activities

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When Men Rise To The Challenge

In our world, men usually get a bad rap. It used to be a man’s world, but now it is anything but a man’s world.

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On television, whether in shows, commercials, or movies, men are portrayed for the most part as babbling, goofy, unreliable, can’t-get-the-job-done idiots, while women and children are mostly seen as smart, capable and in control.

That is except in the movie I saw last night. There was barely a woman in the movie and the lead character (a guy) shot and fought with superior wisdom and stealth to defeat the enemy single handedly. I was proud to be a man!

It reminded me of the pride I had in being a man at my church’s Christmas banquet. I know, how could I be proud of being a man at a banquet? Women do the cooking and cleaning; they do all the real work, the men just do the eating.

Well, not at this banquet. Yes, we had some token women who worked hard and did an admiral job. But this banquet was the guys’ from start to finish. The whole idea for it came out of the mind of a man.

The men of our church planned it, executed it and got the job done. It was a beautiful thing. There were men in the kitchen cooking, men serving the food, men in the hall setting and taking down the tables and chairs, and men washing and drying the dishes.

Men, I guarantee, also did most of the eating. If you were a woman at our church banquet last week, there wasn’t much for you to do, although I saw some women desperate to get in on the glory, trying to make punch, and help clear some of the tables.

Sure, some of the wives helped their husbands prepare some of the food at home. And sure, the stores really cashed in on the pies that were bought for our dessert. But this was a guy thing all the way, and we pulled it off.

To me, this all shows the adaptability of men. There was a day when there wouldn’t be enough men that could pull off a banquet like we did. There might have been appendages in the carrots, undercooked meat, styrofoam plates and plastic cutlery.

But the 21st century man can do it all. We are tough enough for the big jobs and gentle enough for the delicate jobs as well. In a day and age when men can’t seem to get a break from the put downs, this was an heroic moment.

I think the women of the church had a hard time believing it was all real. They kept taking pictures of the men working throughout the whole meal. It was like they needed to record this for history.

I do worry, however, that the pictures may be used against us at the next church Christmas banquet. The women may haul out those pictures as evidence to support the men doing it again.

Here’s the thing: We are all capable of doing things that we are not normally in the habit of doing. We don’t imagine ourselves doing it so we don’t even try; we might even argue  against it. God wants to stretch you to grow in your relationship with Him. And that will mean doing things that you are not in the habit of doing. Maybe it’s journalling your devotions, or spending more time with God, or serving in a new capacity. Whatever it is for you, don’t make excuses. You are capable; just try it and grow.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you done lately that is out of your comfort zone? Leave your comment below.

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A Plea for Understanding

This blog is for my wife, Lily.  I don’t mind if you all get in on it, but it’s really just for her. You see, we’ve been married for over 28 years and she still doesn’t understand some things about me.

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I know there are some men and women out there thinking, “My husband or my wife doesn’t understand things about me, either”.  I’m sure there is some kind of name for this, something like “misunderstandinitis”.

The other day, I heard of a condition called “affluenza” — meaning someone’s wealth can cause them to dissociate their bad actions from consequences. This condition was used to successfully keep a 16 year old out of jail after driving drunk and killing four pedestrians. Some misunderstanding!

I have a condition that causes all kinds of misunderstanding; it’s called hypoglycaemia. It’s a big word but basically it means I get low blood sugar. There is not enough glucose getting to my brain so my body craves more sugar to replace the low supply.

What my wife doesn’t understand is that this happens really fast, and I often get it around dinner time. She hasn’t figure out why I can’t wait to have dinner at 6 or 7; it doesn’t matter to her, she could go forever without eating.

I can almost hear some of you right now asking, “Well Paul, why don’t you make dinner and have it ready when you need to eat?” If I made dinner, I’d be bringing home hot wings three nights a week, pizza the other nights and for variety maybe Five Guys burgers every once in a while.

It would get a little hard on the wallet and would not be the healthiest for us … and I am concerned for my wife’s health, so she has to do the cooking. Okay, enough on that.

Back to her inability to understand me after so many years … At dinner time, I need to eat. She doesn’t understand that my body really reacts. I get all weak, like you would feel if you just ran a marathon, only without being out of breath. I also start to sweat – “perspire” may be a nicer way to say that – and I feel very hot.

I get shaky on the inside – my hands don’t actually shake but they feel like they are – and I crave something to take that feeling away. So I hunt for food, anything, chips, cookies, crackers, peanuts, ANYTHING!

All this happens in an instant. I can be fine one minute and the next, well, it comes over me like turning from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. I get all surly and cranky.

I think that if I lived with a person like that, I would want to keep Mr. Hyde hidden as much as I could. But not my wife! She is surprised every time Mr. Hyde shows up in the kitchen and dinner is 45 minutes to an hour away.

I love my wife; Mr. Hyde doesn’t like her as much as I do, but he still loves her. But man, can I get a little understanding around here?!

Here’s the thing: Often we want what we want from God but don’t think about understanding His perspective on what we want. If we are in an asking position before God, we should be seeking to understand His position … and there is no better way than to become more and more familiar with God’s Word.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you most often misunderstood about? Leave your comment below.

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How Snow Can Keep You From Facing The Inevitable

When I woke up this morning there was a cottony layer of snow on the ground and my heart sank a little.

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It sank partly because we just got rid of a barrel full of the white stuff from about two weeks ago. Even though I only saw the snow through the blinds – it looked like the fuzz that grows on a man’s face after about three days of no shaving (like I would know) – something told me this stuff is here to stay for the season.

I should have been prepared. Yesterday, I watched two NFL games that were played in blizzard-like conditions … it was inevitable that the storm would move up to Canada and get us.

I like the usual debate we have around here at Christmas time. As it approaches, we start asking, “Do you think we will have snow for Christmas?”, or, “I wonder if we’ll have a green Christmas this year”.

Everyone wants those thin flakes that look like coriander seed and taste like wafers made from honey … oh, no wait, that’s manna that God sent the Israelites in the desert.  Our while flakey stuff is tasteless and has to be shovelled!

We all want it, but we’re fine if it only falls on Christmas Eve, or even really early Christmas day. That way it looks like Christmas but we haven’t had to dig ourselves out of it yet.

This snowfall, however, is coming a little earlier than I had hoped. There’s a chance it might not stay with us. We miraculously got rid of the last batch with some mild weather, some rain and a day of +10 celsius (that’s 50 degrees fahrenheit).

But they’re calling for snow for the next five days. I think I have to face it that winter is here to stay. There will be no guessing about a white Christmas this year; it’s a lock that we’ll have snow.

Then again, you never know. The weather could turn. And look! … Well you can’ t look, but I can – it’s now raining here on the other side of my window and the snow is rapidly disappearing. That might make for some slippery roads tonight if the temperature drops.

That also means we can still play the game of “Will we have snow for Christmas?” The odds are not in my favour though. They (who are they, anyway?) are calling for about 10 centimetres of snow this week.

There’s just no way to escape it, that is, if I’m going to stay here in Kingston. Snow is what we face every year, and even with the crazy weather patterns and global warming (it’s not happening fast enough), a snowy forecast is in my future.

Here’s the thing: There are so many things, like the weather, that are completely out of our control, yet we spend time thinking about them and hoping for something else. We don’t really want to face what is inevitable. It’s best, however, if we just prepare for it.

We can do that with God, too. We can hope that the Bible is wrong, or that He will be accepting of everyone in the end, but that’s not facing the inevitable. It’s just best to prepare for meeting God, by beginning a relationship with the one that Christmas is all about – Jesus Christ.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you dislike most about winter? Leave your comment below.

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Why My Old Stereo Conversion Project Isn’t Perfect

Lily is away this weekend so I thought I would do a conversion of our old stereo into a home theatre.

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Many homes have some kind of additional speaker set up with their TV, but not us. There has always been other things we needed more than feeling the couch shake while watching Jason Statham or Bruce Willis blow something up in a movie.

It all became possible when Lily asked if we needed the stereo cabinet in the living room. To her shock, I said we didn’t, and within about 15 minutes it was all gone … to her delight.

We don’t really use it anymore with iPhones and iTunes holding all our music. And the stereo is old, like about 27 years old. We even have a turntable and a cassette deck! Our speakers are still good, but they’ve had to pump out lots of “Little Feat” tunes over the years.

Still, you’d think it would be easy to hook all that stuff up to your TV, and bingo, your wife could watch her live Sound of Music special, featuring Carrie Underwood, and it would be like she was in the theatre.

Not so fast. Our TV is not the same vintage as our stereo. In fact, it only has one audio output and it is an optical audio connection. If my old stereo could talk and you asked to  plug an optical audio cord into it, it would respond with, “Whach you talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?”

From the internet, I was able to find out that there might be a conversion box I can buy. I just hope that the conversion box isn’t the same price as a new home theatre system. I’m trying to do this on the cheap – make a quick conversion from stereo system to home theatre, with very little time, effort and money involved.

Years ago, my son and I saw an infomercial for an “ab dolly”. I thought I could make one cheaper. So Mike and I got some wood, bought some casters and made one ourselves.

Lily now uses it to put under heavy objects when she wants to move them from one place to another. It didn’t turn out that great.

I know this conversion won’t be perfect either. It won’t be like buying all new equipment that is completely compatible with my TV. The speakers sounded great in the day but I’m not sure how they will perform in the 21st century. I’m also going to have to get up off the couch and walk over to the unit and turn it on by hand. My stereo doesn’t have a remote.

But just think, if I can get this all hooked up this afternoon, when I turn on the Leaf game tonight, it’s going to be like I’m sitting just behind the bench!

The downside is Lily will see this blog before she sees the home theatre conversion. Oh the thoughts and images that will be running through her head! Maybe I’ll stick a Christmas bow on it all so it will look festive for her.

Here’s the thing: Thinking that we can make our conversion experience with God something that doesn’t involve a total change will be more work in the long run and the results will not be all that satisfying. Give yourself completely to God, don’t hold on to the old in any way. It will just complicate your conversion.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you tried to convert, only to find it wasn’t as good as if you got something new? Leave your comment below.

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How Real Change Happens From Within

I made a big change in my appearance the other day. I didn’t get a new suit or comb my hair differently … I just shaved my whole face.

It’s the first time I’ve done that in almost thirty years. Since 1984 I’ve had a moustache and for the last 15 years I’ve had a goatee. But on December 1st, I shaved it all off!

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I had to take a second and third look at myself in the mirror to make sure it was really me staring back. It was hard not to smile and repeat the words, “Oh boy” as in, “Oh boy, what have I done?!”. But I’m going to give it a little time to get used to it.

One thing I’m not getting used to is shaving. It’s not that there is more real estate to take care of now, we’re only talking about a face. But, I have scars on my face from hockey that have to be considered now.

I’ve had 5 stitches beside my right eye and 3 stitches on my right eyelid. Then I had 3 stitches on the left corner of my mouth from a fight with Neil Lumsden, who was just inducted into the CFL Football Hall of Fame. Besides those, I had 4 stitches under my bottom lip and 3 stitches on the left corner of my chin.

The last three scars come into play when I shave. I haven’t had to bother with them for so long, but now I have to navigate around my face like it’s a land mine to keep me from nicking myself with the razor.

Though my face doesn’t look like Gerry Cheevers’ goalie mask, I do have a few marks that ensure I stay attentive when I have a sharp instrument in hand near my melon.

It all changes how I look, and it’s taking some getting used to it. I might grow it all back, but I’m going to wait and give it some time to sink in.

I’m finding I have to keep telling myself that I look different but I’m the same guy.

… And others have weighed in on the change whether they know it or not. Some people have said nothing which means they probably don’t like it. I’ve had lots of people acknowledge that I’ve shaved, but no comment on what they think of it. That’s probably a bad sign too.

One person came out and just said he didn’t like it. My daughter saw a picture and said “Wow! He looks so different, yet the same.”  And my son said, “That’s going to take some serious getting used to.”

Both Lily and I aren’t sure what to think. I think I’m looking at my brother when I look in the mirror and I start to laugh. I’m not sure what I’ll do.

Here’s the thing: Shaving my face hasn’t changed who I am one bit. I’m still the same guy on the inside. But making a change on your inside will result in outward change.

A Christian is first changed on the inside and then that change is made visible in his or hers appearance through actions, attitudes and words. So when we look in the mirror, we should ask ourselves, “Is my outside appearance matching my inside appearance?”

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What outward change have you made that elicited lots of attention? Leave your comment below.

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Why Should I Bother?

This is a guest blog post by Lily Silcock.  Lily works for SureWx as an executive administrative assistant, and is also actively involved in church ministry at Kingston Alliance Church. She is mentioned often in this blog, and is chief editor of it; Lily is also my wife!

It’s that time of year again. You know, that “haul-out-the-boxes, set-up-the-tree, decorate-the-house-for-Christmas” time of year.

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The calendar tells me it’s time, but I don’t feel like it. It’s been a busy few weeks: we’ve had company a few times, we’ve both had the flu, and work’s piling up. I’ve got a lot of other things to do and I’m tired.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. It’s just that all that decorating is kind of a bother. Oh, I like the decorations when they’re up, it’s just putting them up I’m not thrilled about! … especially these last years since our daughter moved away and I have to do it all myself (correction: I choose to do it myself) … I’m not yet willing to have our trees and home decorated by the guys in our family. They really have no clue how to arrange mesh ribbon on a tree … I do have standards, ya know.

I’m sure I’ll be delighted with the end product once it’s done. Each year when the house is finally all decorated, I plunk my tired body down in the living room with a cappuccino, admire the glowing lights and soak in the ambience.

But getting there can be such a chore! And I’m not even a Christmas decorating fanatic like some people I know!

Still, there are two trees to decorate, garland to drape, lights to string, and a Dickens village we inherited to set up. It all takes time – most of a day in fact – and, honestly, I just don’t feel like it.

I could do a lot less but, in the end, I know I won’t. I’ll make the effort even if I’m busy and tired because it makes my family happy … and, because after all these years, they expect it.

But if I’m truthful, I really do it for me, because even though I don’t feel like doing it right now, when it’s done, I absolutely love it! Our house looks so pretty, cozy and magical all decorated, with the mini white lights softly glowing all around. All the effort is definitely worth it in the end!

… I guess I’d better get at it. Christmas won’t wait!

Here’s the thing: We often don’t feel like giving praise to God. Sometimes we’re busy, preoccupied or just too tired to worship Him. It can seem like too much effort when we could get away with a lot less. So why bother? God deserves it, He expects it, it makes Him happy. And the crazy thing is, when you praise Him, it’ll make you happy too! It’s SO worth it! HE”S worth it.

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How Being Sick Hijacks Your Whole Life

This week I got sick. Ya, ya, I know, I just wrote about how to keep from getting sick (“Four things you need to divert a cold”). But before you get ready to sue me for bad medical advice, you need to know that this sickness was different. I got food poisoning.

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My wife, Lily, thinks I got the flu but I know what I had and it was food poisoning. I think she wants it to be the flu so I can’t blame her for feeding me that leftover chicken last Monday.

It’s not like the chicken had been left on the counter and the flies had been circling for a few days, but it had been in the fridge past my internal best before date. It’s just a sixth sense I have.

I didn’t even see it coming, though the evening before my stomach was rumbling. I didn’t feel bad and just imagined that by morning everything would be normal. Well, about 5 am on Tuesday things were NOT normal.

I spent the next three hours in and out of the bathroom … enough said.

I was achy all over and that lasted the rest of the day. I was so wiped that I slept several times during the day to the point that I was completely disoriented.

The day seemed to last forever. I turned on the TV at one point, thinking it must be late afternoon, only to realize that it was only 1 pm. I had no energy and I felt so weak, much like a kid in the grocery store who’s had a meltdown, sprawled on the floor near the sugar cereal aisle.

There was nothing that could appease me. I didn’t dare eat anything – the memory of the early morning dash made all food totally unappealing. Sipping water at first was huge, like a child taking his first ever steps across the room.

I held my breath to see what would happen or which way it would go. I could hear it travelling through my system, at times like a gurgling brook, then like some light rapids, and finally dropping quite low in my system like a waterfall.

At least it was some entertainment. I was pretty bored all day, not that I didn’t have anything to do. There were things for me to work on, things I really needed to be working on, but I only had the energy to listen to my stomach get a workout while sipping water.

I fell asleep on the couch at about eight in the evening and, when I came to just before 10, I noticed that the achy-ness had gone. I breathed a sigh, and knew it was over and I’d be alright the next morning.

I called it a day and went to bed.

Here’s the thing: Bad food can impact everything about you, all your body parts, and even your thoughts and emotions. Not dealing with sin does the same thing. Not only will it affect your thoughts, emotions and action, but in some cases it can affect your health as well. Make speedy confession part of your internal best before date.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you experienced that took control of your body? Leave your comment below.

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Why Letting Go Of The Old Is So Difficult

I’m having a hard time deciding on changing some old hockey equipment for new stuff – my hockey gloves and skates.

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My hockey gloves are only 6 years old, but I don’t have any palms in them any more.  My skates, well, that’s another story. They’re about 20 years old.

My skates are so old young people look at them and wonder if they should be in a museum! The other day, I was in the change room and a young guy looked over at my skates and said, “How old are THEY?!” He said it with a tone of “What are those things anyway?!”

My skates are probably about as old as he is.

I’ve thought of getting new skates but that thought scares me. They don’t make my kind any more.

I have top of the line (in their day) CCM Tacks called “Vacu Tacks”. To fit them, they would have you put your feet in the skates and then they would take a heat gun and heat up the outside, pretty much until your feet started to cook inside.

When they were sufficiently hot, with your feet still in the skate, they would but a rubber bag around the skate and zip it up. They would attach a compressor to a valve on the bag and they would literally suck all the air out of the bag, causing the hot skate to form to the shape of your foot.

They fit perfectly from the first time I wore them. It’s not going to be easy to get a new pair to fit like that again. Besides, my skates still work, and are in pretty good shape for all the hockey they have witnessed over the years.

My gloves are another story. I basically hold onto my stick bare-handed with a floppy lump of protection over top. Getting new gloves is not easy either.

They have to be the right size, so my hand doesn’t slide around in them. The palm leather must be very supple so its almost like there is nothing there. And there has to be enough freedom at the wrist so I can maneuver my hands easily for stick handling.

People think I’m crazy to hang onto my old equipment. But this stuff works, I’m comfortable with it, it’s been with me a long time.

I’m afraid that my experience with new equipment won’t be as good as my experience with my old equipment. Why would I go for something new that, in the end, doesn’t work as well as what I’m already using? Being new is not always enough reason to switch.

So I’ve been to a few stores, I’ve tried on dozens of gloves, and I’ll keep trying to find a pair that will work. I may have to go outside of Kingston to get the right pair. I’m going to take my time to make sure they’ll be right.

As for skates, I can’t get myself to do anything more than just look at the display models in stores. I’m not quite ready to try a pair on.

Here’s the thing: Often when we have had an experience with God, whether it is in our devotions, or in ministry, we tend to savour it. We are satisfied with it and don’t want to move on to a new experience that might be different or feel uncomfortable. Don’t let yourself get stuck there. Keep looking for what God has next for you to experience.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you keep using even though it’s almost worn out and you are due for a new one? Leave your comment below.

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How To Pay Attention To The Alarms Of Life

Alarms go off around us all the time. Some are not that noticeable, others are unmistakable.

The other day, Lily bought a new alarm clock. She wanted something a little more modern, a little smaller, a little more stylish. My question is, do you want the alarm clock to wake you up? If so, what the alarm sounds like is the first concern.

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Lil’s new alarm does a couple of things to wake you up. It glows in changing colours when the alarm goes off. And believe me, the glow is pretty bright. It cycles through several colours.

You may wonder how I know this. Well, the other day, rather than getting up out of bed to read the Bible and do my devotions, I decided to do them in bed.

There I was sitting up in bed with my iPad, hoping the glow from it would not wake Lily. I shouldn’t have worried. When her alarm went off, I waited for her to click it off but nothing happened. She didn’t move, and for two minutes I watched the light change colour to green then amber then blue … etc.

There was an audible alarm that went off as well, but it wasn’t a loud noise. This alarm has sounds, and the sound Lil picked was a babbling brook. Other than the fact that I felt like I needed to go to the washroom, it was a very nice sound.

… It didn’t wake Lily, but it was soothing. This two minute routine happened three times over the next 20 minutes until I gently woke her up by saying, “You need a new alarm clock.”

She immediately thought it had not gone off. But I assured her it had gone off three times with her face basking in the glow of the alarm’s changing light each time.

It doesn’t matter how nice an alarm clock looks, or what kind of features it has, an alarm clock – to be worth anything – has to wake you up!  If it doesn’t, it’s no good.

Personally, my alarm has to be loud enough and annoying enough to wake me up. Over the years that’s not always been enough for me. I’ve had to put the alarm far from my reach so I had to almost get out of bed to shut it off.

I could never use the snooze button either or I’d keep hitting it for hours. I have to get right up. No music for me; I would enjoy it too much in my half woken daze and just stay in bed.

No, for me an alarm has to startle me, rattle me, make me jump … like the security alarm we have at work. When I’ve mistakenly set it off, it blasts so loud your heart jumps out of your body, your heart dings a bell in your head, and your pacemaker restarts itself. It’s frightening.

Lily either needs to turn up the sound on the babbling brook alarm clock so that it’s a crashing wave sound, or look for an alarm that will do what it’s supposed to do … wake her up.

Here’s the thing: God often uses alarms to get our attention. Sometimes the alarm doesn’t start out to be very loud and we don’t hear it. Then, when it becomes a little annoying, we are tempted to hit the snooze button. But don’t hit snooze; rather, listen intently to God’s alarms.  React to the alarm by getting up and following what the Lord wants you to do.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of an alarm do you need to wake up to? Leave your comment below.

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Why Aging Gives You New Perspectives And Opportunities

What goes around comes around, and when it comes to aging there is a lot of that going around. I just started playing hockey at 6 am Saturday mornings (there are still a few spots if anyone’s interested), and believe me, I didn’t think I would like it … but I do!

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Back when I was growing up, 6 am games were the worst. I hated having to get up in the dark, still half asleep, barely able to put my equipment on in the correct order. Those games were murder.

Then, as a father, I hated having to take my son to 6 am practices – mid-week, if you could believe it – adding the hassle of trying to get him to school on time after practice.

Part of the reason I hated 6 am games or practices was I didn’t like being stirred from my warm, comfortable bed, only to be jolted awake by the cold of the arena.

I never minded playing late at night; in fact, it didn’t matter if there was ice at 10pm, midnight or 1 in the morning – I was up for it. But now I don’t like playing hockey at night. It gets to be around 8:30 pm and I start debating whether I really want to play or not.

You have to understand it’s not as simple as playing the game, coming home and going to bed. No … it doesn’t work that way. You are so juiced up on adrenaline after a game that you are way too wired to go to bed.

In my late teens, my brother and I would come home from hockey practice at 1 am and sit in the kitchen making milkshakes and discussing the practice for another hour.  That’s a killer, for getting up in the morning.

A couple of years ago, I relented on my “no night hockey” policy because I had a chance to play with my son, Mike. The games were only at 9 pm but we weren’t getting to bed until after midnight. Morning came awfully early.

With this 6 am hockey now, somehow waking up at 5:15 am to get there isn’t that big a deal for me. It’s way easier than thinking about playing at nine at night.

This morning, for instance, I played and was home before 7:30 am. I had a full day ahead of me, though I did take a bit of a nap later in the morning.

I’ve gone full circle. I used to hate morning hockey and now I love it. And it’s all because of aging. It’s given me a new perspective on when to play hockey.

I talk to lots of people who are down on getting older. They warn me of the hazards and hindrances (I’ve even experienced some), but I’m trying not to look at my life from the perspective of when I was a young adult. My current perspective has opened up some new opportunities for me.

Here’s the thing:  As you age, you may not be willing to serve God the way you once did. Our tendency is to look at service from the perspective of the past and think we are done serving.  But with age comes a new perspective and that will open up new opportunities to serve God in ways you never before thought of as possibilities.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: How has your aging changed your perspective on what you do or how you serve God? Leave your comment below.