my experiences

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Deceived By Green Grass And Mild Temperatures

We can perceive things wrongly and be deceived, so that we make assumptions on what something looks like. 

deceived by green grass and mild temperatures

Shadows in the middle of the night cause objects to look different, bigger, scarier than they really are.

The weather here has been a little like that. For the most part, the weather has just not seemed to match the season … but we know that can happen anywhere, any time. 

When my daughter, Karlie, lived in Calgary she said one year they had either snow or hail in every month of that year. 

I remember one Canada Day in Kingston that was very uncharacteristic of that time of year. There were all kinds of family friendly things to do downtown by the water, so we decided to check them out. We had planned to stay downtown for the afternoon and enjoy the bands and fireworks at night.

When we parked our car the temperature was about 25 degrees celsius. We were all dressed in shorts and T-shirts. But some weird cold front came screaming into the region and in a matter of hours – maybe four hours or so – the temperature dropped by 20 degrees. 

By the time the bands were playing and we were finding a spot to watch the fireworks, it was about 2 degrees. 

We had come prepared for the temperature to drop a few degrees, but not that low. We needed winter parkas! On July 1st it’s supposed to be warm. We are not supposed to be huddled together trying to keep the kids from getting hypothermia.

Right now in Kingston we are in the middle of winter, but until this week it didn’t seem like it. 

On Sunday we had green grass showing on our lawn. Sure, we had tiny snow piles from where we shovelled our driveway, but it didn’t look like it was the middle of winter. 

If you took a quick look, you might think it was the tail end of the cold, that spring had already sprung. It looked like the big old, cold winter had pretty much been beaten. 

But then Monday morning we woke up and wondered if that green grass on our lawn had been an illusion. Falling snow covered everything and didn’t seem to be slowing down one bit. 

In the end we got 42 cm of snow … and me and one other neighbour are the only ones on the street who don’t have snowblowers. 

Now it looks like the middle of winter. There is no deception, no mismatch of seasons. We definitely have ourselves some winter.

I can’t say I like it any more than I did that July when the temperature dropped by 20 degrees. But at least when I look outside, I don’t get fooled into thinking that summer is coming any time soon.

Here’s the thing: Life can be a little deceptive. Your life can seem to be doing really well – solid relationships, financially secure, healthy and in great shape. You could assume that you have nothing to worry about. But if you have not cared for your spiritual side, you’re deceived. Though from your perspective, externally life looks good in every way, what is not seen may reveal a different reality when you face God. Ensure your spiritual side is right with God and then you will not be deceived.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need proper perspective on right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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A Collector Of Sorts, That’s What I Am

I guess I’m a little bit of a collector. If you are thinking a collector of antiques or fine art, you’re wrong. I’m more of a collector of empty boxes.

a collector of sorts, that's what I am

Some people love to hang on to an old sweater that is just comfortable. Sure, it may have a few holes in it and look kind of ratty. Their adult children tell them they should not wear that thing out in public (how would I know this?), but for some reason they just keep wearing it because it feels like it’s a part of them.

When I was a kid I would collect baseball cards and hockey cards. But I wasn’t much of a collector back then because I didn’t keep any of them. I’m sure I had a couple of rookie cards that might be worth some money now. 

When my kids were little I tried to get them into collecting cards. I took them to a trading card shop and they had a whole flat of cards for sale for a few dollars. These were cards that were not worth a penny. 

But I brought them home and gave half to Karlie and half to Michael. They tried to make some sets; they traded cards with each other. I even got them binders with sleeves to display their cards. 

But eventually, just like my childhood card collection, they came back to me and then got tossed out. There was no real value to them, much like my box collection.

Some people collect things of value and they track their increase in value with each year. Other people collect for fun; they simply enjoy it. But then there are those who don’t really know why they collect. They are just compelled to keep collecting. 

I kind of fit into that last category. I can’t tell you why I collect empty boxes, I just do. 

This came to a bit of a head the other day when my wife, Lily, was doing some cleaning and reorganizing in the storage room of our house. She brought out a stack of boxes and wanted to throw them out. 

My first response was, “Don’t do that; they make great gift boxes for Christmas and birthdays.” 

When she objected, I said I would have to go through them. So we did. 

I had kept empty boxes for some products I don’t even have any more. The box outlived the item that came in it. 

As we went through the boxes, I realized that some of them were not even a good sized box for putting presents in. I didn’t have too hard a time parting with almost all the boxes except one. 

It was a box from my latest electronic purchase and I kind of like how it opens and the construction of it. We kept that one. 

I thought we had done really well. The collector had rid himself of his collection. 

Then Lily said she had a whole stack of Apple computer boxes. 

And that’s where I drew the line. “We just keep them,” I said.

Here’s the thing: In some respects God is a collector. He collects people to be His own. He has such a warm love for those in His collection and He puts a high value on their souls. God is a collector of souls. To be part of His collection, we must put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of a collector are you? Leave your comments and questions below.

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When It’s Time, You Just Have To Act

You just know when it is time to move on to something else. 

when it's time you just have to act

It’s the 9th of January and we still have our Christmas decorations up. The outdoor lights still come on precisely at 5 p.m. And the Christmas tree lights in the living room still get turned on every evening. 

We’ve milked the Christmas mood or feeling to the limit. 

Most of us like to do that, especially if we don’t have something specific to move on to.

After Christmas there isn’t another season to transition to – it’s just the cold and dirtier side of the same winter season. 

After Christmas you notice that the white blanket of snow that falls on the trees and grass is just dull, grey and brown. Maybe it has to do with the sanding trucks that are running at full tilt at this time of year. Our church parking lot has about a pickup truck full of salt and sand on it and we haven’t even made it to February yet. 

That wonderful winter scene that adorns Christmas cards and instagram posts is never shot in the middle of January. That’s because nothing outside looks good in the middle of January. 

So why not keep the Christmas look and the Christmas feeling around as long as possible. Certainly the lights make looking as the filthy mounds of snow in parking lots a little easier. 

But you know when it’s time to take it all down. You can delay but eventually there comes a time you just have to make the switch. 

I used to instinctively know when to make a switch when I was a youth pastor planning activities for a Friday night group. I would plan lots of games or things to do, but I wouldn’t necessarily mind whether we did them all. 

If a game was going well, if the students were really getting into an activity, I would keep it going and not switch to a new activity. By the end of the night if we didn’t run one or two games, it was fine. It just meant that something else was a hit. 

There is another reason we delay putting Christmas away. No one likes packing it up and putting everything back in the boxes. 

Yet when I look outside, I’m thinking it’s time. 

It’s a nice day today, most of the snow on our lawn has melted and the outside temperature is sitting at about 4 degrees. I don’t like putting the lights away at the best of times, but I really hate putting them away when the wind is howling at -15 degrees. 

Ya, we know when it’s time to move on, when it’s time to give in to the dull, bleak, overcast January blues. 

I’m ready for spring now … only that won’t come around for another two to two and a half months. 

Without the Christmas lights as a camouflage to what’s really going on outside, I will have to dream of summer a little more. 

… But with the weather we have today, I just know it’s time to say goodbye to Christmas.

Here’s the thing: When God nudges you to do something, maybe even to place your faith in Him, you know it’s time to act. Don’t think that there will be a day ahead that will be just as good as today. You don’t know if that day will come. All you know is that today is a good day; just do it. 

That’s life!

Paul

Question: What have you been delaying that you should just do today? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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Catastrophe Happens When You Least Expect It

Have you ever been minding your own business when catastrophe strikes? Well, that’s what happened on Saturday night. 

catastrophe happens when you least expect it

I was doing my regular Saturday night routine, wings doused in Frank’s Redhot sauce. The TV was on and the Leafs were winning. 

There was no question, I was feeling pretty good. I threw some balls out on the pool table and proceeded to knock them into the pockets.

Then I remembered I had a few chairs that needed a bit of assembling. … Who am I kidding? The chairs were from IKEA – they needed complete assembling. 

Life was good. I’d already read over my sermon about three times and made some edits to it. 

What I didn’t realize as I was enjoying my Saturday evening was the catastrophe happening outside the four walls of our house. 

Unlike the three little pigs’ homes, our house is thankfully not made of straw so we were comfortable and unfazed by the howling wolf of a wind outside.

Then Lily heard a crashing sound and went to a window to look out.

Our basketball net had fallen over. 

Realizing that the wind was strong enough to drop the basketball net, she started looking out other windows to check the property over.

That’s when she spied that our back fence had fallen over – not the whole fence but three sections were down. 

Years ago we stored our travel trailer in our back yard, so I had taken two sections of the fence apart and made a large gateway out of them.

We haven’t used this gate in over ten years, but the modification makes weaker than the rest of the fence.  

Add to that, I discovered that two posts had rotted just above the cement that holds them into the ground. This made for a “perfect storm” in the wind storm we were experiencing.  

… I’m thinking that’s why in the three little pigs story even the house that was made with sticks couldn’t withstand the wolf’s howling breath. 

Seeing my fence look like that plastic garden edging that is not fully installed, I figured I needed to do something right there and then.

With no plan I went out to inspect the situation. I figured I couldn’t do anything about the section that was part of the gate and now on the ground, but I could get the other two sections standing straight up again.

With some ingenuity, stakes, a sledge hammer and some tie down straps I got that fence standing fairly straight. Of course I had a large gap in the fence where the one section was missing. 

With a trip to the hardware store the next day for some fence hangers and nails, I had what I needed to put that last section up.

Unless that wolf comes back, I think my fence will remain standing this winter, I’ll make permanent repairs in the spring.

Here’s the thing: Life can flow along for you so peacefully, but there could be a catastrophe brewing. That life storm can overtake you in an instant. It was Jesus who calmed the storm for His disciples. He can calm the storms you go through as well. Always seek Him, and also in times of trouble. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What life storm do you need to seek Jesus for right now? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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Gaining Victory Out Of What Seemed A Loss

I achieved a victory even though I lost. 

gaining victory out of what seemed a loss

Have you ever had that happen when you technically lost, but in a way you won? It happened to me driving home from the Kingston Frontenacs hockey game the other night. 

During the hockey season, Friday nights are date nights for me and Lily. It’s something we do together and both enjoy. 

Because I’m the team chaplain, Lily has also gotten to know the players and so she has a personal interest in watching them play. She’s a pretty vocal supporter, too. She will shout out their first names and, with all kinds of passion, encourage them to skate after that puck or go for the goal.

This fall Lil has been coming in to work at the church on Friday afternoons. Our standard practice is to take just one car down to the hockey game and leave the other one at the church to pick up after the game.

It’s not that there is anything said or that we plan on it, but one thing leads to another and, during our drive home, the race is on. 

This past Friday I switched lanes thinking that I would be behind someone who was going to travel faster than the car I was behind. 

It was a big mistake! 

The car I had been behind turned off the road just after I changed lanes and Lily moved up and ahead of me in that other lane. 

I then got boxed in because the new car I was following was not going as fast as the line of cars beside me. I couldn’t change back and kept getting further and further behind Lily.

… Then came an opening. I made my move and, well, drove a little fast. 

Lily was way ahead but I kept up my speed and caught up to her at a red light. 

I again got in the opposite lane from her, knowing that her lane had to merge due to construction. … But I didn’t count on the guy in front of me going slow enough that Lily was able to get in front of him, and not get stuck waiting to merge. 

Once Lily turned off the main road, there were no more opportunities for me to get ahead of her. It was like she had already won and we were still a kilometre from home. 

I stayed right behind her though.

As we turned onto our street, I hit my garage door remote and my door started opening before hers did. She pulled into our driveway; I came up beside her and drove directly into the garage. From there I quickly exited the car and got to the door before she was able to park her car. 

I kind of won, but she made it to the driveway first. Luckily my garage door remote has a farther range and my door opens and closes faster than hers. That’s what gave me the win. 

Lily keeps protesting the results, insisting it’s the first to the driveway who wins, but I’m still claiming victory.

Here’s the thing: We saw a similar scenario in what Christ did. He lived a perfect life only to die because the religious leaders were jealous and threatened by him. It looked like Jesus lost when he died on the cross, but really he won the victory for you and me to have our sins paid for and to have a relationship with God the Father. His seeming loss was real victory.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Have you taken hold of the victory Jesus won for you? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Is A Free Day Truly Free Or Does It Come With Strings?

Have you ever had a free day but didn’t feel free to do nothing? 

is a free day truly free or does it come with strings

There is something about a free day that screams, “Do something!” but if you do nothing, you feel like you wasted it. 

Today is one of those days for me. Lily is out of town, it’s my day off and I don’t have anything I have to do. 

When I was in my teens, a free day meant I would sleep in until at least 11 am. You see, I would prepare for my free day by staying up really late the night before. So naturally, I would be comatose when the morning came around. 

Now a day off comes mostly with responsibilities or tasks that should be addressed. 

I don’t think I ever have a time when there isn’t something I should do. I may not have to do anything particular that day but I should get something done.

Today is one of those days. I don’t even have Lily around encouraging me to do this or that. Her voice is not in the background suggesting I get moving on some project. She’s not suggesting that I accompany her to the store. She’s not here to tell me it’s a good time to get the Christmas lights up. 

… And what is it with Christmas lights now? People start putting them up the moment Hallowe’en is over. It’s kind of like they share the same container and before they can put the Hallowe’en decorations away they have to unpack the Christmas lights. 

I saw a car the other day with a Christmas tree strapped to the roof. My first thought was, “How in the world is a real tree going to last until Christmas Day?” That has the makings of a fire written all over it. Those pine needles will be so dry that they will make good kindling for even those low-powered LED mini-lights. 

But I digress. 

I have this free day and find myself unmotivated to do anything. I did play hockey in the morning but that doesn’t count since it is a regularly scheduled event on my calendar. 

When I think really hard, there are three things that I should do today – writing this blog is one of them. 

But I don’t feel like doing anything. 

If I sat down and thought about it, I could put eight or nine things on a to-do list, but I don’t even want to make that list. It will put pressure on me to do something, and then if I don’t work on that list, the day will be a failure. 

No, a free day should be free – free to flow as it unwinds, free to be lost in whatever you are doing, free to not think of anything but the present. 

I can’t remember the last time I felt this way. 

Maybe it’s been building. I don’t think I’ve had a day in a long time where I didn’t have responsibilities to deal with. 

… Well, it looks like I just did something. I wrote this post. 

Here’s the thing: There is not a lot in life that is free, but God did give us free choice. We can choose to love Him or not. It is up to us. Choose wisely because that one choice also determines your eternity.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do with a free day? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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We Avoid What We Don’t Want To Face

There are things we avoid because we don’t like them. Sometimes we are reminded of why we don’t like them. 

we avoid what we don't want to face

There are certain things I try to avoid in life. Eating select vegetables and watching sappy movies immediately come to mind. 

Sometimes just saying no is enough. But there are times when you have to go out of your way to avoid what you don’t like. When confronted with an afternoon of shopping at an outlet mall for instance, you might have to fake a bad knee to get out of it. 

There are other times you can’t avoid the things you don’t like; you just have to face them. For instance, going to the dentist. It’s not on anyone’s favourites list, but you have to go at least once or twice a year.

One thing I’ve consistently avoided at the dentist is having freezing. It’s not like I have perfect teeth; in fact I have a mouth full of fillings. But there are two reasons why I avoid freezing. 

First, I don’t like needles. I go to great lengths to avoid getting a needle if I can. Second, I hate freezing for the way it makes my face feel. I have, therefore, avoided any freezing at the dentist. 

I can’t remember the last time I had freezing. Well, actually I can because I had freezing this week.

I had to have a back molar pulled. It had had a crown on it, but the root cracked. I finally agreed to get it taken out and get an implant put in. 

My dentist said right off the bat that he would need to freeze me for the extraction. I didn’t question him. I figured it would be rather painful.

So I got all frozen up. I mean the whole side of my face, from just below my eye, felt numb. Oh and my tongue – for hours it was a useless piece of flappy muscle. I really don’t like the feeling.

And freezing stays with you for a while. I had a dinner meeting that night and I was still frozen. The worst part of it was that I couldn’t tell if I had food on my face. I had to ask the guys I was with if my face had leftovers on it.

It’s not a good scenario when you’re talking away and people are staring at you. They are actually likely staring at the drool that has started out of the corner of your mouth and is making a slow descent down to the bottom of your chin. 

But when you’re frozen you have no clue! You merrily go about your business while they just stare at you. It’s like they’ve placed bets on how long it will take to drip off your chin. No one wants to tell you in case you wipe it away and then all bets are off.

Fortunately for me, I was not drooling uncontrollably and by midway through my meeting the freezing wore off.

I finally stopped sounding like Marlon Brando in the Godfather.

Here’s the thing: You can avoid dealing with the sin in your life. You can pretend that it’s no big deal. You can rationalize it. Or you can claim everyone else does it. But there will come a time when you have to face Jesus with it. You can’t get out of it. So it is far better to deal with your sin now and confess it before Him than it is to wait until He confronts you with it. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What thing do you really try to avoid? Leave your questions and comments below.

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When You Know Life And Purpose Have Aligned

From time to time I post an article from the past. This blog post is from November of 2013. I hope you enjoy.

when you know life and purpose have aligned

There is a sweetness when our life and purpose align. When life and purpose come together, there is something special that’s hard to put into words.

Its an amazing feeling like being by a fireplace, sipping your favourite beverage and listening to good music – can you imagine that feeling?

This week Lily and I were at our District Pastors’ Retreat. Once a year, the pastors in our denomination get together in each district for a couple of days to be renewed and refreshed together. We go to be preached to, challenged, encouraged and sent out again. 

It’s sort of for us, what we do each week of the year for others.  Lily and I look forward to these times together, and even view the drive to the retreat as special. 

This year, it was just a little different. Lily and I went to prayer retreat with our daughter. Now, I think she was at one retreat when she was about 5 or 6 months old, but this year she came as a pastor.

It’s pretty special to have your daughter join you as a colleague, and not just your daughter, at a special work related event. She was there as a fellow worker in ministry!

Along with all my peers and pastor friends was my daughter, as one of them. She didn’t come as my child, but as a co-worker.

Every time I introduced her, I felt a sense of pride – a thankful pride. I had this warmth deep within me that spread to every part of my insides. And even though there was a sense that Karlie was now invading my territory, it was in a good way, a welcoming way.

It wasn’t all good though. There were some things about having our daughter along that didn’t make our pastors’ retreat easy for me. I think it started on our trip up. When we stopped for dinner, I was talked into eating a “wrappy pita thingy” … lots of lettuce, not much meat. 

Our afternoon of strolling through the town of Huntsville didn’t really work for me. The shopping trip into town was against me. Now there were two people who wanted to shop in stores I had no interest in.  

I couldn’t even hurry Lily up because she had a partner who also wanted to stay longer. I ended up by myself at the chocolate store. And I think I soothed my woes by purchasing a little more candy that I should have.

On the other hand, I didn’t feel so bad leaving my wife to shop in some Christmas store; she had Karlie to keep her company.

There was this “two against one” thing going on the whole retreat – I caved on a lot of things. Still the pride in my heart and the warmth in my spirit made it all worth it.

Here’s the thing: Think of God creating you with a purpose, then watching you grow and develop. He sees you choose right and wrong along the way, and cringes a little when you make some decisions to go in ways that lead you away from His purpose. Then He watches how you turn, or begin to get on the path of what He has created you for. Finally, God surveys life and purpose align with you serving Him, working alongside Him in the purpose He created you for. Well, I know how God feels. He’s proud of His creation!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you wish for your children? Leave your comment below.

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“I Only Do It Once” – Famous Last Words

I only do it once, but that’s not going to happen this year.

I only do it once - famous last words

I was away for the first four days of the week. And when I returned home there was a beautiful blanket of leaves covering my front lawn. 

It’s that time of year when the leaves on our maple tree turn amazing shades of yellow and orange. It’s also the time when those said leaves start to fall off the tree. 

It was a beautiful sight seeing those leaves when we got home. But I knew I needed to get them into a bag while they were still lying peacefully in one place.

My neighbours would appreciate me cleaning up my leaves so that they don’t have to. Not that they would clean up my lawn for me, but when the wind starts blowing, I lose ownership of those leaves. 

Though they came from my tree, they become the property of my neighbours when they get blown by the wind into their shrubs and back yards. 

… In some ways, the best thing I could do for myself is leave them alone. If I left the leaves long enough, I wouldn’t have any to pick up. 

That thinking, however, wouldn’t make me all that popular on the street. So this afternoon I have to get moving and warm up my leaf blower.

What I use is actually a leaf “mulcher” but that, apparently, is not a word so you just have to picture what I do.

The machine has a wide scoop of a nozzle that sucks up the leaves. They then pass through a series of blades and end up in a bag which collects the fragmented leaves.

Usually I clean up my leaves on one day, just once a year. But this year the front yard is covered and I can’t ignore them, even though there are still plenty more on the tree that I’ll have to deal with another day.

Right now there are so many leaves on the ground that I could gather them up into a high enough pile that I could jump into them.

… I’m not going to do that. You can picture me doing it if you want to, but I’m not going to make up a word for it either. 

Today there is no wind. I’m sure my neighbours are hoping I will take advantage of the stillness to save them from cleaning up after my tree droppings. 

There are a number of things I only like to do once, like swapping out my summer tires for winter ones, or switching out golf clubs for hockey sticks in the truck of my car. 

Another one of those one-and-done things for me is gathering up the leaves off my lawn. It should be a once-a-season chore only. 

But this year, this year it’s going to be a two-day affair for me. 

Here’s the thing: Jesus came to earth, lived, then died for the sins of everyone. It was a one time sacrifice, a one time act. You would think that everyone would eagerly, willingly and immediately get in on Jesus’ sacrifice and all at once the world would be saved. But not everyone is ready to get in on this forgiveness of their sins. Thankfully, God is patient and, although we should immediately receive Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, God waits for us to be ready. It should be once and done, but our patient God delays Jesus’ return for us. My advice: don’t test His patience. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to do right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Great Intentions Will Get You Nowhere

I had great intentions this morning. I knew what I was going to do first … well, maybe not first. First I take some personal time with God and then I play hockey on Saturday mornings.

great intentions will get you nowhere

It was after that that I intended to write out a list of things I wanted to do today.

That was the catalyst for my great intentions.

Hockey was over at 8:30 am but I just finished writing out my list at 1:15 pm. No, it didn’t take me that long to write out my list. I just didn’t get to it. … So much for great intentions.

Other things consumed my time, like deciding to listen to music while I ate breakfast. 

I had issues trying to connect my phone with the speaker in the kitchen, but rather than just listen to the music from my phone’s speakers, I chose to solve the issue with the speaker in the kitchen.

In the process I listened to a lot of music on my phone before I got my kitchen speaker set up … and burned through a good deal of time. 

Then I checked my email on my phone, which sent me on a rabbit trail, that took me to facebook and a lot of scrolling. 

Before I knew it, I was feeling a little peckish, so I rustled up some lunch, which usually means reheating a leftover meal from earlier in the week. 

We had one meal in the fridge so that worked out for me. I also got wings out of the freezer for my dinner later, so I was all set for meals.

It was time to make that list. 

And when I make a list of things I need or want to get done, there is always more on that list than I had originally thought of in my head. 

Today my list is kind of long … not too long for a 9-in-the-morning list, but rather long for a starting-after-1-pm list.

What really messed me up was that I didn’t make my list until the afternoon. Somehow my brain thinks that when the list is made, then I have my instructions for the day. Until I make that list, I’m free-wheeling on whatever comes into my mind to do that minute. 

That’s just how my mind works. 

I remember years ago taking a Myers Briggs temperament evaluation. Along with the four letters that indicated what each particular temperament was, there was a prayer that went along with it. 

One of the prayers went something like, “God help me to keep my mind on one thi … Oh look, it’s a bird.”

For some reason I need a dock or a post to chain my mind to. For me, a list is that post or dock that keeps me focussed. 

I’m hoping my list will tie down my brain to the things I want to do today.

Here’s the thing: Our great intentions don’t mean anything unless we actually get to them. That is true with God as well. You might have great intentions to follow Him one day, but intentions won’t make that happen. You might have great intentions to forgive a person, or to clean up some part of your life. Great intentions won’t do it for you. You have to get at it and start. What are you waiting for?

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s your great intention and what are you going to do about it? Leave your comments and questions below.

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