans and pleasantly surprised by what He establishes.

Here’s the thing: To live a content life we need to be happy with what God brings our way. We need to be okay when He changes our plans. But we still need to keep planning, dreaming, hoping and wanting. If we stopped, we would probably be dead.

Thanks, Lord for ordering my steps. It’s just what you wanted, so it’s just what I want too.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How important are the plans you make for yourself?  Leave your comment below.