thoughts

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What To Do When Your Hotel Stay Is Lousy

This week I stayed in a hotel that was less than ideal.  I was in the Toronto area for meetings and, since the hotel I normally stay in was booked solid, I was registered in at a different hotel.

motel 6

I don’t need something too fancy, but when the first thing you do when you get in the room is check for bugs that tells you something!

On my way to my room, I pushed the elevator button and waited what seemed to be about the time it would take an elevator to travel ten floors. The curious thing was this hotel only had three. So you have to ask yourself, “What was that elevator doing for all that time?”

When I got into the elevator it was empty, but there was a fresh aroma of B.O. in it, like that was the scent they were using to keep the cab fresh-smelling.

I was only going to the second floor so I could have held my breath … except at this hotel a trip to the second floor was like riding a regular elevator to the 6th floor.

I had to use a couple of breaths to make it.

There was a trail of dried mud chunks leading down the hall, stopping just a room before mine, so I could find my way easy enough.

When I got inside the room, I saw it had everything I needed – a bed, a bathroom and a counter thing I could use as a desk.

But the room was pretty stark. There wasn’t a picture in the place, and everything was bolted down. There was some laminate planking deal on the floor.

I thought for a moment how easy it would be to clean this place. All you’d have to do is bring in a big ol’ hose, turn it on and then let it drip dry for the next guest.

That night I had one of the worst sleeps on record. If I had been doing a sleep apnea test, I would be hooked up to one of those breathing machines by now for sure. I’ve slept on floors that were more comfortable!

My pillows were just a little bigger than those squares you throw in the bean bag toss game. I found out in the morning, however, that the bed beside me had normal sized pillows. I must have been sleeping in Goldilocks’ bed all night, and let me tell you, it was not just right!

All night long there was this high-pitched, ear-piercing sound, something like the sound an old vacuum cleaner makes when the bag needs to be changed.

Again, I found out in the morning that this sound was not from a neat freak staying in the room above me, but was coming from the motor of the mini fridge in my room.

I could go on but I think that’s enough for you to take in for now. By the way, that was my first night there. I had one more night after that.

Here’s the thing: My hotel had essentially everything I needed to stay there. But the quality of my stay was the pits. You have everything you need to live in this world, but the quality of your stay will be determined by where you choose to live – with God or without Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What hotel horrors have you encountered?

I’d love to hear from you; leave your comment below.

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What To Do When Life Becomes Frustrating

 

This time of year is a little frustrating for me. This past week was the start of the spring hockey session and so they have reduced the ice times available for me to play.

Mountain-Bike-in-the-Winter

That’s not all that bad because I have been eyeing my mountain bike lately and getting the itch to get out on the trails. The problem is the trails aren’t ready to be ridden, and they won’t be in the foreseeable future. With the amount of snow we got this year, it’s going to take a month to get rid of it all unless we have some really warm weather in the next week or so.

So I’m stuck right now; I can’ t play as much hockey and I can’t do any biking yet. That means more TV watching … which could be a good thing because the NHL playoffs start soon.

But since my team isn’t making the playoffs this year, my interest in watching will be less than riveted.

This spring is like a perfect storm for me.

I might have to get out my trainer and do some pre-season biking on it. If you don’t know what a trainer is, it’s an apparatus you hook the rear wheel of your bike to that let’s you pedal your bike with resistant … all in the comfort of your basement, without actually moving.

It’s not that fun. If my wife would let me buy a rowing machine, that would be more helpful. But she keeps wanting to purchase new furniture for our home, so getting a new piece of exercise equipment isn’t happening soon around our place.

Not that I really need to exercise at all. If I gain ten pounds having to watch the Montreal Canadians in the playoffs while drinking Dr. Peppers, I’m sure that’s no concern to Lily as long as she finds the right end tables for the living room.

I know this in-between season will end at some point, but being right in the middle of it gives me no real encouragement and hope at all.

All I can do is watch the buds on the trees start to break forth into leaves. But you know what watching tree buds is like – it’s like watching paint dry; it’s that exciting! Or it’s like watching water boil; it never happens while you’re watching.

Right now would be a good time for a trip somewhere. There are lots of places I would like to go. I saw bits of a travel show the other day to Key West, Florida – that looked like a nice spot to visit.

I do have a trip I’m taking this week. I have meetings in Toronto – well, almost Toronto. The meetings are actually in Whitby. It’s no Key West but at least it’ll take my mind off the frustration I have here.

And my weather app says it will be a few degrees warmer there than here. Whoopee!

Here’s the thing: We all get frustrated at times. We can be frustrated at work; we can be frustrated on the home front. It might even be that we are frustrated with our recreation or hobbies. That’s when temptation will raise its ugly head. You will find yourself tempted to serve yourself with some kind of pleasure. That’s when you need to seek the Lord for strength and protection against falling into temptation. Be aware and protect yourself, because it’s in that frustration that temptation will come calling.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you deal with temptation when you’re frustrated in life?

I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave a comment below.

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How To Determine If You Should See The Movie “Noah”

I’ve read about Noah in the Bible many, many times. Like thousands and thousands of other people, I know the story inside out.

Noah Flannel graph

This week I saw the movie, “Noah” in the theatre. To be honest, I didn’t read any of the hype, nor any of the reviews before I saw the movie. I simply went to see the movie of a script I knew very, very well.

After seeing the movie, I’m happy to report that there is a character named Noah, there is a flood and an ark (a very large boat). But the movie is not about the Noah that I’ve read about, nor does it have anything to do with God or the Bible.

There are people who have written all kinds of reviews on this movie. You could read a review or two if you want, but I would suggest you just read Genesis 6-9.

Read it a few times – it won’t take you the 139 minutes it takes to watch the movie (plus the previews and waiting in line for popcorn). As an added bonus, and just to get your math down on who lived when, you could read Genesis 5 as well.

That’s a really good start if you are interested in seeing the movie because, after reading the Biblical account of Noah, you will be able to view this movie without confusion. It’s clear that it’s not taken from the Bible.

I’m not saying that’s a bad thing; I’ve seen movies that aren’t from the Bible. I can’t recall any reference in the scripture to “Jason Bourne” or “Blackbrier” of the Bourne trilogy of movies, and I’m okay with that.

I saw the Lord of Rings series and I may even go see the Captain America movie that’s coming out soon. Those movies are entertaining; not enlightening; not revealing truth. And I don’t expect them to be any of that either.

For me, if I want enlightenment and truth I read the Bible. When I want to be entertained, I may watch a movie.

This was not a bad movie to watch. However, it is violent in places, and I still have a few marks on my hand where my wife dug in her nails.

There are some amazing rock creatures that help Noah build the ark. I’m sure they cut his workload and time down by about 60% … these guys had six arms!

If you haven’t seen the movie and are wondering if you should, consider your motives for seeing the movie first.

See it for entertainment only. If you want to get some visual depiction of the story in Genesis, then don’t see the movie. Instead purchase some flannel, some paper cut-out Bible figures, and an easel from a craft story. Then have someone read Genesis 6-9 and you work the flannel graph.

Here’s the thing: Everything you watch, hear and read has a slant to it. Someone has put their own thoughts, ideas, interpretation to it. But God has given us the Bible. Yes, it was written over 2,000 years ago and has 40 authors. But it was written under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit.  2 Timothy 3:16 says it was “breathed out by God”. God has made sure that we have what He wants us to have in the scriptures: His truth, the truth.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Will you see the movie? Why or why not? If you have, what are your thoughts on it?

I’d love to hear from you; leave your comment below.

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Why Fans Aren’t Worth Much – Part 2

In my last blog (click to read), I compared sports fans to recycle trash. Team owners and players consider fans to be more valuable than trash, but not much more.

Leaf fans

Just like we treat recycle items a little better than regular garbage, fans are treated likewise. The bottom line, however, is they’re still trash.

Some of you have been wondering when I was going to show my colours and now’s the time.  I’ve been a Toronto Maple Leaf fan for most of my life. I grew up in Toronto, so the team is engrained deep within me.

I was 11 years old when Toronto last won the Stanley cup in 1967. I’ll be 58 this year.

My kids, now in their 20’s, have never witnessed the Leafs win the cup. They’ve never seen them win the conference finals. But they have observed the Leafs missing the playoffs 12 times in the past 25 years. That’s half the time if you’re counting (excluding the 04/05 lock out year).

Last year the Leafs made the playoffs for the first time in 8 years. They did great, almost dumping the future Stanley Cup champions to the curb in the first round.

Fans had high hopes, and were in full support of this team. This year looked promising; the team was solid. They were playoff-bound right through until after the Olympic break.

There have been a couple of injuries since then that have hurt them, but that’s not the real problem. Sure Reimer let in 19 goals in five games, but Bernier has let in 12 in the last 3 games. Goaltending is not the issue.

The problem is morale. The Leafs are not playing like they did before the break. There’s no urgency in their game. No desire to win. They have no drive to make the playoffs this year.

What there is is a great deal of unrest in that organization right now. How this unrest surfaces is in treating the fans like they are recycle garbage.

While the team is fighting it out amongst each other or with the coaches in the dressing room, every night on the ice they are just taking the blue box to the curb for pick up the next morning.

Toronto should be the cleanest city in the world; they have the garbage picked up about three times a week!

Someone needs to shake everyone in that organization and get them looking at what’s really important. It’s not who’s being treated poorly, or who’s right or wrong. It’s the fans! Treat them like they belong in the house and not in a recycle bin on the side of the street!

Someone on the team needs to say, “Let’s give these fans what they want. Let’s forget our beefs while we are on the ice. Let’s remember the fans are still supporting us, the product.”

You don’t put the Cheerios box in the recycle bin when there are still Cheerios in it. The team needs to rally around the fans for the fans. Sports fans are the team’s most valuable resource.

My beef and my rant is about my team the Toronto Maple Leafs. But listen, your team is just one internal argument away from treating you as recycle trash, too.

Here’s the thing: When our morale is low, often we treat God like recycle trash. We ignore Him to focus on our issues. We blame Him for the state we are in. Instead, seek His support and encouragement and help. God is your most valuable resource.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How can you make God your most valuable resource?

I’d love to hear from you; you can leave a comment below.

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Why Fans Aren’t Worth Much – Part 1

I’ve come to the conclusion that sports fans are much like “recycle trash” in the big picture of sport. Recycle trash is more precious or valuable that regular trash, but it’s still trash.

recycling

Garbage that is destined for one of the many bins we have in our households is treated with slightly more respect than straight garbage.

In our city we have grey boxes for paper and cardboard, blue boxes for cans and plastic, and green bins for food refuse. What’s left just gets tossed into the garbage can.

The recycle trash we treat with some care. We either fold it up nicely, rinse it off or out, and collect it in a special container before we put it in the bin.

Regular trash doesn’t get any of that consideration. It just gets tossed.

In sports, the teams like the fans to come to games and cheer them on. And because of that, teams care for them in certain ways.

In hockey the players skate around the rink at the end of the game with their sticks in the air, paying tribute to the fans who stuck with them and served them with their collective noise.

The treatment is not unlike styrofoam that held a few pounds of ground beef. We take care to rinse off the meat residue, making the styrofoam all clean, and then place it orderly in the blue or grey box – frankly, I can’t remember which box it goes in. But we stack it up in one of those boxes.

Teams will also show up to community events to raise money, show they care, sign autographs – it’s pretty touching at times. The fans feel like they are cardboard that hasn’t been crushed but rather neatly flattened, then folded to the proper size to fit nicely into the grey bin.

Owners of teams will extend perks, incentives and deals to the fans to encourage them to watch games in large arenas, all with the goal of supporting the fans and making them feel special.

I don’t know how many times I’ve taken plastic bags and made sure they are clean and put them all in a big plastic bag and placed them in the blue bin, with the paper and cardboard – go figure that one!

It’s just nice to have all those bags together in one place … and you can really stuff a lot of little bags in one big bag.

Sports fans are just like recycle trash. But they’re still considered trash. It shouldn’t be. The fans are the ones that make it possible to fill the arenas. The fans are the ones that put money in the owners’ pockets and, in turn, into the players’ hands.

The fans make it possible for someone to do something they are good at and love professionally. Without the fans, those guys would be playing at 11 pm in broken-down arenas, with their wives already home in bed, just like the rest of us.

Sports fans aren’t really recycle trash; they’re just treated as such by the sports teams they cheer for. To be continued . . .

Here’s the thing:  As much as we think life is all about us, it is really all about God. We are here to give Him glory in all that we do. However, many of us think life – our life – is all about us, so we treat God like He is secondary. … Not recycle trash – no, much better than that – we honour Him at times. But I wonder if He feels like He’s being treated like recycle trash … just a little better than regular garbage.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How may you have made God feel like recycle trash?

I’d love to hear from you; you can leave a 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.

grass

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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Why Your Past Can’t Really Catch Up To You

We turned back time in our house this past week. We’ve gone back to using a dishwasher instead of washing our dishes by hand.

dishwasher-services

And right now you are thinking, “Wait a minute. That’s not going back in time; that’s catching up to the present!” I would agree with you, however, our journey to using a dishwasher has a few twists and turns to it.

Back in the good old days – you know, those days that were never really as good as we think they were – well, back in those days, when Lil and I were first married, we did everything by hand.

As I recall, we even washed our clothes by hand. We didn’t really, but when my kids have kids, I’m going to say we did … and I’ll be so old by then everyone will believe me!

At the very least, we washed our dishes by hand. We pretty much followed this archaic method of cleaning soiled plates and cutlery for years. That is until we moved to Kingston.

That’s when we got a dishwasher. Oh, life was modern then. It seemed like the good life had arrived. Modern appliances would run things for us and we wouldn’t have to do any work around the house at all. Life was grand.

For seventeen years we lived in this blissful state; not a care in the world. It was even magical how the clean dishes reappeared in the cupboards and drawers.

But one sad day – it may have been “the day the music died” (American Pie) – life changed around our happy home. The dishwasher died. It stopped working; it was kaput.

I found myself washing dishes again, like the good old days. Remember them? I wrote about this in a blog last year, “Whatever You Do, Don’t Fix It” (Feb. 23, 2013).

I was getting used to washing dishes with my wife. I can’t say I enjoyed it, but I got pretty efficient at drying the various items, except for plastic. I don’t like drying anything plastic, including bags, especially bags!

One day, about six months ago, my son said he had a new dishwasher for us. I thought at first he was moving back home. But no, his friend’s father got a new dishwasher and they wondered if we wanted their old one. Mike said he and his friend would even install it for us.

I said no. Crazy, right? But I knew what would happen. It would sit in our garage for six months and then I would end up having to install it.

Well, deja vu! I just installed the washer this week, six months after it arrived in our garage with great promises.

So we are back to the modern life, the blissful happy home I once recalled. Life couldn’t be more simple, easy, fun. Though it’s louder in our house now – the blasted dishwasher makes a lot of noise and it doesn’t wash the big pots and pans.

… I’m still on towel duty, just like the good old days.

Here’s the thing: We may have had some significant Christian experience in the past. We may even keep looking back to that experience and claim it like it is current or reoccurring. But we need to have new and fresh experiences with God. We need to leave the good old days in the past.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What old experience has you looking to the past rather than for something fresh?

I’d love to hear from you on this. Leave your comment below.

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Why Your Arm Goes Numb When You Sleep

When I sleep, sometimes the circulation to my arms gets cut off. I understand that it’s good to get a deep sleep, but your limbs shouldn’t be going to sleep on you, as well.

arm asleep

In fact, when your arms do get all pins and needles, it wakes you up from whatever depth of sleep you were in so your arm won’t turn blue and need to be amputated.

I’ve been sleeping the same way my whole life, so to have this arm-numbing feeling rouse me in the middle of the night is a little disturbing. It never used to happen.

I’m thinking it’s an age thing. Stuff inside gets pinched or constricted in some way and, BAM, all of a sudden you’re dreaming about an elastic band being wrapped around your arm just above the elbow.

There have been a couple of times I’ve woken up and haven’t been able to feel my arm. I worry that my arm will get so starved of blood it’ll become useless to me. I will have to walk around with my arm dangling and I’ll be unable to use it or stop it.

Just the other day, however, I discovered that my muscles are too tight and that’s what’s causing the circulation in my arms to be cut off.

Apparently, I need to loosen up some of the muscles around my neck and shoulders. I’m wondering if I had have stretched more if I wouldn’t have this problem now.

I’ve never liked to stretch. I know experts say you should stretch before and after you work out, but I’ve never done it; I’ve never felt the need to. I’m not the most flexible guy, but I never thought it has hurt me in any way.

But maybe if I’d been stretching all these years, my arms wouldn’t feel like a couple of 2×4’s attached to my body at two in the morning.

Another theory I have is the older we get the tighter we get, the more tension we carry in our muscles, and the more they start to put the squeeze on our nerve pathways until they can’t transmit information from the brain to that limb or back.

It’s like when you’re driving and talking on your cell phone to a friend (using hands-free bluetooth, of course). When you suddenly enter an area that doesn’t have a cell tower to give you a signal, your phone call goes dead and you’ve lost the connection with your friend.

With a phone, you have to re-enter a cell area and make a new connection. The good thing with your arm is you just have to wait a few seconds until the connection is restored automatically.

So now I’m doing some exercises and stretches to limber up my muscles in hopes that my arms won’t take any more liberties of catching a few extra zzz’s while my brain doesn’t know what’s going on.

In the mean time, if I find my arm is tingling at 4 am, I know it’s not my “spidey sense” and that the “Sandman” isn’t robbing an armoured car or something (Spider-Man 3 movie).

Here’s the thing: Prayer is one of the greatest connections we have with God. If we restrict our prayer with God, we will for sure hinder our communication with Him. Praying regularly and often will keep the connection flowing and prevent you from having that numbing feeling when you have lost the means to transmit your thoughts and needs to God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What causes you to restrict your prayer times with God?

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

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How Driving Around Potholes Is Good For You

I’ve never been into monster truck racing, but lately I kind of wish I owned one. In the aftermath of winter – not that I’m saying it’s over, but it better be – I need to be driving something a little more substantial than my Hyundai Accent.

potholes

The road conditions in my town are like a war zone. My apologies to those who actually live in war zones; I’m sure it’s nothing like it. But from my perspective, I’m dodging bomb craters every few minutes.

It’s our crazy winter that has created these conditions, and if the city doesn’t soon get the road crews out there fixing the potholes, the mechanics in my town will be rubbing their hands together with sinister smiles on their faces. I think my car might already need new shocks or something.

I feel like a rally driver bobbing and weaving around land minds that want to take my car out. I’m not even using the double lanes to pass cars any more. I need that other lane just to get around the missing pavement so I don’t have to drive into oncoming traffic.

I’m sure in other Canadian cities the state of the roads are the same as they are here. … Now I’m starting to worry about an asphalt shortage!

I’m not sure that it’s even possible for us to have an asphalt shortage but I can see the construction companies starting some rumours to drive up the prices. We’ll all be paying for that if it happens.

I’m also predicting a tax increase this year. The bill for road work is going to be astronomical and I’m afraid it will take them until next winter before they make all the repairs that need to be done.

When I was a kid winters were harsher, but the roads seemed to last longer. Maybe they are skimping on the base of the roads. Is it possible that they are using cheap crushed stone from China under our roads? Maybe that’s why our roads aren’t holding up as they should be.

I’m in favour of starting a “buy Canadian gravel” campaign if it will help us drive on smooth pavement.

It could be that they are using a thinner layer of asphalt. They should lay that stuff down as thick as they do for airport runways. Those planes weigh tons more than my little car but those airstrips seem to last and last.

One area that is holding up are the speed bumps they put on some roads to encourage slower speeds. I haven’t seen any missing sections in them. I have, however, been secretly wishing the snow ploughs would push them off to the side with the snow.

No one would notice in the winter. Not until the snow melted would anyone see the piles of black top on the side of the road. They wouldn’t be able to replace them either with all the work they have to do filling potholes all over the city; there’d be no time.

Well, here’s hoping my vehicle will make it on another rally car race to work this morning!

Here’s the thing: In life there will be potholes. We can complain about them; we can blame others; and we can blame God. We can ask God to fill them, but most likely He will help us and guide us around them. We just need to stay alert to God’s direction in our life.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are the road conditions like in your city, in your life?

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

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It’s Hard To Let It Go

Today’s post is a guest blog by Lily Silcock, my wife.  Lily is a home maker and virtual executive assistant for an international company.  Lily is the mother of two grown children and has been married to Paul for 28 years.

After being patient for what felt like forever, I finally have new living room furniture. Why did I want new furniture, you ask? I liked our old couch; it’s just that it was almost 29 years old … and pink! … well, “dusty rose” to be exact.  It was very “in” in 1985.

photo

But dusty rose/pink has not been “in” for quite some time now. I’ve just swallowed my pride and lived with it because there was always something more urgent to spend the money on. And the couch was still in pretty good shape.

But all good couches eventually die. For the last number of years, when anyone over about 170 lbs sat on it, they looked like they were eating their knees! Apparently, there’s a shelf life for couch springs.

The ironic thing is, after sounding like a broken record for years now, saying I wanted new furniture, I found it hard to part with my old pink couch. Its springs were gone; it was not good for my back, but for some reason, I didn’t want to let it go.

Paul and I got the couch when we were first married. I can still remember the day it was delivered to our little apartment. I was so excited until the movers said it wouldn’t fit up the staircase of our building. In the end, it had to be hoisted up over the balcony of our third floor walk-up.

It was worth it. We spent many hours on that couch, talking, reading, dreaming … and Paul napping. He’s always maintained that it had some power to suck the life right out of him. I believe it. He couldn’t lie on it without falling asleep in about thirty seconds. But then again, if Paul gets even semi-horizontal anywhere, he’ll be asleep in about thirty seconds.

In each house we’ve lived, that pink couch has been front and centre in the living room.  It’s been part of every Christmas and birthday and special event our family has celebrated.

As a matter of fact, every year on our kids’ birthdays, after the presents were opened, we took a picture of them sitting on that couch with their gifts beside them. The couch was like a measuring stick, showing how they had grown bigger each year.

That pink couch was familiar and I was used to it. I can still picture Karlie as a toddler trying to climb up on it. I can see Mike and Karlie putting on puppet shows from behind it. I remember both kids curled up with Paul on that couch as he read them Franklin the turtle story books.

There were nerf gun wars that began from that couch, sock wars, and tickle fights. That couch absorbed both the laughter of hilarious events retold, and the tears of hearts hurt and healed. A lot of life took place around that couch.

I’ll admit it, it was hard to let it go. Even though it was no longer good, and even a bit of an eye-sore, I was kind of emotionally attached to it.

Here’s the thing:  Just like our old couch, we can get attached to attitudes, thought patterns, and behaviours that aren’t good for us. They’ve just become familiar and comfortable and so we hang on to them. Give them over to God and let them go. He has something much better for you that He’s waiting to deliver. You won’t regret it. I LOVE our new furniture … why did I put up with that old couch for so long?

Take care,

Lily Silcock

Question: What is something that has been hard for you to let go of?  Leave your comment below.