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Obstacles Don’t Have To Keep You Out

Obstacles, whether they are physical or mental, need to be cleared in order to proceed.

obstacles don't have to keep you out

Some obstacles are so glaring there is no doubt what is keeping you from where you want to go. But then there are other more subtle obstacles, that we might not even be aware of, that are blocking us.

It could be something from your past, maybe some trauma, that raises its head when you find yourself in a certain situation. 

Let’s say that when you started learning to drive you had a really bad experience driving. That bad experience frightened you so that years later you find that you are afraid in certain driving conditions. You don’t know why, you just feel anxious. 

Well, maybe the obstacle in your way is that you never resolved or got over that frightening experience you had when you were first learning. Maybe you have forgotten all about it, but the obstacle is there and you don’t know how to get past it. 

It’s in your way, but you turn away from it, go back or go another way instead of dealing with it.

This week I was mountain biking and came to a part in the trail where there were some trees that had fallen across the path.  

My way was blocked by these obstacles. I had to get off my bike and lift my bike over them … and, in one case, crawl under them and drag my bike under with me.

The one tree was small – maybe only 5 or 6 inches in diameter. I decided that I would bring my compact saw with me the next time I rode. 

On my next ride, I easily cut through that tree and rode on. 

But then I came to the next tree.

It was much bigger than the first one – maybe 12-14 inches in diameter – and where it crossed the path was about 3 feet off the ground. 

It was a pain to get around. But there was no way I was even going to attempt to cut through it because of its size. 

You see, about 10 years ago, I came across a large tree that crossed a path that I rode all the time. I decided to cut through that one. 

But after cutting part way through it, I got impatient and tugged on it real hard.

When I tugged, however, I threw my back out. I spent three days on the floor in lots of pain every time I moved. 

So this week when I looked at this larger tree, I had flashbacks to my back pain. I didn’t even attempt to cut through it. 

On my next ride, however, I decided I would just try to start sawing it. 

It turned out that this tree was pretty old, dry and dead. I cut through it in about 15 minutes. Then I removed the blockage from my path. 

Obstacle will prevent you from moving on … but they don’t have to.

Here’s the thing: In your life you will come up against physical and mental obstacles. They need to be cleared. Seek God’s help with those obstacles. He can provide you with healing or the right perspective to resolve them so you can keep your way clear. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your biggest obstacle right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Your World May Be Shrinking And You Don’t Know It

Right about now we all need to do what we can to prevent our world from shrinking.

your world may be shrining and you don't know it

Do you remember when your mother would shrink you new blue jeans?

I remember going to the Levi store and putting down the outrageous amount of $13 for a pair of Levi 501’s – that was a lot of money for jeans! 

Some people could fit into their new jeans right off the rack, but I could never find a length that was right for me. I would have to take an inch or two off the length every time. 

It was tricky though because they didn’t come pre-shrunk. So if you hemmed them before you washed them, you ended up with floods … also known these days as the stylish length for young adults living in Toronto.

My mom was notorious for making my jeans into the 2020’s length back in the 1970’s.

So I wouldn’t hem my pants right away. I would wash them several times … and when I say “I” what I mean is I would allow my mother to wash my jeans a few times before they were hemmed.

Then I would do the hemming myself because I couldn’t trust my mother to keep my pants from showing my ankles to the world.

Just like we don’t want our clothing to shrink, we also need to make sure our world doesn’t shrink.

But these days it’s easy to let that happen. We have kept our bubbles small and closed and gradually, slowly we’ve gotten used to a smaller world. 

We’ve gone fewer places and done fewer things. Our circles of friendships are shrinking and we essentially are living in a smaller world. 

If we let this happen to ourselves, we will pay for it. We will become old before our time. 

I’ve watch seniors for years and this is the natural progression in life.

We start out small in life and then we start to grow. Everything about us expands – our bodies, contacts, influence, etc. But at some point, we stop getting larger … or maybe just our body size keeps expanding. 

At that point we’ve turned the corner and our lives begin to shrink. 

As seniors get older, their lives have a pattern of shrinking. Their days becomes filled with fewer activities. They travel less and less; they don’t venture out as far. The older they get, the smaller their world gets.

I’ve seen this as a pattern in most people. But it doesn’t really become all that noticeable until that senior reaches advanced ages. 

With what we are experiencing these days, I wonder if we will trigger a shrinking world pattern at younger and younger ages. 

It’s worth looking at your world right now and, if you’re not over eighty, maybe take some steps to keep your world from shrinking too quickly.

Here’s the thing: Your view of God or your relationship with God could be shrinking as well. Though our world might be shrinking, God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is not shrinking. So as you consider what you can do to keep your world from closing in, consider expanding your understanding and your relationship with God. That’s one area of your life that never has to shrink. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What in your life have you allowed to shrink and what are you going to do about it? Leave your comments and questions below.

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How To Prevent Making Multiple Mistakes

From time to time I repost an article I have written in the past. This one is from May 2014. With all the wet weather we’ve been having, I haven’t been out to the trails on my bike. I’m kind of itching to get out there. This post got me thinking of biking. 

Have you ever made a mistake that led to another mistake that led to, well, a complete breakdown? I had that experience last week.

Lily had gone to Ottawa for the day taking my car, the one with the bike rack. I wanted to go for a bike ride at the end of my day so I had to put my bike in the trunk of the other car.

That’s normally not a problem; you just take the front wheel off the bike and slide the bike in.  For some reason, this time it was a problem.

I spent about a half hour trying to get my wheel off, and in the process I lost two ball bearings from the axle assembly and never actually got the wheel off the bike.

It was a brutal failure; I couldn’t believe it. I’ve taken the front wheel off bikes dozens of times. But my new bike is a little different. No, it’s a lot different.

I would describe the differences but I would either hypnotize you in the process or put you to sleep – probably sleep would come first. Then you’d wake up and have an urge to bark at every bike you saw after that.

Taking the wheel off a bike with quick release should take about 30 seconds, at the most. I spent 30 minutes and never got it off. I could have used better lighting, but still.

I looked for videos on the internet to show me what to do. I examined the part and used an allen key/wrench to remove a part I should never have touched.

All the while, my neighbour, who works at the bike shop I go to, was right outside my garage cutting his grass. Did I ask him for help? Of course not; why would I do that? No, what I did was I took the axle apart and lost two very tiny ball bearings on my garage floor!

I never did go for that bike ride. Later that night I realized what I had done wrong. It should have taken me 15 seconds to get the wheel off, but it was too late now; I’d gone and lost some pieces.

So, here were my mistakes, if you’re counting . . .

I should have had better lighting and, along with that, I should have put on my reading glasses to get a better look at what I was doing.

I should have asked my neighbour for help. That was the dumbest thing I didn’t do. And I shouldn’t have taken apart the axle, especially standing in a garage.

I’ll tell you how the story turned out in my next blog.

Here’s the thing:  It is easy to make a mistake, but the smart thing is to correct that mistake before one mistake leads to another. The best thing we can do is look for someone who can help us. I know God is willing to help but He’s waiting to be invited. I also find that I will sometimes make more than one mistake before I ask Him for that help. So it’s what I don’t do that keeps me making mistakes . . . Seek God’s help first.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do to keep from making multiple mistakes? I’d love to hear from you. Leave your comment below.

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How Blocked Shots Prevent Success

I went to a hockey game last night – it was an OHL game between the Kingston Frontenacs and the Owen Sound Attack.

New Jersey Devils v Philadelphia Flyers

You might think by their name that the team from Owen Sound was on the attack all night. But the opposite was true. Kingston had double the shots on goal and the play was decidedly in the Owen Sound end. It was like Kingston was on the attack for much of the night.

However, in the end Kingston lost in overtime. The Fronts outplayed the Attack and outshot them too, but they couldn’t outscore them … and in the end, that’s what counts.

The difference seemed to be all in the Owen Sound zone. They were on the defence for sure, but what they did on defence was pretty remarkable.

They blocked shots like a mother hen protecting her babies from the attack of a wolf. The Owen Sound players not only got their sticks in the way, but their legs and bodies too. I’m sure that Kingston might have had double the shots if it hadn’t have been for the Owen Sound defenders.

It must have been frustrating for our boys. They would come down and make a nice rush only to have a shot go off a player’s left shin pad and miss the net entirely.

I’ve preached sermons like that where I thought I had a great message. I was all excited about giving it. I had great illustrations, my points flowed together beautifully. But in the end, I felt like the congregation left with a shrug of their shoulders.

There was something missing, something that was preventing the message from getting through to the people and I didn’t know what it was.

It took me a few weeks, but I figured it out. There was something blocking the Holy Spirit from penetrating the hearts of the people in church. They were just getting my words, but no power that comes from the Holy Spirit.

My words weren’t making it through to the hearts of the congregation.

In the game last night, it was easy to tell that the Fronts needed to get more clean shots on the goalie. But that is something that will take some time to perfect. They will have to do drills and practice moving the puck around to get an open player a clean shot.

In the case of my sermon, it is just a matter of prayer, and continual prayer, for God to remove blockages and distractions so that the Holy Spirit’s power can work in hearts.

Here’s the thing: There may be times when you hear a sermon, or spend time with God and nothing seems to be getting through. It’s dull, routine, boring, and you may even be distracted.  That’s a good time to pray for God to remove Satan’s blockage so that the Holy Spirit can work in you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you felt that your good work has come up against a blockage? Leave your comments below.