my experiences

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My Fine Motor Skills Are Definitely Lacking

I’ve determined that my fine motor skills are not what they should be.

my fine motor skills are definitely lacking

It’s not as though I can’t work a pen or pencil, although, if you’ve seen some of my writing, you might call that into question. 

When my son was little and watching me journal, he asked me a very thoughtful question. He said, “Daddy why are you scribbling?”  

I told him I wasn’t, that I was writing, to which he rebutted “you are scribbling”. 

So maybe I can’t wield a pen or pencil like other people. 

I get along just fine doing most things. My hands work well: I can type, hold a baseball and catch a ball in my hand. I have no trouble holding or using a hockey stick … though my thumb is a little sore after a collision playing hockey this morning. But when it comes to more intricate moves, maybe I am lacking. 

If you do something enough times you get the hang of it. And that should also be true when using your hands.

For instance, no matter how uncoordinated you are, if you practice tying your shoelaces enough times, you will get pretty good at it. … I’m glad to say that I have mastered that fine motor skill and I don’t think I even needed any remedial help with it. 

But there are a few things that I just can’t seem to master. One of them is a video game joystick. 

Maybe you have to be born after 1980 to use one. I can never get my thumbs and fingers doing the right things at the right time. 

I was not much into video games but when my son was just starting out, we would play hockey on his Nintendo. 

… Well, that lasted about a month. 

We started off about equal but within a matter of weeks he had surpassed my skill level and never looked back. 

Any time after that when he’d challenge me to play with him, I just smiled and said I was not in the mood. It was really because my fingers don’t work that well.

But there is one more thing that really bugs me and that is playing the guitar. I can practice the same thing over and over and never seem to get past a certain stage. 

There is a little lick I’ve been trying to master for literally half a year. It is a couple of chords and then a solo part. I’ve played it over and over but I can’t get it to sound like it fits. 

And my fingers on my right hand refuse to cooperate with my pick in my left hand. 

I’ve practiced that bit way more than I ever practiced learning to tie my shoelaces. But if I had had this much trouble mastering my shoelaces, I would have switched to velcro straps instead.

Maybe you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Here’s the thing: We all have limitations; there are things we just can’t master or figure out. But there is a God who has created this whole world, who has never fretted one moment about accomplishing any of it. He is worth trusting your life to and depending on when you’ve reached your limitations. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find hard to master? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Perception Can Either Be Right Or Completely Off

When people have a certain, inaccurate perception of you, it’s really great to prove them wrong. 

perception can either be right or completely off

We form perceptions of people all the time. When we first meet or see someone, we instantly have a perception of them.

We secretly determine what their personality is like or how smart they are. We size them up – are they funny, serious, intriguing or boring? 

And we do all this in a matter of seconds.

Every once in a while my wife, Lily, and I will do some people watching. It makes for some good entertainment, especially if we are just sitting around, like in the food court of a mall.

We might notice a couple talking at the entrance of a store across the way. I’ll give Lily a rundown of their possible conversation. My story will include what the couple are talking about, whether they are arguing or agreeing with each other. 

Sometimes I will provide accents for the two people or what their voices sound like.

Our perceptions are not always right … likely more wrong than right. It doesn’t matter because this all happens before we have met them.

It is one thing to have a perception of someone you are meeting for the first time. It’s a totally different thing to have a perception of someone you have known for years and years … like about 40 years.

That’s what I ran into this weekend. 

Our daughter, Karlie, has just taken training in FST. You probably have no clue what that is – most people don’t. It stands for Fascial Stretch Therapy. 

… And it has nothing to do with the face. 

It does have to do with the most prevalent connective tissue in your body.

Your fascia supports every aspect of movement – muscles, tendons, organs, ligaments and nerves.

FST can increase your flexibility, reduce aches and pains, and improve range of motion. A person trained in FST basically stretches you during a session. 

Well, Karlie has recently started treating clients and loves to improve her skills as much as possible. (You can check out her instagram pics here.)

… So who better to practice on when you are home for Thanksgiving than your family?! 

Let’s just say there was a lot of stretching that happened this past weekend. 

But then there was me – the only one who hadn’t been stretched. 

The perception of the family was that I would be very tight and that my flexibility and range of motion would be dismal. 

I guess all the disparaging talk and the perception of my physical condition got to me. I had Karlie stretch me. 

Ha, turns out their perception was wrong! I am way more flexible and have way more range of motion than both my wife and son. 

So much for perception.

Here’s the thing: Many people have perceptions of God. Their perception is based on things they have heard and people they’ve listened to. Some people form their perception based on something that happened to them. They make up a scenario of God’s involvement in that incident. But these are all perceptions and they may be wrong. To know what God is like, you have to meet Him and have experience with Him. You can start to meet Him by reading the Bible, and have experience with Him by talking with Him (prayer). The more you do these things, the more you will discover what God is really like.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What perception do you have that needs to either be proved true or busted? Leave your comments and questions below.

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The Phone Call You Hesitate Returning

I got a phone call from someone who said he knew me but I couldn’t place him. I didn’t even recognize the name. 

the phone call you hesitate returning

So I hesitated making the call, not being sure what this person may want from me.  Instead, I made another call, just to warm up to the idea of returning this message.  

It didn’t help.  

I again looked at the message, to try to figure out who this person might be, and how I might know him. Then I decided to give it a shot; I made the call.   

Some people answer the phone and start talking like you know them, and if you don’t immediately make it clear that you have no clue who they are, the phone call becomes awkward.  

It’s agony when that happens. 

You strain to pick up on any tip the person may drop as they talk.  About a month ago, I was five minutes into a conversation before I figured out who I was talking to.  

During that time I thought it was one person and then I thought it was someone else.

When I eventually figured it out, what the guy was saying finally made sense.  I was sweating on the other end of the line. 

Thankfully, this guy didn’t leave me hanging.  

He could tell I didn’t have the slightest idea who he was and asked, “You don’t know who I am, do you?”  When I said “no”, he gave me some context to place him in.

I had played shinny hockey with him years ago. 

In fact, except for one game of hockey he played with me about a year ago, I probably haven’t seen him in about 5 years.  

Let’s just say he hadn’t been in my circle of associates for a long time, and I had only known him by his first name.  He phoned me because he knew I was a pastor and thought maybe he could talk some things over with me.

The guys I regularly play shinny hockey with all know that I’m a pastor.  Somehow it comes out.  When they find out, their language usually changes for a while, and when they slip up they usually apologize … at first.  

Even though I’ve been playing hockey with some of these guys for years and years, not often am I asked for anything other than a pass on the ice.  

This call was pretty unusual, especially given the fact we had been out of touch for so long. 

We talked about setting up a time to meet and then ended the conversation.  When I hung up the phone, I just sat in my chair for a moment, thinking about how that guy came to call me at this particular time in his life.

Here’s the thing:  What we do today may not seem like it makes much difference.  In fact, one day may not make much difference.  But over a long time, being genuine to those around you may trigger something in someone, years from now, in their time of need.  That’s when being a consistent Christian example before them will make a difference.  God reminded me, through this phone call, that the testimony of my life has no expiry date attached to it.  So, I need to keep living a life God can use.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How has your life, your testimony, your example made a difference years later?  Leave your comment below.

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Writing Things Down Can Ensure Success

Writing things down increases your potential every day. 

writing things down can ensure success

… You might be thinking, “That’s a pretty bold statement. Do you have facts to back it up?” 

Well, no I don’t. 

I suppose I could find some facts that would support my statement at least in part. But I think my own testimony is good enough on this topic.

We rely heavily on our memory and, thankfully, for the most part, our memory is great. 

You don’t have to think about so many things during the day because your memory brings them to the forefront of your mind and you just act on them. 

Your phone number – you don’t have to think about it. Your address – you recite it automatically. You know your co-workers’ names by heart. 

It is amazing how often our memory assists us. 

However, when you have work to accomplish, something you want to put into your memory, or just something you don’t want to forget, writing it down is a better option than relying solely on your memory. 

This is what I have found … 

For all the things I need to accomplish in a day, or things I want to accomplish, if I keep them all in my memory I am more likely not to accomplish everything on my mental list. 

But if I write out a to-do list of the things I have in my mind to accomplish, I have a much greater success rate. 

I’m not sure why that is. Maybe, if it’s only in my mind, it’s not prioritized; it’s simply one of many things that needs to be done. 

I am more apt to think, “I’ll get to it sometime today” … but that sometime may never come.

Writing things down keeps you more focussed. There is something about seeing that task in front of you and crossing it off when it is complete that keeps you locked into the things that are a priority. 

Recently I was having a difficult time staying focussed all day long. I knew what I needed to get done, so I didn’t bother to write anything down. 

And every day that week my work ran out of hours in the day. There were times that I wasn’t productive. Basically I wasted time. 

I had things to do but I figured I still had a bit of time to look into something that was not on my mental agenda. … I never got back to the things I wanted to get done in time to actually get them done. 

When Friday came around I was way behind on what I needed to accomplish. 

So I did two things: first I tidied up my desk – I feel better when my desk is clear. Then I wrote out a list of tasks I needed to get done.

One by one I checked them off my list. I didn’t deviate from my list; I wasn’t even tempted. 

Writing things down gave me the focus and motivation I needed to get all my work done. 

Here’s the thing: When you make a commitment to God, or you believe God wants you to do something, if you just keep that in your memory, you may or may not get around to it. But if you write it down, you will be more likely to follow through on what God is asking of you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What things do you need to write down today, in order to accomplish them? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Good Technical Support People Make Life Easier

Good technical help is not easy to come by … and it’s not because the skill and know-how are hard to find.

good technical support people make life easier

When you visit another country and they speak a language that you do not, there is definitely a communication barrier. I’ve been to several countries where I didn’t speak the language. I could communicate but it was not very easy.

A few times I have preached with an interpreter and that takes a little getting used to. You need to keep your sentences short and only speak a couple of sentences at a time. Then you just hope that the interpreter is telling the people what you said … and not telling them what he thinks of what you said or how you are dressed. When you didn’t tell a joke but the people laugh at what the interpreter says, you get a little suspicious.

My wife, Lily, and I went to Quebec City for a vacation one year. Fortunately, Lily can speak a little French and she understands more than she can speak. For myself, after bonjour, I’m a little thin on my French. 

In grades seven and eight I learned how to say pen and pencil and a few other words. But that will not get you far, especially if you are trying to order a meal. You won’t find pencil lead or ink on the menu.

I also have the ability to  speak words with a French accent so they sound French. … You should hear me say “dessert”.

But you can’t really communicate effectively with what I have to work with. 

In Quebec I would get off to a great start with my “bonjour” but then when they would say something back to me, I would just look at Lily, sort of like,”Okay, take it from here.”

This week I’ve been trying to switch our church website hosting from one company to another. Basically we are creating a brand new website. The new website will be easier to use and update, but it doesn’t seem to be easy to switch it from the old site.

Part of the difficulty in making the switch is that the technical support people, from each company involved, are speaking a different language. 

On the surface it appears they all communicate in English. But that’s misleading because what they say is very difficult to understand. 

Maybe they are too used to talking to computers and they have lost the art of communicating with humans. Maybe they only know certain phrases and words in English so they stick to the phrases they know. 

I had technical help from three companies: my new website host, my old website host, and my URL name registrar. After a day and a half it seemed like none of them could or were willing to help. They knew the solution but they didn’t communicate it to me in terms that were clear to me. 

I just needed to ask the right questions and listen carefully to their answers. 

Here’s the thing: Some people feel like that with God. They ask God questions or for certain things but they don’t get or understand the answers. The thing is God will communicate to us clearly, but often we are not really listening very well. Listen to God with your eyes, your mind, your heart and your ears. He is speaking clearly to you. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: In what way do you need to improve your listening skills with God? Leave your comments and questions below.

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My Nose Is Giving Me Some Issues Right Now

Excuse me if I’m holding my nose right now. It’s not because of the smell, but it is becoming a common activity for me lately. 

my nose is giving me some issues right now

I remember as a kid holding my nose when my family drove past a farm. In those days we only had four-by-four air conditioning in our car – that was basically all four windows rolled down. Thankfully, we were usually out of range of the farm really fast. 

This summer on our vacation, Lily and I drove for a good thirty minutes with the smell of manure seeping through the closed vents in our car – it was brutal. We had the air con blasting and the air circulating in the car and not bringing in fresh air. The smell was still pretty strong.

… I think the worst for me, though, was one time when the administrator at the church I was working at got manure for the gardens around the church.

It was pretty fresh manure … too fresh. 

Even though I was an adult at the time, the scent was so strong that I would hold my breath or plug my nose from my car to the church. 

It was amazing that that administrator kept his job! The strong odour lasted for weeks and the students I was working with at the time were very vocal about it. 

The good thing was that the kids ran into the church for our programs. There was no lingering outside. They came straight in.

A rotten odour is usually what you think of when you see someone holding their nose. But that has nothing to do with why I’ve been holding my nose lately. 

It seems that every year at this time, and another time in the winter, I am prone to nose bleeds. 

I’ve been having them since my teen years and they come on very suddenly and unexpectedly. I had my share of nose bleeds from being hit in the nose, but these bleeds happen at any time for no apparent reason. 

I’ve had two in the last week. Both times my nose started bleeding in the shower. 

On the one hand, there isn’t any mess; it all goes down the drain. But have you ever tried to finish showering with one hand? … And then there is the drying off. 

This morning I had a nose bleed while showering after playing hockey. I wished they had one of those car wash dryers. Then I could have let the wind dry me off.

I am now a master at the one-hand towel manipulation. 

I’m sure I will have a few more bleeds before the end of the fall. My blood pressure is in check, so it’s just something that happens as the seasons change. 

You know some people can tell by the pain in their neck when it is going to rain. Well, I can tell that the season is changing by my leaky nose.

Here’s the thing: No one likes getting a cut or having a nose bleed. Our blood is meant to stay inside us. We need it to live. But Jesus was willing to bleed and die for your and my sins. He bled for us – something we wouldn’t wish on anyone. Be sure you are secure in His salvation by placing your faith in Jesus as the Son of God and your Saviour. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How much would you suffer for someone else? Leave your comments and questions below.

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It Feels Good When Something Works Out For You

It feels good when someone comes through for you. When it happens it kind of makes your day, makes you feel like you won something.

it feels good when something works out for you

It can happen with anything – someone able to book a tee-off time for you, a friend getting you into a restaurant that was booked solid for the next week, or your kids sending you on a trip across the country for your 35th anniversary … well, that’s another story.

This week I was the recipient of someone – actually a company – coming through for me. 

In a recent blog post I wrote about waiting to find out if I would get a replacement frame for my bike. (You can read that here.)

This is what happened …

I’ve had my current mountain bike for about seven years. I really enjoy it and have no need or wish to get a new or updated model. 

One day on vacation, however, with my bike up on a stand for some maintenance, I discovered I had a cracked frame. It was right at the joint where the crossbar connects with the upright bar that the seat post comes out of.

I probably should have seen this before. Now that I think back, my bike has made a little creaking sound when I ride it. In fact, this year I’ve noticed the creaking sound increasing more and more. 

The crack in the frame has probably been there for quite some time, but now it goes almost right around the joint. 

I still rode it for a while after I discovered the crack. In my mind I tried to determine if it snapped off, if I would do an endo over the front handle bars or if the bike would collapse under me and I would go straight down. … I never found out what would happen. 

To replace my bike now with the same model would cost $3500 – certainly not something I wanted to pay. Thankfully, my bike company has a lifetime warranty on its frames. 

So when I got home from vacation, I took my bike into the bike shop. They took pictures and sent them away to Giant, the bike manufacturer. 

I waited for about two weeks and then, just before Lily and I were heading to Vancouver (remember that anniversary gift?), I got a call telling me my new frame came in. I dropped my bike off at the bike shop the same day we were leaving town for our trip. 

When I got back this week, my bike was ready. They had transferred all my bike parts to the new frame and now I pretty much have a new bike … and I didn’t have to take out a loan to pay for it. 

I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I would actually get a new frame at no cost to me, but my bike company came through and, man, it sure feels like a win for me!

Here’s the thing: We pray for a lot of things. It’s worth taking note of the things you pray for, otherwise you might forget when a prayer gets answered. If you write down what you prayed for as a reminder, when God answers a prayer, you can acknowledge that He came through for you. Not only does it bolster your faith, but it also feels like a win. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you praying for right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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People Are Never Far From You

I discovered again this week that we are never far from people we know.

people are never far from you

We can have friends and acquaintances who we once saw on a regular basis and who were part of our world, but when we move or they move, our worlds change. New friends or acquaintances come into our lives and fill them up. We tend to be engaged with the people who are right around us.

It is very much like leaving one world and entering another. We have new scenery, new people and new experiences with those people.

It’s almost like the original Star Trek television series – well, minus Captain Kirk and the Klingons. They had a five year mission to explore new worlds. 

When we move or change our setting, we end up exploring a new world. 

When you travel to a different country, there are sights you’ve never seen before, different people, customs and languages. It’s like a new world. You may have heard of that world before, but when you travel there you get a new perspective of that land and those people. 

I remember traveling to Israel eleven years ago. Though I had never been there before, I had read through the Bible many times and had an idea of what the land was like. 

I was shocked at how my perception of the country was different from actually being there. My world collided with the world of the Bible and I came away with a new, richer understanding of that land.

When the world we are in is different from the world we have left or are going to, sometimes those worlds collide for a short time. 

This week Lily and I took a trip to Vancouver on the other side of the country from us. It was a new world in a lot of ways.

The scenery is so different from home. Though the people speak the same language, in a way there is a difference that is hard to pinpoint. 

Though we were there in that other world for a short time, our two worlds collided in an interesting way. 

Each day of our trip we had the opportunity to collide with old friends and acquaintances. 

One day it was an old high school friend of mine … and when I say old, having looked afterwards at the pictures, yes, we are getting old. 

Another day we met with a mentor couple of Lily’s and mine. What was interesting was, though we are regularly mentored by them, it was the first time Lily and I together had been in their presence. 

The next day we met with my uncle, aunt and cousins. On our last day, we met up with some friends from our years in Edmonton. 

Each time our world collided with their world. And it is those collisions that keep us connected even though our worlds are so far apart. 

You really can’t go anywhere without finding someone from a world you once were part of. 

Here’s the thing: It always astounds me that wherever I go there is some kind of connection to my present or my past. It shouldn’t astound us then that no matter where we go or where we are, God is always there. We can never move away from Him, never go to another world. God is always part of our present; He is always part of home. Run to Him and maintain that connection. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of connection have you recently made? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Perfect Timing Is Always Amazing When It Happens

There is something about perfect timing that’s, well, just perfect.

perfect timing is always amazing when it happens

We use that phrase “perfect timing” when something happens at just the right time, or in every and any situation that presents itself as working out. 

When a baseball player leaps at the warning track and catches the baseball as it’s going over the fence, we say that’s perfect timing. 

When you show up at a restaurant and are first in line to be seated and look back to notice a large line up forming behind you, you say to yourself, “We got here at the perfect time!”

Even when my wife, Lily, is ready to leave the house at the same time I am, I think it’s perfect timing. … That doesn’t occur very often so it is even more remarkable when it does happen.

And maybe that’s why we notice something when it happens at just the right time. It’s not a regular occurrence. Rather, it is more of a one-off, something that only happens from time to time. 

I remember years ago when our daughter was little and she was bouncing on the couch right beside me. I was looking across the room, talking to Lily, when out of the corner of my eye I saw Karlie bounce right over the arm rest of the couch. 

Without looking, I reached out and caught her by the ankle as she was diving head first toward the floor. 

That was perfect timing, and all I could say to Lily was, “Did you see that catch? Did you see that catch? It was perfect!”

Well, the other day I was driving home from our cottage. I was about a half hour into my five hour drive, when I got a call from our son. He was in Kingston and was going to be leaving to go home to Toronto. 

I had to pass through Toronto on my way home so he suggested that if it worked out, we should meet for dinner along the route between Kingston and Toronto. We agreed to check in when it got closer to the time he was going to leave Kingston. 

I continued on my trip for three plus hours. I had to go through Toronto … which is always a wild card. I got stuck in stop and go traffic from the west end to the middle of the city before things started moving again. 

I was on track to get home at about 7 pm without any stops.

So I called Mike once I got through the traffic, but could only leave a message. When he called back, I told him approximately when I would be passing through the next three cities before I got home. 

We decided he could make it to Belleville around the time I would be getting there, which was still a good 45 minutes from where I was at that moment. 

I figured that one of us would get there and just have to wait ten or fifteen minutes for the other one. 

Well, I rolled into the restaurant parking lot, stepped out of my car, checked something in the trunk, and turned around to see Mike pulling into the lot.  

Perfect timing! Being that far away, coming from opposite directions and arriving under two minutes apart was amazing. 

Here’s the thing: Perfect timing is when two things come together at just the right time. When God answers your prayer, or speaks to you through a verse, or when you become aware of who God is, that’s perfect timing. Pay attention to it and be amazed.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Recently, what has happened perfectly for you? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Not In Shape And I Didn’t Even Know It

I am not in shape, but until yesterday I didn’t know it. 

Not in shape and ai didn't even know it

Most people know when they are not in shape. They can feel when they have gained a few extra pounds. They know when they haven’t been exercising that their muscles and cardio are not where they should be.

This week I played hockey for the first time in five months. I had also come off of a month of vacation during which I ate more than I exercised. I knew going into the game that I was not going to be in great shape. 

The good thing was that many of the other guys who were playing were in the same boat as me, so I didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. But I certainly did know I was not in shape. 

Physically it’s easy to know when you are or are not in shape.

When it comes to other things, it’s not always the case. 

During our vacation I did not play pool. For a while before we left, I had been playing a bit almost every day.

I had been working on a few shots, figuring out how to hit them correctly. I was starting to get to the place of being fairly consistent with making those shots. 

But after a month of no pool, it was like I had taken a few steps backward. In other words, I was not in pool shape. I had to once again practice those shots I’d been learning, just so I could make them consistently.

When we get out of the rhythm of doing something, we will become out of shape for that activity. We’ll get rusty and need to polish our skills again. 

This week I learned something else I’m not in shape for: being back at work. 

I was not in shape for work but I didn’t realize it … well, until this morning, that is. 

I’ve been working as a pastor for 36 years. I’ve been the pastor of my present church for 25 years. A little vacation was not going to cause me to get rusty at the skills or tasks that I do. My vacation from work didn’t make my muscles flabby. 

In fact, it didn’t matter how much junk food I ate during my vacation, it had no affect on the shape I’d be in for work.

I worked my first week back, got the things done that were on my agenda and preached on Sunday. Nothing seemed to be different. It was all the same as it had been before my vacation.  

I didn’t miss a beat. 

… Except I napped Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening and slept in Monday morning. Ya, I’m a bit out of shape and I didn’t know it. 

Here’s the thing: There can be a lot of things that we are not aware of. We don’t realize it until something exposes those things. Many of us have been away from physical community with other Christians for a long time. Take some time to think about how out of shape you are with attending church and being with your brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s time to do something about it and get back in shape.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: In what way are you out of shape right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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