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Why You Should Share Your Embarrassing Moments

From time to time I repost an article that I have written in the past. This post is from the summer of 2014 enjoy.

We all have them. Embarrassing moments when we do dumb, stupid things that we wish we could take back.  

It might be something we said or did, but the result is the same: red-faced, head down, too shamed to look up or around to see if anyone noticed.

Embarrassing moments on You Tube go viral. It’s all good … except for the person who’s embarrassed.

I once took a picture of a vehicle stuck on top of a snow pile. The owner was so embarrassed she begged me not to post it on You Tube. I didn’t post it, but I did blog about it (read it here).

Well, what goes around comes around. The other day I was coming back from a bike ride with my bike on my car roof carrier.

As I drove by the back of my house, I hit the garage door remote button and, by the time I pulled onto my street and into my driveway, the door was fully open.  

So, like I do every day, I drove right in . . . that is until I got some resistance and heard this crunching sound!

Immediately, I realized what I’d done. I backed up and then my bike came bounding off the top of the car. Just to add to the embarrassment, it clipped my side mirror which is now wobbly.

I sat there, in my car for a moment, thinking I’d wrecked my bike, my bike rack and my garage. And most of all, I’d embarrassed myself. 

When I got out and assessed the damage, my bike seemed to be fine, and the top moulding of my garage only had a little mark on it. 

The mirror, well, it was wobbly and will probably need to be replaced. The bike rack … broken pieces and bent parts. Me … bruised ego. 

I was embarrassed. I wondered who saw it, which neighbour would bring it up at our street BBQ. I wanted to hide.  

But you know, as embarrassed as I was, the next day I told a friend what I did.  

Mind you, I couldn’t even look him in the eye. I looked down or away from him most of the time,  until he commented after my story. He said “Ya, I’ve done that twice”. 

All of a sudden I had company in my embarrassment, and it wasn’t so embarrassing any more. It was more like I joined the club of guys who’ve smashed their bikes into their garages.

I got so bold that two days later I told a couple other friends and they started telling their stories of crashing things attached to their vehicles.  

It turns out I’m not the one and only idiot to forget I had a bike on my roof. There are lots of us and I found healing for my embarrassment when I shared it.

Here’s the thing: When we sin, there is, often times, shame that goes with the sin. That keeps us from wanting to confess it to God or others. We feel alone in it, like we’re the only one who has ever sinned that way. But the truth is, that’s Satan’s way of keeping you in your sin.  

Confession frees you from shame – first because it’s no longer hidden, or a secret; second, because you find that you’re not alone; and third, because confession is the first step to turning from your sin. Don’t remain in shame; confess your sin.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What embarrassing moment have you shared and then found comfort in? I’d really like to hear from you; leave your comment below.

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We Don’t All Share The Same Views

Do you care if I have the same views as you do? You actually do care and might not even realize it.

You might be the easiest going person in the world, but it will bug you when you realize I don’t view something as you do. 

I’ve met people who hate golf; they actually turn up their nose and shake their head just hearing the word, “golf” … unless it’s in reference to the car.

I do like golf and when I meet people who are passionate against it that kind of bothers me. Why would they care that much about something they don’t do or have to do? Why would they go out of their way to make it clear to me that they don’t like the sport and think it’s boring, a waste of green space and time?

I’ve also met people who have gone out of their way to tell me they don’t like other sports that I participate in and enjoy. 

It’s unclear to me what reason they would have of being so animated about something they have no real interest in. Possibly they had a parent who tried to shove the sport down their throat, making them angry and resentful.

But here is something to note: I have feelings too and when someone criticizes and puts down a sport that I support and love, it hurts. 

I am sure those people who hate my sports wouldn’t like it if I trash talked something that they really enjoyed doing.

I remember having a conversation with someone who hated hockey, and stated the main reason was because of all the violence, referring to the fights and dirty hits that sometimes happen in hockey games. 

While he was talking, his voice started to rise and he got red in the face. He was really into it. 

All I could think of was, “Isn’t his emotion right now exactly why fights break out in hockey?” How come he couldn’t understand that and have some sympathy for the poor guys who get all caught up in anger. 

I’ve learned that I have to stay away from people who trash my sports … or at least don’t talk about sports in their presence. 

I sure wouldn’t want to make them angry. Who knows? A fight might break out in our conversation.

It should be acceptable that I can view something one way and someone can view it another way, with both of us being okay with that … that we won’t get all emotional and upset that our rights are being denied. 

… Just like what happened in British Columbia with the Supreme Court case ruling, denying Trinity Western University the right to have a law school as part of their institution. 

The school was denied because students at TWU are asked to sign a covenant while they attend the school, that includes abstaining from sex outside of marriage (defined as being between one man and one woman). 

Maybe people who don’t want to sign such a covenant should just attend another school. There are sixteen of them in our country!

Why would you want to go to a school that didn’t share the same views as you? … unless, maybe, you wanted to start a fight.

Here’s the thing: God has two main guidelines for humans: love God and love each other. When we focus on our rights, we will always step on someone else’s rights; someone’s rights will always be denied.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How passionate are you about your views? Leave your comments below.

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To Share Life, Some Old Barriers Must Be Crossed

We can now share life with others like never before, but there still remain some old barriers.

I remember when I went away to college years ago. Back then you were cut off from what your family was doing until you went back home.

Sure, we could send and receive letters in the mail to keep up with life on the other side of the country, but by the time we got it, it was old news.

We could call on the telephone, but with the time zone differences and the long distance charges, at least with my family, it was a rare, “special occasion only” form of connecting.

It’s not like that today. We have all kinds of social media and communication technology at our disposal. We can share life with anyone, any family member, no matter where they or we may be.

Distance is no longer a factor to sharing life.

Just the other day, on Canada Day, my wife, Lily, convinced me to stay downtown and watch the fireworks even though I like to be home Saturday night before I preach the next day.

We stood for a long time on a pier waiting for the big event to happen. We figured it would be a good show since it was Canada’s 150th birthday.

We arrived at the pier in daylight with really no one around us, but as the sun went down, more and more people crowded around to get a good spot to watch the fireworks.

Our son was in town and managed a great vantage point, with some friends, on a boat in the harbour.

When the light show began, Lily thought she would video some of it and send it to our daughter, Karlie, in Toronto.

But then she thought, “Why don’t I just video chat the whole thing!”

It was pretty neat. We were standing on a pier in Kingston, holding a phone so that Karlie could watch the fireworks from another city. We could converse with her and see her just like she was standing with us.

In that moment we were sharing life together … even though she was 250 kilometres away.

It’s truly incredible that we now have the ability to carry on with others far away as if they were right next to us.

But even with all this ability to share life, sometimes we have a hard time communicating thoughts and emotions that are inside us.

And it doesn’t matter if a person is beside us or in another country – no amount of technology or social media will cut through the difficulty of sharing parts of our lives with others.

That old saying “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” describes the barrier that will always exist regardless of how our communication progresses.

We can share life together wherever we are, and yet not really share life at all.

Here’s the thing: Some of us find it difficult to share what’s going on inside us – sometimes we can’t even put a finger on what we are experiencing. Though sharing life experiences is important, it’s equally important to share your thoughts and feelings. The great news is there is an avenue for that. God is listening and wants you to share those thoughts and feelings with Him. He can also provide you with great counsel if you will learn to listen as He shares with you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you used technology to share life with someone? Leave your comments below.

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Why You Should Share Your Embarrassing Moments

We all have them. Embarrassing moments when we do dumb, stupid things that we wish we could take back.

bike on car

It might be something we said or did, but the result is the same: red-faced, head down, too shamed to look up or around to see if anyone noticed.

Embarrassing moments on You Tube go viral. It’s all good … except for the person who’s embarrassed.

I once took a picture of a vehicle stuck on top of a snow pile. The owner was so embarrassed she begged me not to post it on You Tube. I didn’t post it, but I did bog about it (read it here.)

Well, what goes around comes around. The other day I was coming back from a bike ride with my bike on my car roof carrier.

As I drove by the back of my house, I hit the garage door remote button and, by the time I pulled onto my street and into my driveway, the door was fully open.

So, like I do every day, I drove right in . . . that is until I got some resistance and heard this crunching sound!

Immediately, I realized what I’d done. I backed up and then my bike came bounding off the top of the car. Just to add to the embarrassment, it clipped my side mirror which is now wobbly.

I sat there, in my car for a moment, thinking I’d wrecked my bike, my bike rack and my garage. And most of all, I’d embarrassed myself.

When I got out and assessed the damage, my bike seemed to be fine, and the top moulding of my garage only had a little mark on it.

The mirror, well, it was wobbly and will probably need to be replaced. The bike rack … broken pieces and bent parts. Me … bruised ego.

I was embarrassed. I wondered who saw it, which neighbour would bring it up at our street BBQ. I wanted to hide.

But you know, as embarrassed as I was, the next day I told a friend what I did.

Mind you, I couldn’t even look him in the eye. I looked down or away from him most of the time,  until he commented after my story. He said “Ya, I’ve done that twice”.

All of a sudden I had company in my embarrassment, and it wasn’t so embarrassing any more. It was more like I joined the club of guys who’ve smashed their bikes into their garages.

I got so bold that two days later I told a couple other friends and they started telling their stories of crashing things attached to their vehicles.

It turns out I’m not the one and only idiot to forget I had a bike on my roof. There are lots of us and I found healing for my embarrassment when I shared it.

Here’s the thing: When we sin, there is, often times, shame that goes with the sin. That keeps us from wanting to confess it to God or others. We feel alone in it, like we’re the only one who has ever sinned that way. But the truth is, that’s Satan’s way of keeping you in your sin.

Confession frees you from shame – first because it’s no longer hidden, or a secret; second, because you find that you’re not alone; and third, because confession is the first step to turning from your sin. Don’t remain in shame; confess your sin.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What embarrassing moment have you shared and then found comfort in? I’d really like to hear from you; leave your comment below.