God

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She Wished She Had Lived When?

You can know someone for so long, but not really know them at all. Have you ever experienced that? I did this past weekend when my wife and I went to Upper Canada Village (an authentic 19th century park along the St. Lawrence River).

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I can thank our friends for that. We had been talking with them about what they had been doing over the summer and they mentioned they had just been to UCV. That seed got planted in Lily’s brain, fertilized, grew and blossomed in only two days, just as we were deciding on what to do for our anniversary. Before I knew it, we were on our way.

At the end of our day there, I discovered that Lily would have liked to live back in those times. She said they were “simpler.”

It was right then that I realized I didn’t even know this person I’d been married to for 28 years. Simpler times, were they?

During our visit, we watched a blacksmith heat up and hammer a piece of iron into a coat hook. With one hand, he worked the bellows to fan the flame, with the other, he held the metal in the fire. He was hot, sweaty, then with great force, hammered the iron into shape. It took effort. … I could drive to Home Depot and buy one for about $1.50. Which is simpler?

We milked a cow, which I actually proved to be pretty good at. But still, I could tell it would take a long time to get a bucket of milk … and that’s assuming your aim was good and you got all the milk in the bucket and not down your leg.

I think reaching into the fridge and pulling out a container of milk is simpler – even if we use bags instead of cartons! How could she think living in the 1860’s would be simpler?

I saw a few kitchens in this village and there were no microwave ovens, no electric stoves, no fridges. Food preparation looked pretty onerous and time consuming. A combo meal from McDonald’s, now that’s simple!

The processes they had to go through to make cheese, print a paper or cut a large log were painstakingly long. We watched a horse walking in a circle, hooked up to a contraption, that sawed through a 24” diameter log.

I was impressed with the ingenuity of the people who thought this up. But a Husqvarna 440 chainsaw would have cut through that log in about 15 seconds!

Factoring in that we experienced all this in the middle of the summer in 25 C (77 F) weather, you can multiply the complexity of living back then exponentially during the winter months.

I don’t understand why Lily thinks it would be nice to live back then. This from a woman who packs her bag so full for an over night, that she asks me to put the hairdryer in my bag … because that 19th century technology is coming with us, for sure!

She hadn’t been to Upper Canada Village since she was a kid, and she was very excited about going. I just hope it was the excitement that was doing the talking. If not, I don’t have a clue who this person is.

Here’s the thing: You can think you know God, but do you really? As you peel back the pages of the Bible, and experience Him in life, over a great amount of time you will discover more of Him … But you’re still only scratching the surface.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What new thing have you discovered about God in the last year? Leave your comment below.

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Who, Me? A Calorie Counter?

Three times in one day I heard the same message and, no, it wasn’t from my wife. I heard it on TV, on the radio and at the movies. The message was, “If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.”

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The next morning I decided to check it out. For me, everything is better if there is an app for it … and you better believe there are apps for calorie counting! As I started checking it out, both Lily and my daughter, Karlie, got into it as well.

Karlie had used one before, it was free, and seemed like a good one. I downloaded it onto my phone and couldn’t wait to start eating for the day. The great thing about the app is that it gives you a sense of how much you should be eating in a day so you have some kind of a gauge.

What I don’t like is having to enter all the food I eat and, worse, the amounts I eat (like I can tell what 4 oz of meat looks like on a plate?!) … I started to vaguely remember a nutrition seminar from my cardiac rehab clinic.

I remember the nutritionist had everyone grab some food labels and read the nutrition information on them. As she explained what the information meant, I was looking at the pictures on the labels and thinking I’d like to eat those items right then.

Needless to say, I didn’t get much from the seminar. But now I need that information. Thankfully, my app can scan bar codes, adding the nutritional info right into the app for me.

I’m getting the hang of it. It’s like playing monopoly every day. You start with a bunch of cash (calories), and as you eat, it costs you, like landing on a chance square or that dreaded income tax spot. But, like in monopoly when you pass “Go” and get more cash, in the nutrition game, you get more calories to use up when you exercise.

Now this is where it gets a little fun: I had a breakfast that cost me 391 calories, but then I went on a bike ride that bought me 432 calories. So before lunch, I had more calories to spend than I started the day with. It was great!

It bugged the girls though. They couldn’t get over the fact that I got to eat so much and could buy calories so easily.

After we figured out what dinner cost us, I decided to go for a bike tour around the area. Oh, and I purchased a $2 app that calculates my calories when biking or walking and syncs with my calorie counter.

That little trip bought me another 380 calories. By 8:30 pm I still had over 1100 calories to spend! I decided to have just a few chips, and some licorice, because just like in monopoly, I felt like I had some calories stashed under the board for when times get tough.

Here’s the thing: When you have worked at saving calories during the day, you somehow gain strength to fight the temptation of eating all kinds of junk food. You have a desire to keep what you fought for. When you fight against sin, a similar thing happens that gives you strength to stand up to temptation the next time.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What success have you had that has given you more power over temptation? Leave your comment below.

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Vacation Pain

“Back to the salt mines.” One of my buddies used to say that after noon hockey. He didn’t actually work in a salt mine, but he did have to go back to work. I guess after playing shinny, the idea of work seemed unpleasant.

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If you are someone who works in a salt mine, I’m not saying your work is hard and undesirable; it’s just an expression.

So, if a guy feels that way after an hour or so of hockey, how is one supposed to feel going back to work after a month of vacation? It’s not like my church has a secret tunnel in the basement that leads to large rooms of white crystal rock that I have to break apart all day.

But I do have some apprehensions going back after vacation. In any line of work, there are things you look forward to and things you don’t, things you enjoy doing and things you don’t.

Your work can be 90% enjoyable, invigorating, motivating and a few other desirable “atings”, but it’s that smaller percentage that weighs you down and has you wishing the vacation isn’t coming to an end.

So, at the end of vacation, you develop a little schizophrenia: part of you can’t wait to get back and another part of you wants to put on the brakes and stay where you are.

What happens is you start to act differently. You don’t have the same relaxed, carefree attitude you had a few days earlier. You go to the beach, but you don’t chill at the beach; you begin to strategize.

The water becomes your goals that are so hard to take hold of, the sand is like time that slips through your fingers and the people lying on the beach become the steps to how you will get to the water before the sand runs out.

You try to savour your last days of vacation, but your wife looks at you while you stare off in the distance and says, “See, he’s already back at work.”

There is no way to get back to the “chilaxed” zone you were in only a matter of days before. A switch has been turned on and it doesn’t matter how hot the sun is and how good it feels to sit under your beach umbrella sipping a Dr. Pepper, digging your feet in the sand, as you read or catch a few winks. You are there, but not really there.

Instead, you are sitting in your office sorting the mail that piled up, trying to make headway on hundreds of emails, all while getting back into the rhythm of your work.

Then you wake up, take a sip of your pop, wipe the drool from the corner of your mouth, glance at the people walking along the beach, and get back to reading your book. It was all a dream, a big scary dream. You still have 3 days of vacation left to enjoy.

Here’s the thing: Like the burden of work that overcomes us at the end of vacation, the burdens of sin, shame or self doubt can weigh us down even after we’ve confessed them. But God wants to take those burdens from us. We have to figure out how we can off-load those burdens to Him and not take them back.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: What is the hardest thing to come back to after your vacation?  Leave your comment below.

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Sunday Morning Blues

There is something about a rainy day that makes us lazy. I wonder if there is some kind of chemical that reacts with the air and then is released in an invisible form. We then breath it in and get lethargic.

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It’s Sunday morning, I’m on vacation, but it’s raining. You know, one of those days where the clouds aren’t going anywhere, and if the rain stops falling from the sky, it’s only for a short twenty minute coffee break before it’s back to that constant dripping from the heavens.

Before I was really awake, I’m sure I was breathing in that invisible mist that got me thinking negatively about the day. I started thinking that maybe I wouldn’t bother going to church. Ya, maybe just take it easy and sit around the cottage doing nothing. That seemed attractive for a while.

… Until I started thinking of what that would entail. It would mean I could stay in my sweats a little longer, look out the window at the rain and complain about what a crappy day it was.

When I thought about it, it didn’t sound all that fun. I guess if I drank coffee and never got a chance to read, I might look forward to a dull, overcast, drizzly kind of day. I could sip a big mug of coffee and curl up in a big sweater or afghan and read some fluffy novel.

But then I would not only have to love coffee, I would also have to be female! Most guys would just mope or find something in the basement to fix or tinker with, all the while complaining at how crummy the day was.

I’m not sure what it was … it could have been that my pillow acted like a gas mask and prevented the air-born, mood-altering drug from entering my system … but I actually started to think rationally.

It was then that I thought I needed to make this day count for something.  I should go to church. I should go to church because it’s an opportunity to praise God and hear something from the Bible that I could apply to my life.

Hey, on a day like this, all gloomy and damp, I should go to church because I’m doing nothing else anyway. Why would I stay home and do nothing when I have a standing invitation to show up with other people and be challenged in my relationship with God?

At the very least, if the rest of the day would be spent watching someone else drink coffee and read a novel, at least for an hour or so I could get some relief from that.

I might later be able to go to the beach, or play golf, or go on some kind of excursion, but now I could recoup a small portion of the day and get some positive spiritual input for my weary soul.

Here’s the thing: It really doesn’t take all that much to get us to excuse ourselves from doing something, just to do nothing. We don’t feel any better doing it, it doesn’t make the day more enjoyable, but it does prevent us from gaining something spiritual that we might not get otherwise. … I’m getting my crew going this morning and we’re off to church.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What tempts you, more than anything else, to excuse yourself from church? Leave your comment below.

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Signs

Currently I’m on vacation some where near a sandy beach, on Lake Huron.  While I am away I am featuring a guest blog about once a week.  Today’s blog comes from Adrian Greyling who is a financial planner,  husband to Shawna, and father to Leah, Ian and Avery.

“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind

Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?”

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Driving home from work one day I noticed the plethora of signs that literally litter the side of the road.  I started counting them to get an idea of how many I pass by on a daily basis going to and from work.  I had to stop as I closed in on 100.  (Not just because I was getting near the end of my ‘counting ability’, but because counting signs while driving is probably just as dangerous as talking on a cellphone.)

And what an amazing assortment of signs too.  Plenty are advertisements for everything from plumbers to restaurants to dog walking services.  Others are just informative, like: Glenmore Blvd.  (You know, the street you just drove by that you were supposed to turn left onto.)

Some are pretty fancy, with beautiful typefaces and eye-catching colours.  Others look like they were painted by a 3-year old who was in too much of a hurry. There are hand painted signs on cardboard, “animated” neon signs, as well as those on plain old wood or plastic.

Many signs offer warnings too.  (It’s always helpful to know which way you should be driving on a one-way street.)  Most signs are helpful, but occasionally you find signs that are downright confusing.  For example, what exactly was this sign trying to say? (It was outside a secondhand store.) “We exchange anything – bicycles, washing machines, etc.  Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain?”  Here’s another example of a sign that isn’t terribly informative:  “The Town Hall is closed until opening.  It will remain closed after being opened.  Open tomorrow.”  (Huh??)

God also posts signs for you and I.

They’re not necessarily 30 foot billboards with neon lights on the side of the highway.  Sometimes they’re much more subtle and it takes real effort to recognize them.  God posts His signs for you and I in various ways; through His Word, through good advice from reliable Christian friends, and sometimes through “gentle whispers”, (as He spoke to Elijah).  And thankfully, God speaks to us in ways that aren’t ambiguous or contradictory.

God never points us in the wrong direction, but every time He says “Don’t!”, He’s saying “Don’t hurt yourself”.  And every blessing we enjoy is God’s emphatic “Yes!”  His plans often unfold in unexpected ways and follow a timeline we wouldn’t choose, but God never makes empty promises.  To put it bluntly, God’s signs are ultimately reliable.

Following God’s signs won’t get you lost or misinformed.  In fact, God’s signs often point towards a future hope.  I’m reminded of Jeremiah 29, when the children of Israel were in the midst of a 70-year captivity.  Even in the midst of being judged, God offers a comforting signpost to His people:  “For I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV))

I can almost see Jeremiah’s billboard:  “This way to a brighter future!”  That’s what God is advertising to you and I today; a brighter future.  Look for God’s signs and embrace them!

Adrian

Question: How do you recognize God’s signs? Leave your comment below.

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Moose on the Loose!

Currently I’m on vacation some where near a sandy beach, on Lake Huron.  While I am away I am featuring a guest blog about once a week.  Today’s blog comes from Lily Silcock.  Along with being my wife, Lily works for SureWx as an executive assistant. She volunteers at Kingston Alliance Church and does all the editing for this blog.

Sometimes I shake my head at the situations I get myself in and the things I’ll do for my kids.

After a long work week a few weeks ago, I found myself exhausted and boarding a plane to Regina. Why Regina, you ask? Well, that’s where our daughter wanted me to meet her for our road trip back to Ontario … Not beautiful Calgary to be of assistance in helping her pack up her earthly possessions to move. Not in Edmonton – her first stop – where I could visit some dear friends, but Regina where there’s nothing and no one!!

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So I flew in to Regina, all eager to spend some quality time with Karlie as we drove back to Ontario. What I didn’t realize was that I’d almost need to ride on the roof for lack of room in her little Hyundai Accent! With bags at my feet and no room to recline the seats even an inch, we left. But that was ok; we were spending time together.

Our first day, we planned to drive from Regina to Dryden ON – a very do-able 940 km. What we hadn’t planned on was no vacancies at the hotels in Dryden at 7:30 pm. “No problem”, we said. We could go another 4 hours and easily get a place. After all, Thunder Bay’s a sizeable city.

I was tired but Karlie was happy to keep driving … until we passed the first “Moose on the loose” sign, followed almost on cue by a humongous moose standing on the shoulder of the road! And just as I was trying to assure her that that was probably a fluke, we passed another one!

Well, that ended any chance I had of catching a nap. I had to spend the next 3+ hours sitting bolt upright (not a problem since the seats weren’t reclining anyways), squinting and scanning the dark landscape, on the lookout for moose on the loose.

But I didn’t mind … I’m a mom and we do those things for our kids. Besides, I was looking forward to a nice, comfy hotel bed down the highway.

Little did I know that when we finally made it to our destination at 1 am, there would not be a single hotel bed available in that city either! Who knew that the national diving championships were being held so far up north this year?

Our only option at 1:30 am was the stuffed-to-the-gills tiny car we’d already spent the last 16 hours in. It’s a good thing my daughter and I are both vertically challenged!

After 4 hours of contorting in our seats, trying to get comfortable, laughing at the insanity of our predicament, and maybe getting a total of an hour’s shuteye, I laughingly announced, “I’m too old for this! Let’s hit the road.”

As exhausted and stiff as I was, I didn’t mind. It was a pleasure to be on a road trip with my daughter. I love her like crazy! Really, when it comes down to it, I’m a parent, and I’ll do just about anything for my kids … willingly.

It’s not surprising then that God calls Himself our Father. He willingly gave it all for us. We can count on Him, His help, His support, His company. He loves us like crazy!

Lily

Question: How have you gone the extra mile for your kids or loved ones? Leave your comment below.

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It’s Raining

Currently I’m on vacation some where near a sandy beach, on Lake Huron.  While I am away I am featuring a guest blog about once a week.  Today’s blog comes from Dr. Munier Nour who currently lives with his family in Calgary. He and his wife, Mary, have been married for 7 years and have two young sons aged one and three. Munier is a subspecialist in the field of pediatrics. He and his family lived in Kingston and attended KAC until 2010.

I’ve struggled to write this blog entry for a few weeks now. I’ve started writing a few times and have always just thrown it away. I think I’ve wanted a neat and tidy package of a story to tell people. I want to share a story of resolution and pack in a quaint lesson learned. But as much as I’ve tried that’s not a story I can tell… yet. Mine is still a work in progress.

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Despite putting this task aside for the last time this morning my confirmation came this evening that I need to articulate my struggle – if for no one else, then for my own benefit. We spent the evening in hospital with our youngest son for the third time in the past few months.

A year ago I had a neat little plan for our family. I had finally finished my ridiculously long medical training, we had our two healthy children, and my dream job was about to become available. It looked like I couldn’t have planned it better. I would quickly interview for the job, get it, we’d move into our new home and life would be in cruise control from there on. I had it all figured out. God had different plans.

In a series of seemingly rapid fire steps all my hard work and planning for a care free life seemed to come undone. It started out with our youngest son getting quite sick and being hospitalized with breathing difficulties when I was on the other side of the country. If narrowly missing an ICU admission wasn’t enough, he went on to repeat the process not two weeks later (and again tonight). Weeks later we were told that he also had another rare issue. It seems he had suffered from a perinatal stroke before he was born, a condition previously called hemiplegic cerebral palsy. While he has only shown mild symptoms it has been very difficult to understand and grasp this as parents wanting nothing but the best for our child. Following these medical events, I received the news that my prospects for work would go to another applicant – leaving me with essentially with no options of work in my field in the entire country.

It’s at this point that I feel the need to say something quaint or cliché. Something like ‘everything happens for a reason’ or ‘God’s got something bigger and better in store’ or ‘God will never give you more than you can handle’. While these are all good intentioned, the fact of the matter is I don’t really want to hear them right now – plus I’m not sure they even necessarily apply.

When I turn to passages like the story of Jesus calming the storm (Mark 4:35-41) my tendency is to look down on the disciples. How could they not realize Jesus was in control? How could they not understand that they were still safe? How could they have so little faith? In the midst of my storm, I wish I could say I was different from them.  I feel the rain starting and I run and panic.

As I’ve begun to navigate this small storm – while it is not easy – I am comforted to know I am not alone in this boat and that He commands even the winds and the water.

Question: When the storms come in your life, where do you turn?

 

When everything is wrong
The day has passed and nothing’s done
And the whole world seems against me
When I’m rolling in my bed, there’s a storm in my head
I’m afraid of sinking in despair.
…
‘Cause I’m a child of little faith
I feel the wind and forget Your grace
And You say, “Peace, be still.”

Teach me, Lord to have faith
In what You’re bringing me will
Change my life and bring You glory
…

There on the storm, teach me God to understand
Of Your will that I just cannot control.
There may I see all Your love protecting me
I thank you Lord, You are the calmer of the storm.

  —  “Calmer of the Storm” by Downhere
http://youtu.be/Z5gqZHifyQM

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Why You Should Keep Things Simple

The other night, my wife, daughter and I went downtown to the Buskers Festival. Years ago buskers were individuals on a street corner who had some kind of talent and were trying to make a few bucks in the summer.

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Now it’s an industry, with people traveling all over the world to cities bringing them in for festivals. They block off streets and allow large crowds of people to gather round.

At one time, they used to just open their guitar case or throw down a hat and hope people would put money in as they passed by. It’s a little different now.

I hadn’t been down to see the buskers in our city for several years, but I sure noticed something different this year. These performers were into entertainment more that performing their stunts.

I saw three acts and there was no question about their talent and abilities, but I got bored with their acts. They were too long. I wanted to see the pole guy climb the pole more, and do more tricks up there.

Perhaps the guys he picked from the audience to support the pole weren’t as strong as they looked. Maybe he needed to give them a rest in between trips up to the top of his free standing pole. I kind of wanted to see him carry the female volunteer from the crowd up with him.

The lady who could stick her head through her legs was a little creepy, but she could really do the hula hoop … several of them … at one time … all on different appendages.

But she went on and on about how long she had been practicing her craft, and how dangerous it was to do the hula hoop from 7 feet in the air. That’s not even the height of a normal ceiling in a home.

At least the pole guy didn’t talk. I’m not sure if he couldn’t talk or if it was part of the act. But he didn’t go on and on about preferring bills over change like the hula girl did.

I kept looking over and wishing we had gone to the fire guy about a half a block over. I’m not sure what he was doing, but he had fire, and anything with fire is more exciting than a hula hoop or a pole.

I liked seeing these street performers, but the crowds were so big that they all really needed bleachers, which sort of takes away from the “street” part of the performance. My suggestion would be to have more acts, so that the crowds would be smaller around each act and the performers wouldn’t feel they had to talk so much.

I just want to see more amazing tricks, stunts, and talent.

Here’s the thing: There are times when I add things to my devotions that really aren’t part of it. Sometimes I have the inkling to check something like my email before my time with God. All those extra things do is get me distracted from just being with God, listening, learning and talking to Him. I need to remember to keep my time with Him simple and to the point.

Question: What distracts you most when you want to spend time with God? Leave your comment below.

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Happiness

Currently I’m on vacation some where near a sandy beach, on Lake Huron.  While I am away I am featuring a guest blog about once a week.  Today’s blog comes from Wendy Lehmann who is a work from home mom with two boys, ages 10 and 6. She has been married for 17 years and originally hales from Winnipeg.  Though being a mom is primarily her main “job title”, she runs a small side business sharing tea with friends.  She is presently working on starting a blog which should go live September 1st.  You can check Wendy’s blog out then at www.taketime4tea.com

To begin I am going to say that I am first and foremost a mother of two very active, and very boy-like boys.  There are other areas of my life that I enjoy, but none as much as I enjoy my kids.

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One of the best things about being a parent is seeing my kids being happy.  Kids can be happy to a level that we as adults rarely achieve.  I have wondered why that is and I think it is because they can be happy without thinking about being happy, they just are.

There are some rare occasions when you can see your kids reach a level of happiness that is above and beyond the run of the mill, get to stay up later than usual type of happy.  You know what I am talking about; the Christmas morning type of happy; the get to stay home from school type of happy; seeing grandma and grandpa type of happy.

We recently took a family vacation to visit friends and I got to see my kids reach that extra level of happy, and I loved it!  Our friends live in Wisconsin, so we decided to take a road trip.

Now, some of you may think that is crazy, driving for 17 hours with a 10 year old and a 6 year old to visit friends for 4 days, but we haven’t seen them in a couple of years, so hey, why not?!

On our way down we noticed a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store.  For those of you who have never seen one of these stores they are VERY impressive. Just imagine a store the size of Costco filled with anything you could ever imagine needing/wanting/buying-if-you-won-the-lottery for fishing, hunting or camping. There are 8 aisles of fishing lures, 200 reels to test out and more fishing rods than you could possibly count.

Now imagine being 10 and 6 year old boys who live and breathe fishing.  When we first walked through the front doors they just stood there in awe, and then it sunk in and they were off!

They did not know what to look at first. They went running up to look at the 25 ft floor to ceiling fish tank, then realized there was a 40 ft floor to ceiling tank with salt water fish at the other end of the store.

They went on the glass elevator at least 5 times so they could see the possum hanging in the tree. The boys took pictures of every taxidermy specimen from a moose to a family of foxes.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that this is not my “cup of tea” at all.  I am a vegetarian and cannot get excited about fishing, and definitely not hunting.  But, do you know what?  I was so happy to be in this store to be able to experience it with my kids.

Truthfully, I should say I was there with 3 kids because my husband was almost as excited as the boys. To be able to see that look in their eyes when they saw a wall full of fishing lures or tried out a cool new rod and reel was a really fun moment to be a part of.

As a parent we learn to read our kids, their moods, good and bad. We can tell when they reach that uber-happy level.  I’ll tell you what, I saw that level of happy that day.   What made me realize they were truly happy was when they could not stop thanking us for taking them to “that super awesome store”.

It is through their gratitude that their true happiness was revealed.  Both of them thanked us for days for making that stop on our trip, which made us want to do more of what makes them happy.

God, as our Heavenly Father, wants us to be happy; he also wants us to be thankful which is how he knows we are truly happy.

When thinking about the last time you were happy, truly happy, were you thankful to the One who is always thinking about our happiness?  Leave your comment below.

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Just Blame the Weatherperson

This week the temperature has soared, and already people are complaining. We humans are pretty hard to please. At one time, I thought it was just the farmers who complained about the weather. But honestly, we all do it

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It’s either too hot or cold or rainy or snowy or a combination of them all. I think we could just blame the weatherman for all this, or should I say “meteorologist”? They are the ones that tell us it’s hotter than it really is and colder than it really is.

When I was a kid, 80 degrees was hot. It didn’t matter if you were in the shade or in the sun. It was hot and you knew it and everyone else did, too. Today, however, it’s worse than that: 80 degrees is 27 Celsius, but we are told that it really feels like 35 (95 Fahrenheit).

In the winter, they do the same thing. It might be -20C (-4F) but they add their little jab by saying that with the windchill, it feels like its -29.

And we buy right into this fake weather! We complain about how bad we have it when it’s hot and how unfair it is when it’s cold. These weather people are controlling our emotions and, most of the time, they aren’t even correct.

There was a time when the weatherman was a guy training to be the anchorman at the radio or TV station. All he would do is lick his finger, stick it outside and make a guess.

We accepted that. We knew the guy was guessing at the weather. It was forgivable. After all, the guy didn’t want to be doing the weather; he just had to put in his time before he could give us real news.

Now they go to school to learn weather patterns and cloud formations. They sound all fancy and technical when the give the weather and they are just as wrong as they ever were. Can we really blame that on global warming?

They have all their maps with bright colours and animation showing the clouds. … I still think the guy that would write backwards on a piece of glass had more talent.  At least it was entertaining.

Let’s not give in to their hype and drama. Let’s accept the weather for what it is.

I’m not complaining about the weather. Maybe it’s because I’m on vacation and can dip into the semi-frigid waters of Lake Huron any time I want. Or, maybe it’s because I can walk down to the strip any time of the day and enjoy a cone at DQ or Scoopers, or get a cup of raspberry gelato.

Sure, maybe I’d sing a different tune if I had to go to work everyday. But every time you start to whine about how hot it is, remember it could be a windy-cloudy-snowy-rainy day instead.

I don’t want to hear any more comments on Facebook or twitter that “Satan called and wants his weather back.” I like this 30-degree-feels-like-37-with-a-humidex-of-60, sunny hot weather. . .  I’m going to the beach. See ya!

Here’s the thing: We so quickly complain and criticize God when things are not perfect: when our prayer isn’t answered at the exact moment we’d like, when it’s not what we want, when we don’t get the justice we think we deserve, or when our circumstances seem more difficult that others’. Like the weather, enjoy, and rejoice in what you do have.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you quick to complain about when it’s not perfect? Leave your comment below.