Summer Sheets Just Might Save This Spring

We made the switch this week to summer sheets. 

summer sheets just might save this spring

… You mean you don’t know what they are? That was my wife Lily’s response when I told her we needed summer sheets.

It makes perfect sense to me. 

In the winter, some people might put an extra or thicker blanket on their bed, or use flannel sheets. Well, in the summer we should switch to summer sheets – sheets that are cooler, that when you get into bed feel cold for a few seconds. They feel lighter on your body – you know, summer sheets.

All through this winter we have had sheets that, to me anyway, seem thicker. Apparently they are microfibre. 

All I know is that they have cut down on our electric bill. They produce so much static electricity that I can’t remember the last time we had to pay a utility bill. 

Plus, during these COVID lockdowns with no haircuts, when I get up in the morning my hair is standing out like I touched one of those static electricity balls at the science centre. 

The one good thing about the microfibre sheets is that when you do climb into bed during the winter months, it’s not like taking the polar bear plunge.

Lily likes to drop the temperature in our house to below zero for sleeping purposes. So it’s already a little nippy by the time I’m jumping into bed. Not having the sheets engulf you like an igloo is a good thing.

But when summer comes and we are already hot (because for some reason Lily doesn’t like to drop the temperature when it’s warm outside), well, it’s not too inviting to get into an even warmer bed. 

It was just the other day when we finally put those thin, cool, cotton sheets on the bed. And it feels so good – so good in fact that I could go with summer sheets all year long. But then we wouldn’t be calling them summer sheets, would we?

And that is why most of you have never heard the term, “summer sheets” before. You don’t mess with those crazy microfibre sheets like we do. 

And, to be honest, I don’t think I was ever consulted about making a switch to microfibre sheets. 

All I know is that when the temperatures started to rise, I started resisting getting under the sheets. I started waking up in a sweat and not because of some post trauma I was reliving in a dream.

The sheets just made me too hot. 

Now that we have the summer sheets on the bed, I’m sleeping better, the electricity bill has gone back up to normal and my hair … oh, it’s longer, but I don’t look like I sleep all night with my finger in the power bar beside my bed.

I’m sure glad they still make cotton. We would all be doomed if we had to sleep in microfibre sheets all year long. 

Here’s the thing: Now that the seasons have changed, there is a whole new set of things we involve ourselves in. With more outdoor activities, our lives become busier in some ways. That also means it’s time to adjust to the change without sacrificing time with God. You still need to meet with God in prayer and through scripture. Be sure you find a transition that will keep your relationship with Him thriving. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are the biggest changes you need to make moving into summer? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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This Picture Looks So Attractive To Many

A picture can make the unknown look attractive. The way we are attracted to it may have something to do with art. 

This picture looks so attractive to many

When you look at a piece of art, it can speak to your soul … kind of. 

You might have an attraction to it even though the image may be of nothing. It’s the way the colours interact with each other or the contrast of the lines and the way they are drawn across the canvas. 

You can look at a painting and think, “I want that. I want to hang that on a wall in my home.” There is something about the painting that speaks to you. 

To someone else it may not say anything. There may be no attraction at all. 

The painting may be from an artist who threw different colours on a canvas. Some think it is beautiful; some won’t give it a thought. 

I’m wondering if a picture of hardware tools can have the same effect on someone. If it can, well, then I’ve been affected.

Recently, I bought a new Ryobi tool. 

For anyone who doesn’t know, these are tools that Home Depot exclusively sells. They are battery powered and there are many that will run off the same battery.

Not long ago I got an oscillating tool. 

I didn’t even know what a multi-tool was up until a few days before I bought it. But let me tell you, it is great at cutting the bottom off of door trim to allow for new flooring to go under it … among other things.

Along with my tool came a large, folded up sheet of glossy paper with pictures on it – pictures of tools. There are over 175 tools that are all compatible with my Ryobi batteries. 

One hundred and seventy five! – you read that correctly.

That glossy sheet showed the pictures of all 175 products. Beside each product was the part number, but none of the products were named. 

I knew the names of many. … Hey, I have quite a few of them already. But there were some products that I didn’t even know what they were.

The crazy thing was, I kind of wanted them.  

It was like staring right at a Gerhard Richter abstract as it pulled you in to look deeper. 

I looked at some of the tools. I didn’t know their names; I didn’t know what they did … but I wanted them. 

I wouldn’t put them on the wall of my living room, but I wanted them for my collection of tools. 

And just for my wife, Lily’s information, I’m not just collecting tools. I have them to use on projects.

Just seeing the tools on that page stirred something inside me. 

I’m sure someone else would have thrown the sheet of paper out as soon as they opened the package. 

Lily would have liked it if I had thrown the sheet out. … To each his own. 

I’m keeping that picture sheet and, one day, I just may get one of those mystery tools … and I’ll see what it does.

Here’s the thing: In the Bible, the picture we are given of Jesus attracts us to Him. And even though we can’t see Him, we are attracted to Him. Even those who don’t put their faith in Christ are drawn to Him, to the image that is revealed in the scriptures. It is worth investigating Christ for yourself. You will find Him irresistible.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find most attractive about Jesus? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Limping Along In Life Is No Way To Live

I’m afraid my team is limping into the playoffs. 

limping along in life is no way to live

It’s hockey playoff season again – that special time of year when you can watch a hockey game that matters every day of the week. 

My wife, Lily, loves this time of year! (I wrote that sarcastically, just in case someone wasn’t able to pick up that vibe.)

All the teams are set and it begins tonight … at least for the teams south of the border. 

We still have a few Canadian teams that need to finish up. So the North Division will politely wait to begin the playoffs until two non-playoff contenders finish out their season. 

The teams in the States will already be three games in by then. 

My big concern is for my team. 

With almost a week off before the playoffs start, the Leafs have time to get ready. Those who have been injured can get healthy again and practice with the team. It gives the team time to figure out a new way to approach their power play, which was once first in the league, but now is dismal. 

Maybe the biggest thing they can do in this next week is get the end of the season out of their heads. 

You want to enter the playoffs cresting. You want to be peaking at the right moment. But the Leafs lost three of their last four possible points. 

They lost in overtime and then just lost their last game straight out. They didn’t look all that great. It looked like they were limping off the ice.

Some might argue that they didn’t need to try very hard because they already had the top spot locked up in the North. 

But they finished 6th place in the league when they could have finished 4th. It’s not a big difference but it could have an impact on home ice advantage if they make it to the later rounds … that is if there is home ice advantage for Canadian teams. 

Hopefully, they will be able to travel to the States, and the American teams will be able to travel to Canada. 

… After all, we’ve been letting planes land in Canada from all over the world. Yet these hockey players, who are on chartered flights and get tested for COVID every day, are not allowed to cross the border. 

There is some faulty thinking there!

… Anyway, I digress. 

My point is that my team has not gotten out of the first round of the playoffs in 17 years. Losing your last two games of the season is not a good omen. 

You can’t be pumped up for the playoffs when you were pretty flat in your last two games. 

And if it’s a matter of trying to stay healthy and not getting hurt, well, the physical play is going to ramp up now. You might as well get ready for it. 

Overall, the Leafs have played well this year. They have proved they can hold on to the top spot. 

Why not prove to yourselves and show all the other teams your confidence by ending the season strong?

Here’s the thing: There is something that COVID may contribute to and that is you limping along in your faith. It is easy during this time to coast along, maybe even relax in some of your spiritual disciplines. You just find yourself underwhelmed in your faith. You started so strong in the Lord but during this time you are fading spiritually. Don’t let that happen. Find a new gear and pour yourself into your relationship with Christ. Finish strong.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has fallen flat for you during COVID? Leave your comments and questions below.

I Fell Asleep In The Middle Of Thinking

The other day I fell asleep trying to think of something to write about. 

I fell asleep in the middle of thinking

I can understand this happening if it was 10:30 p.m. and the room was dark. Sure, anyone could fall asleep while thinking in that kind of environment.

But I fell asleep about an hour after I had gotten out of bed, having had seven hours of sleep … and the sun was shining through the windows.

“That’s pretty sad; he must be getting old”, you are probably thinking. 

Well, I have had a history of falling asleep in all sorts of places and conditions. 

I remember one time biking with a couple of friends to a campsite. We got there late in the afternoon but something spooked one of the guys, so at about 3:00 a.m. we headed back. 

I heard wolves in the distance as we rode and at one point got chased by a dog. We finally made it to some semblance of civilization by about 5:00 a.m.  

We were hungry but the restaurant we found didn’t open until 6:00 a.m. So we sat down on the sidewalk to wait. 

I put my head back on the cold, grey slab of cement and I was gone. 

The boys woke me up and, by the time I shook the cobwebs out of my head, they were half way across the parking lot. 

It doesn’t matter the surface or the environment, I can sleep pretty easily anywhere. 

The other day I saw a video of a little bulldog puppy who fell asleep sitting up and then fell over.

I’m kind of like that now. 

Before I had my heart attack nine years ago, I would get a little tired after lunch. But since my heart attack, the lull after lunch has become a major issue for me.

I had to rearrange my schedule. Then I replaced quiet activities like reading or heavy thinking with meetings and visits and things that would require me to be more active. 

I even got a stand up desk because, unlike that bulldog puppy, I have never fallen asleep standing up. 

… But give me something to lean up against and I can get close.

The other day when I fell asleep thinking, it was because it’s so hard to come up with an idea. I need something to happen in my life. My life is too predicable. 

I will admit, though, that I enjoyed my nap at 8:00 a.m. 

And one thing I do know, if it’s difficult to think of something to write about when there is nothing going on in my life, it is impossible to think of something to write about when I am sleeping. 

Here’s the thing: Life just seems to roll on day by day. As with COVID, where we are anticipating an end, but every day there is nothing to indicate the end is coming, one day Christ will return. There are many people who don’t think about making decisions now for what seems to be way down some distant path. We kind of fall asleep in the present. Let me encourage you to make a decision to put your faith in Christ now because when you go to sleep for the last time, you won’t be able to think about doing it then.

That’s Life!

Paul 

Question: What do you have trouble thinking about these days? Leave your comments and questions below.

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A Blue Moon Happens More Than You Think

I’m just wondering if there was a blue moon recently because something happened to me that only happens once in a blue moon.

A blue moon happens more than you think

It is rare for me to get all green lights traveling from my home to work, but Thursday morning it happened. 

I can’t even tell you the last time it happened, so it truly was a once-in-a-blue-moon experience. In fact, I would say that the traffic lights going all green for me was more of a blue moon than the real thing. 

I don’t know who came up with the name “blue moon” but, for starters, when it happens it’s not even blue. In fact, for the moon to appear blue, the earth’s atmosphere has to contain dust or smoke particles of a certain size … just a little bigger than 900 nanometers. 

… Don’t even try to find nanometers on your tape measure.

But the crazy thing is they don’t even use that fact to determine whether there is a blue moon or not. Experts say a blue moon is when you have two full moons in a calendar month. The second is called a blue moon.

And this happens more than you think. 

You’d think that this only happens once in a blue moon but there was one last year. Before that there were two – yes, two in 2018! There was one in 2015 as well. 

So these calendar blue moons come along every couple of years. 

But hold on, that’s not the only definition of a blue moon. They also refer to a blue moon when there are four full moons in a season. The third one is called a blue moon. 

A seasonal blue moon happens every few years. There is one of those scheduled for this coming August.

Now the next time we will have a calendar blue moon and a seasonal blue moon in the same year, well, that won’t happen until 2048.

To me, that is a true blue moon … well, without the moon actually being blue. I might still be around for that one, but my eyesight may not be that great. 

On Thursday the particles in the atmosphere must have been the right size because I have to travel through fifteen traffic lights over an eight kilometre distance to get to work. 

This phenomenon did take place at 6:15 am with very light traffic on the road, but still, I guess the cars were the particles and they were just the right size.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn into a traffic-stronomer or something. I won’t be looking intently for the traffic lights to line up again like they did the other day.

I just hope I don’t have to wait until 2048 to experience it again. 

Here’s the thing: In the Bible Jesus said He was coming back. His disciples believed it and you get the sense from reading the New Testament that they thought He was coming back soon. Every generation since has thought this could be the time when Jesus returns. If there ever was a once-in-a-blue-moon experience it is the second coming of Christ. I think Jesus said it the way He did because He wanted us to be waiting, looking and ready for Him to come. More than ever before, we should be ready and prepared for Christ’s second coming. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you experienced that only happens once in a blue moon? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Inspiration – Boy Do I Need It Bad

When you don’t have any inspiration, you don’t have much. 

inspiration - boy do I need it bad

Inspiration gives you the ingredients to make something. You can’t make anything or make something happen from a vacuum. 

 A vacuum sucks the life out of anything.

I remember back in about 1990, I got a new pair of skates called Vacu Tacks.

These skates were different than most. To get the right fit, you would put them on and the salesman would heat up the skates with a heat gun, like an industrial-powered hairdryer. It got so hot in the skates that you could hardly keep your feet in them. 

Then they zipped a special bag around each skate while the skates were still on your feet. With an air pump hose attached, they sucked all the air out of the bags, forcing the skates to form tightly to your feet.

… A vacuum is good for skates but not for inspiration.

Being in the lockdown here in Ontario is like being in a vacuum. I have no inspiration to write. You need something to give you inspiration, but with this vacuum there’s nothing. 

The last several weeks have proved the most difficult for writing these blogs since I started back in 2012.  

I’ve been writing this blog for nine years now and I have never found it very hard to come up with a topic to write about. There is usually something that happens that I can turn into a post. 

Right now there seems to be nothing happening. 

I have spent more time sitting, staring at an empty screen than I have writing. When I have something to write about, it usually generates more ideas. The main thought gives me inspiration and the words just flow.

The only vacuum that would give me inspiration right now is the food sealer I saw one time at Costco. That gadget was amazing! You could put anything in the bag and the air would be sucked out so that the bag formed tightly around the food. 

I thought we should get one, but Lily believed if you just put a straw in a bag, sucked the air out and quickly sealed it up, that would work just as well. 

Well, now that they are making straws illegal (an environment hazard), how is she going to make that work, I wonder. 

I’ve pulled things out of the freezer before and there were all kinds of ice crystals that clung to the food, like barnacles on the bottom of a ship. … At least there was something there. There had to have been some moisture inside that bag when we put it in the freezer. 

You may not like having to scrape freezer burn off the top layer of your ice cream either, but at least you have something to do. 

In space there is no air, but at least they can float. 

With the gravity here on earth, it’s like we are stuck on the ground but with the life sucked out of us. 

How can I write in those conditions? … I guess I found a way.

Here’s the thing: We need inspiration to write. The Bible was written by the inspiration of God on about 40 different authors from many different walks of life that spanned over 2000 years. You know a book like that had to have divine inspiration to stay consistent to the main theme and point to the one true hope: Jesus Christ. Now that is real inspiration. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s giving you inspiration these days? Leave you comments and questions below.

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My Guitar Is Not Making Me Want To Play

Though I don’t want to buy a guitar, after playing my son’s, I think I do need a new one. 

my guitar is not making me want to play
Handsome man playing guitar. Close-up of young man playing acoustic guitar while sitting in front of the window

In my last post (read it here) I wrote about how things like an inexpensive guitar can be harder to play than a more expensive one.

It’s not right if you ask me. I should learn the skills on a guitar that is easy to play and then graduate to something that is more difficult. 

Well, just recently my son got a new “axe” and he paid a good chunk of change for it. When I got to try it, I couldn’t believe how easy on the fingers it was to play. 

The space between the strings and the fret board of a guitar makes a big difference in how easy it is to press the strings down. The closer the strings are to the frets the less force you have to exert to form those chords. 

Basically, on my cheap guitar I’m breaking my fingers trying to play, while on my son’s it’s easy.

Why wouldn’t guitar makers encourage guitar students to keep playing rather than giving up in frustration? 

My son’s guitar is really nice; it’s also electric. He has an acoustic but he wanted to work on other aspects of playing. 

Recently, he brought his new guitar to our house so he could wail on it … and it can be deafening when the volume is turned it up and you are close by. 

My son lives in an apartment so I’m just waiting to get a call from him that he’s getting the boot. I’m sure his neighbours in the units around him aren’t thrilled with his new purchase. Fortunately, his apartment is all concrete and he keeps the volume down. 

He can play all day long. I can’t play much more than a half hour without my fingers hurting … and that’s with calluses. 

On the guitar I have now, the strings are closer to the frets than on my first guitar but they are not near as close as on my son’s guitar. 

If I had a guitar like his, I would want to play more. But I don’t want to spend all that money on a guitar when I’m not that good. 

Why couldn’t they make a cheap guitar that would be easy on the fingers? I think the issue is that they don’t care if you get good or not. They want you to get so frustrated with your instrument that you will spend any amount of money to get one that is easier to play. 

Playing my son’s guitar has inspired me to pick mine up a little more now that his is not around. I fiddle a bit with mine but still get to the place where my fingers need a break.

It’s like playing outside as a kid when it’s really cold. You play way too long and want to keep playing, but your toes and fingers are so frozen that you just can’t stay outside any longer. 

Here’s the thing: Putting your faith in Christ costs a lot. Jesus said you have to take up your cross and follow Him. Anything else you put your faith in will cost less, but in the end it will not last as long. Faith in Christ takes you to eternity. Faith in anything else leaves you suffering at some point. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you willing to pay for long-term ease? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Cheap Doesn’t Always Mean It’s Easy

I think cheap things should be easy and simple, while more expensive things harder and more complicated. 

cheap doesn't always mean it's easy

For instance, take two drones that look the same. You might think the cheap one would be easier to fly than the more expensive one. You might think the more expensive one would take more skill to fly it. 

But that’s not the way it is. 

The first drone I had was very inexpensive. I constantly had to work both control sticks to keep the drone in the air so it didn’t drop to the ground and crash.

It was hard, constant work. 

My next drone cost me more. But I could put the drone in the air, take my hands completely off the controller and it would just stay there, hovering in place. 

The more expensive drone was much easier to fly. It took less skill to use the more expensive one than the cheaper one. 

Things shouldn’t be that way.

If I’m new at something and buy an inexpensive product to learn on, it should be easier to use. I want to gradually get more proficient at it and then upgrade to something that requires more skill. 

Drones are not the only things like that. Guitars work that way, too. 

Every guitar has the same components. Someone should be able to pick up any guitar and play it. You place your fingers on the frets the same way. You strum the same way. The sound comes out of it at the same place. 

No matter what guitar I pick up, I should be able to play it. 

… Well, that’s only partly correct.

I remember when I got my first guitar. A guy I knew said he had an old one I could have, which was great since I was just learning to play. 

The first thing I did was change the strings that were probably twenty years old. I took off all the strings, put the new stings on and then started tuning it. … I didn’t know you should always keep some tension on the neck.

As I got the guitar closer to being in tune, I snapped the neck right off the back of the guitar. 

I was back to having no guitar, so I went out and purchased one. It was cheap – only $85 – but it had a nice sound to it.

I learned how to play on that guitar and had it for many years. 

There was just one problem with it. The strings seemed like they were about an inch off the neck so I had to press really hard when forming a chord. As much as I played, my fingers never seemed to get past the hurting stage. It didn’t matter how thick the calluses were on my fingertips, after twenty minutes I needed to put the guitar down. 

But a cheap guitar should be easy to play. 

Unfortunately that is not the case. … In my next post (read here) I will expose this problem more.

Here’s the thing: Because two things work on the same principles doesn’t mean they are equal. Some people believe that all religions are based on faith and, therefore, are the same. Not true. Christianity is the only religion that believes you can’t earn your way into heaven. It is the only religion that requires 100% faith in God to provide it. There’s nothing you can do. Not all religions are the same and not all faith is equal. God has provided through Jesus what we could never do – a relationship and eternity with God. Take God up on His offer; put your faith in Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How much faith do you place in your future? Leave your comments and questions below.

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A Road Trip May Reveal More Than Scenery

You can discover a lot from a road trip, especially if you keep the destination a secret.

a road trip may reveal more than scenery

The other day my wife, Lily, and I were looking for something to do during our current lockdown. 

We decided that we would head to Costco to get a few grocery items … not what I would normally think of when trying to come up with something to do. Shopping for groceries would be down near the bottom of my list of possible options. 

But the lockdown changes your perspective on things … besides, I thought I might be able to get a glimpse of some things I’m interested in. 

Normally I just browse and not buy as I stroll through Costco’s electronics section. But they did a great job stopping that; you couldn’t even window shop. They had skid loads of food items even blocking the view of some of the more eye-appealing inventory in the store.

With that option out of the way, we weren’t too long getting what we needed and headed out the door. 

The night was still young, the sun had not quite set, so I decided not to drive home. 

I decided to follow the sun. 

What do you do when you are locked down? We needed something different to do.

The sun was big – really big – deep orange and red filling the bottom third of the sky. 

So I just kept driving, driving towards the sun. I went by our turn and then I went by the next possible turn. 

Lily started questioning me. “Where are we going?” she asked. “I don’t know” I replied. 

We came to an intersection and she said, “Oh, turn down here”, but I kept going. She asked again where we were going and my reply was the same. 

She probably asked me a dozen times where we were going. 

By now the sun had set and there was only the glow of the sun on the horizon. We were quite a distance into the country by the time I turned around and started back down the road we had been driving on. 

Lily asked multiple times where we were going and gave me several commands to turn here or there. I could tell she didn’t like not knowing our destination. 

It was obvious that she was not satisfied with just going for a drive.

I pointed it out to her that she was all concerned about what was unimportant and was missing the enjoyment of the outing. 

That seemed to settle her down a bit. 

And what transpired during that little road trip was that we talked. We talked about several things we might not have talked about that night. 

We settled on a decision we were facing, that we probably would have put off in another setting – a setting like sitting in front of the TV watching some rehab addict rebuild the insides of an old home. 

That little road trip ended up being good and Lily never did find out where we were going. 

Here’s the thing: You can get in a rut with God where you don’t seem to be communicating very much. You aren’t saying much to Him and He doesn’t seem to be saying much to you. A change of venue can sometimes help. Start a conversation with the Lord in a different place, when you have time and no other distractions, when you are in an inviting environment to talk –  maybe a scenic spot, on a walk, or drive … maybe just a different place in your home. You may learn a lot from Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question:  Where are you most likely to open up to someone? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Fasting Is Not Always What It Seems

They say fasting is good for you, but the word “fasting” does not always mean the same thing.

fasting is not always what it seems

There are many different forms of fasting. When someone tells you they are fasting, you really need to know what they mean by that.

Recently I had a conversation with my daughter about fasting. She told me she’s been doing intermittent fasting. When I heard the word “fasting”, the image I got in my head was that there was no food involved for a day or two days or longer. 

But that’s not what she was talking about. 

The thing is that we throw around the word “fast” like it’s well defined and a highly disciplined thing. 

For instance, right now the Muslim faith is in the middle of Ramadan. That is a month of fasting for them. When you hear that, you might think they are so committed and disciplined, but that you could never do it. You might wonder why you couldn’t be so committed to what you believe in. 

Well, what’s not necessarily communicated is that when muslims fast for a month, they fast during the day, but each night they have a big meal in celebration. 

With that information, you realize you could fast for a month if you could still eat every day. You would actually really enjoy that one meal you ate and look forward to it all day. 

When I was a youth pastor we did a 30-hour famine to raise money for World Relief. 

For the teens, it was a major commitment to fast for 30 hours. Yet in all the years we did it, we never lost a single student to starvation. 

Fasting is not something that I have readily done … maybe because I get hypoglycaemic. My blood sugar gets low and my body starts craving food. 

You’ve heard the word “hangry” – a combination of hungry and angry. That describes someone who is having a hypoglycaemic episode. My wife has to put up with a hangry husband most evenings when I come home from work. I need food, pretty much right when I get in the door. 

My daughter, Karlie, has the same condition I do, and she has recently discovered that intermittent fasting is working for her. 

When I heard her say intermittent fasting, what I thought of was fasting one day a week, or fasting one day and then again two days later. That sounds like intermittent to me. 

But that’s not what intermittent fasting is. It’s actually delaying your eating until later in the day. Basically, Karlie doesn’t eat her first meal of the day until lunch time. 

I used to do that when I was young, but I called it, “not eating breakfast”. I never associated it with fasting in any way. 

So when people tell you they are fasting, don’t think they are being heroic, or showing unbelievable discipline or dedication. 

Ask them a followup question like, “What kind of fasting are you doing?”

Here’s the thing: People fast in many forms for many different reasons. But about two thousand years ago, Jesus fasted for 40 days – no food. That fast was to wear Him down to be tested, tested to see if in a weakened state He would be faithful to the will of God, His Father. And Jesus passed the test. Later He passed the ultimate test by going to the cross to pay for our sins. You can trust Him.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: What reasons have you fasted for? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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