Author: Paul Silcock

by

Another Painful Picture Experience

I don’t really like getting my picture taken. There are lots of black and whites of me as a kid, but I didn’t have much of a say back then. And besides, they were mostly action shots of me doing stuff when I didn’t know the camera was on me.

IMG_3999 - Version 2

By my teens, I had discovered the sneaky way people take pictures when you’re not looking and I avoided cameras like the plague. In fact, it’s really hard to find a picture of me in my teens outside my high school yearbooks.

But the picture curse has followed me. I married into a family that loves to take family pictures. When my wife’s family gets together, a family picture is difficult on two counts: One, there are a lot of us so it’s hard to get everyone in the picture, looking half normal all at the same time. And two, is the holding of the pose for 10 or more cameras to be lined up and clicked. … It’s a low point of every reunion for me.

This Christmas the traditional family picture was missed. I didn’t miss it, mind you, but my mother-in-law forgot to mention it and we snuck out of there without that annual painful experience.

But my luck ran out when my wife, Lily, announced she wanted a family picture the next day. You might think that I would have been happy with this photo shoot because there was only four of us and one camera. But remember, I don’t like having my picture taken.

No one in my family, other than Lil, likes these photographic sessions, either. We all have bad memories. The worst memories hang on the wall in our hallway. We were all together on a cruise a few years ago and Lily wanted a family picture.

The cruise line wanted to make some money, so they had photographers who would arrange you in all sorts of poses – poses I would not normally be found in. You get the idea … three out of four of us hate the hallway pictures.

Lily thought everyone would be happy to have their picture taken this year, on the promise that she would replace the dreaded cruise pictures. (That’s not going to happen, I’ll guarantee it.)

Well, the photo session was horrible, at least from my standpoint. I’m not that photogenic, and I’m not a natural poser. I was either standing too far from Lily, or I was lurching over her. They all were having a great laugh with the all pictures I was ruining.  But I wasn’t.

At one point there was talk of just cropping me out of the picture because they all looked really good together. They could be a family of three. I wouldn’t have minded that but I was still having to pose for the pictures.

Finally, they got a picture they were happy with, or that was semi-decent of me. I started to walk away, trying to shake off the trauma of the whole experience.

Then they called me back. They wanted pictures of just Lily and I. Oh boy … here we go again.

Here’s the thing: At the start of a new year, we have the opportunity to read through the Bible in a year. Now you may have some bad memories of trying and not finishing, or finding parts of the Bible really dry. You might want to avoid that experience again. But let me encourage you not to think of the painful process; think of the lasting memories you will have as you soak up God’s Word.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you dislike about taking pictures? Leave your comment below.

by

How An Ice Storm Can Show Up Your Limitations

For the first time ever we canceled our church service, all because of an ice storm. I really hate giving in to the weather, but I just couldn’t get my car off our street.

ice storm

The day before, I drove to Toronto and back in the freezing rain, and though the trip took longer than normal, we made it … and my hands were not even so cramped that Lily had to pry them off the steering wheel.

But Sunday morning was a different game all together. Saturday I drove over 600 kilometres; Sunday morning I only made it down the driveway – about 25 yards.

I even took two stabs at getting out. With the first one, I couldn’t even get to the end of the driveway. But when I got out of the car to survey the situation, I realized I had a flat tire.

Suddenly a memory from the night before made sense to me. We were pretty tired when we got home from Toronto late Saturday night, but I remembered that as soon as I turned off the car in the garage I heard a hissing sound.

I wondered for a moment what that was from and when I opened the car door I could still hear it. But then Lily said something that got my attention away from the faint warning sound and I didn’t think to check into it further. We just emptied the car and headed for bed.

That hissing sound I heard when I got home was my car tire going flat. After 617 kilometres (383 miles), my tire went flat as soon as our trip was done. It didn’t happen along the way in the freezing rain, in the middle of nowhere. It happened as soon as we were safe in our garage at home. That’s pretty amazing … thanks, God.

So feeling really thankful, I pulled the car back into the garage and changed the tire. My second stab at getting out I thought I would make it for sure. But as easy as it was to get down the driveway, when I got onto the snowy, ice pellet covered ice rink underneath, all I did was spin my tires.

I had to pull the car back into the garage. And we started the process of informing our congregation that there wouldn’t be a service because the pastor couldn’t travel the 8 kilometres to the church.

It was brutal, especially when I had been through a worse ice storm 15 years earlier and still made it to the church, no problem. We had a service then, mind you there were only about 17 of us who showed up.

That time the whole city was hit. They had to call in the military, hydro trucks and personnel from other cities. People were without power for days, huge trees came down, and power lines had to be reconstructed. The city looked like a war zone and I still made it to church!

This time, I just felt like a wimp who got beat by the weather.

Here’s the thing: As independent and capable as we think we are, as sure as we are that nothing will keep us from doing what we want or need to do, we can’t do it all. Sometimes it’s something very small that stands in our way. Take it as God’s message that He wants you to depend on Him and not yourself. Know your limitations and humble yourself before God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What little thing has kept you from doing something you thought nothing could stop you from doing? Leave your comment below.

by

What’s With The Tire Conspiracy?

It’s pretty quiet in my house right now. It’s all calm and Christmassy. The Christmas lights are all on and the soft glow kind of makes the room all warm and peaceful. I know it’s not going to stay that way.

tires

Tomorrow we will be up at the crack of dawn, on our way to Toronto for the Silcock family Christmas. The weather is supposed to be freezing rain and I’m not looking forward to the drive.

I don’t normally mind driving in the snow but my tires are not giving me much traction these days. I think it’s a conspiracy of the tire companies. I remember the days of studded tires. They made your car sound like they had tap shoes on as they danced through the snow and ice.

Apparently, they were chewing up the roads so they outlawed them. Then, for the next 30 years or so, we just used all season radials. Note the words “all season” that mean, to me anyway, that these tires are good for driving on pavement in the summer and snow in the winter.

They seemed to work fine until a few years ago. Out of the blue, people started talking about winter tires again. Frankly, I didn’t know anyone who had winter tires since they took the little metal studs out of the “moto masters” back in the 70’s.

Now, for some reason (I think it’s the tire companies), there is a real push to get everyone to purchase winter tires. Notice I used the word “purchase” there. That’s four tires at $100 plus each!

Not a bad deal for the tire companies. They even made it a law in Quebec that you have to have winter tires on your vehicle there. The tire companies must have been rubbing their grubby little mitts together over that one.

My theory is they have changed the rubber compound in the all season tires so that they don’t work so well in cold weather. That’s why my car is slipping and sliding all over the place.

I kind of like it, mind you; it keeps driving fun. But if I didn’t drive a standard I would probably have had about five accidents by now. You touch the brakes and you lose control, so I keep my foot off the brake and just gear down.

It keeps you thinking, but it works well. However, there is this three hour trip to Toronto tomorrow. That’s a little bigger deal than just navigating the snowy streets of Kingston. There will be stretches where there’s no help close by.

In those three hours – even though we’re not near Calgary – the weather could change along the way and we could wind up in more trouble than we planned for.

And then there are the other drivers. That might be worse than the weather. I can understand weather, like rain and snow, it falls from the sky. But I rarely can understand some drivers out there. They have a weather pattern of their own.

Here’s the thing: We can get pretty comfortable with our ability to navigate through life. We learn to do things along the way and it all just adds to our confidence … in ourselves, that is. God wants us to depend on Him. He wants us to find our confidence in Him, not ourselves. So don’t take the God factor out of what you do. Put your confidence in Him and He will get you through.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find uncertain in your life? Leave your comment below.

by

When Men Rise To The Challenge

In our world, men usually get a bad rap. It used to be a man’s world, but now it is anything but a man’s world.

The guys

On television, whether in shows, commercials, or movies, men are portrayed for the most part as babbling, goofy, unreliable, can’t-get-the-job-done idiots, while women and children are mostly seen as smart, capable and in control.

That is except in the movie I saw last night. There was barely a woman in the movie and the lead character (a guy) shot and fought with superior wisdom and stealth to defeat the enemy single handedly. I was proud to be a man!

It reminded me of the pride I had in being a man at my church’s Christmas banquet. I know, how could I be proud of being a man at a banquet? Women do the cooking and cleaning; they do all the real work, the men just do the eating.

Well, not at this banquet. Yes, we had some token women who worked hard and did an admiral job. But this banquet was the guys’ from start to finish. The whole idea for it came out of the mind of a man.

The men of our church planned it, executed it and got the job done. It was a beautiful thing. There were men in the kitchen cooking, men serving the food, men in the hall setting and taking down the tables and chairs, and men washing and drying the dishes.

Men, I guarantee, also did most of the eating. If you were a woman at our church banquet last week, there wasn’t much for you to do, although I saw some women desperate to get in on the glory, trying to make punch, and help clear some of the tables.

Sure, some of the wives helped their husbands prepare some of the food at home. And sure, the stores really cashed in on the pies that were bought for our dessert. But this was a guy thing all the way, and we pulled it off.

To me, this all shows the adaptability of men. There was a day when there wouldn’t be enough men that could pull off a banquet like we did. There might have been appendages in the carrots, undercooked meat, styrofoam plates and plastic cutlery.

But the 21st century man can do it all. We are tough enough for the big jobs and gentle enough for the delicate jobs as well. In a day and age when men can’t seem to get a break from the put downs, this was an heroic moment.

I think the women of the church had a hard time believing it was all real. They kept taking pictures of the men working throughout the whole meal. It was like they needed to record this for history.

I do worry, however, that the pictures may be used against us at the next church Christmas banquet. The women may haul out those pictures as evidence to support the men doing it again.

Here’s the thing: We are all capable of doing things that we are not normally in the habit of doing. We don’t imagine ourselves doing it so we don’t even try; we might even argue  against it. God wants to stretch you to grow in your relationship with Him. And that will mean doing things that you are not in the habit of doing. Maybe it’s journalling your devotions, or spending more time with God, or serving in a new capacity. Whatever it is for you, don’t make excuses. You are capable; just try it and grow.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you done lately that is out of your comfort zone? Leave your comment below.

by

A Plea for Understanding

This blog is for my wife, Lily.  I don’t mind if you all get in on it, but it’s really just for her. You see, we’ve been married for over 28 years and she still doesn’t understand some things about me.

7280473-silver-pots-on-a-stove-inside-modern-kitchen

I know there are some men and women out there thinking, “My husband or my wife doesn’t understand things about me, either”.  I’m sure there is some kind of name for this, something like “misunderstandinitis”.

The other day, I heard of a condition called “affluenza” — meaning someone’s wealth can cause them to dissociate their bad actions from consequences. This condition was used to successfully keep a 16 year old out of jail after driving drunk and killing four pedestrians. Some misunderstanding!

I have a condition that causes all kinds of misunderstanding; it’s called hypoglycaemia. It’s a big word but basically it means I get low blood sugar. There is not enough glucose getting to my brain so my body craves more sugar to replace the low supply.

What my wife doesn’t understand is that this happens really fast, and I often get it around dinner time. She hasn’t figure out why I can’t wait to have dinner at 6 or 7; it doesn’t matter to her, she could go forever without eating.

I can almost hear some of you right now asking, “Well Paul, why don’t you make dinner and have it ready when you need to eat?” If I made dinner, I’d be bringing home hot wings three nights a week, pizza the other nights and for variety maybe Five Guys burgers every once in a while.

It would get a little hard on the wallet and would not be the healthiest for us … and I am concerned for my wife’s health, so she has to do the cooking. Okay, enough on that.

Back to her inability to understand me after so many years … At dinner time, I need to eat. She doesn’t understand that my body really reacts. I get all weak, like you would feel if you just ran a marathon, only without being out of breath. I also start to sweat – “perspire” may be a nicer way to say that – and I feel very hot.

I get shaky on the inside – my hands don’t actually shake but they feel like they are – and I crave something to take that feeling away. So I hunt for food, anything, chips, cookies, crackers, peanuts, ANYTHING!

All this happens in an instant. I can be fine one minute and the next, well, it comes over me like turning from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. I get all surly and cranky.

I think that if I lived with a person like that, I would want to keep Mr. Hyde hidden as much as I could. But not my wife! She is surprised every time Mr. Hyde shows up in the kitchen and dinner is 45 minutes to an hour away.

I love my wife; Mr. Hyde doesn’t like her as much as I do, but he still loves her. But man, can I get a little understanding around here?!

Here’s the thing: Often we want what we want from God but don’t think about understanding His perspective on what we want. If we are in an asking position before God, we should be seeking to understand His position … and there is no better way than to become more and more familiar with God’s Word.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you most often misunderstood about? Leave your comment below.

by

How Snow Can Keep You From Facing The Inevitable

When I woke up this morning there was a cottony layer of snow on the ground and my heart sank a little.

snowy day

It sank partly because we just got rid of a barrel full of the white stuff from about two weeks ago. Even though I only saw the snow through the blinds – it looked like the fuzz that grows on a man’s face after about three days of no shaving (like I would know) – something told me this stuff is here to stay for the season.

I should have been prepared. Yesterday, I watched two NFL games that were played in blizzard-like conditions … it was inevitable that the storm would move up to Canada and get us.

I like the usual debate we have around here at Christmas time. As it approaches, we start asking, “Do you think we will have snow for Christmas?”, or, “I wonder if we’ll have a green Christmas this year”.

Everyone wants those thin flakes that look like coriander seed and taste like wafers made from honey … oh, no wait, that’s manna that God sent the Israelites in the desert.  Our while flakey stuff is tasteless and has to be shovelled!

We all want it, but we’re fine if it only falls on Christmas Eve, or even really early Christmas day. That way it looks like Christmas but we haven’t had to dig ourselves out of it yet.

This snowfall, however, is coming a little earlier than I had hoped. There’s a chance it might not stay with us. We miraculously got rid of the last batch with some mild weather, some rain and a day of +10 celsius (that’s 50 degrees fahrenheit).

But they’re calling for snow for the next five days. I think I have to face it that winter is here to stay. There will be no guessing about a white Christmas this year; it’s a lock that we’ll have snow.

Then again, you never know. The weather could turn. And look! … Well you can’ t look, but I can – it’s now raining here on the other side of my window and the snow is rapidly disappearing. That might make for some slippery roads tonight if the temperature drops.

That also means we can still play the game of “Will we have snow for Christmas?” The odds are not in my favour though. They (who are they, anyway?) are calling for about 10 centimetres of snow this week.

There’s just no way to escape it, that is, if I’m going to stay here in Kingston. Snow is what we face every year, and even with the crazy weather patterns and global warming (it’s not happening fast enough), a snowy forecast is in my future.

Here’s the thing: There are so many things, like the weather, that are completely out of our control, yet we spend time thinking about them and hoping for something else. We don’t really want to face what is inevitable. It’s best, however, if we just prepare for it.

We can do that with God, too. We can hope that the Bible is wrong, or that He will be accepting of everyone in the end, but that’s not facing the inevitable. It’s just best to prepare for meeting God, by beginning a relationship with the one that Christmas is all about – Jesus Christ.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you dislike most about winter? Leave your comment below.

by

Why My Old Stereo Conversion Project Isn’t Perfect

Lily is away this weekend so I thought I would do a conversion of our old stereo into a home theatre.

stereo system

Many homes have some kind of additional speaker set up with their TV, but not us. There has always been other things we needed more than feeling the couch shake while watching Jason Statham or Bruce Willis blow something up in a movie.

It all became possible when Lily asked if we needed the stereo cabinet in the living room. To her shock, I said we didn’t, and within about 15 minutes it was all gone … to her delight.

We don’t really use it anymore with iPhones and iTunes holding all our music. And the stereo is old, like about 27 years old. We even have a turntable and a cassette deck! Our speakers are still good, but they’ve had to pump out lots of “Little Feat” tunes over the years.

Still, you’d think it would be easy to hook all that stuff up to your TV, and bingo, your wife could watch her live Sound of Music special, featuring Carrie Underwood, and it would be like she was in the theatre.

Not so fast. Our TV is not the same vintage as our stereo. In fact, it only has one audio output and it is an optical audio connection. If my old stereo could talk and you asked to  plug an optical audio cord into it, it would respond with, “Whach you talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?”

From the internet, I was able to find out that there might be a conversion box I can buy. I just hope that the conversion box isn’t the same price as a new home theatre system. I’m trying to do this on the cheap – make a quick conversion from stereo system to home theatre, with very little time, effort and money involved.

Years ago, my son and I saw an infomercial for an “ab dolly”. I thought I could make one cheaper. So Mike and I got some wood, bought some casters and made one ourselves.

Lily now uses it to put under heavy objects when she wants to move them from one place to another. It didn’t turn out that great.

I know this conversion won’t be perfect either. It won’t be like buying all new equipment that is completely compatible with my TV. The speakers sounded great in the day but I’m not sure how they will perform in the 21st century. I’m also going to have to get up off the couch and walk over to the unit and turn it on by hand. My stereo doesn’t have a remote.

But just think, if I can get this all hooked up this afternoon, when I turn on the Leaf game tonight, it’s going to be like I’m sitting just behind the bench!

The downside is Lily will see this blog before she sees the home theatre conversion. Oh the thoughts and images that will be running through her head! Maybe I’ll stick a Christmas bow on it all so it will look festive for her.

Here’s the thing: Thinking that we can make our conversion experience with God something that doesn’t involve a total change will be more work in the long run and the results will not be all that satisfying. Give yourself completely to God, don’t hold on to the old in any way. It will just complicate your conversion.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you tried to convert, only to find it wasn’t as good as if you got something new? Leave your comment below.

by

How Real Change Happens From Within

I made a big change in my appearance the other day. I didn’t get a new suit or comb my hair differently … I just shaved my whole face.

It’s the first time I’ve done that in almost thirty years. Since 1984 I’ve had a moustache and for the last 15 years I’ve had a goatee. But on December 1st, I shaved it all off!

ps - just mouth

I had to take a second and third look at myself in the mirror to make sure it was really me staring back. It was hard not to smile and repeat the words, “Oh boy” as in, “Oh boy, what have I done?!”. But I’m going to give it a little time to get used to it.

One thing I’m not getting used to is shaving. It’s not that there is more real estate to take care of now, we’re only talking about a face. But, I have scars on my face from hockey that have to be considered now.

I’ve had 5 stitches beside my right eye and 3 stitches on my right eyelid. Then I had 3 stitches on the left corner of my mouth from a fight with Neil Lumsden, who was just inducted into the CFL Football Hall of Fame. Besides those, I had 4 stitches under my bottom lip and 3 stitches on the left corner of my chin.

The last three scars come into play when I shave. I haven’t had to bother with them for so long, but now I have to navigate around my face like it’s a land mine to keep me from nicking myself with the razor.

Though my face doesn’t look like Gerry Cheevers’ goalie mask, I do have a few marks that ensure I stay attentive when I have a sharp instrument in hand near my melon.

It all changes how I look, and it’s taking some getting used to it. I might grow it all back, but I’m going to wait and give it some time to sink in.

I’m finding I have to keep telling myself that I look different but I’m the same guy.

… And others have weighed in on the change whether they know it or not. Some people have said nothing which means they probably don’t like it. I’ve had lots of people acknowledge that I’ve shaved, but no comment on what they think of it. That’s probably a bad sign too.

One person came out and just said he didn’t like it. My daughter saw a picture and said “Wow! He looks so different, yet the same.”  And my son said, “That’s going to take some serious getting used to.”

Both Lily and I aren’t sure what to think. I think I’m looking at my brother when I look in the mirror and I start to laugh. I’m not sure what I’ll do.

Here’s the thing: Shaving my face hasn’t changed who I am one bit. I’m still the same guy on the inside. But making a change on your inside will result in outward change.

A Christian is first changed on the inside and then that change is made visible in his or hers appearance through actions, attitudes and words. So when we look in the mirror, we should ask ourselves, “Is my outside appearance matching my inside appearance?”

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What outward change have you made that elicited lots of attention? Leave your comment below.

by

Why Should I Bother?

This is a guest blog post by Lily Silcock.  Lily works for SureWx as an executive administrative assistant, and is also actively involved in church ministry at Kingston Alliance Church. She is mentioned often in this blog, and is chief editor of it; Lily is also my wife!

It’s that time of year again. You know, that “haul-out-the-boxes, set-up-the-tree, decorate-the-house-for-Christmas” time of year.

IMG_0115

The calendar tells me it’s time, but I don’t feel like it. It’s been a busy few weeks: we’ve had company a few times, we’ve both had the flu, and work’s piling up. I’ve got a lot of other things to do and I’m tired.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. It’s just that all that decorating is kind of a bother. Oh, I like the decorations when they’re up, it’s just putting them up I’m not thrilled about! … especially these last years since our daughter moved away and I have to do it all myself (correction: I choose to do it myself) … I’m not yet willing to have our trees and home decorated by the guys in our family. They really have no clue how to arrange mesh ribbon on a tree … I do have standards, ya know.

I’m sure I’ll be delighted with the end product once it’s done. Each year when the house is finally all decorated, I plunk my tired body down in the living room with a cappuccino, admire the glowing lights and soak in the ambience.

But getting there can be such a chore! And I’m not even a Christmas decorating fanatic like some people I know!

Still, there are two trees to decorate, garland to drape, lights to string, and a Dickens village we inherited to set up. It all takes time – most of a day in fact – and, honestly, I just don’t feel like it.

I could do a lot less but, in the end, I know I won’t. I’ll make the effort even if I’m busy and tired because it makes my family happy … and, because after all these years, they expect it.

But if I’m truthful, I really do it for me, because even though I don’t feel like doing it right now, when it’s done, I absolutely love it! Our house looks so pretty, cozy and magical all decorated, with the mini white lights softly glowing all around. All the effort is definitely worth it in the end!

… I guess I’d better get at it. Christmas won’t wait!

Here’s the thing: We often don’t feel like giving praise to God. Sometimes we’re busy, preoccupied or just too tired to worship Him. It can seem like too much effort when we could get away with a lot less. So why bother? God deserves it, He expects it, it makes Him happy. And the crazy thing is, when you praise Him, it’ll make you happy too! It’s SO worth it! HE”S worth it.

by

How Being Sick Hijacks Your Whole Life

This week I got sick. Ya, ya, I know, I just wrote about how to keep from getting sick (“Four things you need to divert a cold”). But before you get ready to sue me for bad medical advice, you need to know that this sickness was different. I got food poisoning.

food_poisoning_525-copy

My wife, Lily, thinks I got the flu but I know what I had and it was food poisoning. I think she wants it to be the flu so I can’t blame her for feeding me that leftover chicken last Monday.

It’s not like the chicken had been left on the counter and the flies had been circling for a few days, but it had been in the fridge past my internal best before date. It’s just a sixth sense I have.

I didn’t even see it coming, though the evening before my stomach was rumbling. I didn’t feel bad and just imagined that by morning everything would be normal. Well, about 5 am on Tuesday things were NOT normal.

I spent the next three hours in and out of the bathroom … enough said.

I was achy all over and that lasted the rest of the day. I was so wiped that I slept several times during the day to the point that I was completely disoriented.

The day seemed to last forever. I turned on the TV at one point, thinking it must be late afternoon, only to realize that it was only 1 pm. I had no energy and I felt so weak, much like a kid in the grocery store who’s had a meltdown, sprawled on the floor near the sugar cereal aisle.

There was nothing that could appease me. I didn’t dare eat anything – the memory of the early morning dash made all food totally unappealing. Sipping water at first was huge, like a child taking his first ever steps across the room.

I held my breath to see what would happen or which way it would go. I could hear it travelling through my system, at times like a gurgling brook, then like some light rapids, and finally dropping quite low in my system like a waterfall.

At least it was some entertainment. I was pretty bored all day, not that I didn’t have anything to do. There were things for me to work on, things I really needed to be working on, but I only had the energy to listen to my stomach get a workout while sipping water.

I fell asleep on the couch at about eight in the evening and, when I came to just before 10, I noticed that the achy-ness had gone. I breathed a sigh, and knew it was over and I’d be alright the next morning.

I called it a day and went to bed.

Here’s the thing: Bad food can impact everything about you, all your body parts, and even your thoughts and emotions. Not dealing with sin does the same thing. Not only will it affect your thoughts, emotions and action, but in some cases it can affect your health as well. Make speedy confession part of your internal best before date.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you experienced that took control of your body? Leave your comment below.