warm

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Staying Warmer Longer Just Got Easier

I just got a little helper to stay warm longer in the winter.

Staying warm in Canada in the winter – especially this winter – is something that’s on your mind the minute you start getting dressed for the day.

For Lily, it always matters what the temperature is outside; she wants to know what the weather is like no matter what.

There are times I’ve responded, “What does it matter what the temperature is outside? You are getting into a car in a garage and I’m dropping you off at the door of our destination.”

How cold it is shouldn’t matter in those situations, but somehow it does. I’m not going to try to figure that one out.

But for me, sometimes I have to shovel twice, once at home and once at work, before I begin my work day. You have to think about the amount of time you’re going to be spending outside.

But last night I got a little app for my phone that helps take some of the chill out of the cold temperatures we are facing.

It’s a parking app.

Yes, I know they’ve been out there for some time now, but I just discovered their usefulness … and that’s all that really matters to me.

I got hooked on it by accident, too.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed signs in parking lots around town, giving instructions on how to pay for parking through an app.

Well, last night it was one of those damp, chilly evenings where the cold pierces through to your bones, and the wind sucks the life out of you like one of those food sealer gadgets.

I knew I didn’t have change for the parking station, and all Lily had was bills. She handed me a $5 bill and, though I knew the station also accepted credit, I took it anyway.

As I got out of the car and turned around, I saw one of those signs for paying with an app.

I didn’t care that we were a little late for the hockey game. I was cold and couldn’t get my head around standing at a pay station, trying to get my credit card out without taking off my gloves.

I noted the name of the app and the parking lot zone number and got back into the car. I downloaded the app and paid for my parking all in the comfort of our warm car.

Now if they could come up with a transporter feature on the app that would make it perfect! Unfortunately, we still needed to get out of the car and walk a couple of blocks to the arena.

By the way, the app also warns you when you are coming to the end of your paid time. If you need more time, you can buy it right from your phone – no need to go outside and brave the weather just to add another half hour of parking time.

This is definitely my new favourite app right now.

Here’s the thing: In our day and age, we have greater access to God’s Word than ever before. Not only is the printed version so easily obtained, there are free Bible apps for you phone or tablet, giving you access to the scriptures any place and any time. It is so easy to read the Bible. But the one thing you still have to do is open it up and read it. Let’s use the conveniences we have to get God’s Word into our minds and hearts.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What keeps you from opening up the Bible and reading it? Leave your comments below.

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Have You Ever Got Tired Of Trying To Plan A Vacation?

I have taken a winter vacation about three times in my life. One time doesn’t count because I was in my early 20’s. At that age, you neither appreciate nor understand any benefits of a winter vacation. A great portion of your life is vacation!

beach

The other two winter vacations have both been in the last 14 years. One was a trip to Florida, and Disney World, near the end of a winter, and the other more recent one was a Caribbean Cruise at the beginning of a new year.

Both times I’ve told myself that this winter vacation thing is a great idea, and we should do it again. But with ten years between the first two, and four years since the last one, we really haven’t made it a habit.

There are always very good reasons why we don’t. Scheduling is a big deal. It’s not like I can just book any time and go. I have lots of arrangements to make, and then sometimes there are meetings and activities that I can’t get out of.

Money is always an issue. It would be nice to go on a winter vacation and it not affect your wallet but, no matter how cheap people say their trip was, when you start to look for a winter vacation, there are never those kinds of deals.

Lil and I decided to take a winter vacation this year to somewhere warm. At first we had big plans – some all-inclusive resort, where the beaches have white sand and the sun never stops shining.

But every place we checked looked like it would be a way more than we wanted to spend. We then had plans of using a relative’s time share, which would cut the cost down considerably. But when we looked at the dates we could go, there was nothing available.

Now things at work are changing and I may have to change my vacation dates to make it fit. I’m thinking that if we want a winter vacation it might have to involve setting up a tent in our living room for a week!

In some ways, that’s kind of Biblical. There was a festival in Israel, called the Feast of Tabernacles, where they all set up booths (tents) and lived in them for a week. Mind you, the purpose of that was to remember that God had the Israelites live in tents when they left Egypt.

I wonder if that’s where we got the idea for modern camping … where after a week of camping you begin rejoicing that you have a solid roof over your head, a bed that doesn’t stir up claustrophobic nightmares, and you can cook without lighting a match or rubbing a couple of sticks together.

Wow, I’m getting tired and fed up with trying to figure out a winter vacation. Maybe that’s the real reason we have done it so infrequently. You feel like you need another vacation from trying to plan for one.

Here’s the thing:  We often think that if God is in something, it will just fall into place. Well, sometimes things are difficult and take a lot of work, even when God is in them. Sometimes we might have doubts along the way, even when God is in it. Many times it’s not until it’s over that we can look back and say, “See, God was in it the whole time.” … Don’t give up.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is something you had doubts about, but, in the end, saw God in it all? Leave your comment below.