Author: Paul Silcock

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What You Need To Know About Perfect Timing

You know when you get that “WOW” moment, when something happens at the exact right time? It might be an important letter that comes just when you need it. Maybe you arrive on the scene at the exact time you’re needed most.

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Whatever it is, we call it “perfect timing”, and it amazes us every time it happens, doesn’t it?

This week we were stripping the paint off our cottage deck. Some was wearing off, some was blistering off … and I’m not sure what was going through the mind of the previous owner when he picked the colour to begin with!

The first day was a beautiful sunny, warm day and we got most of the paint off the deck itself. But we still had the railing posts and the steps to do.

The next day it started out raining. The sky was very dark and it looked like that was what it would be like the rest of the day. We had almost decided to pack up and go home when we got a little break in the rain.

So instead of leaving, we started in on it. We worked for most of the morning and then took a break for lunch. By mid afternoon we had used up all the goop we had bought to get the paint off.

We were pretty much done, so we started cleaning up and putting everything back in order. All the deck furniture, BBQ, etc. needed to be put back on the deck, not to mention the railing inserts that needed to be nailed back into place.

When everything was done, and the shed locked, we went into the cottage, and turned around to look at the work we had done. And WOW, the rain just started coming down like God had recanted on His promise to never send a flood again!

If we had have been out there ten seconds longer we would have been caught. It was quite a storm because twenty minutes away in Owen Sound a tornado touched down, and later that day there was another tornado in another part of the province.

But for us, it was perfect timing! … It reminds me of a time when my then 1 1/2 year old daughter was jumping on the same couch I was sitting on. I was talking to people across from me and out of the corner of my eye I noticed she jumped too high and went right over the armrest of the couch.

Without looking, I stuck my hand out and caught her by the ankle, with her head just inches from hitting the floor. It was a great catch – again perfect timing!

Perfect timing is awesome to experience. But you never know it’s going to happen until it does.

Here’s the thing: We can get really frustrated wanting something from God and then waiting seemingly forever for an answer. Whatever you do, don’t get in the way of what God is doing so that you miss His perfect timing. When God answers, it may surprise you, be different than you thought, or come at the eleventh hour. But one thing is for sure: it will be perfect timing. Then soak in the WOW.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you experienced that perfect timing from God? I’d love to hear from you; you can leave your comment below.

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Why Keeping Secrets Can Hurt You

I need you to keep this blog a secret … at least from my doctor. Today is my birthday and there are probably going to be a few surprises. But there will also be a few things that I am sure of today.

Paul's Birthday cake

While I have no idea what presents I will receive, I do know what cake I will be eating on my birthday. It’s the same every year. And just to confirm my already confident prediction, I saw Lily baking it.

Now the reason we have to keep this from my doctor is because of the sugar and fat content of this cake. All cakes fall into the “not healthy” category of food groups, but my cake probably ranks up there higher than most.

The ingredients are simple: angel food cake, whip cream and raspberries. When the cake has been baked, it is cut in half and both halves are hollowed out just a bit. Then in a bowl you mix the raspberries into the whip cream to make the “icing”.

Once that’s done, you put a ton of the “icing” into the hollowed out parts of the cake and then put the two halves back together.

Finally, you slather the outside of the cake (and I mean slather it on thick) with the whip cream mixture and you’re done.

Now is your mouth watering already? . . .  Mine is, and it’s only 7:30 am when I’m writing this piece.

So, you see, this is not the kind of thing you share with your doctor.

When he asks how you are feeling, you say, “Very well, thank you.”  When he asks, “Have you been getting your exercise?” you say, “I’ve been biking three times a week.” When he queries how you have been eating, you DON’T mention the cake. You just say, “I’ve been trying to eat more vegetables lately.”

Now I only get this cake once a year. It’s strictly a birthday cake, not an “I thought I’d bake your favourite cake Friday”. But this year I got a bonus.

For the first time in six years, Karlie was home for her birthday and Lily, like usual, was all geared up to bake her a cake. But to everyone’s surprise, and my delight, Karlie asked for my birthday cake.

So I’ve had a couple of pieces already this year; just as good as ever, and double reason not to let this leak out to the doctor.

By the way, it’s not all bad. I’ll be working that cake off today by stripping the paint off my deck at the cottage. It will be like I ate only vegetables today.

Here’s the thing: In life we can keep things from others. We might do it to look good or because we would be embarrassed or ashamed if others knew. But just like my birthday cake will contribute to clogging my arteries and adding on a few pounds, keeping things from others only hurts yourself. You can try to keep things from God, and try to ignore the fact that He knows everything. You can even pretend that it’s all a secret. But you are only hurting yourself. Admit your sin to God; don’t try to hide it from Him. He knows anyway … just like my doctor will probably get wind of this blog.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How has keeping something from others hurt you in the long run? I’d really like to hear from you;, you can leave your comment below.

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What It Takes To Get A Good Night’s Sleep

There is a secret to getting a good night’s sleep, and it requires that you are at peace. However, peace is not that easy to come by. There are so many things that interrupt our peace.

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For me, it looks like I will finally get a good night’s sleep tonight. It’s been some time since I’ve been able to feel well-rested when I get up in the morning.

If you’re wondering if I’ve tried taking sleep medication to help me get a good night of rest, the answer is no … but I have thought of not watching the NHL playoffs so I could get to bed earlier.

Of course, that’s only good in theory.  In reality, no matter how tired I am when I get up, no matter how often during the day I tell myself I should go to bed early, when the game starts I’m up till it’s done.

But that scene is now finished for the season. I can now rest in peace … well, I don’t mean it like it sounds. I don’t intend to rest forever, quite yet. But at least now I can get the proper rest I need.

When the game ended last night (actually, early this morning), I was able to fall asleep in moments after I hit the pillow.

It wouldn’t have been the case if the Toronto Maple Leafs had been there. I would have been on such an anxious, joy-filled, Dr. Pepper high, that I would have needed another hour or so just to get calm enough to get horizontal enough to sleep.

Even still, all game long, every time the fans chanted “Go Kings Go”, it sounded to me like they were shouting “Go Leafs Go” … to which I joined in and chanted quietly along with them.

Maybe it was that Leaf power that propelled the LA Kings to finally end the game in the second period of overtime. With 5:17 left in the second overtime period, that was around 1:00 am at my house, Martinez finally put the playoffs to bed.

Then with the festivities after the game, each player skating with the cup, pictures, and interviews, it went until about 1:45 am.

But the most fitting part was when Ron McLean was wrapping up the NHL season, and the TV feed was lost and the screen went blank. What a shame we didn’t get to hear Ron’s last pun to end the season. Maybe next year they can go to black more often when Ron does his little ditties.

Funny thing, I must have slept like a baby after that because I woke up before my alarm went off at 6:00 am! … though I did hang around in bed for another ten minutes to make sure I was really awake and not dreaming.

Here’s the thing: Life has its moments when it’s tough to find the peace we need to function well and feel rested. Real peace – lasting peace – only comes from having assurance that Christ has forgiven you. Trusting in Christ’s sacrifice for you gives you peace so you don’t have to carry anxiety with you day and night. Rest well.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What keeps you from getting the full rest you need? I’d really like to hear from you, so leave a comment below.

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Why We All Think We Are Lucky

 

I thought just young people believed they were invincible. It turns out that most of us think nothing bad is going to happen to us.

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In the last month I have heard of three people getting ticks. Two of them I see at least on a weekly basis. And it’s a little serious because about 20% of the ticks in this region of Ontario carry Lime disease.

The tick problem in our parts concerns me because I mountain bike in wooded areas … which is prime territory for the minute little creatures. I just recently found out that a guy, who bikes in the same place I bike, picked up a tick on the weekend.

Knowing this bothers me. But, you know what? I’m not going to stop biking in the area.

Some precautions are to wear long-sleeved shirts, and long pants tucked into your socks. You should also splash on a good dose of repellent with Deet in it.

That’s all fine and dandy but I’m not biking in attire that is fit for a Spruce Meadows equestrian event. Nor am I crazy about using mosquito repellent as cologne for the next several months.

I have a good mind to take my chances when I go biking. And that’s the thing – if there really is a 20% chance of getting a tick with Lime disease, that means I have an 80% chance of not getting one.

That causes one to start thinking, “How lucky do I feel?” It’s the same question Clint Eastwood asked the bad guy in one of his movies. He pointed his gun at the robber and said “You’re thinking, ‘Did he fire six shots or only five?’ … well you have to ask yourself, ‘Do I feel lucky?’”

We all take risks all the time, and not just with ticks, but with other things, too. In an article I read on heart attack recovery, it said up to 80% of heart attack survivors return to previous unhealthy lifestyle patterns.

We think that even though we’re not doing all that we should, we’ll still be okay.

It’s supposed to be those who are 16 – 28 that think they’re untouchable. But I wonder if they are just coming by these traits naturally by watching older generations living like the cat down the street with nine lives.

I think this mentality has more to do with habit and less to do with feeling lucky. I think we have a hard time giving up what we like. We don’t like giving up our comfort foods, our sedentary lifestyle, our fashion, or even what something feels like when we have it on (repellent or sunscreen).

So every day we wake up and, without consciously thinking it, we act like we feel lucky.

Here’s the thing: We can live our whole life thinking that either there is no God or that in the end God will befriend us. If you live that way you have to ask yourself, “Do I feel lucky?”, because if you’re wrong, the consequences are eternal.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you take little risks every day without thinking about the consequences? I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave your comment below.

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How To Get To The Real Truth

Doing your own research is always better than taking someone’s word for it.

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This Thursday we have a provincial election and I will be relieved when it’s over. It’s really disrupting the NHL playoffs right now.

I think the political parties and special interest groups know that right now a lot of people are watching hockey, so they are flooding the games with their campaign ads.

It would be one thing if they focussed on what they stood for and what they want to do about making our province the best it can be, but all we see and hear is what the other parties are going to do to take down the province.

In fact, each party says the other parties are going to do the opposite of what those parties are promising to do.

It’s a tough decision to make. The most memorable idea that can be forced into our minds will probably be the determining factor of who people will vote for on election day.

In my riding, it’s a little more difficult to get a sense of who would be the best candidate. There is not as much publicity for them as there is for the provincial leaders.

The other day, Lily and I were in the car, backing out of our driveway, when a woman appeared right by our car window. We rolled down the window and started to chat and it turned out she was campaigning for one of the candidates.

She asked if we had questions and I said I didn’t know much about this particular candidate. Lily joined in and said, “Yes, we don’t know if he’s married, has a family, or what he stands for.” To that the woman said, “Well, he is married and I’m his wife.”

Now at least I know what this candidate’s wife looks like … which is better than one of the other candidates who needs to trim her bangs so we can see what she looks like.

I fear she is not able to see people and things well because, when I look at her campaign posters, she seems to be squinting.

It really is a shame that politicians know that we will be swayed by the information that is presented to us in the loudest and most prevailing voice. It doesn’t even matter if it is true or half true as long as we get what they are saying.

What we really need to do is stop listening and watching the commercials, stop looking at the signs on the corners, and start trying to figure out on our own who would be best to lead our province and represent us at Queen’s Park (provincial Parliament).

If we did one hour of research for each candidate we are interested in we might find that our decision on voting day would be clearer.

Here’s the thing: We can get opinions and ideas about God and the Bible from people who make bold statements. And then without really checking further, we accept those statements as the truth. There is great danger in doing that. What we should do is take the time to research God’s statements for ourselves so that we have it from the right source.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you go about determining the truth? I’d like to hear from you; you can leave your comment below.

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How To Persevere 

Sometimes we are better when we have to persevere. You know, the struggle makes you focus more, work harder, come together or rise to the challenge.

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This week my son, two of his friends and I were in a golf tournament. It was a fundraiser for Youth Unlimited Kingston (Youth for Christ). This was the same foursome we entered the year before.

Last year we won the event (you can read that blog here), and this year the outcome was the same … but that wasn’t the only thing that was the same. The weather was brutal both years!

Last year it was cold and rainy; this year it wasn’t much better … though I do remember completely changing my entire ensemble after last year’s round, while this year I only changed my shirt.

The first year no one really knew what to expect from our team, but this year people were talking before things got going. I had the feeling that people saw us as the team to beat.

As one team was driving their cart past us on the way to their first tee, we heard the comment,  “You guys can’t win this year.”  To that one of the boys casually said, without looking up from his golf bag, “We probably will.” I just chuckled to myself at the confidence.

We knew people would be out to beat us, but the boys were gamers and wanted to repeat. I was more concerned that it would stop raining so that my clubs wouldn’t fly out of my hands when I swung at the ball.

But the rain didn’t want to go away. The clouds were dark and looming even when it wasn’t raining, and when it was it made playing golf as much fun as waking up this winter to my driveway full of snow for the fifth day in a row!

But there were highlights … one of the guys hit all three consecutive shots on one hole which gave us an eagle. Then on another, when three of us had missed the green on a par 3, the fourth stepped up and threw a dart at the pin, ending up 4 feet from the hole.

And that was the story of the round. When we needed a shot or a big hole to pick us up, someone provided something special to keep the momentum going.

In the end, we were a little disappointed; we had set a big goal and didn’t reach it. But we decided nine under par was all we could do and we just hoped that it would be enough or close to it.

Go figure, the weather caused everyone else to have the same struggles, and we won by 2 strokes. Now it’s off to Wooden Sticks for a $700 round of golf for four – our first prize winnings!

Here’s the thing: In life there are times when we have to persevere through things. It’s not easy to do it alone. Just like in our golf game when three of us blew a shot, and one of us came through with just the right touch, God is with you as you persevere through the game of life to provide the right touch when needed. Sometimes it won’t be until the last chance, but persevere. Turn to God and watch Him rise to the challenge.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you found God there with you when you have persevered? I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave a comment below.

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What You Give Your Attention To Will Be Important To You

I believe something will fade in its importance to you when you stop paying attention to it. I stumbled on this principle this week.

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He’s gone, and he’s not coming back. No more Winston the turtle in our house. No more swimming frantically when someone passed by his tank. No more bashing into the tank glass when he would get scared off his rock.

Oh, he’s still living. He has a life expectancy of about 25 – 30 years, so I figure he has over twenty years of life left.

Winston is just no longer in our home. It was a bit of a sad day. Lily and Karlie drained the tank, packed up the filter and all the other paraphernalia, and took him to a new home.

You know, when my kids were young, when I came home they would come running to the door to see me and give me big hugs. Since they’ve grown up, it’s been Winston who has excitedly paddled at the edge of his tank when I came home.

It might have been that he wanted me to feed him instead of just being happy to see me … I can think what I want, can’t I? He can’t speak for himself.

Winston didn’t get all that much attention at our house. Karlie lives in another city, and Mike, though living in town, didn’t have much to do with him.

So it was down to Lily and I to take note of him and I mostly talked to him as I was passing by the living room.

That left Lily to care for him … and she did more than just talk to him. She fed him, cleaned his tank and filter, and took him out to let him walk around.

It’s Lily who had the hardest time saying good bye.

Lil would hold him and stroke the underside of his neck which he seemed to like. I guess there’s no more of that now.

He’s been gone less than a week and I still find myself looking over to that corner when I enter the living room to make sure I don’t scare him off his tanning rock.

Now he’s with a good family, with three kids to watch him, feed him, walk him, and give him more attention than we could.

But they need to be aware that Winston is a passive pet. And by that, I mean you have to go to him; he doesn’t come over to you to get petted or hugged or have his hand held. (I would hold his hand or paw after I fed him).

The poor little guy is gone. … But already our house is feeling like it’s back to normal.

Here’s the thing: You get attached to any pet, but the more interaction you have with that pet, the more important it will be to you, and the harder it is to say good bye. The same is true with attending church. The more interaction you have with Christ and His people, the more important they will be to you, and the harder it is to stay away. It’s easier to stay away from church when you are a passive attender. Make sure then you develop close connections with friends at church.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is one excuse you’ve used to miss going to church in the last 3 months? I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave your comment below.

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Why You Should Aways Read Labels

It’s always important to read labels on products you’re going to use.

iodine bottle

I remember the iodine bottle we used to have in our medicine cabinet when I was growing up. Even the dark brown colour of the bottle with that rubber eye dropper top made it look like there was danger.

But the real clue that this product was not to be fooled with was the skull and crossbones that was front and centre on the label or stamped right onto the glass bottle.

The bottom line is labels are meant to be read, like, for instance, the stuff I cleaned my trailer with last week. I got a big bottle of “Spray Nine” to clean the outside of our trailer/cottage. The trailer has vinyl siding and this stuff is apparently good for cleaning and even disinfecting.

I poured the liquid from the bottle into a pail. I intended to use a brush with an expandable long handle to scrub the trailer. But as I was about to start, my brother said they just did it by hand. He told me he got up on a ladder and with a cloth cleaned the trailer.

“Well,” I thought, “Okay, I’ll give it a try.” I grabbed a rag, dipped my hand into the bucket and started to work. By that time the bottle with the instructions and warnings had been tossed aside.

I didn’t think of looking at it. I just merrily started to clean. As I did, I periodically nicked my hands and noticed that those nicks kind of stung … which you might think would get me to at least glance at the bottle to see if there were any warnings.

But no, I was on a roll and I wasn’t going to stop to check some label.

I kept moving and completed the project in about three hours. Of course, the first thing I did when I was done was to wash my hands. But three hours in straight undiluted Spray Nine was now wreaking havoc on my hands.

Ladies, forget botox or liposuction, or having the skin on your face pulled back behind your ears. I have an easier solution – just soak your face in Spray Nine for about an hour!

The skin on my hands was so tight, it felt like my skin had shrunk at least one size and now didn’t fit my hands any more.

The little nicks I got from washing the trailer by hand stung constantly for lasted for two days. After about three days, my hands still felt weird but also were a little fuzzy. Apparently, my skin was peeling!

It took about six days before my palms and the backs of my hands stopped shedding and I felt like my skin was back to normal.

My trailer looks great though.

Here’s the thing: Reading labels helps us know how to handle products. In the US, LifeWay Research found that “while 90% of church-goers desire to please and honour Jesus in all they do, only 19% read their Bible every day. In Canada, The Canadian Bible Engagement Survey revealed that only 11% of Canadians read their Bible weekly, down from 28% in 1996. It’s difficult to know how to handle your Christian life without reading the Bible. We need to get better at that.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of a plan do you have to keep yourself engaged in reading the Bible? I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave your comment below.

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Why Prayer Is Aways A Good Thing

There are things we will pray for right away and things we won’t pray about … or at least until we’ve exhausted every avenue.

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In my last blog, I told you that I couldn’t figure out how to get the front wheel off my bike and, in the process, how I lost two small ball bearings on my garage floor. You can read about that story, “How To Prevent Making Multiple Mistakes” here.

Let me tell you how that story finished up …

I was really kicking myself for taking the axle apart and losing the ball bearings, especially after I watched a YouTube video on how to take off a quick-release wheel with a thru axle. It is so simple and easy, I broke the part for nothing.

The next day I went into the bike shop and explained what I did, hoping magically they would have a new axle or a couple of replacement parts just waiting for me.

Sadly, the mechanic told me to bring the axle in and he’d look at it. So the next day I took the axle in and left it. The following day I called the shop hoping for some good news. Instead, what I was told was they didn’t have ball bearings that small.

Basically, they said it would probably be okay for a while, but a new axle would cost about $70 and they would have to order it in.

I was really out of options at that point. I went to the shop, got my axle and started thinking about whether to buy a new axle or not. When I came home and told my wife, Lily, her first response was, “Well, we will just pray about it and look again for those ball bearings.”

So I prayed “Lord, help me find those ball bearings” and even as I prayed it my thought was, “This is so petty. It’s not a prayer for some life or death situation. It’s not a prayer for some great cause or for provision for someone in serious need. It’s just, ‘Lord help me find those two tiny little silver glimmers of light rolling around my garage floor.’”

I stepped into the garage, looking for “a needle in a hay stack”. I walked over to the area when I had lost them and started moving things out of the way. I cleared the area of a few car tires, some wood, a ladder, and then looked down. Right in front of me was a gleaming ball bearing!

I hadn’t really even started my search; I had just looked down. There it was! I brought it into the house, and Lily got all excited. She came right out with me and knelt down in the area and in less than three minutes she found the other one.

Here’s the thing: I had looked for those ball bearings the night I lost them. I had searched pretty carefully at the time. So to find them this easily was just God saying, “You asked and here they are.” Something as insignificant as ball bearings God chose to provide. No matter what your need is, it’s always a good thing to pray. God even cares about the petty things that bother us.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you delayed praying for, that God answered when you finally asked? I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave your comment below.

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How To Prevent Making Multiple Mistakes

Have you ever made a mistake that led to another mistake that led to, well, a complete breakdown? I had that experience last week.

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Lily had gone to Ottawa for the day taking my car, the one with the bike rack. I wanted to go for a bike ride at the end of my day so I had to put my bike in the trunk of the other car.

That’s normally not a problem; you just take the front wheel off the bike and slide the bike in.  For some reason, this time it was a problem.

I spent about a half hour trying to get my wheel off, and in the process I lost two ball bearings from the axle assembly and never actually got the wheel off the bike.

It was a brutal failure; I couldn’t believe it. I’ve take the front wheel off bikes dozens of times. But my new bike is a little different. No, it’s a lot different.

I would describe the differences but I would either hypnotize you in the process or put you to sleep – probably sleep would come first. Then you’d wake up and have an urge to bark at every bike you saw after that.

Taking the wheel off a bike with quick release should take about 30 seconds, at the most. I spent 30 minutes and never got it off. I could have used better lighting, but still.

I looked for videos on the internet to show me what to do. I examined the part and used an allen key/wrench to remove a part I should never have touched.

All the while, my neighbour, who works at the bike shop I go to, was right outside my garage cutting his grass. Did I ask him for help? Of course not; why would I do that? No, what I did was I took the axle apart and lost two very tiny ball bearings on my garage floor!

I never did go for that bike ride. Later that night I realized what I had done wrong. It should have taken me 15 seconds to get the wheel off, but it was too late now; I’d gone and lost some pieces.

So, here were my mistakes, if you’re counting . . .

I should have had better lighting and, along with that, I should have put on my reading glasses to get a better look at what I was doing.

I should have asked my neighbour for help. That was the dumbest thing I didn’t do. And I shouldn’t have taken apart the axle, especially standing in a garage.

I’ll tell you how the story turned out in my next blog.

Here’s the thing:  It is easy to make a mistake, but the smart thing is to correct that mistake before one mistake leads to another. The best thing we can do is look for someone who can help us. I know God is willing to help but He’s waiting to be invited. I also find that I will sometimes make more than one mistake before I ask Him for that help. So it’s what I don’t do that keeps me making mistakes . . . Seek God’s help first.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do to keep from making multiple mistakes? I’d love to hear from you. Leave your comment below.