relationships

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Waking Up Has Never Been Easier

There are some people who have an easy time waking up early … I’m not one of them.  

On Monday we had to catch an early flight out of Toronto. Even with staying overnight at our daughter’s, we still needed to get up early to make it to the airport on time. 

I’m definitely not one who wakes up by my inner clock. Even though I get up at the same time every day, I still need an alarm – otherwise I can keep sleeping.

As a teen, I used to prove that every weekend; I could easily sleep in until 11 or 11:30 am. But I didn’t like how much of the day I wasted so I started setting an alarm.  

I just don’t wake up unless that alarm goes off.

But not Monday. I actually woke up two minutes before my alarm was set to go off and it was set for a half hour before my regular alarm. 

I was amazed! … so amazed that I laid in bed those extra two minutes pondering what had just happened. This was a very rare moment for me and I needed to savour it, for at least two minutes – I think I even took three. 

I had gone to bed late, had to rise early and somehow my body knew when to stir me from my slumber.

If you don’t think that’s pretty amazing, let me tell you I’m the guy who would look forward to 7:30 am T-off times, yet be the one whose buddies would have to throw pebbles at my window to wake me up … while my alarm was going off. 

I also can turn off an alarm clock and never know I did it. I position my alarm so that I have to actually move rather than just flop my arm out of the covers and hit a button.

I’ve been getting up at 6 am for over 20+ years and I still don’t wake up on my own. I need a jolt to my system, that jumpstart to kick my brain in gear.

I need that voice calling me back from the deep.

This morning, however, I did the impossible, proving the impossible is possible. 

… I also fall sleep fast, and then not much will wake me. 

When I worked with youth, I never told them how soundly I slept because I feared they would leave the cabin as soon as I was out. I would try to stay awake as long as I could just to make sure my group was asleep before me.

I know, it’s a tough burden I bare.

But one miracle morning does not constitute a trend. I’ll continue to set an alarm to wake up … I don’t want to end up keeping the boys waiting for me Thursdays at 7 am for our men’s prayer time.

At least they won’t come to my window and throw stones at it until I wake up.

Here’s the thing: Christ is going to return one day. The question for each of us is, “How do we want to wake up to that?” If we only wake up to the blaring alarm, it will be too late to respond. But if we wake up to that inner clock, telling us it’s time to put our faith in Christ, we have time to ponder the amazing grace of God’s love for us and to respond by putting our trust in Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you like to wake up? Leave your comments below.

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How To Get The Right Temperature

Getting the temperature of things just right is not always easy. 

It certainly wasn’t easy for Goldilocks – she had to try porridge that was too hot and too cold before she found the bowl that was just right. 

I feel a little like that. My office at work is located in a corner of the building. At this time of year, as the day progresses and the sun moves around, the temperature in my office increases significantly. 

Without a window air conditioner I might as well be working in a tin box with the sun beating down on it!

In the winter, I also have trouble because the church is heated by hot water radiators – it’s an old system that doesn’t respond very quickly.

I find that I’m either hot or cold; there is no Goldilocks middle ground for me there. 

So I error on the side of being too warm; I just don’t like being cold. 

Lately, as the temperatures have risen, I’ve found that I’m avoiding the basement of my home. 

I’ll go down there to get something, but I won’t hang out in the family room. I have more of a “get what you need and get out” mindset because it’s cold down there. 

Either I’m getting old or this year it seems colder in my basement than in other years. I think it’s due to how damp it is down there; the last couple of weeks have been rather humid. In fact, even when it was not as warm, the air was humid. 

As I walk down the stairs, I can feel the temperature taking a nose dive with every step. 

I hate to say it but it’s a bitter cold. I just don’t want to be down there too long – unless I’m exercising; then my body temperature rises to counteract the frigid air.

We have the air conditioner going but it hasn’t really made any impact on the humidity. 

So the other day I rolled out our dehumidifier. I don’t think we’ve used it for a few years; possibly it wasn’t as humid as this spring has been. 

Anyway, I thought I would see what it could do to make it more inviting in the family room. 

It’s certainly done something! – I’ve been emptying bucket after bucket of water that it’s collected from the air. 

Now when you go downstairs, it’s a similar temperature to upstairs. 

It’s “just right”, as Goldilocks would say. 

There’s only one problem with this solution, however, and it’s that the dehumidifier is so loud that you can’t enjoy being downstairs while it’s on. 

Now I’m once again avoiding the basement, just for a completely different reason. The dehumidifier is too loud to enjoy watching the Stanley Cup playoffs on TV.

I may be in the market for noise cancelling headphones to watch TV in my family room. 

… I can’t seem to get things just right. 

Here’s the thing: Nothing in our lives stays “just right” for very long. Sooner or later something will come along that will change things and they won’t be just right until you make some adjustments. But think about our world … how long has the earth been kept the precise distance from the sun, ensuring we don’t burn up or freeze? Only God can make things just right and keep them that way. Turn to Him when thing aren’t just right and He will help you make the adjustments. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is not “just right” in your life? Will you seek God for His help? Leave your comments below. 

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Reminiscing Is Good For Your Soul

Have you ever thought of how reminiscing is good for the soul? It creates a “make you feel good” moment.

We reminisce all the time. Any time you run into a long-lost friend or even just get together with long time friends, at some point the conversation always goes back to “remember back when…”

I think when we get older that’s why we like the past, and like to reminisce. The old songs, the old ways make us feel good, so we are drawn to them.

I know that every time I get together with friends I went to high school or college with, we talk about the things we did and laugh about them all over again. Even when they weren’t that funny back then, they are great for a laugh now. 

We are constantly rehashing the past, and finding it more and more comforting. 

Although it is something that we do more often the older we get, all ages reminisce. 

That’s why when you play mini stick hockey in the basement with your son, the next day he’ll hand you a mini stick while you’re watching the game on TV. 

It’s just his way of reminiscing about yesterday and wanting to relive it. 

When we get older the difference is the huge span of time that has elapsed since what you’re reminiscing about … and the fact that if you tried to relive it now, you’d probably kill yourself.

My son called me up just the other day. He was learning to play a song on his guitar and was reminded how I used to play it when he and his sister were young. The memory brought a smile to his face and he wanted to share it with me. 

… And while I’m there, the first line in the last paragraph is from another song I used to play for my kids. It’s a line straight out of “Cats In the Cradle” by Harry Chapin.

I can still see them jumping up and down on the bed as I strummed my guitar and sang as loud as I could.

But there I go, reminiscing a little myself! 

The other day I played my first game of golf this season. I was in a tournament on a team with three other guys. 

I didn’t want to be the worst on the team and I didn’t want to hold them back, but I hadn’t swung a club since last fall. 

I started to think about the parts of my swing that I had been working on last year. I was worried I wouldn’t remember what to do to incorporate them. I didn’t want to go right back to my old habits.

But when I stepped up to the practice tee to hit a few balls, it all came back. As I stood over the ball, I remembered what to do. It was like I was reminiscing about swinging the golf club again.

Here’s the thing: Our minds provide us with a lot of feel good memories. But that also means that there can be sad, painful, guilty memories that show up as well. Just remember if you are a follower of Christ, God has taken all your sin away. So you can reminisce over the memories with a smile on your face.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has this post caused you to reminisce about? Leave your comments below.

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Having Different Definitions Can Cause Trouble

We have different definitions of being ready … at least we do in our home.

Getting ready to go somewhere has always been a point of tension for Lily and I.

It seems that I am always waiting for her when we are going to leave the house. In her defence, sometimes she has more to do before she is ready to leave.

But I think it has to come down to a difference in our definitions of being ready.

On Saturday we decided to go to a store late in the afternoon. The store was not going to be open for very long so we needed to go quickly.

I asked, “So, are you ready to go now?” Lily answered, “Yes”. I headed to the door and put on my shoes. Lily headed into the bedroom!

I was literally ready to walk out the door when I had asked her if she was ready to leave. Lily just needed one minute before she was ready to close the door behind her. 

This was not an isolated incident; this is a reoccurring scenario.

When we were recently going to our cottage for a few days, we had a number of things we needed to take with us, being the beginning of the cottage season. 

The night before I piled everything we needed to take by the front door. Lil did the same.

The next day when I was ready to start packing the car, I knew that everything that needed to go was right there before me. 

Lily said she was ready. “I just need to put the food from the fridge into the cooler”, she said.

“Great”, I thought as I started to pack. The only problem was that the bag with her clothes was not at the front door. 

I started packing but the bag wasn’t showing up and I needed that bag near the beginning of the packing because of its size.

She said she was packed, but apparently not completely packed. There were still a few things she needed to add in. 

When I say “I’m all ready”, by definition I mean “I am ready this instant”. When Lily says she’s ready, her definition means that there are only a couple more things she needs to do first. 

We did finally pack the car and head off to the cottage. As we were driving, we got a text from our daughter, asking us to pick her up on the way. 

I asked her if she was like her mother and still needed to pack. Karlie replied that everything was by the door. 

Lil shot me a look and said, “I guess she’s not like her mother.” 

Well, when we got to Karlie’s house, I expected to grab her bags that were by the door and leave. 

It was perfect … she still had a couple of things that had to be added to her bag! Then we left. 

I guess it all comes down to definition.

Here’s the thing: We may have different definitions of being ready for Christ’s return, but there is only one definition that matters: His. Ensure your faith is securely placed in Christ as your Saviour and Lord because, when He returns, there will be no time for one more thing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your definition of being ready? Does it fit Christ’s? Leave your comments below

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It Was a Royal Day At My House

It was a royal day in our house today. I don’t mean we had a visit from someone from the royal family or anything. The day was just filled with hours of television tuned to the proceedings and the analysis of the royal wedding of Harry and Meghan.

I’m not much of a royal family follower. I have a hard time identifying anyone past the next in line to the throne. But my wife, Lily, can recognize pretty much anyone who has a remote chance of being the king or queen.

I wasn’t sure if she would be getting up at 4 am to start watching the festivities, but she discovered that we have a PVR so she decided to sleep in a bit and watch the pregame show later.

When I left for hockey at 6 am, all was quiet at our house, but by the time I got back at around 8 am, the TV was definitely on and tuned in. 

She kept channel surfing too, not to see what else was on but to check out the quality of coverage on the other networks.

I, however, had lots to do and didn’t really have time to watch a wedding. After all, I’ve performed many weddings; I didn’t need to watch one on TV.

But there it was; I couldn’t get around it. So I found myself watching some of the ceremony and that long, tedious drive around town in a buggy.

They could have gotten to the reception in about one minute, but they took a ride in a horse-drawn carriage down a road they called, “The Long Walk”.

I noticed the horses acting up a little, so maybe they found it to be a long walk as well.

This wedding captured Lily’s attention. She didn’t want me to make any comments about the hats and fascinators, or any of the people in attendance. 

She didn’t even like me singing along to “Stand By Me” when the choir sung. She just wanted to soak it all in without any distraction. 

I couldn’t help thinking that at hockey a few hours earlier no one in the dressing room had mentioned the wedding. And no one was in a hurry after hockey to get home to see it.

… That’s not to say that I didn’t have any comments to make about the wedding.

There were a few things I noticed: 

Oprah Winfrey seemed to be walking around aimlessly in a daze. Elton John didn’t seem to like the sermon from the Bishop. He had his nose turned up when the camera was on him.

The Queen must have forgotten her glasses, because she was all bent over when they sang the hymn. She could barely see the words.

The bride’s mother seemed to be more sad than happy with everything that was going on. 

The commentators yammered on way too much about nothing. 

And Prince Phillip was walking really well for a guy in his late 90’s who’d just gotten a new hip! 

Those are just some of the things I noticed.

Here’s the thing: When something impressive, something that is bigger than life comes along, it captures our attention. We take notice and pause to take it all in. God has given us His Word, which is filled with insight into Him and what He wants us to know. Don’t act like you don’t have access. Let it capture your attention every day.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What strikes you about God’s Word? Leave your comments below.

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It’s The Little Things That Make It Special

Often it is the little things that make something really special and stand out. 

Yesterday I attended an event at the Hockey Hall Of Fame in Toronto. We took in all the sights and looked at the history making events and people. 

There were even a few former NHLers who attended the event. One was Ron Ellis who not only was a Hall of Fame member but also has his name on the Stanley Cup.

A visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame isn’t complete without visiting the room where the Stanley Cup resides. 

The room itself is amazing. It’s set in an old bank with a high, domed, stained glass ceiling. The room is adorned with the many trophies that are handed out to NHL players for various achievements, as well as glass plates with images of those who have been inducted into the Hall. 

But the key piece, the item that stands out over everything else, is the Stanley Cup. 

I got my picture taken with the cup but I told Lily that I couldn’t touch it so I wouldn’t jinx myself from ever winning it … haha.

But that’s one of the things that make the Stanley Cup the most special of all trophies in sports. 

It’s a magnificent looking trophy, so large you need two hands to hold it. It’s also old, having been first awarded in 1893. 

Those little things are what make it the greatest trophy in sports. 

I joke about not touching the cup, but a Junior hockey player or a current NHLer won’t touch it until they win it. 

The cup has gone around the world, spending a day in the home town of each player who has won the cup that year. 

People have drank from the cup; they have sat babies in the bowl of the cup. The Stanley Cup has been left on the side of the road; it’s been tossed in a river. There was once an attempt to steal the cup. 

It has been touched and held by more people than any other professional trophy. 

And there is no other celebration of victory that centres around a trophy quite like the Stanley Cup.

Some trophies are handed out to the winning team in a press room or locker room. Some are presented on a high stage with all the focus on the owner who created such a great team.

But the Stanley Cup is the focal point of the hockey championship. It is presented to the captain, who skates around the rink and then passes it to his teammates who each get to skate and lift up the trophy. 

The win is all about getting your hands on that cup. Oh ya, and the honour of having your name permanently engraved on it. 

… Now that’s special.  

It’s all those little things that make the Stanley Cup the greatest trophy in sports. 

Here’s the thing: It’s the little things in Christianity that make it special. The big thing is that Jesus died on the cross to pay for all mankind’s sin – that’s a big deal! Other religions leave it up to you to have to work your way to their god. But the God of heaven did all the work for you. That’s big; there is no religion like it. But our God is also very personal. He meets with us, speaks to us through the Bible, helps and directs us on a daily basis, and lives in each of us by the Holy Spirit. Those are the little things that make being part of God’s family so special. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is one little thing you are thankful to God for? Leave your comments below.

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I Just Crossed Something Else Off My List

Well, I think I’ll cross one more item off my list of things I can and will do.

You get to a certain point in life where you have to remind yourself that you just can’t do things you did twenty years ago and think they will have no effect on you.

My son was moving on the weekend and needed a little help from Mom and Dad. This was his first big move that he’s had to do himself.

The last time the company moved him. All he had to do was grunt and point. He didn’t even have to pack!

Not this time – it was all on his shoulders. Plus he didn’t need to take some of his belongings to the next place.

Guess who gets to store those? Fortunately, we no longer have that second car taking up room in the garage so we have a whole half of the garage just waiting to receive his stuff.

Years ago when I was young, the church that I worked for used to call on the youth pastor and college pastor any time someone needed help moving. 

I did lots of moving back then. We even came up with a name for ourselves: “Dave and Paul, One Trip Movers”. 

And we did our best to get every person’s junk onto one truckload so we didn’t have to go back.

That was years ago though … a distant memory. I can’t do that kind of moving any more. It takes a toll on you.

This time we did a round trip from Kingston to Burlington and back in 24 hours. We brought all the stuff back to our home that our son doesn’t need right now. 

The next day we were up early to drive back to Burlington – a total of 975 km in all. About half way through the day, I realized how tired I was. 

That’s when you question yourself, “Do I really want to do this again? I know I did it in the past and can still do it, but it’s not as easy as before.”

I remember a few years ago when I shingled my cottage roof, looking at the job and thinking it wouldn’t be very difficult. I had experience shingling roofs, albeit 30 years earlier. 

When we finally finished the work, I remember saying to Lily,  “Well, I’m not going to do that ever again!” 

It was one of those items I crossed off my list of things that I can do. 

When you are young, new things get added to the list of things you can do all the time. It’s exciting.

But at this stage of life, I am happy to cross a few things off that list that I don’t need to or have to do any more.

I think moving people is one of those things that’s going to end up being crossed off the list. 

Of course, when it comes to family, you have to make exceptions. 

Here’s hoping for a company move next time.

Here’s the thing: There are things in our lives that we used to do, that we didn’t think anything of. But as we grow in our relationships with Christ, we need to keep evaluating our actions and cross off those things that don’t meet with our level of maturity in Christ, which should be constantly increasing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to cross off your list of things you do? Leave your comments below.

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My Family’s Wall Of Shame

I’m writing this blog while standing in front of our family’s wall of shame. I’m sure that most homes also have some form of our wall.

Our wall of shame is in our family room. It has a set of three lights that shine strategically on the pictures that hang on that wall … you wouldn’t want to have any shadows cast over these photographic gems!

I’m sure you realize that what we have isn’t really a wall of shame, but the affectionate term our children have given to some pictures – a whole wall of random pictures that give a brief glimpse into the lives of each member of our household.

The wall provides a snapshot of how our family has grown over the years, as well as one shot that Lily snuck in there from my early years playing hockey as a kid.

Though it shows how our family has grown over the years, in reality it shows how our kids have grown and how Lily and I have aged. 

From this wall, you get an idea of the things that we think are important, things we like and a few shots that were just too cute to not include on the wall.

Females who look at the wall get all warm and fuzzy, while males usually take to mocking within seconds.

The wall is well positioned to ensure that the maximum amount of embarrassment is doled out. 

It’s right by our pool table, so while you are standing waiting for someone to take his shot, it provides a perfect diversion to look and make a comment about one or more of the pictures on the wall.

I remember going to an art gallery one time, and listening to what people had to say about the various pieces of art on display. I was relieved for the painter’s sake that he was not living. He didn’t have to hear all the random comments made about his work.

We don’t have that kind of luxury here in our family room. One of us is usually standing within ear shot of some wise crack.

But humiliating as our wall of shame is, it is nothing compared to the other wall Lily had going upstairs in the hall. 

Yes, both these walls are courtesy of Lily; she is the designer and chooser of the pictures. 

The wall upstairs featured a series of pictures our family had taken on a cruise ship. They were brutal! The photographer had us pose in positions no one else had been able to do nor will do again. 

Fortunately, that wall recently got painted and because the pictures had received so much abuse by Karlie, Mike and I, they didn’t get put back up.

I’m all for looking back and reminiscing about the past as you look through old photos or scan through them on a computer, but having them on display 24/7 for years and years? 

All I can say is it will be a great wall of memory when I’m no longer around.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes when we scan over our lives, we feel shame for things we’ve done, or didn’t do. We can see glimpses of specific times or events that caused us pain. There is One who has constant access to the images of your entire life. If He is your Saviour and Lord, you can know He looks at you not with disappointment or shame, but with great joy and pleasure. If we have received His forgiveness, there is no longer any wall of shame. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What would you like to keep hidden from others? Leave your comments below.

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All My Technology Failed Me

This past Sunday I discovered how dependent and a slave I have become to technology.

It’s not like I’m going to pull the plug on my tech, but it was an eye-opener.

This is what my Sunday looked like …

I use notes on my iPad to preach from; I transfer PowerPoint slides from my computer to the church computer to be projected on the screen during the service. And this Sunday I was going to connect my computer to a big screen TV to present my report at our annual meeting.

Here’s a quick summary of what happened …

First, I was unable to transfer my PowerPoint slides to the church computer. In the process of trying, I wiped out all the music slides and created a mess for our tech person.

Next my computer screen would not show up on the big screen TV.

After twenty minutes of trying, in a bit of a panic, I decided to go home, get my old computer and use a projector instead of a TV.

On my way to my car, it was like God spoke to me and said, “Don’t do it”.

I stopped, looked at my watch and realized I didn’t have enough time.

I answered God, “You’re right; I just wont use it.”

And you know, immediately I felt peace – not worry, not panic – just peace.

I went back into the church, and simply prayed about the service and the annual meeting for then next twenty minutes. When the Sunday service began, there were still no slides for the sermon, but the music lyrics came up on the screen.

During the song just before my message, I turned on my iPad, like I always do just to make sure my sermon notes are open and ready.

Well, it would not open for some reason. At that point I didn’t really have time to problem solve. I got up quickly, went to my office while the song was being sung, grabbed my printed copy of my sermon notes and came back.

I preached from my printed notes (first time I’ve had to use those), had no visuals on the screen, and in the afternoon gave my annual report, also from printed notes without visuals.

Later that day, I checked my computer to see if it would hook up to my TV at home and it did – no problem.

After rebooting my iPad, it worked fine.

And the slides for the sermon? The next day I was able to transfer them over to the church computer without issue. It’s still a mystery why that happened.

It was a very strange day with three tech issues happening at the same time. I realized how dependent I am on technology.

You could chock all that up to coincidence, or you might say God was trying to teach me not to be so dependent on technology.

A third option would be that evil wanted to disrupt me and our service by putting me in a panic.

Once I stopped reacting to what was happening, the Lord gave me peace about it all. I was able to calmly and successfully complete my work without any disruption.

Here’s the thing: There are times when problems happen; it is just natural. There are also times when God wants to get your attention. And there are times that Satan wants to rattle you. The best solution is to stop yourself from reacting, turn to God, listen to him and find peace to move forward.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you dealt with domino-like problems in the past? Leave your comments below.

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There Is A Difference One Day To The Next

Things can be different one day to the next, even when the conditions are the same.

Have you ever noticed that you can have a great day and, with no rhyme or reason, the next day is crummy?

I find that young adults can be like this. My wife, Lily, and I regularly talk to our kids on the phone. One day they can be sailing and the next they are in the pits.

Maybe there is some latent hormonal chemical reaction that strikes from time to time (they’re both in their late 20’s), but I am always dumb-founded to know what changed from the day before.

Often nothing changes, but we look for something to blame. It somehow feels better when we can find a reason for the turn of events.

… Like when the weather fails to turn out the way we had hoped it would, we blame the weatherman, as if he had something to do with changing the weather. As if he or she had some control over how the weather was going to turn out!

It doesn’t matter that meteorologists only predict the weather, we like to stick it to them and focus our frustration on their seeming incompetence.

The other day I played hockey with a group of guys and everything clicked – passing, shooting, skating. I scored one goal that I’m still playing over in my mind … it was a beauty!

I’m sure the guys on the other team weren’t saying the same thing. They seemed frustrated; not much was going right for them. I almost felt a little sorry for them.

But hold on to that thought …

Today came around and this time, playing with another group of guys, nothing was working.

Passes never seemed to get to me, and my passes sometimes got intercepted by my own teammates. Shooting, well, I hit three goal posts … that’s enough said there.

I felt as good today as I did the other day when I played. All the conditions were the same.

I was playing with a different group of guys, so I could say that it was the players that made the difference. I could blame them to make me feel a little better about myself.

The problem with that is I was playing with better hockey players today than I was the other day when everything went right!

There just doesn’t seem to be any explanation for the change, or any way to hang some blame on anyone.

One day everything went right and the next day nothing seemed to go right.

When someone is in a grumpy mood, we tell them that they woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or that they didn’t get enough sleep. We can blame their mood on something they did or didn’t do because those are conditions we can measure.

When there is nothing to measure, we are left with a mystery that will never be solved; it just must be accepted.

Here’s the thing: We often blame God when, out of the blue, things go wrong. We blame Him for allowing the bad to come into our lives. We want to blame someone or something and we feel God is as good a person to blame as any. However, before you turn your ire on God for something He may or may not have been at the centre of, why not accept it and keep moving forward? If you don’t, you will just spin your wheels, fixated on blaming.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Who or what have you been tempted to place blame on lately? Leave your comments below.