once

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Once Is Enough Or Should I Keep Up With It?

If I can do things once, I will work very hard to make that happen. 

once is enough or should I keep up with it?

I think I’ve always been a “once” kind of guy. 

When I’ve had some dishes that needed to be carried to the kitchen, I’ve loaded myself up. 

At other times I’ve taken so many clothes downstairs to be washed that I’ve dropped some along the way. 

… But that has never stopped me from trying to do it the next time. 

Years ago, when I was working as a youth pastor out west, there were times the church was asked to help someone in the congregation move.

This was always an assignment for the youth pastor and the college and career pastor. Dave and I had a motto back then, “Dave and Paul – the one trip movers”. 

That was our handle because, if it was up to us, we would cram everything in that house into the truck so we didn’t have to go back for another trip.

There have been so many times that I have been overloaded, using my body, chin, knees to get things from point A to point B. 

It’s just who I am. It’s part of my make up. We are all made differently and some people would never try to do the things I do. They don’t care if it takes two trips; so be it. 

Not me. I want to get it done once. Let’s not take longer; let’s not do this again. 

So that is why I’m having a little dilemma right now. 

I look out my front window and see a good-sized pile of leaves out there. I’m pretty sure my neighbour is wishing I would quickly scoop them up. But that goes against my grain because half the leaves are still on the tree.

At this point the tree looks a lot like my hair. On the outset it looks like I have a full head of hair, but really it’s thinning. The tree has lots of leaves, but you can tell it’s getting rather thin on top.

If I go out there and collect the leaves on the ground, they will only be replaced in the next couple of days with a completely new set of fallen leaves … which means I will have to go out and mulch leaves a second time. – I don’t even like writing that sentence.

If I wait a little longer, I will only have to do it once. The pile that is already there will also get blown around. Some leaves will stick around but others will land on other people’s lawns and I won’t have to deal with them at all.

Right now I have a couple of days of really nice weather to decide the fate of the fallen leaves. 

I used to be able to blame this decision on my schedule. These days, other than biking, golfing and doing a chapel talk, my schedule is fairly open. … Decisions!

Here’s the thing: We tend to not want to deal with our sin. If we do, we would prefer to only deal with it once, like when we ask Christ to forgive us of our sins. The problem with not regularly dealing with our sins is that they cause us to grow cold and distant from God. To keep your relationship with Christ warm and close, you need to confess your sins when they happen. Stay on it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to do now, instead of waiting for later? Leave your comments and questions below.

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“I Only Do It Once” – Famous Last Words

I only do it once, but that’s not going to happen this year.

I only do it once - famous last words

I was away for the first four days of the week. And when I returned home there was a beautiful blanket of leaves covering my front lawn. 

It’s that time of year when the leaves on our maple tree turn amazing shades of yellow and orange. It’s also the time when those said leaves start to fall off the tree. 

It was a beautiful sight seeing those leaves when we got home. But I knew I needed to get them into a bag while they were still lying peacefully in one place.

My neighbours would appreciate me cleaning up my leaves so that they don’t have to. Not that they would clean up my lawn for me, but when the wind starts blowing, I lose ownership of those leaves. 

Though they came from my tree, they become the property of my neighbours when they get blown by the wind into their shrubs and back yards. 

… In some ways, the best thing I could do for myself is leave them alone. If I left the leaves long enough, I wouldn’t have any to pick up. 

That thinking, however, wouldn’t make me all that popular on the street. So this afternoon I have to get moving and warm up my leaf blower.

What I use is actually a leaf “mulcher” but that, apparently, is not a word so you just have to picture what I do.

The machine has a wide scoop of a nozzle that sucks up the leaves. They then pass through a series of blades and end up in a bag which collects the fragmented leaves.

Usually I clean up my leaves on one day, just once a year. But this year the front yard is covered and I can’t ignore them, even though there are still plenty more on the tree that I’ll have to deal with another day.

Right now there are so many leaves on the ground that I could gather them up into a high enough pile that I could jump into them.

… I’m not going to do that. You can picture me doing it if you want to, but I’m not going to make up a word for it either. 

Today there is no wind. I’m sure my neighbours are hoping I will take advantage of the stillness to save them from cleaning up after my tree droppings. 

There are a number of things I only like to do once, like swapping out my summer tires for winter ones, or switching out golf clubs for hockey sticks in the truck of my car. 

Another one of those one-and-done things for me is gathering up the leaves off my lawn. It should be a once-a-season chore only. 

But this year, this year it’s going to be a two-day affair for me. 

Here’s the thing: Jesus came to earth, lived, then died for the sins of everyone. It was a one time sacrifice, a one time act. You would think that everyone would eagerly, willingly and immediately get in on Jesus’ sacrifice and all at once the world would be saved. But not everyone is ready to get in on this forgiveness of their sins. Thankfully, God is patient and, although we should immediately receive Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, God waits for us to be ready. It should be once and done, but our patient God delays Jesus’ return for us. My advice: don’t test His patience. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to do right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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