How Pain Can Be Profitable

The other day I bit my tongue. I didn’t just nip it, I chomped down on it hard. It’s not the first time I’ve done it either.

bites-his-tongue

You’d think it would be no big deal. It’s not like breaking an arm or having knee surgery (though it felt like I needed to reattach part of my tongue!). But for a few moments, everything, EVERYTHING stops and you are completely incapacitated by the pain.

I was in the middle of saying something to my wife at the time, and then in mid-sentence I was silenced. Lily turned around, wondering why I stopped, and then wondered if I was having a stroke or something.

I wasn’t moving; my mouth was half opened. I couldn’t speak; my eyes filled with water. She was really concerned and asked, “Are you okay?”

I couldn’t immediately reply because of the pain, but also because of the piece of toast I still had in my mouth. That’s what caused the great tongue bite in the first place.

I’m thinking if this is going to happen to me more often, maybe I should just drink Boost – that way I wouldn’t have to chew any more. I’m over fifty-five so people wouldn’t even think that’s odd. In fact, people under thirty expect that someone my age would be drinking that stuff by now.

Besides not biting my tongue, there are benefits to not chewing and just focusing my attention on swallowing.

… Things like no more cooking – Lily would like that because meals would take under two minutes. I’m sure I could chug a bottle, box or can of that stuff, whatever form of packaging it comes in.

This wasn’t even the worst tongue biting I have harmed myself with. I once bit down on my tongue so hard I put my right incisor into the middle of my tongue and, yes, I was bleeding.

To make matters worse, I couldn’t stop the bleeding either. I was on a blood thinner at the time and it wasn’t like I could put a bandaid on it. It seemed to take forever to heal.

And then about three months later I opened it up again. It’s been a couple of years now and still that spot on my tongue can open up like a boxer’s face that has had one too many punches.

When you bite your tongue hard you also can appreciate what it’s like to have your tongue pierced. You’ve seen those sales clerks or waiters who speak kind of funny because they have this little silver ball in the middle of their tongue.

They kind of talk with a lisp and your eyes are directed right to their mouths like you’re a lip reader. You can tell they’re having a hard time forming the words they are trying to say. You feel like helping them out by finishing their sentences.

Well I have three days to get my tongue back to normal before I preach on Sunday.

Here’s the thing: When you bite your tongue, the pain lasts for a while. When God wants you to learn something or correct you on something, the pain or angst you feel also lingers for a while.  Keep on being faithful through it; don’t look for other solutions. Learn the tough lessons and move on.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What lessons have you learned by going through the pain or angst of the teaching?

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

Get Your Email Inbox To Zero, Part 2

This is part two of a blog I posted on Saturday, March 1, 2014. So if you are reading this and haven’t read the first part, check out “How To Get Your Email Inbox To Zero”.

For me the biggest concern I have with bulging email inboxes is the feeling of not being caught up, and that I may have missed something. And believe me, there have been times emails have got buried and I didn’t do what I was supposed to do.

inbox 0

In my last post, I said I needed help. So I went looking for some help to get control of this “rascally little rabbit” email inbox.

I combed through the google suggestions based on searches like “overflowing email inbox” or “help I’m buried underneath a thousand emails” … you know, usual search line phrases.

And to boil down all the information, I decided on three components to zeroing out my email inbox. The first is a decision process which is called D.D.F.D. that stands for “Do it, Defer it, File it, Delete it”.

I start by applying this process to each email. If I can address the email in 2 minutes or less, I do it; if I can’t, I defer it to a later time. If I might need to reference it later, I file it. If I don’t need to respond to it, I delete it.

It sounds like a simple process, but I have found myself staring at emails, contemplating which action I should take. Sometimes I need to do it AND file it, and then I always need to delete it from my inbox (I think I’ve been hypnotized).

Anyway, the process is vitally important but I needed some apps to help me make it all happen.

I use an app called “Evernote” to file emails in that I may need to reference later. Basically, I email the email to my Evernote account and it is then stored in the cloud, off my computer and especially out of my inbox.

The app I use to defer things to is called “Nozbe”. This app turns emails into tasks, and I basically email the email to my Nozbe account, also stored in the cloud.

That’s the basics – ask me if you want to know more. The bottom line is I’ve zeroed out my inbox for the last 5 days now. And there’s no looking back!

You wouldn’t believe how good this feels. I feel in control, and on top of things. When I look at that inbox and see nothing in it, I get this big ol’ smile on my face.  … Well I would get that big ol’ smile on my face if I was a 250 pound state trouper from Georgia.

I still have to delete my trash and my sent folders, but my finger is hovering over the erase button . . . . and  . . . oh, there. Gone! I did it.

Here’s the thing: In my last blog, I said dealing with an over-full inbox is like sin. The first step is to admit you have a problem. Identify the sin you have difficulty with and seek God’s help. The great thing is that God will forgive you.

Then take steps to distance yourself from that sin. Like zeroing out my inbox, it takes some planning, commitment to that plan and discipline. There may be times when my inbox starts to build up, but I can get right back at implementing my methods. And the same is true when you sin again: seek God in repentance and get back to your plan.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question:  What steps do you take to keep sin out of your life?

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

How To Get Your Email Inbox To Zero

I have an email problem like many people do. I have too many and my inbox just keeps getting bigger.

inbox-full

I need to do something with my unruly inbox. I have hundreds of emails in it and it keeps growing.

I could give up and get a new email address, cancel my present one and start fresh. But that would cause all kinds of problems and it would just mean I would start accumulating email in a new inbox.

My real problem is not that I get too many emails in a day – I don’t think that’s anybody’s problem. We can always delete those little suckers in an instant.

I can usually tell by the subject line if I don’t need to read an email. I can then hit delete faster than the pictures and graphics can load on my screen.

Getting rid of my unwanted email is not a big deal. My real problem lies in two other areas:

First there is the issue of what to do with emails that I need to act on or follow up on later.

I stare at those messages, some with grammatical and spelling issues (I’m one to talk), and they dare me to put them in some folder or clip them to some app that I will forget about in a day.

I get uneasy touching them because I know if I move them out of my inbox I’ll forget to respond, or follow up, or remember the details. So I just keep them in my inbox; it’s safer that way. But it’s bulking up my mail program in the mean time.

My other problem area is in saying goodbye to my correspondence for good. When I’ve dealt with an email, or responded, and all the action is complete, I still think I might need to refer to it some day.

So I put it in the trash but I don’t empty the trash. I have over 14,000 emails in my trash!

And then, just in case I need to refer to an email I sent, I don’t make them disappear forever either. I have over 4,000 sent emails in that folder!

I might need some psychiatric help on this. Maybe I was never able to really detach myself from my mother or something.

Maybe deep inside I have an electronic addiction like those hoarders that collect things so that there are piles of junk four feet high throughout their house. Only with me, I have four feet high piles of email spread all over my mail program.

They say the first step to overcome your problem is to admit you have one. Okay, I admit it, I’m an electronic hoarder and I need help.

Here’s the thing: We all have a problem with sin. There is something about it (that sin that keeps enticing you) that we have a hard time resisting. We know we should get rid of it but we keep it around. We don’t seem to have the will to completely detach ourselves from it. Our first step is to recognize this problem we have with our sin. Then call on God for help.

I’ll continue this theme in my next blog.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do to completely rid yourself of sin? I would love to hear from you. You can leave your comment below

Three Lessons From The Men’s Gold Medal Game

I know hockey is just a game, but we can learn some things from what went down on Sunday morning. Like millions of other Canadians, I was up to watch the game.

olympia-Canada hockey-gold

I had a slight twinge of pity for those living in British Colombia who had to get up at 4 am, but everyone who got up to watch is glad they did. What a game!

Team Canada dominated the play throughout and, like every other game they played in the tournament, the only thing that made it tense was their lack of goal scoring. That meant a crazy bounce, a little mistake, or a fluky play could sink them at any time.

But in the end, it all turned out just as I had thought.

And that leads me to the first lesson: When you have a feeling, a sense, or some kind of inkling about what’s going to happen, don’t keep it to yourself. Announce it!

It may be because I’m a Canadian, or maybe it’s just my lack of confidence, or perhaps nothing more than a nutty superstition, but I often keep my hunches to myself.

On Thursday morning when our lady’s curling team won the gold, I had this feeling (or call it what you will) that we were going to win both golds in curling and both golds in hockey.

Thursday afternoon I almost thought I was wrong, but then our women’s hockey team came back like Canadians to rip the victory from the USA team in True North dramatic fashion. My gut feeling was intact.

However, I said nothing of what I thought until the horn sounded to end the men’s hockey final on Sunday. But announcing then that I had this feeling Canada would win those four golds meant nothing.

You have to go out on a limb and state your convictions or predictions before they take place.  You can’t be a Don Cherry wise guy any other way.

The second lesson to learn is that it is far less stressful watching the gold medal men’s hockey game a second time. That’s right, for some reason CBC replayed the game Sunday afternoon and I found myself watching it again. I yelled up to Lily that we scored when we got our first goal.

During the first watching, I was a bit of a wreck. I didn’t talk much, I was nervous, I couldn’t look away from the TV. I enjoyed how well our team played, but my stomach was in knots.

On the second watching, I was at ease. I even did some work on my computer trying to get my email inbox to zero (but that’s another blog).

When you know the outcome of something, it takes all the nervous stress away.

Then there is one more lesson to learn from this game, and it’s this: no one should be late for church ever! I got up at my regular time, had my devotions, and showered before the game began. I finished my breakfast by the time the players had finished handing out those little trinkets before the game. Lil and I even had time after the game to watch interviews.

And we still made it to church before the puck dropped … I mean the opening song.

Here’s the thing: If you’re a Christian, you know how things end. Don’t be shy; announce it to your friends. Because you know the outcome, you don’t have to be nervous. Be confident about the future. And come prepared and expectant into God’s house to worship with your family, friends and fellow believers. It’s awesome!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What did you learn from watching the game Sunday morning?  Leave your comment below.

What To Do In A Hotel Fire

We’ve all heard fire alarms go off. All through grade school we have been trained in what to do when a fire alarm sounds. But what about when the fire alarm goes off in your hotel while you are staying on the fourteenth floor?

firealarm

Fourteen floors of sheer terror – doesn’t it sound like a movie? I remember seeing “Towering Inferno” in the 70’s. I’ve also grooved to the popular hit “Disco Inferno”, of that same era (google it and enjoy).

I grew up in Toronto and we would get US news from Buffalo on TV and there were always fires being reported at 6 and 11. It was either a three alarm fire in Cheektowaga or a four alarm fire in North Tonawanda, but you knew every night there was a fire burning somewhere in Buffalo.

With that kind of background and experience, I was ready when our fire alarm started ringing at about 11:45 pm. At that time, you’re kind of in for the night and I wasn’t looking forward to spending the next few hours outside, wrapped in a blanket in my skivvies.

But alarms in hotels are different. They are not meant to scare the life out of you, rather just to gently get your attention that something is not quite right.

At first I didn’t know what it was. I thought maybe the alarm was coming from somewhere in the room. In my sweep of the room, however, I realized it was clean and the noise was coming from out in the hall. Then a voice, that was muffled by our closed door, soothed us by telling us not to be alarmed, that they were investigating the problem, but not to use the elevators.

At that point, I casually went over to the door and looked at the map that indicated where we were and where the stairwell exits were. I took a careful mental note.

As I went back to the TV, I started to think about what I would take if we had to go. My computer was still in my backpack, so it would go with me. I was staying calm just like the nice man’s voice over the intercom was telling me to do about every three minutes.

Then I heard the fire engine sirens and I thought, “Hey, this might be the real thing.” Still not panicking, I started thinking about the lessons learned as a 5th grader at Rivercrest Public School.

We had to line up when the fire drill alarm resonated through the school halls. The teacher would get us ready, remind us of our exit, and to remain in single file.

I remember in high school, during a student protest, someone pulled the fire alarm and we all got out of class. That was exciting.

I was ready to run down the fourteen floors to the bottom if I had to. I often take the stairs when I make hospital visits. There’s been more than once that I’ve still been huffing and puffing walking into a patient’s room on the 10th floor.

Not long after the fire truck sirens stopped, the nice man’s voice said they had fixed the problem and thanked us for our patience. He had to repeat his announcement because the alarm sounded again!

Here’s the thing: Sometimes you just have to be ready for things that are unexpected and out of your control. You have to be able to roll with them. In life, we should be ready to meet God now, because we don’t know when things unexpected and out of our control might happen to us.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: In your experience, what has been your reaction to alarms? Leave your comment below.

Can Anyone Understand The Mind Of A Designer?

I have a serious problem with designers. It doesn’t matter what kind of designer they are or what they design, I don’t think they live in the real world.

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I picture designers sitting in front of a desk – no, they would probably be sprawled out on a floor or deck with pillows all around them and crazy, jazzy music playing in the background. They have a pad of paper and pen in hand, or a tablet or lap top, and they are drawing.

I would wager that most designers are looking at the sky when they do their designing. They watch the clouds go by and imagine that they’re new cars, or dresses, or sofas – or in my case, bathroom furniture – and then they start drawing.

We are redoing our ensuite this week and wanted to spruce it up with maybe a new vanity, mirror and light fixture. We originally had big plans of putting in a new shower, but our shower space is so small there is really nothing we can do that would be different than what we have.

Then there is this empty space, good-for-nothing kind of space. It’s a space that we would like to do something with but can’t find that something that would look right in that space.

Bathroom designers have all kinds of ideas. You can spend thousands of dollars getting your bathroom to look so co-ordinated and luxurious, that you’d want to spend more time in there than the normal time you have to spend in it getting ready for the day.

The problem is that designers have these great designs but nothing is fitting in our bathroom! And for some reason, no designer on the planet has even thought of designing something that would fit in the bathroom we have in our home!

It’s like those fashion designers. They design cloths for fashion shows and models to wear down the runway. But who’s buying that stuff?! A woman would be laughed out of the office if she showed up for work in one of those outfits.

At the bathroom store, they have all these displays that fit together so well, but they are not displayed in the confines of a bathroom that has walls and actual plumbing that pretty much dictates where certain things must be situated.

I’m learning a few things though: your mirror should be an inch in width shorter than both sides of your vanity and your light over the mirror should extend about the same length as the mirror (for long vanities, two light figures).

We have finally been able to make some decisions. It’s not the dream we had when we looked up in the sky and the saw a cloud formation that looked exactly like our bathroom. I think it will look good and it will be functional.

Now we just have to finish the spackling and painting. And that’s another thing … what designer ever came up with towel racks that were literally cemented onto your wall?!  Must have been a crazy, fast moving cloud that day, and he didn’t see it right.

Here’s the thing:  Sometimes we get an idea we think is from God. However, others don’t see it that way. It’s not working out that well; it’s just not fitting. Still, often we remain convinced that this idea, direction, decision is from God. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate, listen to counsel, and seek God further on the matter.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What project have you worked on that didn’t seem to come together as you had imagined? Leave your comment below.

Ripped Off Because I Missed It

Fifty years ago I got ripped off, but not this time. Tonight on TV was a show called “The Beatles: The Night That Changed America.”

heyjude

There was no way I was going to miss this one! On February 9, 1964 I was at church during the first time the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show.

I tried to stay home. My younger brother faked some mysterious sickness so he wouldn’t have to attend the evening service and got to remain home with Gram.

But not me; I had to go. I remember John telling me how he saw a music group on TV; I don’t think he could remember their name. Then the next day at school everyone was talking about the Beatles.

Sure, I saw the Beatles other times they were on the Ed Sullivan Show, but I didn’t get to see them the first time they performed in North America. And now that there are only two of them left, I had to see them for what will probably be the last time Paul and Ringo do something on a stage together.

I once had a chance to see Paul McCartney at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1976 for the Wings Over America Tour. I still kick myself to this day that I didn’t go. I didn’t go because, well, Paul McCartney and Wings weren’t the Beatles and I didn’t have the $16 (I think) for the ticket.

Ya, I know. It was only $16 – what an idiot! That amount seemed like a lot of money to me at the time and I really had no means to pay anyone back, either.

Tonight’s Beatles show was vastly different from the ’64 show. For one thing, it was in colour. I’m not sure if the Ed Sullivan Show was broadcast in colour back then, but we only had a black and white TV so it wouldn’t have mattered.

This time there were all kinds of artists singing renditions of Beatle songs, while the real Beatles watched and applauded. It didn’t really matter to me who was singing because I was drowning them all out singing away to every song that was aired.

The program was about the same length as a hockey game. In this case, they put the two stars on the stage at the end of the game and they scored a couple of goals by singing a few of their hits individually and together.

The last song was, “Hey Jude”, the longest song on the radio in its time. It was the song that opened the way for hits to be longer than about two and a half minutes long.

I knew the song well. My brother got me the single for Christmas in 1968 … actually, before Christmas. He couldn’t wait till Christmas morning, so he told me, and we actually played it a couple of times before it was wrapped and put under the tree.

The TV show ended with everyone, musicians and the whole audience, singing along. I didn’t miss out on it this time . . . na, na, na, na-na-na-na!

Here’s the thing: There are many things that we will miss out on in life. For one or more reasons we will wish we had been there, tried this, seen that, or in some way experienced something we didn’t. Any of those things, while they might have been great, don’t come close to missing out on heaven. We can only get to experience it if we have a relationship with Christ. Don’t miss out on it by put off beginning that relationship.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you missed that you really wish you had experienced? Leave your comment below.

How Darkness Causes You To Stumble

I’m wondering if you can become more klutzy as you get older. I wouldn’t say that I have the greatest hand eye coordination but I’ve always been able to negotiate my way around things.

Falling-down

But not last night. I was working at the church and had gone out to run an errand. When I came back, I didn’t turn on any lights except for in my office. So, by the time I was done for the night, the church was pitch black dark.

The church foyer is pretty open so I made my way across it to the stairs. I started down the stairs and right near the bottom something caught my eye. It may have been a reflection or something but I looked up and then missed the last one or two stairs.

Well that was it – it would have made a great video! I sprawled out, my computer bag went flying, and I landed hard on both knees, which are not the greatest to begin with.

I rolled on the ground for a second, waiting for the pain to subside, then stood up, grabbed my bag and left. No harm, no foul. No one saw my wipe out. I didn’t suffer any kind of injury. But I felt pretty dumb.

When I was in my teens my bedroom was in the far end of our basement. There were two flights of steps to go down, and to get to my room I had to walk through two other rooms.

Instead of turning on a light at the top of the stairs, then turning on a light in my room and going back to the top of the stairs to turn that light out again, I would just make my way to my room in the dark.

I not only had the stairs to contend with, but I had couches, lamp stands, and any number of other objects that would be in my way. But I made it; I never fell down the stairs, never banged my knee into a door frame.

What happened to me last night, I don’t know. I’m just glad I wasn’t chewing gum at the same time; it might have been a disaster.

I know some people would try to tell me that I should look where I’m going. But really, I’ve been walking for well over 50 years! I think by now I should be able to cheat on that a little bit and get away with it.

Every morning I walk down a dark hallway, turning a Q-tip in my ear, and so far I haven’t jammed my elbow against the wall and sent that Q-tip clean through to my other ear.

Maybe my fall was an isolated incident, some kind of fluke that won’t happen again. Or maybe it’s the start of a clumsiness that will find me in traction drinking through a straw!

I guess I will just have to see what happens.

Here’s the thing: In the dark, even a glint of light catches our attention. Our eyes are drawn to it. But in the light, these little glints aren’t even noticeable. God has given us a great light in the Bible, and if we will read it, know it, and use it, all the little theories, fads, and ideas won’t distract us and cause us to fall.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your greatest source of distraction? Leave your comment below.

When The Hype Doesn’t Live Up To Reality

It’s a major let down when the real thing doesn’t live up to the hype. Oh, and you know I’m talking about Sunday’s Superbowl game.

madden 98.001

It’s the biggest game in the NFL year and only one team showed up. All the advertisers showed up, with their 4 million dollar commercials. And all the celebrities showed up with their $2500 plus tickets, getting in on the hype to promo their movies or shows.

The football commentators showed up, bringing us game analysis for four hours before the game and then all the way through the game.

This game was wrapped in so much glitter, glory and glam, that even the most uninterested fan couldn’t help but want to get a little peek at what was going to be unwrapped for us.

Wow, what a disappointment! I was expecting a football game. It was more like my son, Mike playing ”Maddens Football 98” with me on our old Sony Playstation. I could never figure out what control to use to tackle his running back. He just killed me!

I had a nightmare last night that Mike was controlling the Settle Seahawks and I was at the controls of the Denver Broncos and that I lost the game for them. I should never have got that kid a gaming system.

Okay, maybe I’m thinking it was such a bad game because I was hoping for Denver to win. But, on second thought, from the first snap that went sailing by Peyton Manning’s head, I had this bad feeling in my gut that this was how it was going to be the whole game.

It would be nice if we could point a finger at someone and say it was his fault. But pretty much the whole team got in on the disaster. From fumbles, to miss tackles, and from poor throws to missed assignments, it was all working for Denver.

I even had in mind to turn the channel and watch American Idol auditions … actually, no I didn’t, but maybe something else. I had a friend who told me half way through that he was going to watch the movie, “Sleepless in Seattle” instead.

It was a dog of a game. I’m sure Seattle fans see it differently. Yes, they played well, but with the way Denver played they should have beat them by twice as much.

There was a nice run back for a touchdown and a couple other plays that were pretty good. But the best play was probably the only touchdown pass that Denver made. The catch was what you wanted to see throughout the Superbowl – spectacular!

Well, I guess I’m glad it’s over. We can all move on to the Olympics now. Poor Lily – she wishes we could take a break from sports for a while. But this year the Superbowl just paves the way for 16 non-stop days of sports over in Sochi.

Here’s the thing: Living the Christian life has to be real. It has to be getting up every day and giving it all you have, putting your life on the line for what you believe. You have to show up as a Christian every day because you don’t know who might be in the audience. You never want the hype to be greater than the real thing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What can get in your way of bringing your best as a Christian each day? Leave your comment below.

If A Placebo Can Change The Weather, I Want It!

This week I read an article on the placebo effect. You know, it’s when the doctor gives you a pill, you think it’s a miracle drug, but really it’s made up of nothing more than sugar.

placebo-effect

From what I read, it works for some people in an amazing way. Because they believe something to be true, it actually starts a chemical reaction in them that begins healing in their bodies.

I realize I’m over simplifying it but I really don’t care how it works. I’m just interested in it if it works. And if it works, we need to apply this to way more than just our health!

I wonder if we could apply this mind-over-matter to things that we don’t have control over in nature, like say, the weather.

My daughter believes she brings bad weather with her. She lived in Calgary for six years and they probably recorded the six worst winters on record. One year, she said they had snow or hail in every month of the year.

Now she’s moved back to Ontario, and I hate to tell her this, but Jonah got thrown overboard just for causing rough water for a bunch of sailers. What are we going to do with Karlie if, in fact, she’s responsible for this brutal winter weather that never seems to end?

I wonder if we could all try this placebo effect and start to get our minds to believe that we are having a warm, sunny winter here. You know, gang up on Karlie’s mindset of “I bring bad weather”.

I can’t imagine that Karlie’s the only one that is causing the extreme winter conditions we are experiencing this year. But I figure there has to be a lot of people who would be eager to apply their mind to something like this.

If we could start believing it’s warm outside, maybe we could bring back global warming to this part of the country. I would really appreciate it if the glacier in my front yard would start to recede a little right about now.

To train our minds for this we could scrap the free flu shot clinics … those scientists are so bad at predicting the strain of flu each year, they’re worse than weathermen! What we need instead is free psych clinics. If the government just paid all the sports psychologists and regular psychologists to put on free clinics, I really think we could get our minds moving in the right direction.

If this worked well, we might even be able to create a tropical winter experience right here in Ontario. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about planning a vacation to somewhere warm.

So, how about on the count of three – no, two – we all start thinking about palm trees, white sand, blue water, and sunny skies and see what happens . . .

Hey, I don’t think enough of you are doing it! – there’s still a blizzard outside my window. Or maybe my daughter’s attitude is really powerful. She was pretty strong-willed as a child.

Here’s the thing: God has created us with amazing minds that can do more than we even know. And He has created a world that has elements so powerful we have no control over them. When you think about it, there are so many mysteries around us, it only makes sense to look to God for wisdom, guidance, and help in everything.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How has having a positive attitude changed something for you?  Leave your comments below.