my experiences

by

The Birds

We have had some trouble with birds at our house this spring. Birds must think we like them.  And it is not just this year either.  Last year we had a duck make a nest in our bushes and lay 13 eggs and then abandon them.  Then, a few days ago, we went to barbecue and there was a bird nest right on the grill of the BBQ.  We had left it uncovered for a few days and what can I say, the birds like us. You know what it means when birds are making a nest in your barbecue . . . you’re not barbecuing enough!  We’ll be correcting that problem immediately.

The greatest evidence that birds are ready to move into our place, should we decide to vacate the premises, was the nest they were building right outside our front door. I went to get the newspaper one morning and there were bits of dried grass and twigs on our front step.  I looked up and saw a partially constructed two story with attached garage bird house on our porch light.

 I don’t mind if birds decide to use the tree on our front lawn or our shrubs to build their homes in but, our porch light is a little too over the top.  We decided we would encourage them to build their home somewhere else by removing their building materials from the site.  You’d think that would solve the problem.  But, no . . . it wasn’t long before the birds were delivering more material and equipment and the nest was well underway again.  We cleared it away once more. But, again they returned. For some time we played this game with the birds of them putting up nest material on our porch light and us taking it away.

We finally decided that just clearing away the material was not going to do it. So we found some of our son’s old cologne (AXE, if anyone is taking notes) and sprayed it all over the top of our porch light.  Why did we use cologne? I don’t know, it just came to my mind as a good deterrent. The amazing thing was that it worked.  No more bird nest. We did, however, have a few 21 year old girls show up at the door looking for Mike for the next few days (just kidding).

Satan works on us a lot like those birds did. He is persistent, tempting us to sin time and time again. His hope is that we will give up and let the nest (sin) take up residence in us. It can be really frustrating to, time and time again, battle the same temptation, thinking you have dealt with it only to have it come back – sometimes in the exact same way.

We have to be as persistent as the enemy when dealing with temptation and not give in to sin. However, sometimes we need to do something a little more drastic.  We have to alter something so the temptation can’t come back the same way (like we did by spraying the cologne on the porch light). In this way, we mess with Satan’s plans and our own human nature in making sure we keep sin from making a nest in our heart.

I’ll keep you posted on other tips and tricks to use on birds.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

What have you found successful when dealing with temptation and sin?  Leave your comments below.

by

On the Other Side of the Clouds

On a recent plane trip, I became fascinated by two very different realms that exist in our world. There is the realm below the clouds and the realm above the clouds. On the plane ride home from Calgary we flew above the clouds with the sun shining brightly all around and into the cabin of the plane. I noticed how some people shut their blinds so that they could sleep or to cut the glare on their TV screen while they watched a movie. Looking out my window the sun was unhindered and I found myself squinting to shade my eyes as I looked out.

Below the plane was this white base that seemed firm and as I focused on it, in my mind I could envision a vast landscape of mountains and valleys. It was pure white, clean and bright, inviting. On our descent, the clouds looked softer and billowy and certainly not solid like before.  They morphed into a wispy cottony substance as we enter them.

 This particular day, the cloud cover was thick and it seemed that we traveled a long way to get through the clouds.  Everything out my window was grey and it resembled thick smoke when it is whipped up by the wind. At one point, I thought, “How long are we going to be in these clouds?” I was surprised how thick they were.

When we finally got through, the scene was vastly different from above the clouds. Though it was only 1 pm, it looked like it was late in the evening.  The realm below the clouds was dark and grey, rainy and dull.  It was a complete contrast to the realm above the clouds.  The realm below was sun starved and I felt an immediate dip in my spirit.

Though this was the realm I live in, there was something about the realm above the clouds I wished was present.  Despite my familiarity with the terrain and the landscape, I had a longing for the bright warm and inviting sun.

So here’s my thought: When life seems rotten, when we’re down and things are going all wrong, internally we are in a realm much like I found myself in below the clouds.  In reality though, the sun is still shining – shining as bright as ever, providing warmth and light and goodness.  It just seems as if the sun is absent.

I envision the sun as God’s goodness and blessing shining on us.  For me to experience that once again, I turn to prayer.  I can’t break through my realm (through the clouds) to the realm above, but my prayers can.  Some times the clouds are thick and it seems to take a long time for my prayer to make it through them.  But that doesn’t mean God’s love isn’t shining down.  In the book of Daniel, he once wondered why it took so long for God to answer his prayer.  Look up Daniel 10:1-14. The angel tells Daniel his prayers were received right away but that he was delayed in responding, like there was a battle going on in the clouds.

Sometimes we have to pray for a long time before we see a break in the clouds, and the sun shining again in our lives.  But what I need to remind myself of is that my prayers are received by God instantly, and regardless of how long it is before my prayers are answered, God’s love and grace is shining down on me as bright as ever – even when I can’t see it. And that’s good to know.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

What are your thoughts on delays in answered prayer?   Leave your comments below!

by

The Coffee Shop

I’m not much of a coffee drinker, in fact I don’t drink coffee at all.  I don’t think I have ever bought a coffee for myself, and if I have, it wasn’t to savor the flavor. Recently, my wife and I were in Calgary visiting our daughter who happens to love coffee.  As a result, I have now visited more coffee shops in the last 5 days than I have in my entire life.

Being new to coffee shops, I observed the various places we visited and made some observations. I found that coffee shops often use black boards to display their menus.  I’m not sure if that’s because they often make mistakes and chalk is easy to erase, or if the people who work there are really neat printers and like to show it off.

 I also found these shops unique.  They each had their own unique decor and expressed their owner’s personality.  There were a couple of things, however, that were common in all.  The tables were small and very close together.  Strangers were sitting inches from me and nobody seemed to mind or even notice that they were in my space.

The other common thing was the noise level.  It was loud in these coffee shops on two levels.  First, the coffee machines make an incredible amount of noise for only working with water, milk and coffee beans (our coffee maker at home is virtually silent).  And then there is the talking. People have to talk over the noise of the machines, but also over the voices of the people sitting about 4 inches from their right ear.

Also, from the “research” I did, people like to frequent the same coffee shop often. Apparently, it’s because they like the atmosphere, or the location, or maybe it’s the coffee they like … but I can’t really comment on that – I just had water.  It was good tasting water, mind you, and I am now becoming a connoisseur of fine water.

I started thinking about the similarities between the coffee shop and the church, and I think there are some parallels to make.  Churches have a personality of their own just like coffee shops, and people sit close together when they are in the sanctuary and stand close together in the foyer after church. You might even find yourself right next to someone you don’t know well or have never met.  It’s loud in church when we sing, or when the pastor is trying to emphasize his point, and it is loud in the foyer before and after church with people talking.

There is one difference, however.  People don’t mind going to the same coffee shop over and over again, sitting by people they see often, while never interacting or getting to know them. It’s different at church.  People will soon look for another church if they come and no one talks to them.

The biggest difference between the coffee shop and the church is God.  His love for us has connected us together and should draw us towards those who enter our church for the first time. His love should motivate us to take that first step toward them or open our mouths to say hello.

No matter how much you love that black stuff in your cup, or the atmosphere of the shop, coffee will never move you to open up to the person next to you.  Only God can do that.

Until next time!

Pastor Paul

by

Birthday Cake

April 26, 2012

When I became a parent, life became dominated by doing things for my kids. At first they needed help with everything.  I remember the day before Karlie was born, we decided to go to the store. We just grabbed our coats and went out the door. The day after she came home from the hospital we decided to go out.  But first she needed to be fed.  Then she needed to be changed.  We had to pack a bag for her (just to go to the store). When we were finally ready to leave, I didn’t feel like going to the store any more.

In time, our kids became more independent.  I remember Mike, at one and half years old, telling Lily, who was trying to get him dressed, “I do it myself.”  But as they grew they still needed lots of assistance with things like tying shoes, homework, and driving them places.  And when they got older, the assistance they needed just became more expensive (car insurance, trips, university costs).

The other day however, I had an experience that seemed to turn the tables to them helping me.  Lily was turning 50 and I decided to make a cake for Lily.  Having a birthday cake on her birthday has always been a big thing for her.  Usually I buy one, but this was her 50th – a special birthday – and I knew it would mean a lot to her if I made her birthday cake.  The only trouble with that was, I’ve only made about two other cakes in my life.  I knew making the cake would not be too hard as the instructions are on the cake mix package.  But the icing, I didn’t have a clue what to do for that!  Well, a quick text to my daughter got me some help. She not only confirmed what flavour of cake to make, but she told me the kind of icing to make and she texted, “I’ll email you an easy recipe.”

That gave me a funny feeling.  It wasn’t me helping my daughter, it was my daughter helping me.  It was actually a pretty nice feeling.  She’s an adult now, and she’s looking out for her dad, doing things for him.  I kind of like that feeling; I look forward to more of these types of experiences.

The whole experience reminds me of how God longs to change our relationship.  Some of us spend years doing everything for ourselves and everyone else. But God wants to come alongside us and help us.  We are so used to helping ourselves, that we sometimes resist God’s help.  But having His help is a blessing.  And when we come to realize this truth, we will begin to appreciate His help.  We may even begin to seek His help more and more. You will find that God wants to help in the decisions you make, the problems you face, and the thoughts that race through your mind. He wants to direct your life.  You can resist and keep doing it yourself or you can receive the blessing He offers and let Him help.  The greatest thing we can do, is allow God to help us through life. Begin today to take Him up on His offer to help . . . with that career decision, with the purchase you are contemplating, or the life path you are considering.  We will experience the blessing when we seek Him for things we have always done ourselves.

Until next time!

Pastor Paul