sermon preparation

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A Plan That’s Coming Together

My wife’s plan is slowly coming together, and so far it hasn’t cost me any blood, sweat or tears.

For the last couple of years Lily has wanted to redo our kitchen. All our appliances are over 20 years old and the counter top has a few nicks in it.

Those nicks, by the way, are all from Lily’s hand … although she only claims one of them to be hers for sure.

So the counter top seems to be the main item in this refurb, but along with it are some pretty expensive items that may be added a little later than sooner.

There was one item that she slipped in early and that was a new range. She said it made sense to have it in place when they came to measure for the new counter.

Now when I hear “range” I think of a farm, and cattle and grass and stubble. The range Lily had in mind was an induction top convection oven. I’m not sure what all that means other than you have to have the right kind of pots for the elements to work, and you can cook more than one sheet of cookies at the same time … which I’m all in favour of.

This reno may not have cost me blood, sweat and tears, but it is costing a few dollars.

I guess it’s time. This project has been on her list for ages and it seems that more than once we put it on hold because something else needed our attention and money.

At this point we are committed. A down payment has been made on the counter and they are coming to measure in a week or so. According to Lily they will install the counter about two weeks after that.

In the mean time, Lily has already painted the kitchen ceiling, and the range is in place. She still has to paint the walls, and arrange to have some tiling done above the counter.

But there is one other thing that needs to happen and it’s something I’m not too sure about … nor is Lily for that matter.

Rather than breaking the bank on new cupboards, Lily is going to paint our cupboards with some special cupboard paint.

That’s right, she found a paint that is specially designed for painting kitchen cabinets.

Personally, I’m afraid I will have to put on white gloves before I open any cupboard for fear of scratching the paint.

I can just see me putting on those white gloves just like the guy who carries the Stanley Cup.

We’ll probably have a little basket of them as you enter the kitchen. That way no one will be able to gouge Lily’s paint job.

It’s possible that this will work. My only fear is that in a year’s time, we will be looking to purchase new kitchen cabinetry … Cha Ching $$!

Here’s the thing: It’s easy to get in a rut, living with the same things, never changing or upgrading them. We can also live with things in our life, never dealing with or addressing them. We can do that for years, becoming very accustomed to those things – things that need to be replaced, things that need to go. There is no guarantee that making the changes will work out in the end, but give it a try. As uncomfortable as it might be, as inconvenient as it might seem while you are going through the change, in the end you will like the results.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to change in your life? Leave your comments below.

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I Have An Idea For The Next Ten Minutes

I have an idea that I’m going to test out over the next little while. It’s partly out of necessity.

This time of year is a busy one for me, just like it is for many others. With all the things I’ve got to do, it’s easy to forget some things, put some things off until they are urgent, and work away at the thing or things that have to be accomplished next.

The problem is the “forget” and “put off” columns keep getting longer!

My idea is to take all the things that are on the to-do list and spend ten minutes on them each day.

That’s right, just ten minutes.

For me, I spend the greatest amount of time in the day on what is next. But at some point everything on my to-do list will become a “next” activity.

That’s when I’ll be in real trouble.

So in the mean time, I’ll spend just ten minutes a day on those other-than-next-thing items, just to make a little progress on them.

They say the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, so that’s my idea … I’m just considering a very small bite.

We don’t have much use for ten minutes in our day. Ten minutes has become much like “give me a minute”; it’s just a pushback to give us more time.

We look for bigger blocks of time to get things done. The problem is I don’t have the big blocks of time to give to anything other than the “next” thing.

We have done away with the penny and there is talk about doing away with the nickel as well. These are small denominations of currency that we don’t really use much any more.

Well, we also don’t use ten minutes for much any more. … When was the last time you were in a ten minute meeting?

When was the last time you just waited ten minutes to get into your appointment?

The only thing that is ten minutes these days is how long it takes for my chicken wing order. When I call up for wings on Saturday night, they always say, “They’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

Why I want to focus on ten minutes is because if I spend even ten minutes on something, at the end of my day I’m going to feel like I made progress, like I got something done on my list.

The long and short of it is, I’m going to feel better; I’m not going to feel the same pressure on my shoulders.

So how it will work is this: I will give ten minutes to as many things on my list as I can each day.

I may use my ten minutes on a to-do item as a break between my work on the “next” thing. I might even stack those ten minutes up and work consecutively on them at the end of my day.

… We’ll see how this plan works out.

Here’s the thing: All the things you have going on in your life will crowd out other things. You get to the point where you say, “I don’t have the time for that.” You might say you don’t have time for God. But you do have ten minutes somewhere … and that’s a great place to start. Give Him ten minutes if that’s all you have, but be consistent. See if your time with God will become a “next” kind of thing for you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you doing to make progress on your to-do list? Leave your comments below.

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The Day I Got My Reprieve

I got a one day reprieve yesterday that was pretty amazing.

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Let me take you back three days earlier … I was doing a funeral service for a family, after which we went to the cemetery for the interment.

I generally ride with the funeral director in the lead car and this time was no exception. It was a quick ride because the cemetery was literally minutes away.

When we had finished at the graveside, I gave my condolences once again to the family and got  back into the lead car.

The funeral director got behind the wheel and shut the car door. Almost simultaneously to the door being shut, he sneezed really hard.

Immediately I thought, “Is there any way I can keep myself from breathing for the next few minutes until we get back to the funeral home?!”

That would have been a tricky act because how do you talk and not take a breath? … I’m sure he would have noticed if all the words out of my mouth came while I was exhaling. You could only keep that up so long.

But I knew it was not good. I was trapped in a car with the germs swirling around our confined compartment.

What were the chances I would escape unscathed?

Turns out, not that great! The next morning I woke up with a sore throat. All day, though I was drinking water by the gallon, it seemed my throat kept getting a little sorer.

That was Friday, and I still felt good despite my sore throat. The next morning, however, my sore throat remained so I tried my personal remedy for getting rid of a cold: sweat it out on the rink.

And that’s what I did. I wore something around my neck and an extra tee shirt. After hockey I still felt okay but, as the day wore on, my sore throat also turned into laryngitis.

That’s okay … unless you’re a pastor and you have to preach the next day! By dinner time I had nothing coming out of my vocal cords. I could only whisper one word at a time.

It was not looking good. I went to bed early and my wife, Lily, prayed for me that I would be able to speak the next day.

At church on Sunday, the service leader also prayed for my voice. Someone else offered me some throat lozenges.

When I got up to preach, my voice was clear – no cracking, no trouble putting sentences together. I didn’t even need to take a drink while I spoke.

I felt a little weak but, other than that, I didn’t feel too bad.

Well that was Sunday morning. By late Sunday afternoon I went to sleep, not feeling well. I even took some Tylenol before bed, and I don’t usually do that.

This morning I was hoping I would be a little better, but nope. I feel worse – achy, shivery, with a little bit of a headache.

But did I ever get a reprieve Sunday morning! Prayer works.

Here’s the thing: Some of our needs are selfish; they are for our own benefit. We wonder why God doesn’t necessarily answer them the way we want. But if your need is in line with God’s purposes, you can count on Him answering your prayer. I never doubted that I would be able to preach; I was just amazed how He did it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How has God come through for you in a big time of need? Leave your comments below.

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Taking A Day Off Doesn’t Mean Doing Nothing

Today I’m taking the day off. What I mean by that is I’m not going to do anything I don’t really want to do today.

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This last week has been very hectic. I’ve had some extra demands on my time, energy and my emotions. I’m feeling rather drained today.

It’s that feeling when you take the dish cloth and wring it out. You do it once and you get most of the water out. But then you do it again and, surprise, there’s still some water in it. So you squeeze that cloth real hard a third time until your hands start to hurt. Still a little bit of water comes out … but it’s only a few drops.

That’s where I’m at today. I’ve been wrung out a few times this past week and each time there was still a little in me. But this morning, I’m feeling like I only have a drop or two left.

So it’s time that I let myself soak under the tap to get filled up again.

Filling a cloth back up is easy; you just need to put it in water. But we are a little more complex.

When we are wrung out, the things that put life back into us are things we want to do and look forward to doing.

I thought about today as I lay in bed just before getting up this morning. There were a few things that came to mind that I am looking forward to doing.

I’m looking forward to doing something that will exercise my body, something that will take some brain power and something that will lift my emotions in the right direction.

To get filled up requires something specific to replenish what’s depleted in you. You can’t just “veg” and get filled up. Spending a day in front of the TV doesn’t do anything for you. You actually have to activate those parts of you that are depleted.

And it matters what you activate them with. If it’s something you have to do or something you’re not looking forward to doing, it won’t benefit you. If you consider it to be work rather than pleasure, even if it is something that is outside your everyday work, it will give you that wringing out feeling rather than that filling up feeling.

You could, amazingly enough, do something that is work-related if it fills you up.

The temptation is to do nothing, to open up the cloth, hang it over the faucet and let it dry completely. You know, however, that when you do that, the cloth gets hard and stiff … and it will eventually take even longer and more water to soak it and get it soft enough to be useable.

It’s best to keep the cloth soaked, and you can only do that by placing it under the tap.

Stay filled by doing things that will replenish those parts of you that just had the life squeezed out of them.

Here’s the thing: Along with filling up your physical, mental and emotional parts, be sure to fill up your spiritual part as well. We are not meant to be idle; we are best when we are active. Be sure you activate your spirit when you fill up. That part will keep you connecting to the One who gives you insight into the rest of your complex self.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you like to do to replenish your energy, mind and emotions? Leave your comments below.

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You Need An Outlet In Your Life (part 3)

How do you know what kind of an outlet you need for a particular time? Should it be something with other people, or is an outlet by yourself good enough?

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These are important questions to answer to be able to have an outlet in your life that does what it’s supposed to do … and that is to provide a release for the stress, pressure, burden, or load of work, and all the emotions that come with these things.

In my last two posts I’ve written about what an outlet is (read here) and how to determine an outlet that works for you (read here).

In this post I want to help you discern the best kind of outlet for you at a particular time.

There are many factors that come into play in determining whether the right outlet should be with other people or on your own.

Personality has a say in this, so you need to know where you get your energy from. Are you recharged from being with others or from being alone? There are personality tests you can take to determine that.

On a basic level, if the weight you find yourself under is generated from within you – that is, you are putting the pressure on yourself – it would probably be best to have an outlet available to you that is more social.

When you feel alone in what you are going through, employing an outlet that is solo in nature is not going to give you that break from yourself that you need.

I’ve been there recently. Most of my burden comes from within, is self-packed and carried. In the midst of it, I had a window in my schedule where I could go biking.

The thought of getting my gear together, mounting my bike on my car and driving to the trails on my own was too much and I couldn’t get myself to do it.

I know I would have been glad once I got there, but being alone in this feeling that I had made it too difficult to get going on that particular day.

It might have been a better choice that day to get a few people together and go for dinner where we could watch the game on a big screen.

On the other hand, there are times that the burden you feel is because of people. In those cases choosing an outlet that isn’t social at all might be the best thing.

Going to a movie might be a bit of a bridge outlet because you can go with someone else but you don’t usually interact throughout the movie … unless you’re a teen and you’re watching a suspense movie with your girlfriend. It might become interactive as she digs her fingernails into your arm when the suspense builds!

Bottom line, it’s complicated and you need options … not just one outlet but several, some that are social and some that aren’t.

Build your list and schedule them if you can. You’ll feel better for it and be able to stand up under your burden.

Here’s the thing: God has made us social beings. It’s important that you don’t just have a consistent devotional life; you need the social interaction with scripture too. We should keep spending time alone with God, but also attend a life group to interact with God’s Word in a more social setting. By the way, there are two outlets for you: personal quiet time with God and life group meetings with others.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of outlets do you gravitate to: solo or social? Leave your comment below.

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You Shouldn’t Have To Wonder Where The People Are

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The other day I wondered, “Where are all the people? Where have they gone?”

This question arose as I stood up to preach on Sunday morning. I gazed over the congregation; it was mostly empty seats that were staring back at me.

There have been times when our service was very poorly attended but that usually came the day after an ice storm.

But this was a sunny, warm, fall morning – one of those mornings where the sun peeks through the curtains and beckons you to get up and get moving.

And it was a great day. It was Thanksgiving Sunday (in Canada) … but there were not many in church.

That afternoon my son and I took in the Kingston Frontenacs OHL hockey game.

But there weren’t many at the game. Normally there would be 4000 plus in attendance, but that day there was just over 2000.

The arena looked empty; we could have sat anywhere we liked.

I wondered why there were so few people at the game when it was a holiday the next day. Much like church that morning, there were more empty seats than filled ones.

“Where is everyone?”, I thought.

Sure it was Thanksgiving weekend and people get together with family and friends for a big turkey dinner. I figured many people would have that big meal on Monday at some odd time like 2 in the afternoon.

… I’m not sure why we have special meals outside of regular meal times, but we do.

Maybe most people were having their big meal mid-afternoon.

That might be why no one came to the hockey game, but what about church? No one was going to have turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie for brunch mid-morning.

It seemed like it was going to be one of those unsolved mysteries.

We were having our family and friends for turkey dinner as well. Sunday late afternoon the house was smelling like there was going to be a royal feast.

Everyone gathered and we sat down to a phenomenal Thanksgiving dinner. There was turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots cooked in a special sauce, fresh rolls, a marshmallow salad (which I consider a teaser for the dessert to follow) … and we had gravy – lots of gravy!

We finished off with pumpkin pie and whipping cream – lots of whipping cream!

The meal didn’t start until around 6:45 pm, but it was worth waiting for. We talked and laughed and ate until we were really full.

Then something broke the festivities.

I got a notice on my phone; there was a score. I stood up and announced we better get to the TV; it was already 1-0 for Texas over the Blue Jays.

We quickly made our way to the TV and, as we settling in, Toronto hit two home runs and went ahead 3-1. They later went on to win the game and sweep Texas from the playoffs.

I learned something watching the game. I learned where everyone was. They were in Toronto watching that baseball game. The stadium was jammed with 50,000 plus people and there were millions watching all over the country.

Mystery solved.

Here’s the thing: One day when Christ returns, there will be those who wonder where all the people went. It will seem like a mystery; they will just be gone. But in heaven there will be a celebration going on that will outdo any division sweeping championship game at the Rogers Centre. Be sure you’re at that one and not just watching on TV.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you imagine a celebration like that? Leave your comments below.

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What To Do When You Push It Too Hard

I’ve been pushing myself pretty hard lately … too hard, in fact.

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I came off of my summer vacation without having done very much – mostly hanging out at the beach and doing things with my family.

Oh yes, and eating an enormous amount of candy.

Then coming off of vacation, I threw myself into work. I spent one week in the office and then the next week I spent back at my cottage planning for the year.

… I think that week took more out of me than my first week after vacation. I worked every morning, afternoon and evening because I was alone, and needed to get everything done by the time I left.

There were some late nights, but I knew I would be glad I spent the time once I completed my planning.

This week I’ve poured myself back into work at the office, working and not doing much else.

I’m just coming to realize that I’ve been pushing myself too hard. I need to watch it and be smart about the next few weeks.

The issue is my emotional state. I’ve noticed I have a lack of emotion lately and that is concerning. I have not been attending to my emotions – it’s been all work – and now I’m depleted in the emotional department.

What brought this to my attention was a sermon I was writing on emotional health. For an illustration, I wanted to use a story I remembered reading about a famous pastor who had had an emotional breakdown.

I’d read an article about him years ago, so I googled his name and found the story. My intent was to get the facts straight and then get back to writing my sermon.

But as I read his story, it rang true with my life. I read the whole article again and concluded that my “emotional gauge”, as he put it, was on the low side … not critical but going in that direction.

Two things he wrote made sense to me and that’s what I intend to work on.

First you have to engage in things that bring you joy, things that take you away from the heavy load you are carrying, whether that be work, worry, pressure, or … well, you get the idea.

For me that might be golfing, biking, playing hockey, or kicking back and listening to music.

Second, your emotional reservoir takes time to fill up.

There is no quick fix, so you have to regularly engage in emotionally strengthening activity … which isn’t easy because the crazy thing is you don’t feel like doing it.

It’s easy to make excuses to get out of doing these activities. You literally have to schedule them, force yourself to do them, and keep doing them.

That’s good advice and it’s what I need to be doing over the next little while to get myself in post-vacation shape again.

Here’s the thing: What I’ve written so far is good, logical advice, but there is another piece to your emotional health, and that is God. Take time with Him and seek His help. Ask Him what is at the root of your emotions and what you need to do. Then pause and wait till He gives you His answer. When you have it, go do it. God’s grace is sufficient for you and His power is made perfect in your weakness. I read that somewhere (2 Corinthians 12:9).

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your emotional state right now? Leave your comments below.

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Is Taking A Vacation Worth It?

My life is so overextended right now that I have to work extra hard just to get myself ready for vacation.

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Back when I was a child, and even a teen, when vacation time came around I could literally drop what I was doing and go.

Of course, in those days I had servants (also called parents) that did all the prep work for vacation. I was just along for the ride.

Family vacation was a bonus for me then anyway; I was already on vacation.

But now it’s a different story. In order to leave on vacation, I have to cover my bases, make sure people are in place, and that responsibilities are assigned.

Then there’s the issue of unfinished work.

The experts say that if you really want a rest, if you want to relax, you need to clear up the things you’ve been putting off. In other words, you need to catch up on your work so you can take a break.

The problem is we’re often behind on our work because we’re too tired and need a break.

It seems like a lose-lose situation. I need a break from work, but in order to do that I have to burn myself out before I go so that I have nothing left when I actually take my vacation.

My vacation then becomes a rest AND recuperation.

I have lots of projects that I should tackle before vacation and but there are particularly two things that will stare me in the face all throughout vacation if I don’t do them before I go.

One of those projects involves the desktop on my computer. It is strewn with files and folders, representing work that I need to file or finish.

The filing is not that difficult to accomplish; the time it will take is minimal. It’s the work I need to finish that has me reeling.

The work staring at me from my computer screen has two stages to it. It’s work I need to post to a website.

The first stage is the preparation. I need to get the work in a format that is ready to be posted … I’ve already been working on that.

The second stage involves posting it to the website. This part will take a long time. It’s a tedious, multi-step process for each file.

I remember one year going on vacation, and within an hour of leaving the house, I started feeling sick.

By the time we got to where we were staying the first night, I was sicker than I’d ever been in my life.

I think I had worked so hard getting myself ready for vacation that my body said, “That’s enough!” and it kind of shut down on me.

I was a couple of days into vacation before my body started to come around and I began feeling like myself again.

That seems counteractive to the whole idea of vacation.

Oh, for the days when I had servants to do all the work for me!

Here’s the thing: We tend to overextend ourselves, pushing hard for things, even when we don’t have the power to make them happen. We strive in our own power, and become exhausted, only in the end turning to God for the help He can provide. Why not go to Him first, and seek His wisdom, power and support? Don’t burn out in your own power.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What work or issue could you take to God, instead of wearing out in your own strength? Leave your comments below.

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That Project Left Me Feeling Incompetent

The project I worked on yesterday left me feeling fairly incompetent, until I watched a program that changed my mind altogether.

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I was replacing some wall sconces at our cottage … we had four, all the same, but Lily decided she wanted some more modern-looking ones.

She found the perfect fixtures and, a few weeks ago, I had the task of changing them.

The amazing thing was I didn’t get electrocuted!

Unfortunately, the new fixtures didn’t fit very well. I tried to modify the attachment plates but they still didn’t fit snugly to the wall. They didn’t look quite right but I ran out of time and left them.

Yesterday I took another stab at it, trying to find a better solution. I was just about to drill a couple of new holes to make it work, when I got another idea.

This idea involved a hacksaw and cutting through a metal plate.

Now, in the past I’ve had some issues with saws of various kinds. There was the time I was trimming off the bottom of a door and I made a nice starter cut at the base of my first finger on my left hand.

That manoeuvre sent me directly to the hospital. The doctors were amazed I didn’t cut a nerve. That finger still feels a little funny to the touch, however.

It wasn’t more than about six months later that I was trimming a panel for a sliding door in our basement. I was using a utility knife to slice the fine board, only I got slightly off course and sliced into myself.

And you can guess, it was my first finger on my left hand. This time it was at the top of the finger.

Well, that was all in the past because this time I didn’t cut anything … well, except the metal plates.

My problem this time was I kept doing things out of order and then would need to take everything all apart to put in a couple of forgotten screws or to trim some insulation.

I had four sconces and it wasn’t until the fourth one that I was able to do things in the right order without having to attach and unattach it from the wall two or three times.

Oh yah, I was able to complete the job unscathed but I still felt like never doing a home project again. I made so many mistakes, the time it took wasn’t worth it.

Feeling like I was done with home repairs from now on, I settled down to relax. Lily was watching some reality TV home show where contestants had to compete against each other, doing things on a construction site like manoeuvring a wheel barrel, hammering nails, painting panels.

After watching how pathetic those people were at doing their tasks, I was feeling like a professional!

I looked over at the wall to see my handiwork and thought the job looked great. I immediately forgot about my frustration and thought I could take on another project some time.

… Well, we’ll see.

Here’s the thing: When you find that sin has tripped you up, maybe for the umpteenth time, and you’re feeling pretty bad about it, with self talk like, “What’s the matter with me?”, remind yourself how God sees you. He does not see you as a failure who falls to sin; He sees you as a son or daughter whom He loves and picks back up after you fall down.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you rebound from being down on yourself? Leave your comments below.

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I Took A Risk This Weekend

I took a bit of a risk this weekend that could have led to a big problem.

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For most people, they wouldn’t think anything of this, but for me, I had “worst-case scenario” in the back of my mind.

All I did was cross the border on Friday afternoon of the long weekend.

My wife, Lily, and I were heading to a cousins’ retreat at a cottage on Lake Ontario – that would be on Lake Ontario in New York State.

One of Lily’s cousins had rented a huge home on the lake and nineteen of us found our way to this place for a couple of days.

For us it was about a three hour trip, which is not that bad … it can sometimes take us three hours to get to Toronto.

But the added element of surprise was that we had to cross the border and I had to be back Sunday morning to preach in church at 10:30.

I had a choice: come back late Saturday night and get very little sleep, or risk a border crossing early Sunday morning and arrive at church by 9:00.

I had visions of having our car searched, pulling everything out and being delayed long enough to create a mini-panic at church.

I even told one of my elders that I was scheduled for praying mid-service and preaching, so if I didn’t make it, well … he was on!

On the way down we didn’t have any trouble at the border. In fact, I’ve never had any trouble getting across the border.

There was one time that I was driving a van with about six people in it, two of whom were born in Asia and Africa. I simply said we were going to a conference in Chicago, and the border guard said, “Have a good time.”

My internationally born friends couldn’t believe it. They had never crossed the border that easily before and said, “Paul, you’re definitely driving when we cross back over!”

The only time that I had a bit of a hassle was going to a conference in Ohio. The border guard asked me what was in my trunk.

I replied that there was a suitcase and my golf clubs. He told me to open the trunk. After looking, he came back to the window, asked me what my golf handicap was, and proceeded to give me some golf instructions!

Although these have been my border crossing highlights, you never know when they’ll just decide to rip your car apart.

I was feeling like the risk was worth the extra sleep so we decided to get up at 5:30 Sunday morning and make our way home.

The drive was pretty quiet; there wasn’t much traffic on the roads, and I was going over my sermon … Lily was driving.

The border crossing was no big deal; we were through in a matter of a minute and a half.

I think the key is don’t say much, and keep your words to a minimum (which might be hard for some people) so as not to give the border guard ideas to question you on.

Arrival time: 9:08 am.

Here’s the thing: It’s no big deal to take a calculated risk on something that might cost you some time. It’s another thing to take a calculated risk that might cost you your life. It’s an even greater deal to take a calculated risk on your eternity. Make sure you are right with God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How secure are you in your relationship with Christ? Leave your comments below.