mystery

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A Pre-Sort May Be Required When Organizing

There’s a right way to sort things and a wrong way, but doing a pre-sort is generally not the best way.

a pre-sort may be required when organizing

I’ve read books and attended seminars on how to organize one’s life. Most of the information I’ve consumed deals with work – office files and paperwork that come across my desk. There are good systems out there on how to streamline the processing of paper, requests and tasks to maximize your time.

I worked for UPS when they first came to Canada. I was their first part-time employee hired. It has been interesting to watch the company grow from about fourteen vans in one corner of a warehouse to the whole warehouse and a fleet of the large package delivery vans we see on the road today. 

I started by washing those vans and then moved to an office job of processing the drivers’ time cards. I even drove the package delivery vans for a summer when I was in Bible college.

Thousands of packages got picked up every day and needed to be sorted to get on the right delivery truck for the next morning. That was the job of a particular crew. 

They would arrive early in the morning, somewhere around 2:00 am. Their job was to take all the packages and place them in the trucks for delivery later that morning. 

They were called the pre-sort crew. It was a pre-sort because later the drivers would come in and organize their parcels in the precise order they were going to deliver them in. 

But that pre-sort was essential. It provided the driver with all his packages. He didn’t have to go searching or sorting around a big pile of packages for the ones that would be on his route.

A pre-sort may not be the prescribed way to handle office files, paper and requests. But it might be the best for my situation right now. 

The proper way to deal with office mail, paper, phone messages, etc., is to handle it once. When you pick up a piece of mail, you attend to it, file it or trash it. And if something can’t be processed that quickly, you schedule a time when you are going to deal with it and then move on to the next item. … Simple, right? 

Well, I’m in the process of cleaning out my office. It’s a slow process; I’m doing it, bit by bit, over about seven weeks. But I’m realizing, to my wife’s chagrin, that much of what I’m bringing home from my office is only a pre-sort.

I’m not done determining exactly where some of this stuff will go, so there are books that are lining one wall in our basement and boxes of files that are being stacked in a corner. Lots of it is just a pre-sort. I will have to spend more time organizing where it will all specifically end up. 

… It’s not the right way of doing it, but it’s the best way for me right now. 

Here’s the thing: Life is uncertain at the best of times. We don’t know what is around the corner and the end of life is an even greater mystery. That scares people. You can’t know what’s around that corner, but you can pre-sort your life so you get it in the right place. Place your faith in Christ. You may not know what heaven will be like, but you will be sure of your destination. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you have trouble sorting in your life right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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The Ridiculous May Make Sense After All

What seems ridiculous when you first encounter it may make sense when you investigate more deeply.

the ridiculous may make sense after all

Have you ever been half awake in bed, with the sun just starting to create shadows in your room? You look at something across the room through half closed, blurry eyes, but you can’t figure it out. It looks like a box with the lid opened slightly and some papers sticking out of it. 

You know that there was no box in your room when you went to bed. It’s ridiculous to think that there is a box there, but you’re fascinated because it looks so real. 

As you start to rub your eyes and raise your head off the pillow, you begin to see what is really there beside the closet door.

It’s just the shirt that you left on the floor. Yet the way it was arranged, mixed with the shadows and your blurry, skewed vision, it really looked like something completely different. 

Sometimes those scenarios take so much thought and energy that you flop your head back on your pillow and hit the snooze button as you mutter under your breath, “Well, that mystery is solved.”

Today I was looking at a Dr Pepper sign I have in our basement when I noticed something. There was a clock-shaped figure on it with just three numbers. The hands on this clock were pointing to three numbers: 10, 2, 4.  

At first I wondered, “This is ridiculous. Why would they just mark three numbers on the clock and why those three numbers?” 

But then I remembered I also have a Dr Pepper clock in my workout room and there are only three numbers on that clock. I wondered if they were the same three numbers. 

I checked and, sure enough, the clock has only three numbers and they are 10, 2 and 4. And on the clock, just to make it more ridiculous, the four is at the bottom of the clock where the six is supposed to be. 

As ridiculous as this seemed, I thought there has to be a reason, some explanation for all this. 

I investigated further and found out a few things about my favourite beverage: First, it’s the oldest soft drink in America. Second, it was created in Waco, Texas which explains why it is so popular in that state.

But what about my mystery? 

Well, it turns out that research back in the 1920’s and 30’s discovered that sugar gave people energy and that most people have a natural dip in energy at 10:30, 2:30 and 4:30. 

So Dr Pepper came up with a campaign to encourage people to drink Dr. Pepper at 10, 2, and 4.

My mystery was solved. What once seemed to be ridiculous actually had some reasoning and purpose behind it.

This topic has got me thirsty. I think I could go for a Dr. Pepper right now.

Here’s the thing: Over the years, there have been many things in the Bible that experts had deemed ridiculous. But each time the Bible has proved to be true. For example, some cities mentioned in the Bible, that experts said never existed, have been discovered by archeologists. The Bible says that in the end times people will be given a mark, and you won’t be able to buy or sell without it. That seemed far-fetched a couple of thousand years ago. But at this particular time with a global longing for a world wide vaccination, or not allowing people to travel without having that vaccine, the idea of a universal mark doesn’t seem ridiculous any more.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to investigate about God more deeply? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I’m Having Trouble Connecting Right Now

I’ve been having trouble lately connecting to some of my devices. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have anything to do with the weather, but I am completely in the dark as to why I can’t connect.

Years ago when you said you were not connecting, it was easy to find the problem. Usually someone forgot to hang up his phone, or was on the phone talking to someone else. 

There was no mystery as to why you were not connecting. You just needed to wait until the phone was back on the hook. 

You could also fail to connect to someone in person. That meant that the person you were having a face-to-face conversation with was not understanding what you were trying to communicate.

As frustrating as that might have been, it was still easy to understand. We would chalk it up to the other person being thick in the head and move on.

Probably the most common reason for not connecting was with electricity. You were not connected because the cord was not plugged into the outlet … or you had blown a fuse.

Now with technology, however, when we are not connecting there are a myriad of possible reasons why. Many of them we don’t even understand … now we are the ones who are thick in the head! 

One of the things I do each morning is jump on the scale. But for the last few days, I’ve had trouble when weighing myself.

I have a smart scale – at least that’s what it’s called. Right now, however, it’s not acting all that smart.

Normally when I step on the scale, my weight is automatically recorded in an app on my phone. Lately it isn’t connecting. 

And there is no apparent reason why it’s not connecting. There is nothing to plug in and no one else is using it when I weigh myself.

The scale just won’t connect to my app.

I’ve scoured the internet and still haven’t found a solution. All it says is “the certificate is invalid”. 

I didn’t know the scale had a certificate. I don’t even know what the scale’s certificate is in. Is it possible there is a school for scales and my scale fraudulently got a certificate in hygiene and body maintenance?

I really don’t know what to do. 

My scale works. It shows me what I weigh each day, but it won’t record it on my phone. 

My connection trouble with this device is typical with many electronics. It’s never as simple as, “Hey look, we didn’t plug it in!”

No, you need tech support to solve these connection issues. You need someone who has a certificate in IT to diagnose the problem. … You just hope that the IT guy doesn’t have an invalid certificate, because then you would really be in a mess.

I don’t know what the solution is to my connection problem, but I sure hope I can figure it out soon.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes you might find that you are not connecting with God. Everyone experiences that from time to time. Though it’s not as easy to diagnose as telephone connection problems, there are some common reasons why you might not be connecting to God: Is there sin in your life? Have you failed to forgive someone? Are you only listening for what you want to hear? There are other possible reasons why but these are the basic ones. And all these connection problems are on your end. God is waiting for us to clear our connection problems because He wants to connect with us.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you doing to ensure you don’t have a connection problem with God?  Leave your comments below.

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The Answer To An Age-Old Automobile Controversy

This post is from 2014. From time to time II like to republish posts I’ve written in the past.  I hope you enjoy it.

I believe I’ve uncovered the mystery to a controversy that has baffled mankind of a long time … at least since the passenger car was invented.

In fact, I feel a little like Banting and Best when they discovered insulin, or when a scientist discovers some kind of breakthrough that will lead to possibly finding a partial cure for a certain strain of a multifaceted disease that continues to develop into different strains.

Whoa, I got a little dizzy just writing that.  

Back to my discovery. I got in the car the other day and when I turned a corner the sun shining through the windshield almost blinded me. All I could see was a big red ball of light, so I quickly pulled down the sun visor to block it out.

When I did that, I stumbled onto something that could be a key to changing driving habits, all the way to changing insurance rates. 

When I pulled down that visor, I almost scared myself into the next lane of traffic. The shield covering the visor mirror was gone. I went from looking into the centre of the sun to looking at two eyes staring at me and it freaked me out.

Fortunately, I controlled myself and stayed in my lane. But not everyone is as composed as I am when they drive. And here’s my discovery …

The mirror in the visor is a driving hazard and the ones who are guilty of using it are mostly women. Because of it, they are causing untold numbers of accidents. 

Every time I look behind the visor, if my wife has been sitting in the seat before me, that mirror is visible. Imagine how many men have jerked the steering wheel to the left, when they’ve suddenly seen a pair eyes about six inches from their face. 

Or how about the light that reflects off a woman’s bleached white teeth, hits the mirror and like a laser pointer temporarily blinds some poor unsuspecting driver behind her.  Another accident.

Or what about the woman who’s putting on her makeup and drifts a little, causing the car beside her to swerve and careen into a light pole on the side of the road.

You see what I’m saying?  

Statistics says that “80% of collisions and 65% of near crashes have some form of driver inattention as contributing factors” (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2010).

I’m not saying women cause more fatal accidents. No, men are best at doing that. But statistics say that women are in more fender benders than men.

It’s that distraction factor, and a little piece of the solution could have something to do with the mirror that is on the back of sun visors. 

This is still an early discovery. Now I just have to figure out how to get Lily to place the cover back over the mirror when she’s done.

Here’s the thing: God is trying to teach us all the time, but often we are distracted by other things. Being attentive to little things can lead you to discover something amazing about God that you haven’t noticed before. You can learn much about God from life around you. Don’t be so distracted by something that’s right in your face that you miss learning about God’s character and how that relates to you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What discovery have you made recently about God? I’d love to hear from you; you can leave your comment below.

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What To Do With Mystery Pain

For about the last four weeks I’ve had a mystery pain in my elbow that I couldn’t explain.

In my last post, I wrote about an injury that I had. Well, it’s not the only thing that’s hurting me right now. 

Over the last month or so, I noticed that my elbow has been getting sorer. I didn’t fall on it, bump it or do anything I can think of to make it sore.

But it has gotten increasingly more sore. 

I felt around my elbow to see if there was something that I could identify as being the cause of my pain. It looked fine from the outside.  

You could not tell there was anything wrong; it wasn’t swollen or red. It looked exactly like my elbow on my other arm.

But the pain is real. 

It feels like the bone is sore, right at the tip. It’s even sore to touch. If I move it in a certain way, it hurts.  

I couldn’t figure it out, but I started wondering what the problem might be. 

Some of the thoughts I had were not good, and it put a little worry in the back of my mind that this could be something serious that needs immediate attention.

Several years ago, I had a dark growth on my temple. It started as an itchy patch of skin and then developed into something that looked like a mole. 

Over time it got bigger and Lily thought it might be cancer. She wanted me to get it checked. 

Other people noticed it too and said I should check it out. I hesitated going to the doctor because I didn’t want to hear that it could be cancer. 

After much prodding, I went to my doctor who said he’d noticed it and it wasn’t anything. He put some dry ice on it and within a week it had flaked off. It has never come back since. 

When it comes to my sore elbow, I guess there is some of the same fear. I don’t want to find out that there is something really wrong with my elbow.

This Sunday I was telling a friend how it felt. Really quickly he said, “Oh, that’s tennis elbow.”

Well, I haven’t been playing tennis, but tennis elbow is the result of repetitive action that causes pain in the area.

I think my repetitive action is taking wrist shots in hockey. I’ve been putting a lot of torque in my shot and maybe that’s what has caused the pain. 

The problem is, it’s hard to rest an elbow – you’re always using it. Now it’s even tough to hold things. 

Though it’s gotten me out of doing the dishes, it’s also going to keep me out of playing hockey until it feels better. 

I guess the mystery has been solved. I’m going to have to curtail my hockey until the pain in my elbow goes away. 

Here’s the thing: There can be times in your life when you feel distant from God – like He isn’t really there to listen to you. It can be a mystery and hard to put your finger on anything in your life that would create a barrier between you and God. That’s when you should seek out a friend, and tell them how you are feeling. They may see something in you that you’ve become blind to, or through their own experience have an idea what you can do to get close to God again.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What mystery in your life may a friend be able to solve for you? Leave you comments below.

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A Phone Call Rearranged My Day

My afternoon got rearranged with a simple phone call, just a random call put through to me.

Fridays are sermon writing days for me. Don’t get me wrong here, I work on my sermon all week, but Friday is the day that I put all the research and study together and write it.

The morning is the best time for me to write. I’m focussed, energized and think better and faster at that time of day.

It seems that once I take a break for lunch, I don’t have the same focus or energy, and sermon writing slows down considerably.

This week I had a fairly productive morning but had a hard time getting back to writing after lunch. I had a few other things on my mind that distracted me.

Then I got a phone call. I get phone calls like this regularly – maybe once a week – from someone who needs some help.

The story she gave me was long and complicated, and I wasn’t sure I believed everything she was telling me. Still, I didn’t want to turn her away in case she really was in need and I could do something to help.

I told her that the only way I could assist her was to meet her at the bus station and purchase a ticket for her. I don’t give people cash.

Well, she said she needed to check a few things first and would call me back.

I was thinking there was a good chance I wouldn’t hear from her again, but about 15 minutes later the phone rang and it was her.

This was the second time I had to stop my writing process and change gears.

She had discovered that getting where she wanted to go was not going to be possible, so she had a Plan B.

She asked if I could pay for a night’s stay in a motel. I replied that I could do that, but first she needed to check if a room was available.

When she called back the third time, I had not really been able to write anything more on my sermon. However, just before the phone rang, I had a brainwave and was ready to write a bit more.

She told me that she reserved a room at a motel, could get a ride, and would be there in about 10 minutes.

I said it would take me a little longer but to just wait in the lobby and I would get there shortly.

I got off the phone and quickly tried to put down the thoughts I had had just before I picked up the receiver.

I was almost finished my sermon; I just needed an illustration and would try to think of something while I drove to the motel about 15 minutes away.

When I got there, she was nowhere to be found. The front desk clerk had no reservation and no knowledge of this person.

I hung around for a few minutes and then drove back to the church … all that for nothing.

The whole ordeal sidetracked me from my sermon and I didn’t even end up helping her … but it sure changed my day.

Here’s the thing: We like to know the end; we crave resolution. But with God there is mystery, and sometimes we have to be okay with the mystery. It’s in the mystery that faith and hope can grow.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What mystery do you have to live with? Leave your comment below.

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Mystery Phone Calls

The other day I had a phone message, but I didn’t recognize the name.  My secretary said he asked for me by name and seemed to know me.

I went to my office and hesitated making the call, not being sure what this person may want from me.  Instead, I made another call, just to warm up to the idea of returning this message.  It didn’t help.  I again looked at the message, to try to figure out who this person might be, and how I might know him.  I decided to give it a shot; I made the call.

Some people answer the phone and start talking like you know them, and if you don’t immediately make it clear that you have no clue who they are, the phone call becomes awkward.

It’s agony when that happens. You strain to pick up on any tip the person may drop as they talk.  About a month ago, I was five minutes into a conversation before I figured out who I was talking to.  During that time I thought it was one person and then I thought it was someone else.  When I eventually figured it out, what the guy was saying finally made sense.  I was sweating on the other end of the line.

Thankfully, this guy didn’t leave me hanging.  He could tell I didn’t have the slightest idea who he was and asked, “You don’t know who I am, do you?”  When I said “no”, he gave me some context to place him in.

I had played shinny hockey with him years ago. In fact, except for one game of hockey he played with me about a year ago, I probably haven’t seen him in about 5 years.  Let’s just say he hadn’t been in my circle of associates for a long time, and I had only known him by his first name.  He phoned me because he knew I was a pastor and thought maybe he could talk some things over with me.

The guys I regularly play shinny hockey with all know that I’m a pastor.  Somehow it comes out.  When they find out, their language usually changes for a while, and when they slip up they usually apologize … at first.

Even though I’ve been playing hockey with some of these guys for years and years, not often am I asked for anything other than a pass on the ice.  This call was pretty unusual, especially given the fact we had been out of touch for so long.

We talked about setting up a time to meet and then ended the conversation.  When I hung up the phone, I just sat in my chair for a moment, thinking about how that guy came to call me at this particular time in his life.

Here’s the thing:  What we do today may not seem like it makes much difference.  In fact, one day may not make much difference.  But over a long time, being genuine to those around you may trigger something in someone, years from now, in their time of need.  That’s when being a consistent Christian example before them will make a difference.  God reminded me this week, through this phone call, that the testimony of my life has no expiry date attached to it.  So, I need to keep living a life God can use.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question: How has your life, your testimony, your example made a difference years later?  Leave your comment below.