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Is Technology Making You Irrelevant? 

I’m a little concerned with where technology is leading us. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all “teched” up to the hilt in my world, but I don’t know how long I can keep going.

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I’m not concerned that computers stop being more and more useful; it’s that I don’t like the changes I have to keep making.

Software has to continually be kept up with or we appear to be old fashioned.

I experienced that the other day. People looked at me like I was from the dark ages because I didn’t have a certain app on my phone.

I was making arrangements to pay a guy for hockey, and he said, “Just send the money via etransfer.”

I replied that I didn’t really do that kind of thing … that’s when the looks started flashing around the room.

It seemed like I was the only one who didn’t use this form of money transfer.

My son just smiled and shook his head. He didn’t say it but I knew he was thinking, “Man, my dad is an old guy”.

He did ask, “Don’t you have the banking app?”, to which I responded, “What’s the banking app?” At that point I could tell his thoughts were, “It’s useless. He’s too old to understand this stuff.”

I know, in that moment, Mike was contemplating the next 20 years of helping me, holding my hand as the computer age passes me by.

I’ve watched that movie before! … only I was the one who had to hold my dad’s hand as he struggled to do some of the simple things on a computer.

I guess it happens to us all eventually. But I’m a computer guy and I don’t feel like I’m out of touch with what’s going on in the computer world.

I just don’t think I need to jump down every rabbit hole that technology is taking us on.

There are areas that I’m quite happy to leave alone, and leave for others to use. One of those areas has to do with my money and transactions.

There is something in me that likes to be the one who takes MY money out of MY bank account. I don’t like it when someone else – either the bank or a merchant – takes my money out of my account for me.

Now I’ll have to get used to etransfer or the computer age will pass me by.

I just don’t like where computers are leading us. I shouldn’t be considered out of touch or too old to figure it out because I don’t use a certain method of payment.

At the end of our conversation, Mike said he would do the transfer. That sounded perfect to me because the money would be coming out of his bank account!

I told him, “That works for me. I’ll just subtract that amount from the tab you’ve got going with me.”

Here’s the thing: Most of us want to remain relevant in this world. As you consider staying relevant spiritually, remember that God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. You can always reach Him in the same way; He’s always reachable by prayer.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: In what area do you fear becoming irrelevant? Leave your comment below.

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A Flashback Memory

I had a flash back the other day to a memory about 30 years ago. To be fair, this memory has surfaced itself in my mind a few times over the years. But it’s still a special memory.

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Usually there is something that triggers the flashback. For me, that’s as easy as a song on the radio, or looking at an old picture.

It doesn’t take much to cause us to start to reminisce about the past. The older we get there is more to be reminded of, partly because we forget it so quickly, and partly because there are so many memories to catalogue in those brains of ours.

This memory I had the other day was definitely triggered by something. The night before I had taken my son, Mike, to a hockey game. We connect well over hockey and, being Leaf fans, there’s alway something to discuss on that front.

During the game, I mentioned that I was playing hockey in the morning and, to my surprise, he seemed a little interested. He asked me what time I played and I told him 6:30 am.

I think I saw him shutter when I said the time; let’s just say he’s not an early riser, though I remember going to 6 am midweek practices for him when he was young. I’d take him to practice and then straight to school in the morning.

To my shock, Mike said he’d come and play if there weren’t too many guys already. I checked the numbers and it worked that we could use another guy.

Now when he was a kid I would have to wake him up and get his hockey gear together. Now, however, Mike lives on his own … but that didn’t stop me from having to give him a wake up phone call, and gather his hockey bag together that he leaves at our house.

I even had to carry his gear into the arena just like way back when. But that’s not the memory.

The game was good; we made a couple of nice plays together; he scored a few pretty goals. I always had my eye on him even when I was on the ice. A couple of times I threw Mike a pass and then coasted up the ice as I watched him make a play on the net.

But that’s not when the memory came to me.

The 30 year old memory came after the game. I got home, walked through the living room, and as my feet hit the kitchen floor, I remembered thinking when I got married, “I sure hope I’m able to play hockey with my kids when they become adults.”

It was a concern of mine, a dream, a hope that has stayed with me all these years. Now he’s almost 24, I’m almost 59 and I’d say my hope and my dream is not a concern any more – it’s a reality!

Here’s the thing: My passion for hockey rubbed off on Mike, because I have consistently just kept playing the game all these years. What do you want your relationship with God to be like in five, ten years from now or even longer? May your passion for Christ keep you consistently meeting with Him so that one day your walk with Him will be what you’ve dreamed it would be … and may your passion for Christ rub off on those around you!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What old memory or dream have you had that’s become a reality? Leave your comment below.

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When Your Son’s Life Parallels Yours

My son turned 23 the other day, and what stood out to me is just how much his life has paralleled mine so far.

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I thought for a moment that I had a “do-over” in him. And I wondered if a lot of parents think that … they see their son or daughter as a way to correct or change their own path. In some cases, they see their children as a way to fulfill a long-lost dream.

I didn’t dwell on that very long because I realized that he has some living ahead of him that I have no desire to do over.

When I look back, I don’t want to have to finish my education, or decide on a career, or choose a mate, or a number of other things. No, that’s for Mike to go through. All I can do, or want to do, is be a sounding board for him in all those things.

But still, it’s hard not to dream for him and want to make decisions for him when I see him having to make the same decisions and going through the same circumstances as I did.

There are times I want to shout out, “Choose this”, or “Do that and you will save yourself time and pain”.

But that would be cheating him out of figuring out life. That would be keeping him from growing up. That would be preventing him from becoming himself instead of a do-over of dad.

Besides, when we’re 23 there’s something inside us that compels us to experience things for ourselves and not take the advice of the wise sage.

We went out for dinner to celebrate this occasion. And there was a young family who sat at a table across from us: a mom, a dad and a daughter about 6 years old. I looked back at my family, all adults now, and flashed back to remember days long ago when my children were young

How often I have said, “Wow, he’s a lot like me in the way he thinks and the things he does, the choices he makes. Even his physical development parallels mine.”

Mike laughs at me and calls me a fatty. But I look at him, knowing my physique was identical at his age and say, “This is all yours in thirty five years!”

I never had this conversation with my dad, but I know there were lots of parallels between us, too.

Back at home to open presents after dinner, the last present he opened was a new 3 wood. I could see the excitement in his eyes, the longing to get on the golf course and play.

That’s something that he has become passionate about through his friends. It’s also with his friends that he has developed his ability. Though I share the same love for the game, he didn’t catch the bug from me.

But even in that, he parallels my life: picking up the game from a friend and being mentored in golf by him.

What’s good is we can play together and maybe this will be the year he finally beats me.

Here’s the thing:  A relationship with God is personal and though it may look like your journey to God parallels someone else’s, each relationship with God is unique. You can’t replicate your relationship with God in someone else. However, you can fellowship together in your relationships with God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: In what ways has your life paralleled someone else’s?

I would love to hear from you. You can leave your comment below.

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There’s A New Fixer Now

If you’re a dad, you’re a fixer. If you’re not good at fixing things, you become good, because as a dad, you get lots of opportunities.

Requests for your assistance come from all kinds of sources and for all kinds of fixes.  As a dad, you have to be a generalist fixer, not a specialty guy. One minute you can be fixing a dishwasher for your wife (it’s still broken), and then asked to fix your son’s latest gadget or your daughter’s computer.

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Sometimes the fixing is more like doing things no one else can do, like unscrewing the lid on the pickle jar, or raising the basketball net, or untangling a necklace. When you think of it, dads are really miracle workers.

As a dad, you fix things for so long that you never think that there will be anyone to take your place. You look at the potential and all you can see are people who need you to fix things.

But there comes a time when the mantle of fixer changes hands. It’s not a quick hand off, mind you. There is training that comes into play, until slowly a new fixer is developed. I witnessed the beginning of that development this past week.

My son got an iPhone 5 on Wednesday. On Thursday night at his work, he plugged the speaker system into his phone but no sound came out. He didn’t think much of it until the next day when he couldn’t hear calls that were coming in to his phone.

When he looked into it, he discovered the tip of the sound jack from work was stuck in the earphone hole of his iPhone. The iPhone reacted like there were headphones plugged in it so its internal speakers weren’t activated.

When I got wind of this, I went right into fixer mode. I looked at the phone, got some tools out and started to work. I got on the internet and researched if this had happened to anyone else. Surprisingly, it’s happened often.

I found a couple of solutions that I tried without any success. But there was one solution I didn’t want to try. I didn’t think it would work and felt it was too risky. We all got busy and, for a couple of days, Mike was only able to text his friends.

But then one day we were mulling over what to do about the phone. Mike decided he was going to try crazy glue – the solution I thought was too risky. I wasn’t convinced, but it was his phone, so I gave him a couple of tips and he went at it.

He used a Q-Tip, took the cotton off and filled the hollow end with crazy glue. He carefully put the Q-Tip into the earphone hole and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then he pulled on the Q-Tip and, unbelievably, the end of the earphone jack came out.

The iPhone was fixed and this house has a new fixer! He’s not ready to take on this responsibility full time yet, but I’m confident that with more coaching and lots more opportunities, this guy will be able to fix anything … just like me … well, almost.

Here’s the thing: We may get confident fixing iPhones or dishwashers, but God is the real fixer. He’s the one we need to take our brokenness and problems to. There’s nothing He can’t fix.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When was the last time you turned to God to help or fix something in your life?  Leave your comment below.