experiences

by

I Never Thought I’d Like This

I find it interesting that you can trick yourself into liking something you don’t really like – in this case, something you don’t usually like doing. Recently, I bought a new weed trimmer.

This garden tool goes by several names, “weed-whacker”, “weed-eater”, “whipper-snipper”, and I’m sure there are a few more.

10

Regardless of the name, they don’t really have anything to do with weeds. They are designed to trim the long strands of grass that grow along the edge of your lawn that your lawn mower can’t get.

Now, I don’t really like yard work. I cut the grass when it needs it, but while I’m cutting the front lawn, I keep looking at the basketball hoop in my driveway thinking, “It’d be nice to take some shots right now.” Funny thing is, it’s the only time I have that urge. When I’m done cutting the lawn I no longer have the desire to make a few hoops.

I can think of a million things I could be doing when I have to do yard work, and none of them include taking care of or maintaining anything growing around my property.

So it really surprised me the other day when I got my new cordless … we’ll call it “grass trimmer”, and was anxious to get out there and start using it. The really amazing thing was that not once did I have the urge to put it down and pick up a basketball.

My new trimmer is fantastic! I can push two buttons in and turn the bottom part so it can be used as a edger. I have never edged anything in my life so it came as a real revelation that edging really makes your lawn look good.

When I was all finished I went in the house and looked out the window at how stunning my walkway looked leading up to our front door.

I used my knew toy . . . err . . . a . . . I mean, tool to trim both front and back yards and the battery didn’t die before I was done. It normally takes me about 25 to 30 minutes to cut my lawn, front and back. And usually I can’t wait to get back to doing pretty much anything else.

I even got out my leaf blower afterwards to blow away the grass that blew onto the cement walk and the driveway just so that it looked neat and showed off my trim work.

The only thing that I am concerned about is how long my new found infatuation will last.  This baby is new but how will I feel about using it when it’s another week old or in three months?

By the end of the summer will I be wishing the battery isn’t charged so I don’t have to get out there and trim? Will I be looking longingly over at my basketball hoop and accidentally cut the tops off my wife’s flowers?  I don’t know.

But I do know that my wife, Lily is happy right now and I’m liking the look of my lawn.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes a fresh look at something can give us new inspiration or cause us to find new meaning. Whether it’s a familiar Bible passage, or an old problem, or whether it is God Himself, take a fresh approach and you might be surprised to find something you really like.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you found a new enjoyment or appreciation for? Leave your question below.

by

He Wouldn’t Stay on the Cart Path

You don’t usually receive much bruising from playing golf … “maybe get a blister on your little finger, maybe get a blister on your thumb”, as Mark Knopfler of Dire Staits might say.

But this past week, I was golfing with my son and I found out that golf can be a contact sport after all. I don’t normally use a golf cart but we were in a tournament and carts were provided.

IMG_1546

I arrived late, and my son, Mike, already had his golf bag on the cart behind the driver’s seat … I was relegated to being a crash test dummy in the seat beside him! At first I thought nothing of it – though his starts were a little fast, he was getting us to where we needed to go.

After a few holes, however, it started to rain and got a little chilly which, for some reason, impacted his driving quality. It may have been the rain drops on the windscreen that made the terrain difficult to see, or maybe it was that he was cold and didn’t have his hand fully on the steering wheel, but let’s just say the ride got a little rough for the last 14 holes.

About 12 years ago, he was driving a golf cart with my dad as the passenger and at one point Mike almost threw his grandfather out of the cart! The words “Wow, wow, wow, Mikey boy!” are etched in my memory as I watched my dad hang on for dear life while Mike had the cart on two wheels.

We even had a deja-vu moment the other day when Mike said “ Hey, that was like the time I almost tossed Grandpa out of the cart.” Obviously, it was a memory that has stuck with Mike too … not that it has impacted his driving habits over the years.

With the rain coming down, we had stuck an umbrella in one of the bags to keep the clubs dry while we were driving. That required someone to hold the umbrella in place and keep it from becoming like one of those parachute-stopping devices on drag cars.

While I was half turned and holding the umbrella with one hand, Mike drove the cart right through a hole, which jolted ligaments in my shoulder. I asked him if he saw that hole and his reply was he thought he could miss it between the wheels.

He just slightly misjudged and in the process caused me to hit my head on the roof! At one point, I thought I was in the Fast and Furious movie, “Tokyo Drift” when we swung around to pick up a ball one of the guys had left behind.

It reminded me of the first time he drove a go cart by himself. He got in front of me and was so impressed with himself, he looked back at me with a big grin and then proceeded to miss the next turn and cut right across the grass, bumping along until he got back on the track.

In the end, we made it back to the club house in one piece. We scored pretty well in the four man best ball tournament and each took home a new Callaway driver as first place prizes! … I just hope Mike’s driving on the road is a little better than his driving on the fairway

Here’s the thing: There is nothing better than being in the passenger seat when God is driving. When you let Him lead, it might be a wild ride at times but it will be exciting and filled with adventure.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has been your most exhilarating experience? Leave your comment below.

by

Three Cheers for My Team!

Sometimes you just have to brag about your team. Sometimes they need to get a little recognition. It doesn’t have to be much, just something to get people to notice.

worldvision_sponsorchild

When hockey players score a goal, the fans erupt, the players raise their sticks in the air, and they get a few hugs from the boys on the line. When a race car driver wins a race, he does a victory lap to the cheers and waves of the crowd, then finishes off by doing a few donuts in front of the grandstand.

They do it for a few reasons: They’re excited that they did something great. They just want to celebrate. They’re making a statement, “Look what I just did; aren’t I great?”

It’s bragging in an acceptable way. No one likes the guy that tells you what he did and how awesome he is for doing it. But if he does a backflip in the end zone after scoring a touchdown, we do think he’s great.

There are some things, however, that you can’t really high five or get all snuggly-in-a-group-hug over. So what do you do? How do you celebrate those accomplishments that defy any kind of real emotional explosion?

I don’t know the answer to that, so I’m writing a blog about it. My church did something amazing that probably many are unaware of.

It didn’t happen with everyone watching. It wasn’t one heroic act. Rather, it was several little acts that the people in my church did last Sunday that together is a really BIG DEAL!

Last Sunday we had a presentation in church about World Vision. Afterwards, the guy that gave the presentation had a table in the foyer for people to stop by. On the table were photo cards of children who could be sponsored for about $40 per month.

To most people that’s not a lot of money, because they drink coffee. You see, they usually tell you how inexpensive it is to sponsor a child by comparing the cost to a number of coffees at Tim Horton’s.

It works out to be less than one coffee a day to sponsor a child. Since I don’t drink coffee, that’s just forty bucks straight out of my pocket, but for most people its just doing without that third cup of the day.

Any way, my church sponsored 18 children last Sunday morning! What’s more is that the last time this World Vision rep visited our church about 5 years ago, we sponsored 22 kids!

You might think that doesn’t sound like much, but let me tell you, the guy couldn’t believe it. He said for a church our size, it would be a big number if we had sponsored half that many!

The last time he was here, World Vision was so amazed, they called him to make sure he got his numbers right!

All I know is this Sunday in church we should be high-fiving each other, giving out hugs and maybe a few back flips down the center aisle. WAY TO GO, KAC! – you have a huge heart for the disadvantaged in the world!

Think of it like we scored a goal. Just don’t ask me to do the back flip – I’ve got a bad knee.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we don’t get noticed for doing things that are important. Know this – it never goes unnoticed by God. He sees even the smallest thing you do for your brother or sister.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What would you like to celebrate that doesn’t usually get noticed? Leave your comment below.

by

Me and Yogurt Don’t Mix

I’m not a yogurt lover but I might have to give it a try. I have probably tasted yogurt but it probably was because of some kind of mix up. I’m sure that someone has slipped it into a dessert I’ve eaten, or mixed some into their baking and, being unaware, I’ve digested it. I certainly haven’t tried it on purpose.

yogurt630x354-jpg_140112

Yogurt is not my kind of edible substance. I don’t call it “food” because that would legitimize this creamy white substance that millions of other people lap up like cream.

Yogurt has never been something I thought anyone should intentionally put into their mouth. There are two reasons for my objection and they are very simple:  “bacteria” and “cultures”.

There are all kinds of ointments, pills, prescriptions to counter bacteria that we are infected with. Why would I deliberately put bacteria in my mouth … unless I was 2 years old, at the end of my driveway, with a craving to taste the dirt on the street.

Parents go running when they see their child about to chomp down on some gritty dirt. They scoop it out of their kid’s mouth and repeatedly wash it out … but then think nothing of giving their child a “Yoplait” for their afternoon snack!

And what about “cultures”? I’ve taken a few science classes back in the day, and I’ve seen cultures growing in a petrie dish before. That is one nasty scene after a few days and there is no way I want to inflict that on my stomach. I would have to eat hot wings for three straight days to burn those cultures out of me!

Though hot wings for three straight days sounds quite appealing to me, I don’t think my wife Lily could eat wings for three days in a row.

The whole reason I am considering giving yogurt a try is because of guilt. I spoke with a guy recently who had a quintuple bypass. He told me he loved ice cream but that it’s an artery clogging nightmare. He found that yogurt gives him his ice cream fix with none of the nasty cholesterol-induced gunk in his veins.

After hearing how liberated he seems with a little yogurt in his diet, I started feeling guilty that I had had a one scoop Baskin Robbins “Rocky Road” on a sugar cone the other day.

So maybe I should try it, though I don’t think I’m going to like it. I certainly don’t like the look of it. It’s the wrong consistency for me, though I really enjoy a nice chocolate pudding with peanuts every now and again.

I figure yogurt is the same consistency as pablum. And when I see babies eat their food, they get it all over their faces, like they will try anything to keep that stuff out of their mouths! I may be a little over the top on this one, but I don’t think I’ll like the taste.

Here’s the thing: There are experiences and opportunities in life that we reject and disregard because they are not what we think we would enjoy or find fulfilling or interesting. But God may be putting that very thing in your way to get you to try something that will lead you where He wants you to go. Don’t shy away from trying something new or exploring something different.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find difficult to swallow?  Leave your comment below.

by

The Bugs are Really Bugging Me

It’s just the end of May and the bugs are really bug’n me! It’s probably not any worse than other seasons, but I’ve had a few more run-ins with them this year than in the past.

348799-locusts

Last week while biking, we stopped for a few minutes to catch our breath, but the mosquitos were so bad we had to keep moving. Fortunately, those little creatures don’t try to keep up with us while we are riding or it would be torture going over a log or around a sharp turn swatting at the little varmints.

This past week, my wife and I were driving in the country, noticing the beautiful scenery of trees and lakes at almost every bend in the road. At one point, we thought it was raining, but there were no clouds in the sky or rain drops on our window.

We then, realized it was a swarm of bugs that had made the sound of rain on the windshield when we plowed through their impromptu gathering in the middle of a highway. (They were probably deciding which holiday weekend campfire they were going to hit next!)

When we got to our destination, the front of the car, the backs of the side mirrors, and the front grill area were literally carpeted with dead bugs. I think the Lepage’s glue company should look into using a bug formula for their glue because these insects stuck on the car like crazy glue!

Then last night we were parking our car by the harbour in town. We found an empty spot but as we pulled in, we realized why no one was parking there. There was a swarm of bugs all around the car!

As the chivalrous guy that I am, I kindly backed the car up to let Lily out away from the swarm. Then I drove back into the spot AND the swarm of bugs and parked. Squinting and holding my breath, I fought my way through the cloud of black insects, only sustaining a mere flesh wound.

But these instances are minor compared to bug infestations of the past. I remember as a young teenager in Toronto going to the store and seeing the store owner with a broom, sweeping up thousands of dead June bugs all around the door of his store.

I remember walking through a playing field out west in the 80’s and thinking the grass had an odd brown colour to it, only to discover that with every step on that field a cloud of grasshoppers would fly up.

Bugs really know how to bug us, don’t they? I’m glad I have arms and hands to whack them and get them out of my face. I feel sorry for animals like horses and cows who have to stand there and take it because God didn’t make their tails long enough to reach their faces.

Here’s the thing: When we meet up with a swarm of bugs, our immediate reaction is to close our mouth and eyes. We don’t even have to think about it; we just do it. It’s an instinctive reaction and that should be how we are with prayer. When we come into a cloud of trouble, our first instinct should be to pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and help. It should be the first thing we do, and we shouldn’t have to even think about doing it.

That’s Life!

Paul

 

Question: What bugs you the most in life? Leave your comment below.

by

I’ve Had It With Falling Off My Bike

I went for a mountain bike ride today and noticed a few things that I’m not crazy about. It was my first time riding this trail this year and it has lots of technical and rocky sections to it.

mtBike01

Though I know the trail well – I’ve been biking it for years – I found myself stopping, and falling off my bike more frequently than I normally do. One time as my tires slipped, I clicked out of my peddle to put my foot down, and what I thought was moss covered rock was actually moss over a hole. I step down into it hard.

The whole ride I felt a little clumsy. I started to think, “I didn’t have this trouble last year. What’s up with me?” Maybe, as we get older, we start to revert back to the junior high days of not being in control of our limbs!

Junior high kids are always tripping over their own feet or someone else’s. I remember when I worked with junior high kids and a kid would have a mark on his forehead. I would ask what happened and the reply would be something like, “Oh, I walked into a door.” He would say it like it was an every day occurrence, certainly something he’d done before.

I don’t really want to revert back to those clumsy days. I’m still in my fifties. If I’m starting to regress now, I can only imagine how bad I’ll be when I’m 65 or 70. I’ll have to be clothed in bubble wrap! … It will look strange and it will hamper my movements, but you can’t beat the protection. I wonder if I’ll be able to get it in blue and white?

The other thought I had was that as I get older maybe it takes a little longer to get my balance back for riding those trails that are cambered. If that’s the case, I better have my balance back the next time I go riding. I don’t want it to take half the season to get comfortable on that terrain.

Maybe it’s worse than that! Maybe it’s a combination of regressive clumsiness and faulty balance. I’ve known some older people who get vertigo; maybe this is just a real bad case of “clumbalansy” – that’s a new word I just made up to describe this medical condition that seems to be attacking my equilibrium.

I’ve never had anyone tell me that they have experienced this as they got older. My doctor never warned me that I might contract clumbalansy as I age. I wonder if there is some medication I could take to clear it up fast?

They have products to help junior highers with their acne – what about some ointment or pill for my clumbalansy? … I might just have to fight through this one on my own.

Here’s the thing: You would think that the older we get, the easier it would be to stay close with God. But what I’ve found is there are all kinds of reasons, pressures, interests that make it difficult to persist in seeking God. Growing as a Christian is something we do for life. It’s really becoming more like Christ, and that will never get easier. So we have to keep fighting through and keep seeking, keep drawing close to God, dedicated to becoming more like Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find more difficult the older you get? Leave your comment below.

by

Say Good-bye to That Mullet

About four months ago, I wrote about how I’m not very observant. I had missed noticing that my wife had gotten a haircut while I had been away on a trip. Well, it turns out that Lily isn’t a cracker jack CSI herself when it comes to noticing someone’s haircut!

For this entire past week she didn’t notice that I had had every single hair on my head shortened. In fact, I had to tell her I got my hair cut. For me this was no big deal, it wasn’t like she didn’t notice a big blob of mustard dangling from the corner of my mouth.

Paul's mullet.001

She acted like it wasn’t a big deal either, but for some reason, me not noticing her new haircut was a big deal. She says it’s not the same thing … but it seems like EXACTLY the same thing. And our two faux pas prove a hair cut is easy to overlook.

However, some things are impossible to miss, like a child’s growth when you haven’t seen them for a few years. The first words out of your mouth are, “Wow! Have you ever grown!” You can’t help but notice something like that.

Or when you haven’t seen your high school buddy for twenty five years. He shows up at a gathering and you wonder who the new guy is, only to find out that this “new” guy with no hair, a ball cap and a good sized belly is your old school friend. When you finally recognize him, you ask yourself, “What happened to that guy?” because you undoubtedly are going to notice that kind of change.

Those changes are easy to be aware of, but how should any one be expected to notice someone’s hair that is maybe a quarter of an inch shorter and in the same style as when you left for work in the morning? That’s right! No one should have to notice something like that.

There should be a rule across the board that there has to be a certain amount of change differential for something to be worthy of being noticed. Anything less than that differential doesn’t have to receive a comment.

Now, if I had a mullet and got the “party in the back” cut off, that should be worthy of being noticed. But even if that dazzling image eluded her inspection, it wouldn’t cause me much concern.

And when Lily’s “hairdo’s” escape my scrutiny, I only have to go another four weeks or so until I get another shot at it. One thing I am glad for is that it doesn’t take her four weeks to get over my lack of observation or I’d be spending more alone time in front of the TV.

… During playoff season that’s not all that bad … Hey … !

Here’s the thing: Out of all the things we should notice in life, the most significant are what God has done and is doing. We should notice what He has created and marvel over it. We should notice the prayers He answers for us. We should notice how He wants to shape us through the circumstances in life. And we should praise Him for who He is and what He has done. God’s activity in the world and in our lives should never go unnoticed.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you have the hardest time noticing? Leave your comment below.

by

Choose Your Socks Wisely

They say you never know what a day will bring, but sometimes you can sense a day is going to have a certain theme to it. It would be nice if you could go to a drawer and, like picking out a pair of socks, pick your day’s mood (and, of course, check to make sure there’s no holes in it).

4635034683_c9c77541d4_z

Some people get up on the wrong side of the bed. Others roll out of bed the wrong way and voila, their day seems to be magically selected for them. Fortunately for me, I usually roll out of bed feeling good about what is ahead for me.

Unfortunately, that feeling doesn’t always last very long. The sock drawer effect happens and I pick out a day of frustration to wear like a ratty, old pair of sweat socks.

That happened to me recently. For the first hour or so (getting up, doing my devotions, showering and having breakfast) everything went well. Then I was informed that I needed to drive my wife somewhere on my way to work.

Sometimes it just takes a little rewriting of the daily script to initiate “a day of interruptions” theme. … Oh, and believe me, that did it! Driving Lily to her destination, I was a little agitated. It detained me from getting down to my planned work.

When I finally got to work, in walked an unplanned, unscheduled, perfect illustration for my “interruptions” day. The man was seeking help but each time he had come the previous week, he had been told to come back as I had been on vacation.

The last time he had been told to phone first before he came in. Instead, he just showed up. He was in need of some financial assistance and though I am not a money lender, as a pastor I am used to trying to help out people in his position.

He needed food and the solution was to get him a grocery store gift card. However, after being put off a few times already, he was not in a mood to be put off again.

As I listened to his story, my heart went out to him. Yes, it would be an interruption for me to stop what I was doing to go buy him a gift card, but I felt that’s what I should do.

Unfortunately, he had a few restrictions. He could not go to the grocery store that was the closest to the church. The next closest did not have a store near where he lived.

That meant this interruption would take even longer. Half way there I remembered I had taken my wallet out of my pocket and it was still on my desk at church, so I turned around and went back.

I got the wallet, drove back to the grocery store, and bought the gift card only to notice that the store was affiliated with a grocery store that was close to the church. I could have purchased the card there and saved half the time!

That’s how my day went, one thing after another … until I got home and changed my socks.

Here’s the thing: You can focus on the frustration of each day and get all agitated inside. OR you can view the events of the day as things God brings your way and deal with them as opportunities to serve Him. Your choice.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is your biggest frustration?  Leave your comment below.

by

Dreading Another Shopping Trip

Shopping is NOT my favourite sport. I like to do almost anything else rather than shop, unless you count doing work around the house. But for me, shopping for clothes with my wife is in a whole other category.

For starters, shopping – especially in a mall – causes an energy drain in me like nothing else. I can enter a mall standing tall and walking briskly, but after a couple of stores I’m trudging along like a soldier carrying a 40 lb. backpack at the end of a 20 km hike.

rack

I don’t understand how women can shop for clothes. The options are limitless, and I’m just talking about the stores to choose from. In any given mall there’s an average of three men’s clothing stores, but there are usually over 10 stores carrying women’s garments.

In each store, there are racks and racks of clothes that look very similar with merely a pattern or colour change to them. But it seems most women have to browse each and every rack.

There is something about touching the clothes that women feel they must do. They have to touch almost every piece of clothing in the store. I can tell if I’m going to like something standing five feet from the rack, but women have to grab hold of each piece and look at the front of it … and then the back of it.

I don’t know much about women’s fashion, but if you’re a “winter” don’t even go near the yellow and peach displays. It’s a waste of time.

Women’s clothing stores also crowd their space. There are too many clothes for the square footage. For men, this causes a huge problem. We are left standing in a sea of shirts and skirts and accessories with very little room to walk around.

It’s in women’s stores that you find men holding purses … not because they want to, but because their wives have to try on a third or fourth coat just to make sure that the first three coats that looked the same were the wrong ones.

Why don’t they put chairs in women’s clothing stores, either by the entrance so we can catch our breath before we move on to yet another store, or near the change room so we don’t have to be called over to look at something?

I’ve looked at other men in women’s stores and they all have the same glazed over look in their eyes, like they’ve been hypnotized by bright blues, many shades of red, and green patterns on the blouses – do they still call them blouses or just shirts now?

It should be mandatory to put comfort stations in women’s clothing stores, like a play area for men instead of kids. You can picture it, can’t you? – complete with comfortable chairs, a big screen TV with some game on, complimentary drinks and peanuts while you waited.

I know, that’s called a restaurant … never mind. Hey Lil, I’ll meet you in the sports lounge around the corner when you’re done shopping; here’s your purse back.

Here’s the thing: When I look at my life, the things I do each day, places I go, things I say, God should rolls His eyes and be completely uninterested in my life. But it’s absolutely the opposite! He is interested in every aspect of my life, no matter how many times I do, say and think the same things. God doesn’t get worn out being attentive to my life.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do to stay engaged in an activity that doesn’t naturally interest you?  Leave your comment below.

by

The Health Risks of Cheering

For health reasons, maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs shouldn’t make the playoffs more than every nine years. That’s how long it’s been since the last time my stress level went off the scale.

Frankly, I had forgotten what it was like to watch a playoff game in which I really – and I mean really – cared about the outcome. For almost a decade I never really got too excited in the playoffs because I didn’t really care which team won.

BJdrilaCUAA80Ya

This year is different. I care, and I had forgotten just how much I cared until the series began. Unfortunately, my wife and I decided to take a week’s holiday in the US during the first five games of the playoffs.

The US usually does everything big: their stores are bigger than in Canada; their restaurants serve larger portions; their cities, for the most part, seem larger. But when it comes to hockey, it takes a backseat to basketball and baseball.

To be fair, NBC has done a great job of covering the playoffs so far. Their motto has been “every night, every game” … but not the Leafs! They were on CNBC, whatever that is. All I know is that our hotel room didn’t get that channel and neither did the places we went to look for the games.

By the time we returned to Canada, I had missed the first 4 games of the series, and the fifth game was being played while we were driving home. When we crossed the border, we checked for radio stations that might cover the game.

We finally found one but it was competing with a station that was airing a talk show in another language. I could barely make out that the Leafs scored to make it 2 – 0. I immediately pressed harder on the gas pedal believing that any police officer would understand my urgency to get home.

I got home with 10 minutes left in the game. There was no unloading the car, no unpacking – it was straight to the TV!

I was so stressed for the last half of the period that I couldn’t sit down. I paced back and forth in our family room, watching, holding my breath, screaming at the players on the TV to get the puck out of their end.

I thought I was going to have a heart attack, and I know what that feels like so I had my Nitro ready in my back pocket just in case. Well, we won and that set the stage for game 6.

This time I was home for the whole game. I was able to sit, but there was no talking, no distractions, just rocking back and forth on the edge of my chair. The only calming effect was the pizza and Dr. Pepper.

The Leafs played a great game and won, which brought the series down to one last game in Boston. It was do or die tonight. After a promising 4-1 lead, a loss in overtime has left me a little shaken. If there are no more blogs after this one, you’ll know the Nitro didn’t work.

Here’s the thing: Much of what we get stressed about is over in flash and has no lasting effect on us. Eternity, on the other hand, is something worth stressing over if we are not ready for it … because the effects are forever.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What thing or event causes you the most emotional stress? Leave your comment below.