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It’s Hard To Let It Go

Today’s post is a guest blog by Lily Silcock, my wife.  Lily is a home maker and virtual executive assistant for an international company.  Lily is the mother of two grown children and has been married to Paul for 28 years.

After being patient for what felt like forever, I finally have new living room furniture. Why did I want new furniture, you ask? I liked our old couch; it’s just that it was almost 29 years old … and pink! … well, “dusty rose” to be exact.  It was very “in” in 1985.

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But dusty rose/pink has not been “in” for quite some time now. I’ve just swallowed my pride and lived with it because there was always something more urgent to spend the money on. And the couch was still in pretty good shape.

But all good couches eventually die. For the last number of years, when anyone over about 170 lbs sat on it, they looked like they were eating their knees! Apparently, there’s a shelf life for couch springs.

The ironic thing is, after sounding like a broken record for years now, saying I wanted new furniture, I found it hard to part with my old pink couch. Its springs were gone; it was not good for my back, but for some reason, I didn’t want to let it go.

Paul and I got the couch when we were first married. I can still remember the day it was delivered to our little apartment. I was so excited until the movers said it wouldn’t fit up the staircase of our building. In the end, it had to be hoisted up over the balcony of our third floor walk-up.

It was worth it. We spent many hours on that couch, talking, reading, dreaming … and Paul napping. He’s always maintained that it had some power to suck the life right out of him. I believe it. He couldn’t lie on it without falling asleep in about thirty seconds. But then again, if Paul gets even semi-horizontal anywhere, he’ll be asleep in about thirty seconds.

In each house we’ve lived, that pink couch has been front and centre in the living room.  It’s been part of every Christmas and birthday and special event our family has celebrated.

As a matter of fact, every year on our kids’ birthdays, after the presents were opened, we took a picture of them sitting on that couch with their gifts beside them. The couch was like a measuring stick, showing how they had grown bigger each year.

That pink couch was familiar and I was used to it. I can still picture Karlie as a toddler trying to climb up on it. I can see Mike and Karlie putting on puppet shows from behind it. I remember both kids curled up with Paul on that couch as he read them Franklin the turtle story books.

There were nerf gun wars that began from that couch, sock wars, and tickle fights. That couch absorbed both the laughter of hilarious events retold, and the tears of hearts hurt and healed. A lot of life took place around that couch.

I’ll admit it, it was hard to let it go. Even though it was no longer good, and even a bit of an eye-sore, I was kind of emotionally attached to it.

Here’s the thing:  Just like our old couch, we can get attached to attitudes, thought patterns, and behaviours that aren’t good for us. They’ve just become familiar and comfortable and so we hang on to them. Give them over to God and let them go. He has something much better for you that He’s waiting to deliver. You won’t regret it. I LOVE our new furniture … why did I put up with that old couch for so long?

Take care,

Lily Silcock

Question: What is something that has been hard for you to let go of?  Leave your comment below.

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How Shredding Makes More Room In Your Life

I think I would really hate to work for a secret service agency with all those redacted documents and shredding that goes on.

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Not that I really know much about what they do, I’m just imagining it all. What’s got me thinking about it is my wife Lily’s new kick on cleaning out our files. I have to agree that we have a serious stockpile of paper.

We have files full of old utility bills, income tax – you name it, we’ve kept it. And it’s all getting shredded. Lil really loves her shredder! It’s a Royal 1212X; apparently it crosscuts the sheets so that even CISIS or the NSA or FBI couldn’t piece the confetti together.

I’m thinking she might burn the motor out (which wouldn’t be a bad thing), her shredder’s been humming for days. We have bags and bags of shredded paper.

It’s not all going to fit in the garbage/recycling this week. We have an old bean bag chair that’s a little flat … maybe we could puff it up with a few bags of shredded paper.

If anyone knows of a wedding coming up soon, I’m sure Lily would sell some of her shredding to throw at the happy couple.

It’s not just saying goodbye to the paper during her Watergate-style purification of files, it’s the noise. Someone should seriously come up with a muffler for these machines.

While it’s destroying any evidence of my name and address on Union gas bills, it keeps me from hearing the TV or concentrating on reading, or focussing on writing things like this blog.

Lily likes it when we do things in the same place, even if we are doing different things. Generally that’s a good thing and I agree. But in this case, I’d consider me in the family room and her in the garage with her precious shredder close enough to being in the same place. At least it’s under the same roof.

What concerns me most is that we have a large filing cabinet, about four feet wide, with four draws. I could be in for a noisy spring and summer. She just better not take it on vacation this year.

I understand what’s at the heart of all this paper mutilation. Lily doesn’t want our personal information ending up in some recycling plant or land fill. She can’t handle the thought of someone digging through garbage to find info to steal our identity.

But I can’t see the seagulls in our neighbourhood being able to lift our credit info and charge some vacation to our card like the penguin on the CIBC Visa commercials might do (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9BIsrSPRFY).

Lil is not one to take chances. So I guess I should be grateful that she is making room in the filing cabinet for the next twenty years.

Oh wait, I think she’s saying something … I think she said she’s nearly finished … though I may not have heard her correctly over the racket of that blasted shredder!

Here’s the thing: It’s not easy when you recognize that you need to get rid of something in your life that is causing you harm. It takes some work, and it’s going to mean a disruption and annoyance to your old way of life. But when you come through it, the benefit is a life that has more room for the Holy Spirit to work in.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How often do you do a life-clearing to make more room for God in your life?

I would really love to hear from you. You can leave your comment below.

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Get Your Email Inbox To Zero, Part 2

This is part two of a blog I posted on Saturday, March 1, 2014. So if you are reading this and haven’t read the first part, check out “How To Get Your Email Inbox To Zero”.

For me the biggest concern I have with bulging email inboxes is the feeling of not being caught up, and that I may have missed something. And believe me, there have been times emails have got buried and I didn’t do what I was supposed to do.

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In my last post, I said I needed help. So I went looking for some help to get control of this “rascally little rabbit” email inbox.

I combed through the google suggestions based on searches like “overflowing email inbox” or “help I’m buried underneath a thousand emails” … you know, usual search line phrases.

And to boil down all the information, I decided on three components to zeroing out my email inbox. The first is a decision process which is called D.D.F.D. that stands for “Do it, Defer it, File it, Delete it”.

I start by applying this process to each email. If I can address the email in 2 minutes or less, I do it; if I can’t, I defer it to a later time. If I might need to reference it later, I file it. If I don’t need to respond to it, I delete it.

It sounds like a simple process, but I have found myself staring at emails, contemplating which action I should take. Sometimes I need to do it AND file it, and then I always need to delete it from my inbox (I think I’ve been hypnotized).

Anyway, the process is vitally important but I needed some apps to help me make it all happen.

I use an app called “Evernote” to file emails in that I may need to reference later. Basically, I email the email to my Evernote account and it is then stored in the cloud, off my computer and especially out of my inbox.

The app I use to defer things to is called “Nozbe”. This app turns emails into tasks, and I basically email the email to my Nozbe account, also stored in the cloud.

That’s the basics – ask me if you want to know more. The bottom line is I’ve zeroed out my inbox for the last 5 days now. And there’s no looking back!

You wouldn’t believe how good this feels. I feel in control, and on top of things. When I look at that inbox and see nothing in it, I get this big ol’ smile on my face.  … Well I would get that big ol’ smile on my face if I was a 250 pound state trouper from Georgia.

I still have to delete my trash and my sent folders, but my finger is hovering over the erase button . . . . and  . . . oh, there. Gone! I did it.

Here’s the thing: In my last blog, I said dealing with an over-full inbox is like sin. The first step is to admit you have a problem. Identify the sin you have difficulty with and seek God’s help. The great thing is that God will forgive you.

Then take steps to distance yourself from that sin. Like zeroing out my inbox, it takes some planning, commitment to that plan and discipline. There may be times when my inbox starts to build up, but I can get right back at implementing my methods. And the same is true when you sin again: seek God in repentance and get back to your plan.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question:  What steps do you take to keep sin out of your life?

I’d really love to hear from you; leave your comment below.

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Three Lessons From The Men’s Gold Medal Game

I know hockey is just a game, but we can learn some things from what went down on Sunday morning. Like millions of other Canadians, I was up to watch the game.

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I had a slight twinge of pity for those living in British Colombia who had to get up at 4 am, but everyone who got up to watch is glad they did. What a game!

Team Canada dominated the play throughout and, like every other game they played in the tournament, the only thing that made it tense was their lack of goal scoring. That meant a crazy bounce, a little mistake, or a fluky play could sink them at any time.

But in the end, it all turned out just as I had thought.

And that leads me to the first lesson: When you have a feeling, a sense, or some kind of inkling about what’s going to happen, don’t keep it to yourself. Announce it!

It may be because I’m a Canadian, or maybe it’s just my lack of confidence, or perhaps nothing more than a nutty superstition, but I often keep my hunches to myself.

On Thursday morning when our lady’s curling team won the gold, I had this feeling (or call it what you will) that we were going to win both golds in curling and both golds in hockey.

Thursday afternoon I almost thought I was wrong, but then our women’s hockey team came back like Canadians to rip the victory from the USA team in True North dramatic fashion. My gut feeling was intact.

However, I said nothing of what I thought until the horn sounded to end the men’s hockey final on Sunday. But announcing then that I had this feeling Canada would win those four golds meant nothing.

You have to go out on a limb and state your convictions or predictions before they take place.  You can’t be a Don Cherry wise guy any other way.

The second lesson to learn is that it is far less stressful watching the gold medal men’s hockey game a second time. That’s right, for some reason CBC replayed the game Sunday afternoon and I found myself watching it again. I yelled up to Lily that we scored when we got our first goal.

During the first watching, I was a bit of a wreck. I didn’t talk much, I was nervous, I couldn’t look away from the TV. I enjoyed how well our team played, but my stomach was in knots.

On the second watching, I was at ease. I even did some work on my computer trying to get my email inbox to zero (but that’s another blog).

When you know the outcome of something, it takes all the nervous stress away.

Then there is one more lesson to learn from this game, and it’s this: no one should be late for church ever! I got up at my regular time, had my devotions, and showered before the game began. I finished my breakfast by the time the players had finished handing out those little trinkets before the game. Lil and I even had time after the game to watch interviews.

And we still made it to church before the puck dropped … I mean the opening song.

Here’s the thing: If you’re a Christian, you know how things end. Don’t be shy; announce it to your friends. Because you know the outcome, you don’t have to be nervous. Be confident about the future. And come prepared and expectant into God’s house to worship with your family, friends and fellow believers. It’s awesome!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What did you learn from watching the game Sunday morning?  Leave your comment below.

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What’s Really Behind Decision-Making

The other day my wife, Lily, and I decided to look at living room furniture. We are on a little bit of a roll right now, just completing the final touches of our bathroom renovation that got downgraded to painting and changing a light fixture.

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Still, being in that remodelling mood, we decided to look at a couch Lily has been eyeing for ten years or more. I think there’s a few reasons we ended up looking at the couch now.

The first reason is that I saw a rowing machine in a flyer and Lil saw my eyes get big. I also kept the flyer around and made mention of how good the price was.

When my wife sees that scenario happening it’s like a perfect storm to her. The pressure to purchase comes in waves that are unrelenting. And so to try to divert this storm, she stated that there will be no big purchases made until we get new living room furniture.

I say she’s just a wuss who can’t take a little stormy weather.

But the other reason we decided to look at furniture is that I’ve made it public that our living room couch is 28 years old. In the last few months, I’ve blogged about it, referenced it in two sermons, and the ultimate, I’ve sat on it.

Our living room furniture has lasted, but all good things come to an end and I think we are at that point with our stuff.

In no time, I found myself transported to a furniture store that Lily seemed to know quite well. In fact, she seemed to know it better than I expected her to.

She headed straight to the living room section and, before I could peel myself away from the 70 inch TV that was turned to the Olympics, she was talking to a salesperson.

She had her eyes on a sofa and, even worse, she was sitting down on it. The salesperson was a nice senior lady who seemed very accommodating. She may have recognized a sucker as soon as we entered, or maybe she was just very experienced in her work.

She agreed with us on everything we said so it seemed she was on our side and not working for the store at all.

We complained at how the love seat price was only one hundred dollars less than the sofa yet it was only two thirds the size – that means two thirds the wood, stuffing and material. What’s with that?

By the end of our visit I wanted to buy the sofa right there. I wasn’t sure whether it was because I liked it, or that I thought Lily liked it, or that I wanted to buy it from the nice lady who seemed like she really wanted to sell it to us.

I knew, however, we weren’t going to buy that day. Lil would never buy anything without checking prices in two, three or more other stores. We may also have to revisit this store a few times before we make a decision.

Then again, it may be another 10 years before we actually settle on getting new furniture.

Here’s the thing:  There are many influences on our decision-making. Today I read in my devotions that the heart is most deceitful and incurable (Jeremiah 17:9-10). It’s so easy for our hearts to be influenced away from what God wants. We need to be vigilant at constantly working with the Holy Spirit for control of our heart.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What influences you in making decisions? Leave your comment below.

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What To Do In A Hotel Fire

We’ve all heard fire alarms go off. All through grade school we have been trained in what to do when a fire alarm sounds. But what about when the fire alarm goes off in your hotel while you are staying on the fourteenth floor?

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Fourteen floors of sheer terror – doesn’t it sound like a movie? I remember seeing “Towering Inferno” in the 70’s. I’ve also grooved to the popular hit “Disco Inferno”, of that same era (google it and enjoy).

I grew up in Toronto and we would get US news from Buffalo on TV and there were always fires being reported at 6 and 11. It was either a three alarm fire in Cheektowaga or a four alarm fire in North Tonawanda, but you knew every night there was a fire burning somewhere in Buffalo.

With that kind of background and experience, I was ready when our fire alarm started ringing at about 11:45 pm. At that time, you’re kind of in for the night and I wasn’t looking forward to spending the next few hours outside, wrapped in a blanket in my skivvies.

But alarms in hotels are different. They are not meant to scare the life out of you, rather just to gently get your attention that something is not quite right.

At first I didn’t know what it was. I thought maybe the alarm was coming from somewhere in the room. In my sweep of the room, however, I realized it was clean and the noise was coming from out in the hall. Then a voice, that was muffled by our closed door, soothed us by telling us not to be alarmed, that they were investigating the problem, but not to use the elevators.

At that point, I casually went over to the door and looked at the map that indicated where we were and where the stairwell exits were. I took a careful mental note.

As I went back to the TV, I started to think about what I would take if we had to go. My computer was still in my backpack, so it would go with me. I was staying calm just like the nice man’s voice over the intercom was telling me to do about every three minutes.

Then I heard the fire engine sirens and I thought, “Hey, this might be the real thing.” Still not panicking, I started thinking about the lessons learned as a 5th grader at Rivercrest Public School.

We had to line up when the fire drill alarm resonated through the school halls. The teacher would get us ready, remind us of our exit, and to remain in single file.

I remember in high school, during a student protest, someone pulled the fire alarm and we all got out of class. That was exciting.

I was ready to run down the fourteen floors to the bottom if I had to. I often take the stairs when I make hospital visits. There’s been more than once that I’ve still been huffing and puffing walking into a patient’s room on the 10th floor.

Not long after the fire truck sirens stopped, the nice man’s voice said they had fixed the problem and thanked us for our patience. He had to repeat his announcement because the alarm sounded again!

Here’s the thing: Sometimes you just have to be ready for things that are unexpected and out of your control. You have to be able to roll with them. In life, we should be ready to meet God now, because we don’t know when things unexpected and out of our control might happen to us.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: In your experience, what has been your reaction to alarms? Leave your comment below.

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Can Anyone Understand The Mind Of A Designer?

I have a serious problem with designers. It doesn’t matter what kind of designer they are or what they design, I don’t think they live in the real world.

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I picture designers sitting in front of a desk – no, they would probably be sprawled out on a floor or deck with pillows all around them and crazy, jazzy music playing in the background. They have a pad of paper and pen in hand, or a tablet or lap top, and they are drawing.

I would wager that most designers are looking at the sky when they do their designing. They watch the clouds go by and imagine that they’re new cars, or dresses, or sofas – or in my case, bathroom furniture – and then they start drawing.

We are redoing our ensuite this week and wanted to spruce it up with maybe a new vanity, mirror and light fixture. We originally had big plans of putting in a new shower, but our shower space is so small there is really nothing we can do that would be different than what we have.

Then there is this empty space, good-for-nothing kind of space. It’s a space that we would like to do something with but can’t find that something that would look right in that space.

Bathroom designers have all kinds of ideas. You can spend thousands of dollars getting your bathroom to look so co-ordinated and luxurious, that you’d want to spend more time in there than the normal time you have to spend in it getting ready for the day.

The problem is that designers have these great designs but nothing is fitting in our bathroom! And for some reason, no designer on the planet has even thought of designing something that would fit in the bathroom we have in our home!

It’s like those fashion designers. They design cloths for fashion shows and models to wear down the runway. But who’s buying that stuff?! A woman would be laughed out of the office if she showed up for work in one of those outfits.

At the bathroom store, they have all these displays that fit together so well, but they are not displayed in the confines of a bathroom that has walls and actual plumbing that pretty much dictates where certain things must be situated.

I’m learning a few things though: your mirror should be an inch in width shorter than both sides of your vanity and your light over the mirror should extend about the same length as the mirror (for long vanities, two light figures).

We have finally been able to make some decisions. It’s not the dream we had when we looked up in the sky and the saw a cloud formation that looked exactly like our bathroom. I think it will look good and it will be functional.

Now we just have to finish the spackling and painting. And that’s another thing … what designer ever came up with towel racks that were literally cemented onto your wall?!  Must have been a crazy, fast moving cloud that day, and he didn’t see it right.

Here’s the thing:  Sometimes we get an idea we think is from God. However, others don’t see it that way. It’s not working out that well; it’s just not fitting. Still, often we remain convinced that this idea, direction, decision is from God. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate, listen to counsel, and seek God further on the matter.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What project have you worked on that didn’t seem to come together as you had imagined? Leave your comment below.

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Ripped Off Because I Missed It

Fifty years ago I got ripped off, but not this time. Tonight on TV was a show called “The Beatles: The Night That Changed America.”

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There was no way I was going to miss this one! On February 9, 1964 I was at church during the first time the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show.

I tried to stay home. My younger brother faked some mysterious sickness so he wouldn’t have to attend the evening service and got to remain home with Gram.

But not me; I had to go. I remember John telling me how he saw a music group on TV; I don’t think he could remember their name. Then the next day at school everyone was talking about the Beatles.

Sure, I saw the Beatles other times they were on the Ed Sullivan Show, but I didn’t get to see them the first time they performed in North America. And now that there are only two of them left, I had to see them for what will probably be the last time Paul and Ringo do something on a stage together.

I once had a chance to see Paul McCartney at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1976 for the Wings Over America Tour. I still kick myself to this day that I didn’t go. I didn’t go because, well, Paul McCartney and Wings weren’t the Beatles and I didn’t have the $16 (I think) for the ticket.

Ya, I know. It was only $16 – what an idiot! That amount seemed like a lot of money to me at the time and I really had no means to pay anyone back, either.

Tonight’s Beatles show was vastly different from the ’64 show. For one thing, it was in colour. I’m not sure if the Ed Sullivan Show was broadcast in colour back then, but we only had a black and white TV so it wouldn’t have mattered.

This time there were all kinds of artists singing renditions of Beatle songs, while the real Beatles watched and applauded. It didn’t really matter to me who was singing because I was drowning them all out singing away to every song that was aired.

The program was about the same length as a hockey game. In this case, they put the two stars on the stage at the end of the game and they scored a couple of goals by singing a few of their hits individually and together.

The last song was, “Hey Jude”, the longest song on the radio in its time. It was the song that opened the way for hits to be longer than about two and a half minutes long.

I knew the song well. My brother got me the single for Christmas in 1968 … actually, before Christmas. He couldn’t wait till Christmas morning, so he told me, and we actually played it a couple of times before it was wrapped and put under the tree.

The TV show ended with everyone, musicians and the whole audience, singing along. I didn’t miss out on it this time . . . na, na, na, na-na-na-na!

Here’s the thing: There are many things that we will miss out on in life. For one or more reasons we will wish we had been there, tried this, seen that, or in some way experienced something we didn’t. Any of those things, while they might have been great, don’t come close to missing out on heaven. We can only get to experience it if we have a relationship with Christ. Don’t miss out on it by put off beginning that relationship.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you missed that you really wish you had experienced? Leave your comment below.

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How Darkness Causes You To Stumble

I’m wondering if you can become more klutzy as you get older. I wouldn’t say that I have the greatest hand eye coordination but I’ve always been able to negotiate my way around things.

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But not last night. I was working at the church and had gone out to run an errand. When I came back, I didn’t turn on any lights except for in my office. So, by the time I was done for the night, the church was pitch black dark.

The church foyer is pretty open so I made my way across it to the stairs. I started down the stairs and right near the bottom something caught my eye. It may have been a reflection or something but I looked up and then missed the last one or two stairs.

Well that was it – it would have made a great video! I sprawled out, my computer bag went flying, and I landed hard on both knees, which are not the greatest to begin with.

I rolled on the ground for a second, waiting for the pain to subside, then stood up, grabbed my bag and left. No harm, no foul. No one saw my wipe out. I didn’t suffer any kind of injury. But I felt pretty dumb.

When I was in my teens my bedroom was in the far end of our basement. There were two flights of steps to go down, and to get to my room I had to walk through two other rooms.

Instead of turning on a light at the top of the stairs, then turning on a light in my room and going back to the top of the stairs to turn that light out again, I would just make my way to my room in the dark.

I not only had the stairs to contend with, but I had couches, lamp stands, and any number of other objects that would be in my way. But I made it; I never fell down the stairs, never banged my knee into a door frame.

What happened to me last night, I don’t know. I’m just glad I wasn’t chewing gum at the same time; it might have been a disaster.

I know some people would try to tell me that I should look where I’m going. But really, I’ve been walking for well over 50 years! I think by now I should be able to cheat on that a little bit and get away with it.

Every morning I walk down a dark hallway, turning a Q-tip in my ear, and so far I haven’t jammed my elbow against the wall and sent that Q-tip clean through to my other ear.

Maybe my fall was an isolated incident, some kind of fluke that won’t happen again. Or maybe it’s the start of a clumsiness that will find me in traction drinking through a straw!

I guess I will just have to see what happens.

Here’s the thing: In the dark, even a glint of light catches our attention. Our eyes are drawn to it. But in the light, these little glints aren’t even noticeable. God has given us a great light in the Bible, and if we will read it, know it, and use it, all the little theories, fads, and ideas won’t distract us and cause us to fall.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your greatest source of distraction? Leave your comment below.

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When The Hype Doesn’t Live Up To Reality

It’s a major let down when the real thing doesn’t live up to the hype. Oh, and you know I’m talking about Sunday’s Superbowl game.

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It’s the biggest game in the NFL year and only one team showed up. All the advertisers showed up, with their 4 million dollar commercials. And all the celebrities showed up with their $2500 plus tickets, getting in on the hype to promo their movies or shows.

The football commentators showed up, bringing us game analysis for four hours before the game and then all the way through the game.

This game was wrapped in so much glitter, glory and glam, that even the most uninterested fan couldn’t help but want to get a little peek at what was going to be unwrapped for us.

Wow, what a disappointment! I was expecting a football game. It was more like my son, Mike playing ”Maddens Football 98” with me on our old Sony Playstation. I could never figure out what control to use to tackle his running back. He just killed me!

I had a nightmare last night that Mike was controlling the Settle Seahawks and I was at the controls of the Denver Broncos and that I lost the game for them. I should never have got that kid a gaming system.

Okay, maybe I’m thinking it was such a bad game because I was hoping for Denver to win. But, on second thought, from the first snap that went sailing by Peyton Manning’s head, I had this bad feeling in my gut that this was how it was going to be the whole game.

It would be nice if we could point a finger at someone and say it was his fault. But pretty much the whole team got in on the disaster. From fumbles, to miss tackles, and from poor throws to missed assignments, it was all working for Denver.

I even had in mind to turn the channel and watch American Idol auditions … actually, no I didn’t, but maybe something else. I had a friend who told me half way through that he was going to watch the movie, “Sleepless in Seattle” instead.

It was a dog of a game. I’m sure Seattle fans see it differently. Yes, they played well, but with the way Denver played they should have beat them by twice as much.

There was a nice run back for a touchdown and a couple other plays that were pretty good. But the best play was probably the only touchdown pass that Denver made. The catch was what you wanted to see throughout the Superbowl – spectacular!

Well, I guess I’m glad it’s over. We can all move on to the Olympics now. Poor Lily – she wishes we could take a break from sports for a while. But this year the Superbowl just paves the way for 16 non-stop days of sports over in Sochi.

Here’s the thing: Living the Christian life has to be real. It has to be getting up every day and giving it all you have, putting your life on the line for what you believe. You have to show up as a Christian every day because you don’t know who might be in the audience. You never want the hype to be greater than the real thing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What can get in your way of bringing your best as a Christian each day? Leave your comment below.