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Encouragement That’s Simple Yet Profound

Everyone needs a little encouragement sometimes. If we go too long without it, we can begin to lose confidence, or feel unappreciated, or generally down.

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There are those who seek encouragement and, at very least, they get attention. When they were children they were the ones who would always say, “Look at me; look at me”, and it was cute to see the new trick they had learned to perform.

When those same people get older, it’s not so cute. When someone’s in their twenties or thirties and are still calling people to take notice of them, it’s just annoying.

It’s not that we don’t want people to notice us, it’s just that we’ve matured to the point where we don’t crave attention and we prefer to be noticed without our solicitation.

It’s really not encouragement when we’ve had to ask for it.

Timing is also important in receiving encouragement. It doesn’t work if it’s not related to something that is going on in your life. It’s important to have close proximity between the encouragement and what you’re being encouraged about.

Telling someone they would be great at something they have no interest in or aptitude for doesn’t really work. In fact, you need both of those – interest and aptitude – for encouragement to work.

I remember when my son was figuring out what he would take in high school. When he listed off his courses, I said, “You should take French because you have a real aptitude for it.”

He just looked at me like I was a stranger he’d never laid eyes on before, then looked back at his mother to continue to list his subjects as if I was no longer in the room.

He did have an aptitude for it; he just didn’t have any interest in taking it. Therefore, my comment was not taken as an encouragement to him in any way.

At least now – ten years later – he recognizes me as his father again!

Unsolicited, close proximity, and resonating with our interests and aptitude – this is the script for a great encouragement.

And the other day, I got one! It was 9:14 Saturday night. I was relaxing, and just finishing watching a movie before heading to bed.

The text read, “Praying for you, Paul … have an amazing time with God tomorrow morning!!”

The next morning I was going to be preaching at our church. To know someone was praying for me in advance of that was a huge encouragement to me. It really picked me up.

I looked for a name but there was only a phone number and not one I recognized. This same person had also texted me something similar back in February.

That was it. It probably took about twenty seconds to type, but it was a big encouragement to me.

My reply was simply, “Thanks”.  And that’s what I was – thankful.

Here’s the thing:  It was a person who texted me that encouragement, but I knew who was behind it. God knew I needed an encouragement right then, before I preached the next day. He prompted that person to pray and encourage me. I thought about trying to figure out who had texted, but I got an overwhelming sense that I should just leave it and take the encouragement as anonymous. God will bring you encouragement when you need it most. Look for it to come in any shape or form.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: How have you been surprisingly encouraged? You can leave your comment below.

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Do You Want A Lush Yard With Little Effort?

It’s the middle of September, and the grass in my yard keeps growing like in the spring.

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By now I should only have to cut it about every two weeks. Actually, most summers when I come back from our vacation, the only things that have grown on the lawn are the weeds – about a foot high, green and lush – while all the grass around them is stubble and brown as sand.

This week I knew the lawn needed cutting. Since my neighbour was looking at his, I thought I better get out there and join him. He’d cut my grass while we were on vacation and, though it would be nice to have a handy guy next door who cut my lawn, I didn’t want to take advantage of his generous nature.

I started with my front yard and cut the part of his lawn that connects with mine before he got to it. Then I started on the back. I couldn’t believe how long the grass was. It was thicker than I’d seen it all year and still so green.

I chalked that up to the fact that we had record amounts of rain this summer – it never had a chance to dry out.

It was tough getting the lawn mower through it. I have a 5 horse power mower but it’s older and I think it’s starting to fade away.

By the time I’d finished cutting the back lawn, I had almost burnt the engine out. Three times it started to smoke and I had to pull it back so it wouldn’t stall out. But it was done.

Then I attacked the edges with the whipper snipper. I have to say that it was looking pretty good by the time I finished. In between cutting and snipping, I had a conversation with my neighbour about the strip of grass that is on the other side of our fences.

I’m not sure if we’re responsible for it or if it’s the city’s job, but my neighbour is the one who cuts it the most. In fact, he cuts his portion, mine and the guy’s on the other side of me.

When I finished the snipping, I kind of felt guilty about not doing my share on the other side of the fence, so I cut that too.

I was tired but happy when it was all done. I was thinking I wouldn’t have to cut the lawn again for maybe two weeks. I had even lowered the blade to shave the grass a little shorter.

But four days later I was looking at the lawn thinking it really needed to be cut again. I couldn’t believe it! … That’s when Lily told me she’s been fertilizing it!

No wonder my lawn is getting thicker and longer. No wonder my lawn mower is about to give up. I’m ready to give up too.

Give me back the burnt grass and tall weeds – I need a break!

Here’s the thing: I like my lawn to look good, but to look good it takes more than just cutting it every couple of weeks. It takes fertilizing to help it grow long and green, which in turn means more lawn maintenance. Your relationship with God is the same. It takes the fertilization of reading God’s Word and the maintenance of spending time with God in prayer. That kind of work will produce a good, growing relationship. But you’ve got to put in the effort.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How much effort do you put into your relationship with God? Leave your comments below.

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The Genius Behind Garage Sales

On Saturday my church held a ginormous garage sale – it was so big we called it a yard sale. When you get dozens of families contributing household items for the same cause, it gets big fast.

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The purpose was to raise money for one of our kids’ programs. And we did just that – close to $3000! The church got behind it and a lot of people pitched in.

But in my last blog, I wrote about how I don’t like garage sales (you can read that blog here), so you have to wonder, have I changed my mind? Am I now a diehard garage sale proponent?

Well, not exactly. But the yard sale did great and I even found a few items that I claimed as treasures.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of junk – tons of junk! And when I first saw the piles of it, all I could think of was, “Does anybody own a garbage truck, and how quickly can we get it over here?” But the piles kept shrinking!

The day of the sale was not the greatest. We had some rain, so people walked away with purchased items that were already slightly washed and wiped down.

We collected a dollar here and fifty cents there, and it all added up to a sizeable pot in the end.  There were hot dogs being sold, cars getting washed, baking being eaten; people talking, telling stories, and laughing. It was a great time.

I couldn’t help but make some observations about it all:

The first thing I noticed was that there was a lot of things sold to those of us who were running the yard sale. We now all have some things from each other’s homes. For instance, I now have some of Bob’s stuff and Adrian’s stuff.

In the future, we should just swap ten items with someone else in the church and do it every seven years. That’s close to being Biblical … in a completely wrong kind of way.

Another thing was there was an awful lot of socializing going on. Other than the super sellers (like my wife), a lot of us just hung around, talked with each other, helped a few people, and talked some more.

It turned out really well for bonding as a church. We shared an experience together, one that created some good memories.

The other thing I noticed was the effort that everyone put into setting up and taking down. It was amazing to see the coordinated work from so many people, young and old, getting the church parking lot and foyer back to looking the way it should for the next day (Sunday).

I was really proud of my church! The people who came got a good taste of what we’re like at KAC. … And that made it worth putting on and attending a yard sale.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we get our focus on the wrong things at church. We evaluate the building, the service style, or the available programs. We might get focussed on the quality of the worship or the pastor’s sermon. But what’s really important are the people, and how they work together. A church is not a building – it’s God’s people who gather together in the same place of worship. We shouldn’t ever forget that.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you seen people working really well together? Leave your comment below.

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Who Likes Garage Sales Anyway?

I’ve never been a huge fan of garage sales.

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It’s not that I think they should be outlawed or anything like that. I’m perfectly fine with people setting up shop in their driveways with their unwanted stuff. And it doesn’t bother me in the least to see people stop and browse that stuff in hopes of buying some of it.

I just don’t like going to them. Don’t get me wrong, I like a deal just like everyone else. It’s that I haven’t found any real deals at the two garage sales I’ve visited in the past.

That’s right, I think I’ve been on other people’s property, with items strewn over their driveways for the purpose of selling, a total of two times.

It’s not my thing. I know people who find treasures at these sales. I’ve even been in homes where the owners have pointed to some prize antique-looking ornament in their living room and have said to me, “I got that at a garage sale”.

It looked great; it fit well in their decor; I was truly impressed. For an instant I felt like right then going to a garage sale to see if there was something for me. But that feeling wore off as fast as it came upon me.

My problem with garage sales is all in my eyes. It has nothing to do with the fact that my eyes are green or I need to wear glasses to read. It has everything to do with what I see when I survey the merchandise at garage sales.

What I see is . . . junk! That’s right, I see stuff that someone doesn’t want any more, things that are past their prime usage point, items that I don’t need. I just see junk, and I can’t get past that.

I’ve tried twice and the garage sale concept hasn’t taken on me. I don’t really care if I can get something that I don’t need (and may never really want) for a buck. And it gives me no thrill to talk the owner down to 50 cents either.

I’m sure that if I went to enough garage sales over a long enough period of time that something of value, some uniquely and intricately created treasure would emerge from them. But that sounds too much like evolution and I don’t believe in that either.

And even if it were true, I couldn’t wait the billions of years for that treasure to materialize!

So, I don’t go to garage sales. I do drive a little slower when I go by them in my car though. But that’s not to try and get a glimpse of what’s up for sale. It’s so I don’t clip some wild-eyed garage saler with my car as he darts across the street to get a used novel for 75 cents.

I don’t need a middle-aged, heavy-set guy rolling up the hood of my car or getting caught up in the undercarriage.

That’s how I feel about garage sales. But having said all that, in part two of this blog (read here), I’ll reveal some astonishing findings.

Here’s the thing: It is one thing to seek treasure; it’s a whole other thing to seek treasure in the right place. Sometimes we seek treasures – like joy, peace, comfort, love and hope – in places where they are worn out, broken and useless. Seeking these things from God is the only place to find lasting treasure.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s the greatest treasure you’ve found at a garage sale? Leave your comment below.

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Trouble Comes Without Warning

The trouble with this summer has been the cool, wet temperatures.

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Well, that is until this past week. It’s September and we have finally got some hot, humid weather. If this keeps up, I’m going to really enjoy the fall – maybe it will last all winter! (I can dream.)

But the warm weather can have some side effects that are not expected or welcomed . . .

It was a warm, sunny morning, just before 7 am when I drove to work the other day. The temperature was already about 20 degrees Celsius and, as I drove to the church, the sun blinded me as I turned eastward. The light was so intense I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t even open my eyes – which is not a good thing when you’re driving!

I quickly flipped down the sun visor so I could at least catch the outline of the road before me. I was able to get my bearings and adjust to the brightness by squinting.

At that point I was three quarters of the way in to work. I drove down a hill and then in the shade for a few minutes. As I started up another hill, that’s when the trouble started …

First, the sun was there to blind me again. And then without warning, in a split second, all the windows of the car fogged up. I mean, this was instant! My windows were clear one second and then completely fogged up the next!

I couldn’t see anything. It was foggy and sunny all at the same time. I slowed down immediately – I didn’t want to wander out of my lane or drive into someone ahead of me.

I tried my windshield wipers and since the fog was all on the outside, that cleared the front window. But even making a lane change was challenging since I couldn’t see if there was a car beside me or not.

I live in Canada; I’ve had fogged windows before. Usually it happens in the winter and that fog is on the inside caused by too much breathing from my passengers.

In those cases, you can see the fog slowly overtaking the windows and, at very least, you can ask your passengers to stop breathing for a few moments.

This particular fog, however, was so swift that it left me very vulnerable, traveling about 65 km/hr (or slightly quicker) along the road.

There was no warning, no hint of it coming, and it created a very dangerous situation in a flash.

Here’s the thing: Life can be like that fog. You’re living, breathing, functioning and, without warning, something very unexpected happens to you – you have a heart attack, you’re diagnosed with cancer, you have an injury, or a relationship issue blindsides you.

It all happens so fast. You’re left vulnerable and don’t know what to do. It’s a dangerous place to be. It’s important to know what you can do, what resources you have available to you right then. In those times, you need God. Be sure you’ve begun a relationship with Him and be in the habit of turning to Him. Then you can quickly access His help in those dangerous times.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has happened to you in an instant and put you in a dangerous place?  Leave your comment below.

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Our New Project

We just started a new home project at our house. You wouldn’t really notice much if you came over. There’s no design consultants or construction workers around.

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There’s not even any building materials laying around that might tip you off.

The only hint that we’ve begun a new project is our bedroom closet has no doors as of two days ago.

I took a bit of a risk taking the doors off the closet; there is a chance our clothes will be exposed to the room for months. But it was a calculated risk that I was willing to make.

Several weeks ago, Lily and I got the idea while roaming through an Ikea store. We saw some closet organizers that looked amazing. That got me going on a bit of a long-standing tirade about closets and bifold doors.

First of all, it really bugs me that builders construct the opening of a closet about two feet narrower than the actual closet width. That means you have to blindly reach into the corners to get at the clothes that are out of sight, beyond the opening.

To make matters worse, builders then put bi-fold doors on those closets, narrowing the opening again by another foot. Now you’re about two feet way from the farthest piece in your closet.

Frankly, I can’t remember what is back there because I haven’t seen it in about 10 years! There may be pants or a shirt from the eighties for all I know. I can barely reach that far past the closet doors to grab at it.

My beef is if your closet is 100 inches wide, why not make the opening the same width?

So now we’re going to do something about this. We are going to make our closet opening wider and we’re going to put sliding doors on the closet instead of those blasted bi-folds.

We checked out a local hardware store that can order some custom-made sliding doors that Lily likes. We know what doors we like … we just haven’t ordered them yet.

Since even a great idea won’t happen unless you do something, I decided that this project will become something of a dream – or nightmare – unless we take some action. So I took the doors off the closet.

Our bedroom looks like it is in an unfinished state and that’s exactly the look I’m going for right now. It’s one little step to spur us on to the next little step. And all those little moves we make will get us to complete this project.

The key to doing anything is to start. It doesn’t have to be a big start, but – talk all you want, plan till you’re old – it’s not going to materialize unless you make a move.

Here’s the thing: If you’re a seeker with questions about God, you’ll always be a seeker unless you take a step towards getting answers to your questions. If you’re a believer and are unsatisfied with your walk with Christ right now, you will remain frustrated until you make a move to walk closer to God. If you’re serving and don’t feel you’re making a difference, you’ll continue to be discouraged without trying a new ministry opportunity. It only takes one small action to get you moving in a direction that can lead to completion.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you been frustrated with that needs to become a project? Leave your comment below.

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How To Ensure Your Direction Is Right

Usually, I feel that it’s other drivers who prevent me from getting to my destination. But yesterday it seemed there was a whole conspiracy at work that had nothing to do with other drivers.

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It was more like a government conspiracy, I’m sure. It could have been something like Orwell’s “Big Brother” is watching, or a group that my dad would always rage about, “the Bilderbergs”.

Now I don’t want to begin another fearmongering rumour, but there was definitely something going on that was a little like the Twilight Zone show . . .

I was coming home from my annual planning week up at my cottage. The trip had been pretty painless coming into Toronto, when suddenly the traffic started to get heavy and then slowed down to a crawl.

I thought I was in rush hour traffic, but it was Friday night at about 9 pm – it should have been clear sailing!

As I inched my way to a connector highway (which, by the way, would take me the rest of the way home), without warning – no sign, no detour route, nothing – it was closed.

I had to go west, in the opposite direction of my home. I had planned on a 2 1/2 hour drive home from there, but that wasn’t going to happen now.

What made it worse was that there was a road worker who looked like he’d just finished putting the pylons out to block my way.

That wasn’t going to stop me. The next exit was a familiar one and I knew I could get off and back on heading east to go home. I took it and thought, “This is not going to cost me much time at all.”

As I crossed over the highway to get going east, I noticed a road crew guy putting out pylons on that ramp as well. I couldn’t believe it! How did they think people were to get home?

I needed to go east, but instead I was forced to go west, and now I was going south! I got on an eastbound street as soon as I could and then came to a route that would take me back up to my homeward-bound highway.

But as I made my way towards the ramp, it was closed too and I was forced to continue north, past the highway I wanted, and basically coerced into taking a toll highway east towards home.

(If you’re feeling a little hypnotized right about now, you can imagine how I felt!) It was right about then that it dawned on me: They are trying to funnel us all onto the pay-as-you-drive highway to get a cash infusion towards their conspiracy plans!

I never saw that road crew guy again, but I’m sure he’s taken some blood oath of some kind to belong to some dark, unknown, secret society of asphalt workers somewhere.

Here’s the thing: We can be led by circumstance, friends, cravings and opportunities to go in directions we never intended to go in. It’s not like we started out with the thought of going there or doing that, it’s just one turn led to another and, “Oh look where I am now!” The only way we can protect ourselves from that happening is to monitor our direction with God. Let God navigate your direction, and, if you get lost or off course, check in with Him to get you back on the right road.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has been your worst road closure experience? You can leave your comment below.

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Why Anniversaries Are Special

Special days and anniversaries often come and go without giving them too much thought. There are, however, certain special days that are more special than others.

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Though every birthday is special, when someone turns 16 that’s extra special because they can obtain a driver’s license. At eighteen you are considered an adult and get to vote, so that’s special. Depending where you live, 19 or 21 is a special day for dubious reasons.

It seems that span of about five years is littered with extra special days. But after that, the special days like birthdays and anniversaries seem to come in 10 year periods like 30, 40, 50, et cetera.

Some people look forward to these special days; others pretend they didn’t happen.

It’s more likely that someone will want to hide the fact they have reached an age milestone, while being quite proud of reaching an anniversary achievement.

Yesterday I celebrated my 29th wedding anniversary with my wife, Lily. Twenty-nine is not one of those special anniversary dates – 30 is a big deal but 29 is just a run-of-the-mill anniversary.

It doesn’t even have a name or gift associated with it. I figured the gift for the 29th anniversary would be brunch at “Milestones” the restaurant.

It had to be something like that because I have to save up for next year’s anniversary which is “pearl”.

I had a great aunt named “Pearl” and it would’ve been nice to bring her over for tea or something on our 30th … she would be about 115 now. Auntie Pearl passed away 20 years ago so I can’t use her as my “pearl” gift to Lily on our 30th.

It’s a good thing I have a year to figure it out.

But getting back to this no-name 29th anniversary of ours. Though on the surface it doesn’t seem hardly worth getting a card to even acknowledge the day, it is in fact a very special anniversary to me.

On this day I have now been married for exactly half my life – the most recent half, I might add.

That’s significant. Think of all the years you grew up in your home with your family, and then all the years you hung out with friends and went to school, and the years you figured out what career you were going to go for.

Think of all the fun and hardships of the years you spend before you were married, the experiences and adventures, all the people, all the laughter, tears, worry.

Well, all of that, I’ve done all over again with Lily. It’s like I’ve lived life twice, once single and now a second time married.

So you see, my 29th anniversary is a special day. It should be called something, even at the very least, the “corrugated paper” anniversary.

Hey, that’s a great idea! I could get Lily a box, and I could fill the box with hope … hope that next year she’ll get a pearl on her anniversary.

Here’s the thing: Have you ever compared your life before Christ to the time you’ve spent with Him? The experiences, the adventures, the joys, laughter, tears and worry? Have you ever considered just how significant your life with Christ has been so far compared to your life before you knew Him? Take some time to reflect on that, and praise God for your relationship with Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has been a particularly special date or memory you have had with Christ?  Leave your comment below.

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Why Having the Right Equipment is Necessary

Having the right equipment for a task makes it much more enjoyable. Having the wrong equipment or substandard equipment makes that task a hardship, even dangerous.

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This past week, seventy plus cyclists arrived at our church to stay overnight. They didn’t just drop by; it had been arranged for them to stop here.

I’ve been a mountain biker for some time, and I’ve been to events where I’ve seen all kinds of shapes and sizes of bikers. Some of them look like they ride their bikes all the time, while others, well, if you didn’t see them with their bikes, you wouldn’t think that they ever rode one!

This group was no different; there was a wide variety of people on this ride. But what did surprise me was the different shapes and sizes of the bicycles they were riding.

Some of the bikes were clearly road bikes made to ride long distances. But there were many bikes that I wouldn’t take farther than to the nearest convenience store and back!

A few bikes looked like they needed to be traded in for real ones, let alone be allowed to leave a city on a tour. I was impressed and humbled that some of those riding and raising money for the “Love in Motion” tour were doing it with great hardship.

The morning they left our church, one rider mentioned that her bike wouldn’t shift properly. I decided I would try it out, so I rode it around the parking lot … I wouldn’t take that bike on a two hour ride – certainly not a week-long trip or across the country!

Her shifters needed to be tuned, her handlebar grips needed replacing, and a brake pad was rubbing so badly that it was like she was riding with her front brake on all the time.

Fortunately, we were somewhat able to help her out before she left for the next leg of the journey.

These riders seemed to be oblivious to the fact that their equipment was less than ideal for the type of cycling they were doing. They just saddled up in the morning and got going again.

But I had watched them come in the day before, after a 167 kilometre ride from Cobourg to Kingston. The toll on the body, and even the mental state, was far greater on those with substandard bikes.

They were doing it. They were making it (which I thought was amazing), but it was a real hardship for them. I wondered what a difference a proper bike would make for some of these riders.

Here’s the thing:  We can get through life on our own. We can get by with just a minimum of faith in God. But at what cost will we make it through? … We will miss the fullness of what God has for us in this life. We will deal with hardships on our own that will create wounds and bitterness that will burden us the rest of the way. We will carry regrets and guilt with us that will rub against us and all those we come in contact with. Oh, we can get through life on our own; we can say we did it. But at what cost to us? Better that we submit our lives to God, walk in His ways and in His will, and be properly equipped to face the elements along the journey.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you attempted with wrong or inadequate equipment? How did it turn out?  You can leave your comment below.

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How To Live Simultaneously In Awe & Frustration

Can something be good and bad at the same time? Can you be completely frustrated and awed in the same breath? Is it okay to clench your fists in rage while gazing at something beautiful?

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Not only do I think the answer to these questions is “yes”, I know it’s “yes” because I just experienced it on the weekend.

As crazy as it sounds, it’s true.

It’s almost like that trick you do with a toddler or a baby: you distract them with something else and they stop crying. You know the child is crying because he scraped his knee, but you say “Oh look, a balloon!” The child’s attention is drawn to the balloon, he stops crying, and life is good again.

It works like a charm every time.

It doesn’t work as well with adults. You can distract them with something else, but they are not going to forget the pain (whatever type) they are in.

I played golf on a beautiful course this weekend. Six holes have been fashioned after famous golf holes from around the world. The fairways were like hitting off carpet; the greens were like bowling allies.

They even had a set of bunkers called church pews – I was tempted to try them out but I stayed away.

The day was beautiful, sunny, hot, with no wind. The course was lush, green, with dramatic undulating terrain. You wanted to take a picture at every hole. In fact, some guys in my group did take pictures as we went around.

But to contrast the startling grandeur of the course was the brutal ineptitude of my play. On the practice tees I was straight and long. On the course, I missed all but one of the fairways with carpet-like feel to them.

I was looking at a picture of magnificence at every turn, but in what I was doing there was no beauty at all.

So I would line up my putt on grass that seemed like it had been cut with my razor that very morning, but when I hit the ball I had no control of when it would stop rolling. And on every hole it kept rolling and rolling and rolling.

I was amazed by the course but I wanted to hit it at the same time. In fact, there were two occasions when I swung my club really hard at the ground after another missed green, while staring at a scene that looked so inviting I could have lived there.

During my round, I couldn’t decide which emotion should win: awe at the stunning splendour of the course or my total frustration with my game.

It seemed that for the longest time the two emotions were entwined together, stuck like a vine to a trellis.

In the end, I would not have traded my experience. It was a great day, despite the play.

Here’s the thing: We can be utterly amazed at what God has done in someone’s life or ministry.  We can marvel at results that occur that clearly point to God’s hand of mercy or power. But at the same time, we can be completely frustrated by the lack of results or answers in our own life or ministry. We live here in this contrast, and to truly embrace Christ is to give glory to God while at the same time pleading out our burdens before Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has amazed you while frustrated you at the same time? Leave your comment below.