Hockey

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I Was Tricked Into What I Liked

The other day I got tricked into doing something I liked. That might sound crazy because why would anyone need to be tricked into doing something they liked doing?

Well, it happened; let me explain.

I got a text from one of the former players of the Kingston Frontenacs OHL hockey team. He was going to be in town and wondered if I was going to the Fronts game that night so we could see each other. 

The reason he was in town was because he now plays hockey for an Ontario university and they were playing the Queens University hockey team the next night. 

I thought this was great. We would be able to catch up on Friday night at the Fronts’ hockey game and then I would get to see him play the next night at the Queens vs Guelph hockey game.

When I let him know that I would be at both games, he said his game was going to be a sell out because it was a championship match. So I immediately went online and purchased tickets. 

As we continued to text, he mentioned that he probably wouldn’t be playing. I thought he meant he wouldn’t get many shifts on the ice. 

I learned later that he wasn’t even going to dress for the game. He is a first year player and, since the team has a ton of 4th and 5th year guys, he would sit this one out. 

When he said that, I thought, “That’s okay. There’s another former Frontenac who plays for Queens and I’ll at least get to see him play. All is good.”

Saturday rolled around, and it was a busy day. I had lots of little things to do to get ready for Sunday and, by the end of the day, I was tired … but I had tickets to the game. 

My wife, Lily, was also tired and at one point said, “Maybe we should just not go.” 

When she said that I was really tempted to stay home. Both tickets had only cost $16 and I was so tired. I also knew I would have more to do after the game, so staying home would be the smart play.

We even paused by the font door and considered it again. But I had said I would go, so out we trudged to the car.

We had a tough time finding a place to park near the arena – it really was a sell out crowd. But when we got inside and up to the stands, the energy in the arena was invigorating. It was like I got a second wind just being in that crowd. 

The game was end to end in each of the periods. The third period started with a 1-1 tie. 

In the end, the home town Queens University team won the game and the championship. 

Lily and I were so glad we went to the game and had been part of it. 

Here’s the thing: Sometimes our tiredness tempts us to do things we shouldn’t, or not do things we should. We all lead busy lives and that causes us to sometimes be tired. It is often clear to us what God would want us to do or not do when we have a decision to make. Don’t let tiredness keep you from making the right decision. If you follow God, you will be glad you did. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When you are tired, what do you base your decision-making on? Leave your comments below.

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What To Do With Mystery Pain

For about the last four weeks I’ve had a mystery pain in my elbow that I couldn’t explain.

In my last post, I wrote about an injury that I had. Well, it’s not the only thing that’s hurting me right now. 

Over the last month or so, I noticed that my elbow has been getting sorer. I didn’t fall on it, bump it or do anything I can think of to make it sore.

But it has gotten increasingly more sore. 

I felt around my elbow to see if there was something that I could identify as being the cause of my pain. It looked fine from the outside.  

You could not tell there was anything wrong; it wasn’t swollen or red. It looked exactly like my elbow on my other arm.

But the pain is real. 

It feels like the bone is sore, right at the tip. It’s even sore to touch. If I move it in a certain way, it hurts.  

I couldn’t figure it out, but I started wondering what the problem might be. 

Some of the thoughts I had were not good, and it put a little worry in the back of my mind that this could be something serious that needs immediate attention.

Several years ago, I had a dark growth on my temple. It started as an itchy patch of skin and then developed into something that looked like a mole. 

Over time it got bigger and Lily thought it might be cancer. She wanted me to get it checked. 

Other people noticed it too and said I should check it out. I hesitated going to the doctor because I didn’t want to hear that it could be cancer. 

After much prodding, I went to my doctor who said he’d noticed it and it wasn’t anything. He put some dry ice on it and within a week it had flaked off. It has never come back since. 

When it comes to my sore elbow, I guess there is some of the same fear. I don’t want to find out that there is something really wrong with my elbow.

This Sunday I was telling a friend how it felt. Really quickly he said, “Oh, that’s tennis elbow.”

Well, I haven’t been playing tennis, but tennis elbow is the result of repetitive action that causes pain in the area.

I think my repetitive action is taking wrist shots in hockey. I’ve been putting a lot of torque in my shot and maybe that’s what has caused the pain. 

The problem is, it’s hard to rest an elbow – you’re always using it. Now it’s even tough to hold things. 

Though it’s gotten me out of doing the dishes, it’s also going to keep me out of playing hockey until it feels better. 

I guess the mystery has been solved. I’m going to have to curtail my hockey until the pain in my elbow goes away. 

Here’s the thing: There can be times in your life when you feel distant from God – like He isn’t really there to listen to you. It can be a mystery and hard to put your finger on anything in your life that would create a barrier between you and God. That’s when you should seek out a friend, and tell them how you are feeling. They may see something in you that you’ve become blind to, or through their own experience have an idea what you can do to get close to God again.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What mystery in your life may a friend be able to solve for you? Leave you comments below.

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Some Injuries Tempt You

When it comes to injuries, I’ve had my fair share … but I’m tempted to ignore some more than others.

I’ve had injuries where there was nothing I could do but wait until the injury was better before I resumed activity. 

I think of the many times I’ve hurt my left knee – I have a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). Before I knew what that was, I had injured that knee many times. 

My surgeon went in and cut out a portion of my cartilage and decided that I could treat the ACL with a brace – not a cheap, off-the-shelf kind of brace, but one that was moulded to fit my knee exactly. It was pretty pricy and, over about 25 years, I’ve had two made.

When I injure that knee, I’m out of commission. I hobble around for a week or two, but know my knee won’t be stable again for another few weeks.  

There is no playing hockey, no exercise involving my legs at all. I can only sit around and get out of shape. 

But there are other kinds of injuries that tease you a little. You get hurt but think, “It’s not that bad; I can still keep going. I just won’t go as hard as normal.” 

… In theory that’s great, but in reality it doesn’t work out that way.

Recently, I pulled a groin muscle playing hockey. It didn’t seem that bad; it was more of a nagging kind of pain … you know, one that you can play through. 

“This injury isn’t going to sideline me,” I decided. I played hockey a few days later with the idea that I would take it easy and not skate too hard.

The problem was the game was fast. There were a lot of young guys on the other team so our team had to work to keep up.  

Without thinking, just keeping pace with the level of play, I found myself skating pretty hard at times. In fact, I could feel a little pain when I took off quickly or tried to out-skate a guy on my heels. 

I could do it. It was the kind of injury that wasn’t going to hold me back. 

But I paid for it the next day. It was sore to walk without a limp. Even getting in and out of the car required some delicate manoeuvring. And when I slipped on an icy patch of sidewalk, I thought I tore the muscle more. 

This injury that wasn’t too bad, and had tempting me to keep going, had just gotten worse. Now I was looking at having this nagging injury for a very long time – maybe all season. 

So, I’ve made the decision that I’m going to stop skating until this thing gets better. 

I might miss a week of hockey, but it’s better than playing with that nagging pain every time I move a certain way. 

Here’s the thing: There are some things in your life about which you think, “I can keep doing this; it’s not that bad; it doesn’t hurt me, or my witness; it doesn’t cause pain to anyone else.” You may think you have it all under control, but the reality is you need to stop it. That thing will just nag at you and will, at some point, become a problem that forces you to stop. Listen to the Lord’s voice quietly telling you to stop now before it gets worse.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What might you be doing that’s not that bad, but you really need to stop doing? Leave your comments below.

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I’m Old But Not Feeling It

I have heard it said that you’re only as old as you feel, but an occasional reality check pops that dream bubble every time.

I was recently speaking with someone about getting old and told the person how my grandmother lived until she was 99, broke her hip, had it replaced and passed away in her sleep about a week or so later. 

That happened 35 years ago. My grandmother would have been 134 right now if she was still alive. I was 27 at the time. 

Needless to say, I never knew my grandmother when she didn’t seem really old. It was normal for me that my grandmother was old. Grandmothers are supposed to be old. And no matter how old or young a grandmother actually is, to a kid she is old.

Then I thought about my dad. When he was my age, he never would have participated in the sports that I do now. So, in a sense, I’m kind of younger than my dad was when he was my age … which is a nice thought to have. 

But then the reality check …

I was in a hockey dressing room, having just finished playing. The room was filled with a cross section of guys – there were a couple of teens, a few in their 30’s and someone in his 40’s. There was another guy who was at least over 50 … and then there was me. 

I was the elder statesmen in that dressing room, but that was not the reality check for me. I still felt like one of them.

The reality check came when one of the guys who’s in his late 40’s started talking about a guy who had gone to his high school. While he was retelling the story, he mentioned that he had been in high school from 1985-1989. 

That first date stuck out to me, and I started to think. 

I looked over at him. He didn’t look like a young man. I knew he had a couple of children who were finished high school. 

I stared in his general direction as I came to the realization: 1985 was the year I started as a youth pastor; I was 29 at the time. 

I kind of squinted to picture him as a high school student, but I couldn’t.  

“You could have been in my youth group when you were in high school,” I said.

It didn’t phase him. He started to tell me about the youth group he went to, but I was stuck on the fact that this middle-aged guy was a teenager when I worked with youth. 

I was stunned, shocked and the reality of my age hit me – I’m old! … Fortunately, right then my back didn’t start hurting. 

And then I had this other thought: all those students who I had in my youth group way back when are old now, too. Haha … I may be old, but that’s funny!

Here’s the thing: In my devotions I read about how God’s pattern with us is always the same. The pattern is “out”, “through”, “in”. God brings us out of bondage, through the desert and into the promised land. So, at your age, where are you in that pattern? Make sure you get “out” by placing your faith in Christ, but then don’t stall going “through” the desert – many of the old souls died there. It is easy to grow old and never make it all the way through the desert. Read Deuteronomy 8:2 and seek God on what you need to get “in” to what God has planned for you. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need most to get through the desert? Leave your comments below.

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I Wish Clothing Sizes Were Consistent

I thought the idea behind clothing sizes was to provide a universal standard so you could easily find things that fit. 

Obviously, I was wrong in my thinking. 

It’s been over a month since my birthday and I’m finally able to wear the shirt my daughter gave me as a present. 

Getting the right size should have been easy, but obviously people have different comfort levels when considering the fit of something.

For instance, I normally take a size 8 to 8.5 shoe, but when I buy skates, I look for a size five … not because skate sizes are all messed up, but because I like to cram my foot into my skate with no space at the toe and no room for even a thin pair of socks. 

It’s just personal taste. 

I’m not talking about personal taste here, though; I’m talking about the same size in one brand not being the same as the same size of another brand. 

Are you following me? 

Some clothing companies size their clothes differently than other manufacturers. It destroys the whole concept of size and gives the customer absolutely no confidence in what size a shirt he or she should buy.

For my birthday my daughter bought me a size small shirt. But when I tried it on, it was very tight – way too tight! 

So I exchanged it at the store for a size up. The clerk at the counter had another employee go get me the same shirt in a medium. We filled out the paper work for the exchange and away I went, happy that it was all going to work out. 

When I got home, I put the shirt on to show Lily, and to my amazement it was too small as well. 

I know what you’re thinking, that I’ve gained weight and don’t want to admit that I’m getting bigger. 

On the contrary, in the last year and a half I’ve lost some weight and have had to downsize a lot of my clothes. 

Leaving the store I was confident that a medium was the right size. I had thought medium would be the right size even before I tried on the small my daughter had bought me. 

When the medium didn’t fit, I was shocked …. Me? A large? It didn’t seem right to me. 

So back to the store I went … again. This time I was taking no chances; I wanted to try the shirt on before I left the store. 

Amazingly the large fit perfectly. I hope the sizes go up to quadruple XL or a lot of people won’t be able to buy that shirt. 

There is something wrong with the clothing industry if they can’t get sizing right. An inch is an inch; a centimetre is a centimetre. Use rulers, people, and get your sizes right!

Oh, and why this all took over a month to solve is because we don’t have this particular store in Kingston. I had to travel to Toronto twice to finally get the right size.

Here’s the thing: Unlike some clothes we buy, God is consistent. He will not deal with you with different standards or in a way you can’t predict. God also knows you so well that He will fit you with a purpose, plan, and help that is perfect for you and your shape. Seek and trust Him daily for everything you will encounter.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you perfectly fitted for? Leave your comments below.

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Hockey Should Be A Summer Sport

I played hockey the other day, and it was 30 degrees Celsius (86 F) outside … not your standard hockey weather.

Inside the arena it was a cool 11 degrees and the ice surface was about -17 … not really shorts and T-shirt weather. 

But there is something nice about going to play hockey in shorts and sandals as opposed to parkas and boots.

When you think about it, when it’s hot outside there is no better place to cool down than in a frosty, cool arena. … I’m surprised that more people don’t show up to watch whatever game is being played just to keep their core temperatures down.

On those days when there are weather warnings to stay out of the heat, especially for seniors and those with breathing problems, don’t stay in your home, or hot apartments. Head down to your nearest arena and check out a game.

… Maybe bring your skates and get right out on the ice for some pleasure skating. 

In the winter the local rink is the place you go to play hockey, but in the summer the rink is a refreshing place to spend a few hours. 

In the summer some arenas take the ice out to do maintenance and to run ball hockey leagues, but that really defeats the benefits of a place to cool off. 

We have public swimming pools to get some relief from the heat of summer, but you have to get all wet and bring a change of clothes for that. 

At the arena all you need is a windbreaker or a sweater and you are set. If it gets too cool for you, just go out to the lobby for a few minutes.

When you need a break but are not near a lake, when the steam is coming off the pavement and you are looking for some kind of oasis in the distance, what you need is an arena. 

How did we get this all wrong? Hockey should be a summer sport! We should be packing arenas; people would pay just to get inside a cooler place for a while. 

And maybe we should build domes over golf courses and enjoy playing golf in the winter to give us a break from the cold. 

For so much of the winter I trudge through the snow, hauling my hockey bag in from the parking lot. Summer hockey is so much nicer. 

My buddy and I were leaving the arena the other day after about an hour and a half on the ice. We both remarked that there is nothing better than coming out of the rink with no coat, no socks, and the sun licking your face.

So these summer nights, right after dinner when you’re thinking maybe you should go for an ice cream cone, stop; turn the car around and head to your local arena. Check out the action and stay cool. It’s gonna be a hot one.

Here’s the thing: In the summer we can get derailed from spending time with God – there are vacations, all the great weather and relaxed schedules. When you’re away on vacation, check out another church. Meet with God out on your deck, or in a park. Don’t let the change of pace in the summer cause you to distance yourself from God. Enjoy your time with Him in new and fresh ways.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you plan to stay connected to God this summer? Leave your comments below.

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Reminiscing Is Good For Your Soul

Have you ever thought of how reminiscing is good for the soul? It creates a “make you feel good” moment.

We reminisce all the time. Any time you run into a long-lost friend or even just get together with long time friends, at some point the conversation always goes back to “remember back when…”

I think when we get older that’s why we like the past, and like to reminisce. The old songs, the old ways make us feel good, so we are drawn to them.

I know that every time I get together with friends I went to high school or college with, we talk about the things we did and laugh about them all over again. Even when they weren’t that funny back then, they are great for a laugh now. 

We are constantly rehashing the past, and finding it more and more comforting. 

Although it is something that we do more often the older we get, all ages reminisce. 

That’s why when you play mini stick hockey in the basement with your son, the next day he’ll hand you a mini stick while you’re watching the game on TV. 

It’s just his way of reminiscing about yesterday and wanting to relive it. 

When we get older the difference is the huge span of time that has elapsed since what you’re reminiscing about … and the fact that if you tried to relive it now, you’d probably kill yourself.

My son called me up just the other day. He was learning to play a song on his guitar and was reminded how I used to play it when he and his sister were young. The memory brought a smile to his face and he wanted to share it with me. 

… And while I’m there, the first line in the last paragraph is from another song I used to play for my kids. It’s a line straight out of “Cats In the Cradle” by Harry Chapin.

I can still see them jumping up and down on the bed as I strummed my guitar and sang as loud as I could.

But there I go, reminiscing a little myself! 

The other day I played my first game of golf this season. I was in a tournament on a team with three other guys. 

I didn’t want to be the worst on the team and I didn’t want to hold them back, but I hadn’t swung a club since last fall. 

I started to think about the parts of my swing that I had been working on last year. I was worried I wouldn’t remember what to do to incorporate them. I didn’t want to go right back to my old habits.

But when I stepped up to the practice tee to hit a few balls, it all came back. As I stood over the ball, I remembered what to do. It was like I was reminiscing about swinging the golf club again.

Here’s the thing: Our minds provide us with a lot of feel good memories. But that also means that there can be sad, painful, guilty memories that show up as well. Just remember if you are a follower of Christ, God has taken all your sin away. So you can reminisce over the memories with a smile on your face.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has this post caused you to reminisce about? Leave your comments below.

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It’s The Little Things That Make It Special

Often it is the little things that make something really special and stand out. 

Yesterday I attended an event at the Hockey Hall Of Fame in Toronto. We took in all the sights and looked at the history making events and people. 

There were even a few former NHLers who attended the event. One was Ron Ellis who not only was a Hall of Fame member but also has his name on the Stanley Cup.

A visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame isn’t complete without visiting the room where the Stanley Cup resides. 

The room itself is amazing. It’s set in an old bank with a high, domed, stained glass ceiling. The room is adorned with the many trophies that are handed out to NHL players for various achievements, as well as glass plates with images of those who have been inducted into the Hall. 

But the key piece, the item that stands out over everything else, is the Stanley Cup. 

I got my picture taken with the cup but I told Lily that I couldn’t touch it so I wouldn’t jinx myself from ever winning it … haha.

But that’s one of the things that make the Stanley Cup the most special of all trophies in sports. 

It’s a magnificent looking trophy, so large you need two hands to hold it. It’s also old, having been first awarded in 1893. 

Those little things are what make it the greatest trophy in sports. 

I joke about not touching the cup, but a Junior hockey player or a current NHLer won’t touch it until they win it. 

The cup has gone around the world, spending a day in the home town of each player who has won the cup that year. 

People have drank from the cup; they have sat babies in the bowl of the cup. The Stanley Cup has been left on the side of the road; it’s been tossed in a river. There was once an attempt to steal the cup. 

It has been touched and held by more people than any other professional trophy. 

And there is no other celebration of victory that centres around a trophy quite like the Stanley Cup.

Some trophies are handed out to the winning team in a press room or locker room. Some are presented on a high stage with all the focus on the owner who created such a great team.

But the Stanley Cup is the focal point of the hockey championship. It is presented to the captain, who skates around the rink and then passes it to his teammates who each get to skate and lift up the trophy. 

The win is all about getting your hands on that cup. Oh ya, and the honour of having your name permanently engraved on it. 

… Now that’s special.  

It’s all those little things that make the Stanley Cup the greatest trophy in sports. 

Here’s the thing: It’s the little things in Christianity that make it special. The big thing is that Jesus died on the cross to pay for all mankind’s sin – that’s a big deal! Other religions leave it up to you to have to work your way to their god. But the God of heaven did all the work for you. That’s big; there is no religion like it. But our God is also very personal. He meets with us, speaks to us through the Bible, helps and directs us on a daily basis, and lives in each of us by the Holy Spirit. Those are the little things that make being part of God’s family so special. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is one little thing you are thankful to God for? Leave your comments below.

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It Feels Like The Longest Days Of The Year

We are in the longest days of the year right now. I realize that it won’t be until late in June when we reach the maximum daylight, but still, these are the longest days of the year.

I used to live in Edmonton which has long days in the summer. I remember being on a golf course at 11pm at night!

When I directed a week of junior high camp for a few years, we would turn the clocks ahead. We called it “camp time”. We did it so the sun wasn’t still high in the sky when we would have our camp fires. 

Those definitely were long days. 

We got blackout blinds on our kids’ rooms so that when we put them to bed they didn’t think it was still the middle of the day.

But right now, at the beginning of May, we are experiencing the longest days of the year.

And if you are wondering why that is, it’s not that the sun is standing still in the sky. It’s not even that it is staying light out most of the night in Alaska. 

No, it’s that we are experiencing the NHL playoffs. 

You see, with eight teams still in the playoffs, there are two games every night and one is always a western game, giving us in the east a starting time of about 10 pm. 

… That means my days are very long, often extending after midnight.

Even though my team is out of the playoffs, I can’t stop watching the games. They flow from one to another. 

If one game runs a little late with overtime, the TV network joins the next game immediately … and the best part is you don’t have to wait for the national anthems to be sung. You get beamed into live action as a player is receiving a pass up the ice.

One of the difficult things about these long days is my day don’t start any later than usual. I’m up at my regular time; I’m just not getting to bed until much later than I’d like.

It’s not hard to handle this pace for a day or two, but day after day with no breaks until this round is over and four teams will be knocked out, that’s tiring. 

And I know what you are thinking – “Just don’t watch the late game.”

But that is easier said than done. 

If I open a bag of potato chips in front of you and say just have one, how well would you do with that? – especially if the bag was still hovering around your nose after you had devoured your first chip!

See? I thought you might understand if I gave you that analogy. 

These are long days we are in, and as much as I have enjoyed the action in all the series, I will be looking forward to a week from now when we will only have one game a night.

… Maybe I’ll have to take a nap early in the evening so I can stay up and watch those late western games.

Here’s the thing: When your routine or schedule gets changed, do you find that it is hard to maintain some of the things you are used to doing? There is never a time where God is thrown off His plan or will. With Him everything always gets accomplished right when He determines it. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you get back on track when your routine or schedule has been interrupted or adjusted? Leave your comments below.

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Maybe I Didn’t Think I Had Enough Stress

Could I have added more stress to my life? I don’t know what I was thinking; I’m just glad I got through it. Stress is something we all live with, but there are times when stress is higher than at other times.

I’ve even heard that a little stress is good for you. Stress keeps you alert, motivated; it keeps the blood pumping.

Without a little stress we would probably all be sloths, sitting – rather, lying – around with no cares, no urgency, no get up and go.

When I was a teen I had no stress in the summers. I would sleep until 11 a.m. and then stay up late at night.

My dad used to call that “living the life of Riley”, and though I never met Riley, and didn’t have any idea what he did, it sure sounded like he had a pretty good life.

At the time, it sounded like my dad wished he had a little of that life.

Now I always have a little stress in my life. I always have something to do, and if I don’t, I put a little stress on myself to find something that I need to be doing.

But this past Saturday I put too much stress on my life.  

It was game 5 in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. My team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, were down 3 games to 1 in the series. 

They were facing elimination and playing in Boston, which has so far in this series proved to be a near impossible place in which to win.

To be honest, I didn’t have much hope for my Leafers going into the game. 

But just the same, I was a little stressed that they would leave the playoffs so quickly after having such a great year. 

I was also preaching the next morning. I’m very used to that so no bad stress there – just a little good stress having my sermon in the back of my mind.

That should have been enough stress for one night. I should have been happy that I was showing no signs of slothfulness on a Saturday night.

But for some crazy reason I decided to add more stress to the evening … I decided to start doing my income tax.

I’m not sure why but maybe I thought that it would provide a distraction from the stress that was being generated in me by the game.

Everyone has to do taxes but you don’t have to do them when you’re stressed out to begin with. But that’s exactly what I did.

It was a rollercoaster of a night. Tension was high because the Leafs weren’t making it easy, especially with all the penalties they took in the second period. 

All the while I was gathering my information, making calculations and demanding that Lily find me certain documents and receipts. 

It was a brutal night, but the Leafs won which reduced my stress level significantly. And though I didn’t finish my taxes, I got to a winning stage with them as well.

Now I need a day of being a sloth so I can recuperate.

Here’s the thing: We put even more stress on ourselves whenever we don’t seek God in times of stress. Even if it’s a little, if we will take it to Him rather than go it alone, God can ease our burden, leaving us with just the right amount of stress to keep us moving forward.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you deal with stress in your life? Leave your comments below.