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When You Know Life And Purpose Have Aligned

There is a sweetness when our life and purpose align. When life and purpose come together, there is something special that’s hard to put into words.

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Its an amazing feeling like being by a fireplace, sipping your favourite beverage and listening to good music – can you imagine that feeling?

This week Lily and I were at our District Pastors’ Retreat. Once a year, the pastors in our denomination get together in each district for a couple of days to be renewed and refreshed together. We go to be preached to, challenged, encouraged and sent out again.

It’s sort of for us, what we do each week of the year for others.  Lily and I look forward to these times together, and even view the drive to the retreat as special.

This year, it was just a little different. Lily and I went to prayer retreat with our daughter. Now, I think she was at one retreat when she was about 5 or 6 months old, but this year she came as a pastor.

It’s pretty special to have your daughter join you as a colleague, and not just your daughter, at a special work related event. She was there as a fellow worker in ministry.

Along with all my peers and pastor friends was my daughter, as one of them. She didn’t come as my child, but as a co-worker.

Every time I introduced her, I felt a sense of pride – a thankful pride. I had this warmth deep within me that spread to every part of my insides. And even though there was a sense that Karlie was now invading my territory, it was in a good way, a welcoming way.

It wasn’t all good though. There were some things about having our daughter along that didn’t make our pastors’ retreat easy for me. I think it started on our trip up. When we stopped for dinner, I was talked into eating a “wrappy pita thingy” … lots of lettuce, not much meat.

Our afternoon of strolling through the town of Huntsville didn’t really work for me. The shopping trip into town was against me. Now there were two people who wanted to shop in stores I had no interest in.

I couldn’t even hurry Lily up because she had a partner who also wanted to stay longer. I ended up by myself at the chocolate store. And I think I soothed my woes by purchasing a little more candy that I should have.

On the other hand, I didn’t feel so bad leaving my wife to shop in some Christmas store; she had Karlie to keep her company.

There was this “two against one” thing going on the whole retreat – I caved on a lot of things. Still the pride in my heart and the warmth in my spirit made it all worth it.

Here’s the thing: Think of God creating you with a purpose, then watching you grow and develop. He sees you choose right and wrong along the way, and cringes a little when you make some decisions to go in ways that lead you away from His purpose. Then He watches how you turn, or begin to get on the path of what He has created you for. Finally, God surveys life and purpose align with you serving Him, working alongside Him in the purpose He created you for. Well, I know how God feels. He’s proud of His creation!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you wish for your children? Leave your comment below.

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Are You Missing Out On A Christmas Event?

Christmas! How’d you like the sound of that word in mid November? Does it send shivers down your spine? Does it make your heart beat a little faster (in a good way, not a heart attack way)?

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I had a little foretaste of Christmas this past weekend. It came completely out of the blue. There were no lights, decorations or canned Christmas music. But there was no mistake, this was a taste of Christmas to come.

My wife, Lily, had seen an ad for a product we wanted to get for one of our kids for Christmas (I can’t tell you for whom or I’d have to kill you). The product has to stay a mystery as well, but I will tell you that Best Buy was involved.

Lily noticed that this particular item was on sale, and rather than taking our chances closer to Christmas, she suggested we go and pick it up now.

“Christmas shopping on November 9, that’s crazy!” I thought. Then she suggested that I go and purchase it. Me, doing Christmas shopping in November? Doing Christmas shopping before mid December? There had to be a mistake.

But I had heard her correctly. So, off I went to wrestle me an early Christmas present. I pictured the store to be busy, people everywhere, pushing, shoving, trying to get the last item on the shelf.

But when I walked into Best Buy, it was all orderly, quiet, uncluttered by people or displays of merchandise. I thought to myself, “This has got to be the easiest Christmas shopping I’ve ever done!”

No pressure, no heavy coat, it was easy to get around the store. I thought, “Maybe I should start shopping early every year. What if I had all my Christmas shopping done by the end of November? … on second thought, it’s not going to happen.

Just as I was starting to feel good about my early Christmas shopping, I spotted a line of people. The farther I looked, the longer it got. I noticed that most of the people coming in the store were going directly into that line.

It was massive; the line of people curled around the length of the store. I wanted to avoid it in case there was something catching in that line. I stayed clear, but I kept my eye on it, in case it got closer to me.

I asked someone what was going on, and was told it was a video game exchange. She said something about bringing in two old games and getting some discount on a new one.

As I looked at the people in line out of the corner of my eye, it looked like they were in good cheer, like they were happy to be in that line. They seemed to be excited about what they were going to get.

I kind of felt like I was missing out, not part of it, like I was an observer and not a participant. It almost made me want to go home, grab a couple of old video games (my son’s, don’t tell him), and come back to join in on what everyone else was doing.

But I don’t like lines, and I probably wouldn’t like the video game anyway. Since I wasn’t motivated, I headed straight for the exit – good thing the cash line was empty.

Here’s the thing: Church should be a foretaste of heaven, with fellowship, joyful singing, gratefulness, connecting with God. If church isn’t a glimpse of heaven for you, are you participating in such a way to bring it about?

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to motivate you to make your church experience a foretaste of heaven? Leave your comment below.

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Have You Made This Mistake In Completing A Project

Mistakes are common occurrences; I made a mistake the other day (oh, and I just made another one). Mistakes are the fuel of great discoveries, amazing breakthroughs, and huge successes.

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The key in making a mistake is to learn from it, use it to help point you in the right direction.

The other day, I looked out our back window and gazed at our back fence, where the lattice along the top of it had all been punched out the night before.

Back in the spring, one night some teens had walked by our property and punched a hole in our lattice . . . in 5 sections of it! It was rather disturbing. But when I went out to take a closer look, I was able to push the lattice back into place.

There were a few broken pieces, and it didn’t go back exactly like new, but it looked pretty good. So I left it. I figured I wasn’t going to fix it until school was out.

I didn’t want to immediately give those kids another target, and I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction that I had to fix it. In my mind, leaving the lattice sent the message that it really didn’t put me out.

Well summer came and went and I never got around to fixing my fence. Finally, the other day I knew it was time to replace the lattice because it got punched out again.

I couldn’t help being ticked off about having to do the work. I kind of wanted to get back at them.  You know, maybe booby trap the lattice, making it spring-loaded so if they punched it again, it would bounce right back in their faces. Or, maybe hide out and wait for them (maybe not). Or put a spy camera in my backyard to catch them.

I pictured them as angry teenagers, or maybe some tough karate kid who was showing off.

Then I started thinking back, trying to remember if I did stuff like that when I was a teen … and, yes, I did stupid things like that! I couldn’t think too poorly of them – they were much like me. I didn’t write myself off, so I shouldn’t write them off either.

I went to the store, found the lattice and purchased the five sheets I needed.

Back at the house, I gathered all my tools together, ladder, hammer, skill saw etc., and got to work. In one hour I had all five sections of lattice replaced. I stepped back and it looked good, and I thought, “Why didn’t I do this sooner? … like 5 months ago?!”

Not only does it look better to me and everyone else who walks by, but the new lattice is stronger, and it will be harder for someone to punch through again (they might need a green belt or something).

So far, I’ve been able to give my neighbour advice on fixing his lattice, there have been no more school dances – no punched in lattice … I’ll keep you posted.

Here’s the thing: When you have a question reading scripture, or from a sermon, or in a Bible Study, don’t put off seeking an answer to that question. Take time to dig deeper. Gather your tools: Bible, concordance, commentary, a book on the topic (most of these are available online).  You’ll resolve the issue, you will be stronger in your faith, and you’ll be able to help others.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What will it take for you to get working on that project or question that you have been putting off? Leave your comment below.

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Why You Should Reuse Your Plastic Bags

I need a show of hands today – how many of you reuse those ziplock plastic bags? That’s what I thought … only my wife raised her hand.

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It doesn’t matter what size of ziplock bag. In fact, the other day Lily was putting away a large, freshly washed ziplock bag and exclaimed, “I really like this large size. They are so handy.”  How can you be attached to a bag?  Really!?

Now, I don’t have anything against ziplock bags. I use them all the time. But let’s get one thing straight: they are to be used and then tossed. The idea behind them is simple: easy disposable.

Did you hear me, Lil? They are disposable! But there we were the other day, washing ziplock bags. Six of them, all in one dish washing session. That has to be a record and there should be a law or at least a rule against it.

I hate drying those bags. I know it’s all in my head. I just see them as a convenience item, something to be used and then chucked … I mean recycled, that’s what I mean.

In fact, by using them over and over, we are probably preventing some great recycled plastic product from being made. Ya, because my wife likes to recycle ziplock bags, we may be slowing down the production of surgical tubing or vehicle air bags or something important like that.

I just don’t like drying those bags. They are not hard like a glass, plate or even a plastic container. They don’t feel like they should be washed and dried. They look all wrinkly  and worn after they have been washed, and sometimes, the zip part of the bag doesn’t work as well.

The week before, my daughter was home and was helping with the dishes. She looked at the bags on the counter and asked, “Do you wash these?” I turned, looked at her, shook my head and mouthed the word, “no”.  But somehow Lily heard that and said, “Yes, wash them please.”

My wife insisted. But six bags, that’s over the top. She had been away for a week and there’s no way I had been collecting them. I wondered if she saved them from her trip or found them in an airport somewhere and thought they might come in handy.

I dried them but I didn’t like it. Now, if the next time I see one of those bags, it’s filled with a bunch of raspberries, I guess I won’t mind having dried it. I love raspberries.

Here’s the thing:  There are many words, verses or whole passages in the Bible that you’ve read but don’t have a desire to read again. You don’t see their application, they don’t seem beneficial, or they may be downright disturbing. Don’t neglect those parts of the Bible as being disposable or not applicable. At some point, that passage may have some meaning to you (yes, even genealogies). You may find an uninteresting passage suddenly now has particular application to you when it never really did before. It’s all there for our benefit, so take advantage of ALL of it. Get the most out of God’s Word.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you wanted to dispose of but later found useful? Leave your comment below.

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Four Attitudes that Control Your Actions

I’ve been doing a lot of highway driving lately and it may be affecting my attitude. I’ve developed a bad attitude toward cruise control in cars.

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Maybe drivers just need some lessons on how to use cruise control properly – especially in traffic (and where can you drive without traffic?!). Numerous times this last week, I have found myself behind someone who has their cruise control set for about 5 kilometres slower than I’ve been driving.

I know, it could be a sign to me to slow down. Maybe I shouldn’t be such a “lead foot Larry”. But on the other hand, maybe those cruise control people should just get out of my way!

I’m not bitter that I don’t have cruise control, I just wish people knew how to use it. If you have your cruise set, you really should drive in the right lane. If you want to drive in the left lane, take the cruise off.

It’s not that hard a thing to do. With only a touch of the brake, you can get back in control of your gas pedal again. How hard can that be? Judging from the drivers I’ve been behind, people are able to find their brake pedal way too often!

What really bugs me is when someone tries to pass another vehicle with their cruise control on. It’s so painful to be behind them; it drives me crazy! They try to pass someone who is going only about two kilometres slower so it takes them five minutes to make the move.

It’s like when a truck pulls out in front of you on the highway and wants to pass another truck. At that point, all you can do is crack open a Dr. Pepper, chow down on some chips or licorice and enjoy reading all the decals on the back of the truck.

Sometimes, by the time the truck gets past the other transport, I’ve almost figured out the driver’s first name – I certainly know all about the company he’s driving for. It’s brutal!

But there is no excuse for someone driving a car and doing the same thing. Here’s a tip:  if you are in cruise mode, just step on the gas when you pass. When you’re done, the cruise control will take you right back to your original speed.

Or, here’s a radical thought: touch your brake, step on the gas, and then hit resume when you’ve passed the guy.

It seems to me that people who block you while using their cruise control have an attitude. Their attitude may be “I’m going the correct speed, and I’m going to enforce it”,  “I could care less about anyone else on the road; it’s all about me”, “I’m too lazy to touch my brake or step on the gas”, or “I just want to bug you”.

The bottom line is, no matter what attitude they have, they are bugging me! People should have to take lessons on how to properly engage their cruise control before the dealership activates it.

Here’s the thing: Like the use of your cruise control can frustrate others, so can your use of the Bible. Let’s use the Bible in a right way, and not to slam, to be holier than others, to seem more knowledgeable, or to guilt someone. Rather, we should use the Bible to teach, rebuke, correct, train in righteousness (I read that somewhere!). There’s a subtle difference … and that’s determined by our attitude.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s your biggest attitude beef? Leave your comment below.

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Why Your Mother-in law May Be Smarter Than Your Smart Phone

My smart phone is a pretty amazing device, but I think my mother-in-law is still smarter.

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I had to do a funeral service in Ottawa, about two hours from Kingston where I live. I wanted to make sure that I got to the right place so I googled the name of the cemetery and found an address. I thought, just to be sure there weren’t two cemeteries with the same name or two locations in opposite ends of the city, I would phone my mother-in-law.

There is a reason why I wanted to be sure where I was going. Several years ago, I did a funeral in town and the following day was to do the committal service at a cemetery in another city that I wasn’t familiar with.

I got the address and left with plenty of time to spare. But the map took me to the opposite end of the city from the cemetery! I was so panicky, I pulled into a place where I knew I would find some local people: Tim Horton’s.

With sketchy directions, I drove like a mad man. I’m sure all those gathered, waiting for the late pastor to arrive, heard the roar of my engine as I came screaming into the cemetery and up to the grave side.

There was no way I was going to have that happen again! When I called my mother-in-law, I had to leave a message, so I got on my smart phone and used my map app to get directions. I thought I was all set.

A few hours later, my mother-in-law called me back. When I told her what I did, she casually gave me directions. As she did, I realized that her directions were a little different than those the map app had given me.

I decided to go with my mother-in-law’s directions.

The first indication that I was going to be on time for the service was when I passed the hearse about half way to Ottawa. I knew then, at the speed I was going, I would buy myself several minutes even if I got lost.

In the end, my mother-in-law’s directions were more direct and saved me time. The downside was I had to put up with my smart phone telling me to make a U-turn, and to “get back on route”.

My mother-in-law could outsmart a smart phone because she has lived in that city a long time and she’s driven to that cemetery before. It wasn’t just programmed information she read or somehow digested. She had personal experience with that route.

Here’s the thing: We can read books that give us information about God and His ways. But it is our experience of God and His ways in our life that give us insight and wisdom to help others. Never settle for information about God. Go the next step and experience that information … that will give you real wisdom to share.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: In your life, how has experience trumped information? Leave your comment below.

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How Someone Can Jinx Something

Okay, it does sound wrong for a pastor to talk about jinx. That’s just superstition, right? And a pastor, of all people, shouldn’t believe in superstition (touch wood . . . just kidding).

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Well, no, I don’t believe in superstition, but I do have a take on jinxing something.

The other day, I was with two friends and we were deciding on where to go for lunch. My one friend came loaded with coupons from every fast food restaurant in town.

We were price-matching the coupons and it looked like Wendy’s might be the best deal.  The problem was my one friend really doesn’t like Wendy’s. So he had a dilemma since Wendy’s offered the best bargain.

Both my other friend and I were fine with square burgers, but I think it was only the cheap price that caused Don (not his real name) to give in and agree to go to Wendy’s.

Though Don agreed, it didn’t stop him from sharing his views along the way. By the time we arrived at the burger joint, we knew exactly what the issues were that kept him from being a regular patron.

When we got our food and sat down, the complaining began. He used the phrase, “See? This is what I was saying!” frequently.  And I had to admit, he was right. It really was the worst experience I had ever had at Wendy’s.

I didn’t like the bun, the burger was greasy, and the fries were like they were day olds and double fried. The fries were so bad we were comparing them to what the people a table over from us were eating.

My other friend looked down at the floor, saw a fry half squished and said the exact same thing I was thinking: “That fry looks better than the ones we ate!” … and it had probably been there for an hour!

By the end of the meal, we were all disgusted with the food. I thought if this was my only experience at Wendy’s, I would never want to come back. … It’s interesting that I had that thought after eating with a guy who came into the restaurant with a negative attitude.

I even said to him, “Don, you probably jinxed our meal.” But this is what I really think: When you get something in your mind, you become focused on it and it shapes your experience.

Ever notice when you buy a new car how many other cars of the same colour or the same make you see on the road? Your mind is now focussed that way, so your experience is slanted that way.

I’m sure if, at another time, I had been served that same meal at Wendy’s (and there’s no doubt I have), without the negative attitude, I would have focussed on what I liked about the meal and not really noticed how bad it was.

The whole jinx thing is not superstitious; it is just our mind focussing on the negative. But it works – that was one bad meal!

Here’s the thing: If you are unsure that God loves you, wants and will bring about what’s best for you, then you will question His ability and power in your life. And that will affect your life experience. You will see God as not able to do what He says. But if you are sure of God’s love, you will trust and seek His power in your life and that will change your whole life experience and perspective for the better.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What past negative experience has impacted your willingness to experience something again? Leave your comment below.

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What Will Bring Satisfaction To Your Day?

At the end of a day we want to look back with a sense of satisfaction. No matter what kind of day it was – a busy day, a day of trouble, or a day of ease – we want to feel satisfied with our day.

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My Saturday could have blown up in my face … it certainly didn’t go down as one of the most memorable days of my life. But at the end of it, satisfaction is what I felt.

It started as a great day; I had nothing pressing, could do anything I decided to do. There were a couple of things that were in the back of my mind that I wanted to do, like go for a bike ride.

It was a warm, sunny fall day with the leaves turning – everything outside was inviting. Instead, I ended up sitting on my couch in the basement with my computer … all day long.

With all the free time I had on Saturday, I thought I would upgrade our website to the latest version of software. As I started the task, I knew it was not going to be easy to do. But I did have the time, so I thought I’d go for it.

… And boy, did I! Along the way, I learned lots – more than I had ever wanted to know about software and the internet. I may be scarred for life now.

There were a couple of times during the day that I crashed our website and was not sure if I could get it back. I feared I would have to rebuild the website from scratch.

I read all kinds of horror stories about upgrading websites that really should have convinced me that I should have just left it alone, but no I kept going.

It may have been my dad’s voice in my head saying, “Finish what you start”. I wanted to go for a bike ride but I had to finish the upgrade. This compulsion goes back to when I was a kid and colouring in a colouring book …

One time I started colouring a picture and then half way through got bored and turned the page to start a new one. My dad said to me “Finish the one you started.” Those words got stuck in the part of my brain that makes decisions and now I have to finish what I start.

All day I kept asking questions via google search, and I had to reframe those questions over and over to get the answers I was looking for. I had to comb through useless information to get the nuggets of helpful suggestions.

I had to take some risks, because instructions were not that clear. I failed several times before I was successful. And it was the littlest things that brought the results I wanted. After hours of frustration, I found someone who had a similar problem, and the solution was to put an “@” at the beginning of line 1411 in some file.

It worked … it was 9:30 pm.

Even though it was a gorgeous day, and I could have gone biking, could have done a million things – even cutting the grass looked more exciting that day! – still, satisfaction marked my day.

Here’s the thing: There are a lot of difficult things we would rather put off, not deal with, turn a blind eye to. But if you will keep seeking God about these difficult issues or personal growth areas, not ignoring them, but persevering by continually bringing them to God, when God brings that answer, in the end, you will have as much satisfaction as when you do something enjoyable.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you stuck with in order to see it finished?  Leave your comment below.

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The Reason You Don’t Change Your Busy Life

You ask ten people how they are doing and about 8 to 10 of them will say “busy”. That’s life for almost everyone. Now, mind you, leading a busy life is relative. Some people’s busyness is like a working vacation for others.

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But it doesn’t matter what your definition of busyness is. We have the same feelings of fatigue, hurriedness, and drivenness. It’s pretty standard fare for the average person in North America.

This week I was reminded of a time in my life when it was busier than it is now. We had some guests staying with us: a mom and her two boys, 3 and 1½ years old.

They were cute little guys, but they were also very busy. And that meant the house had a busy feel about it. It was lively; there was always something happening – actually, there was alway more than one thing happening.

A conversation had to be stopped and restarted several times to attend to a bump on the head, a wiping of the hands, and “No, don’t do that”, or a “Just a minute please”. You know how it works at those ages; kids need a lot of attention.

It’s just funny how you forget what it’s like. Now that our kids are, for the most part, out of the house, things are pretty quiet. At dinner there is only one conversation. The attention is only on one of two people at any one time.

There are rarely any bumps on the head, and food usually goes directly from plate to mouth. However, sometimes my food takes a detour and lands up on the placemat. If I would only learn to bring my plate closer . . . right, Lil?

To add to the excitement the other day, we also had another dinner guest. It was not a quiet meal, and it wasn’t calm, but it was pretty funny and exciting.

These little guys had to be reminded of things that we take for granted. Some things they had a hard time comprehending. Some things they didn’t want to comprehend, like the twenty times Lily had to tell Elias that the turtle didn’t need to be fed … he kept insisting that the turtle looked hungry.

Elias just needed something and didn’t know what it was. But I recognized that look in his eyes, that roaming around the kitchen. I knew what he was thinking. I have the same feelings, and do the same roaming after dinner. We just need something else; we’re not sure what it is, but we need something.

I asked, “What about dessert?” to which Lily replied, “Great. You come up with it then because I didn’t make any.” I just happened to have some “after dinner licorice” that seemed to do the trick for Elias … for a while.

It was a whirlwind of a meal but it was great because this was not life for us 24/7. And just when things were settling down, I sent Elias to check on the turtle. As he went, I couldn’t resist throwing out the suggestion, “Do you think he’s hungry?” That got me a reaction from Lily!

Here’s the thing: When we are in the midst of life, we aren’t conscious of just how fast paced and busy it is. Only when we step out of it can we then appreciate how non-stop life is. Carve out of your busyness some time to get quiet, reflective and find a peacefulness with God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What prevents you from stepping out of your busyness to find some quiet? Leave your comment below.

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Here’s A Quick Way To Change Your Perspective

Getting back into an old routine is like slipping into your favourite sweat pants. There is something about it that feels right – it’s comfortable; it’s where you belong.

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That was me Saturday night: a quick trip to my wing joint to pick up my hot wings, and then home to settle into the hockey game on TV.

It’s what I do on Saturday nights. My wife, Lily has come to accept it and even puts in her order for a half pound of honey garlic wings. It all happens around the TV – wings, a can of Dr. Pepper, and the Leafs on Saturday night.

I went the whole fall and part of the winter last year having to find something else to do on Saturday nights, but man, it just feels so good to have the games back on!

This year I have my red light to announce the goals as if I was at the game itself. The red light flashes like a goal light and I get a big sounding fog horn to boot!

This past Saturday night was very interesting. The red light actually went off before the puck was in the net. Mind you, it was only about two seconds before each goal went in, but it was early for all four goals, and two shoot out goals as a bonus.

You saw the play develop with the potential of a goal, and then the horn went off and the light came on just before the goal went in. I was celebrating before the players on the ice were! I knew they scored before they did … well, maybe.

I found myself anticipating goals, thinking to myself, “This could be it!” And then, before the play was over, I knew it wasn’t going to be a scoring play. I didn’t get all that excited about a great shot because I knew it wasn’t going in before the puck got to the net.

So, in some ways, I was able to prepare myself for what was or wasn’t going to happen around the net of the opposing team. I was able to manage my emotions better, and not get too disappointed when things didn’t work out.

Being able to tell the future really had me watching the game differently than normal. I wish my red light could have told me a little more in advance, but even two seconds was pretty good.

It’s hard to describe the feeling that I had – maybe satisfaction, or confidence, or insight – in watching the game unfold before me … especially during the shoot out when I knew what was going to happen.

It was a new experience for me, and a great outcome for my team. The Leafs have started the season 3 and 0 – not too shabby.

Here’s the thing: The Bible gives us a glimpse into the future, though it is on a macro scale and not a micro one like the hockey game Saturday night. Even so, with knowledge of the future, it allows us to prepare for what’s to come, to celebrate even before it happens and have a sense of satisfaction, confidence or insight as the future unfolds. Those are some good reasons to know what’s in the Bible. Read on.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How would knowing the future impact your life? Leave your comment below.