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I Think I Can Squeeze A Car Wash In Today

I think I will wash my car today. It could really use one; it’s been a while.

I have this power washer that I don’t seem to use very much. When I look at it, I have a desire to use it, but I never seem to get around to it.

Today will be the day that I get it out and spray down my car. It’s a good day to do it because we are in between rain days … and, if I wash the car early enough, I will have a good portion of the day to enjoy it before we get back into some lousy weather.

When I was in college, I was a professional car washer. I had a job with UPS washing their vehicles each night when they would return from delivering packages.

In those days that was the only form of advertising the company did. They believed that clean trucks communicated care – if they took care of their vehicles, they would also care for their packages.

Every evening I would wash down a dozen or more vans. I became rather quick at washing them too, so you’d think washing my car each week would be a cinch!

Well, it doesn’t seem to be that way. Though I like the look of my power washer, and have a desire to use it, I never really feel like I have the time at the moment to use it.

It’s always something I would like to do, when I have a little time.

The thing is there is always something else I need to or should be doing.

Sometimes when I fill the gas tank I run the car through the car wash there. The one by my place is quick and, like using my power washer, it doesn’t touch the car with brushes.

Opinions vary though. Some people think it’s best that a car wash not have brushes because they can scratch your car and rip off your side mirrors and antenna. Others say that if there are no brushes the car wash won’t do a good job of getting the dirt off your car.

I remember being in a discussion on which system was better. When my brother-in-law, who worked for Petro Canada overseeing the car washes in the region, was brought into the discussion, he simply said, “Oh, we touch your car all over the place!”

My neighbour across the street washes his car regularly by hand, but I like the idea of using my power washer. You don’t have to get so up close and personal with the vehicle, and you get to use a tool.

For me, washing my car is about using the washer as much as it is about getting the car clean.

I hope the sun stays out today because I am really talking myself into power washing some dirt off my car.

Here’s the thing: There are things in life that we have access to but never get around to. We might even like the idea, but never find the right time. If God is calling you to something, wanting you to move in a direction, don’t keep putting it off. If Christ is calling you to give Him your life, find the time, make a decision and trust your life to Him. There is no sense in not doing what’s available to you. You never know when it won’t be available any more.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to act on today that you might be tempted to put off again?  Leave your comments below.

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Why You Should Reuse Your Plastic Bags

I need a show of hands today – how many of you reuse those ziplock plastic bags? That’s what I thought … only my wife raised her hand.

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It doesn’t matter what size of ziplock bag. In fact, the other day Lily was putting away a large, freshly washed ziplock bag and exclaimed, “I really like this large size. They are so handy.”  How can you be attached to a bag?  Really!?

Now, I don’t have anything against ziplock bags. I use them all the time. But let’s get one thing straight: they are to be used and then tossed. The idea behind them is simple: easy disposable.

Did you hear me, Lil? They are disposable! But there we were the other day, washing ziplock bags. Six of them, all in one dish washing session. That has to be a record and there should be a law or at least a rule against it.

I hate drying those bags. I know it’s all in my head. I just see them as a convenience item, something to be used and then chucked … I mean recycled, that’s what I mean.

In fact, by using them over and over, we are probably preventing some great recycled plastic product from being made. Ya, because my wife likes to recycle ziplock bags, we may be slowing down the production of surgical tubing or vehicle air bags or something important like that.

I just don’t like drying those bags. They are not hard like a glass, plate or even a plastic container. They don’t feel like they should be washed and dried. They look all wrinkly  and worn after they have been washed, and sometimes, the zip part of the bag doesn’t work as well.

The week before, my daughter was home and was helping with the dishes. She looked at the bags on the counter and asked, “Do you wash these?” I turned, looked at her, shook my head and mouthed the word, “no”.  But somehow Lily heard that and said, “Yes, wash them please.”

My wife insisted. But six bags, that’s over the top. She had been away for a week and there’s no way I had been collecting them. I wondered if she saved them from her trip or found them in an airport somewhere and thought they might come in handy.

I dried them but I didn’t like it. Now, if the next time I see one of those bags, it’s filled with a bunch of raspberries, I guess I won’t mind having dried it. I love raspberries.

Here’s the thing:  There are many words, verses or whole passages in the Bible that you’ve read but don’t have a desire to read again. You don’t see their application, they don’t seem beneficial, or they may be downright disturbing. Don’t neglect those parts of the Bible as being disposable or not applicable. At some point, that passage may have some meaning to you (yes, even genealogies). You may find an uninteresting passage suddenly now has particular application to you when it never really did before. It’s all there for our benefit, so take advantage of ALL of it. Get the most out of God’s Word.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you wanted to dispose of but later found useful? Leave your comment below.