peace

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A Community Schedule Is A Great Idea

We should collectively schedule things as a community. … That might sound a little controlling, but I think it would give us more peace in the long run.

a community schedule is a great idea

I’m certainly not advocating having to do everything at the same time as everyone else in the community. I just have one thing in mind. 

We are already sort of scheduled in our city as to when we can use our washing machines at home. The city charges us more money for using electricity and water at certain times of the day. They basically want everyone to do their washing in the evening or early mornings.  

It’s not a forced thing, but you pay more if you don’t bend to the community’s wishes.

At times the city has also issued a watering ban for households. We can only water our grass on even or odd numbered days, depending on our house numbers.

Therefore, we basically have a precedent for getting everybody on the same schedule. 

I’m thinking it would be nice to get everyone on the same grass mowing schedule.

It wouldn’t be necessary if everyone had an electric lawnmower, but with so many gas grass cutters, it would really help. 

At my cottage we are in a community and, though the properties are small, there are a lot of them. There is no mistaking the sound when someone pulls out their Briggs and Stratton and pulls the chord. 

The guy that designed the mufflers for lawnmowers must have once worked for Harley Davidson. Every gas lawnmower sounds like a 750 cc roadster! If you close your eyes you can picture the guys from the movie, “Easy Rider”, cruising down the highway.

A lawn doesn’t take that much time to cut. But what’s bad about it is that somehow the noise gives other people the idea that it’s time to cut their lawn too. 

They don’t get out there together at the same time. Instead, it’s more like a chain reaction. When one lawnmower stops, another one starts right up. 

You can hear the sound of lawnmowers for an hour or more. 

Especially when I’m at the cottage, I want peace and quiet. 

I want to hear the sounds of birds chirping, crickets cricketing, and paint drying. – Yes, I want that sound over the sound of some four stroke engine, winding up to top speed. 

And then there’s the guy who made the mistake of putting his weed eater gas into his lawnmower tank. That oil and gas mixture makes a lawnmower sound like a sixteen year old with an old car, trying to impress the girls by continually revving his engine. 

So if we could schedule everyone to get out there and cut their grass on Saturdays at, say, 11 am, well, that would be just great. 

We could all wear ear plugs or put in head phones and listen to music. 

… And I would have some peace the rest of the day.

Here’s the thing: There is a lot of sound in our world. All that noise will drown out hearing what God might want to say to you. Take time in the peaceful part of the day to read and listen to God for His guidance, encouragement and even His correction. God likes it when the sounds of other things are quieted in us. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When is the peaceful time of your day? Leave your comments and questions below.

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My Peace Was Interrupted

Have you ever gotten away for some peace and quiet, to a place where you can relax and think clearly, only to have your peace interrupted with noise?

My Peace Was Interrupted

That happened to me the other day.

I made my annual trip to our cottage to think, pray and plan for the year ahead. One reason I go there is that I relax well there, and the other reason is that it is quiet.

Albeit the occasional noise of a lawnmower or circular saw breaks the quiet, but for the most part it is very peaceful. All our neighbours are seniors or their kids have grown up. Lily and I are the young ones in our little section.

But last year, near the end of the summer, a family moved in just kiddy-corner to us. This family broke the pattern. They have two young children, somewhere between 3 and 7. 

I remember having kids that age, but what I don’t remember is how loud they were. … either that or this is the loud family! It seems like it’s party central all the time at their place. The kids are up early and the parents are up late.

There is nothing wrong with it most of the time – except when I’m here specifically to be quiet, reflective, to think and plan.

When our kids were young, I never thought of how loud we were as a family – especially the kids. Kids’ high pitched voices without a volume control makes for some serious noise.

Even if an adult is loud, the lower tone in their voice usually only leads to muffled noise. With kids, however, you can hear every word distinctly and clearly.

Kids are busy, too. They are not going to just sit and read. … I’m not even sure one of the neighbour kids is old enough to read. 

These kids want action! They want entertainment! And they want it all the time! 

Right now there is a road hockey game going on at 10:00 in the morning right outside my window.  

It’s summer here in vacation land – who’s playing street hockey right now? 

Growing up I played plenty of road hockey. We played mostly in the spring and then in the fall. In the heat of the summer we were down at the river catching frogs or something. 

I realize that some kids are louder than others. Some instinctively play quietly. They play with each other. 

But these kids need to be yelling and they need their parents involved. All their play is a big production. 

They have two full-sized hockey nets on the road right now. I don’t think the game is going that well for the oldest kid because he’s telling everyone that the game is over. 

No one seems to be paying attention to him, however, so he keeps reminding the adults and his sister over and over again as they play around him. 

It’s noisy, but it’s also Saturday morning. They didn’t arrive until last night … and I’m leaving in an hour or so. 

So glad they were not up for the week.

Here’s the thing: You can do your best at setting up a quiet place to spend time with God. But what you still may have to battle is how loud your thoughts are, and how distracted your mind can get. Sometimes you just have to work through those noisy sessions and find a way to focus. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What distracts you the most when you are spending time with God? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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The Middle Ground Is Not The Best Ground

Taking that middle ground may be good for keeping the peace but it might also be holding you back.

It’s comfortable being in the middle: in an argument you have friends on both sides; in a hostile environment you have safety on either side of you. 

You are insulated being in the middle. You don’t have to stick up for yourself. 

But in a relationship, being in the middle actually holds you back. 

When I do counselling for couples who are getting married, I have them complete an inventory of their relationship. There are about 150 questions and five responses to choose from for each question. 

The middle response – number three – is indecision. I tell a couple before they do the inventory to try not to pick the middle answer because it’s really a non-answer. I tell them to think about the question and have an opinion. 

The middle is wishy-washy; it’s the lukewarm position … and we know what the Bible says about being lukewarm: Jesus tells a church that they are lukewarm and he is about to spit them out of his mouth (Rev 3:14-20).

Being in the middle in a relationship is not much more than indifference, and it shows you are not really committed.

To be hot or cold you have to commit.  

Mid July is when I first really go into the water by our cottage. We are on Lake Huron and the water is always cold. Even in mid August it is cold – refreshing when it is hot outside, but still cold. 

I rarely run into the water. I always walk slowly into the water until it is over my waist. I go slow to try to acclimatize my body to the water’s temperature. 

But you can’t do it forever. At some point you have to make a decision: Am I going to dive under or go back out? You have to commit one way or the other. 

And in going all in, it is clear you have made a choice; you have some passion. 

It’s also true with hot water. One time I was to do a baptism at church and somehow the hot water heater was left on too long and when I put my foot in the water it was scalding hot. 

From behind the curtain I could hear my senior pastor speaking to the congregation, preparing them for what was to take place in just a few moments.

I had a decision to make. I couldn’t tell the pastor to call it off from where I was. I knew that the water was going to burn and the high school student I was going to baptize was going to have to go all the way under the water. 

I had to make a decision. I couldn’t be lukewarm about it. It was yes or no, do or die. 

Let me just say that I was beat red from my feet to my chest for the next five hours. Poor guy I had to dunk.

Here’s the thing: We can stay in the middle with God, be lukewarm with Him, but that is just taking Him a little bit – just enough of Him for what you need, but not enough to involve Him in much of your life. It’s really indifference to Him so that your life is not totally affected or impacted by God. Being in the middle will hold you back in your relationship with God because you will be indifferent to what He wants for you. God would much rather you be hot or cold with Him. Have some passion, commit yourself to Him and dive into a deep, fulfilling relationship. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you indifferent about right now and how will you change that? Leave your comments below.